Blaze reported about 2am but was quickly contained and family living at property escaped safely
Beyoncé’s childhood home in Houston caught fire early on Christmas morning, though the family living there escaped safely.
The fire was reported at about 2am on Monday. The local fire department arrived on the scene of the two-story brick house within three to five minutes, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Continue reading...Editorial board publishes opinion piece in response to hard-right Republican governor’s latest immigration crackdown
A stinging Christmas opinion issued by the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle newspaper asks Texas’s hard-right Republican leader: “How would governor Greg Abbott treat Mary and Joseph at the border?”
The leading media outlet in the Democratic-voting city published an editorial article on Christmas Eve and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Christmas Day protesting at the red state’s latest crackdown on people seeking refuge by crossing the US-Mexico border without authorization.
Continue reading...DJ Hayden, who played nine seasons with the Raiders, Lions, Jaguars and Commanders, was in SUV hit by speeding car
A former National Football League player was among six people who were killed in a collision that occurred when a speeding driver ran a red light in downtown Houston on Saturday.
Before his death in Houston during his collegiate alma mater’s homecoming weekend, 33-year-old DJ Hayden had played nine seasons in the NFL after the Raiders selected him in the first round of the college draft in 2013.
Continue reading...Rudy Farias was found lying on the ground in front of a church, with his whereabouts for the past eight years still unknown
A Texas man who went missing as a teenager in 2015 after last being seen walking his dogs in Houston has been found alive, his family and police said on Monday.
Police and firefighters found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV around 10pm on Thursday after getting a call about a person lying on the ground in front of a church in south-east Houston, a police spokesman, John Cannon, said.
Continue reading...Pioneer of the ‘chopped-and-screwed’ approach to hip-hop, the musician was once a part of Houston’s Screwed Up Click
Legendary Houston rapper Big Pokey died overnight Sunday after collapsing at a bar in Beaumont, Texas, his publicist has confirmed. The rap star, best known as part of the Screwed Up Click collective, was 48 years old.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell,” reads a statement from the rapper’s publicist on behalf of his family. “Big Pokey will forever be ‘The Hardest Pit in the Litter’.”
Continue reading...Girl killed sibling in family home with semi-automatic pistol but unclear if any of five adults present will face charges
In a case that starkly illustrates the deadly consequences that the US’s permissive gun culture has on the country’s youth, a three-year-old girl accidentally shot her four-year-old sister to death in their Texas home late on Sunday, according to authorities.
First responders found the slain girl while responding to an emergency call at 7.30pm about an injured minor at an apartment in suburban Houston, the local sheriff’s office said in a statement. She was there with five adults – including her mother and stepfather – when her older sister grabbed a loaded semi-automatic pistol and shot her, first responders learned.
Continue reading...Authorities announce that member of Migos, who was shot at a bowling alley last month, was ‘an innocent bystander’
A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in the killing of Takeoff, the rapper and member of Migos, at a bowling alley in Houston last month.
Announcing the news on Friday, Houston police said Takeoff, who was 28 and whose birth name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was “an innocent bystander”.
Continue reading...City allegedly addresses illegal dumping complaints by people of color more slowly than those from white residents
Houston’s city government is under federal investigation after accusations that it responds to calls from Black and Hispanic residents about illegal dumping more slowly than if the complaints are from white residents, US justice department officials announced Friday.
The investigation into whether the Texas metropolis’ so-called quality of life officials are illegally discriminating against residents based on their race or national origin was prompted by a complaint filed earlier this year by the nonprofit Lone Star Legal Aid clinic, authorities added.
Continue reading...Lawsuits brought by some of those injured, including 23-year-old Texas resident Kristian Paredes
The rappers Travis Scott and Drake have been sued for having “incited mayhem” after eight people were killed and dozens injured in a crush during a Texas concert, a law firm has confirmed.
Thomas J Henry Law tweeted a story published by the Daily Mail on the lawsuit, confirming on Sunday that it had filed “one of the first lawsuits in Travis Scott Astroworld festival tragedy”.
Continue reading...Two investigations launched after eight people killed at event in Houston on Friday night
Organisers of what turned out to be one of the deadliest live music events in US history are facing mounting questions about why the rapper Travis Scott continued performing when first responders were already dealing with a mass casualty event.
Eight people ranging in age from 14 to 27 were killed and dozens were injured at the Astroworld festival in Houston on Friday night, when fans were crushed against the stage.
Continue reading...Delivery service will eventually expand to other locations as part of partnership between pizza company and startup Nuro
Domino’s Pizza and Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup, said on Monday they will launch a robotic pizza delivery service in Houston this week as they seek to satisfy increasing online orders during the pandemic.
Continue reading...Millions of Texans are facing water shortages after a winter storm caused pipes to burst and treatment plants to back up. Officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population of the nation’s second largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it. The storms have also left millions without power for days
Continue reading...Beijing condemns move that could mark dramatic escalation in diplomatic tensions
The closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston threatens to start a fresh diplomatic row between China and the US, with Beijing accusing the US of giving it 72 hours to shut the diplomatic mission in a move it described as “unprecedented” and an “outrageous” escalation.
China said the US told the consulate on 21 July to cease all operations and events, and that Beijing threatened retaliation if the decision was not withdrawn.
Continue reading...Protesters marched in their thousands in towns and cities across America, part of a wave of demonstrations that have followed the killing of George Floyd
Continue reading...A Houston man, Johnny Mathis, saves the day – and the dog – by leaping into action when the leash of a neighbour's pet gets caught in an elevator door. A security camera at their apartment complex captures the entire dramatic rescue. Mathis is thankful he was on hand to help: 'It could happen to anyone. A second is all it takes'
• Florida dog drives doughnuts in unmanned car before police rescue
Continue reading...Eric Black Jr was taken into custody and has admitted to the shooting, the Harris county sheriff’s office said
A 20-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the death of Jazmine Barnes, the seven-year-old who was killed when a man in a pick-up truck fired into her family’s car as they went to get coffee.
Related: Jazmine Barnes death: seven-year-old's family plead for help to catch killers
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