U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, announced on Saturday that he won’t seek reelection to his Houston-area district, becoming the sixth Republican in Texas’ congressional delegation to announce his retirement this cycle.

A national survey found the smallest business owners are feeling less confident as they close out the year. Inflation, tariffs and shifts in consumer spending are some of the reasons why.

Thousands gathered downtown on a cool Thanksgiving morning for the city's annual parade, which featured Mayor John Whitmire, local schools and some popular fictional characters. Here are scenes from the event.

Artist Evan McClimans pieced together thousands of pieces of marine debris from Galveston to create a 7-foot sculpture of a reddish egret named “Gerde of the Gulf," helping to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean.

A former schoolteacher in Houston and Klein accused of sexually assaulting multiple children was arrested in Peru and brought back to the United States, according to Harris County law enforcement.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) will vote on an “agreed order of suspension” regarding Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen's peace officer license at its Dec. 10 meeting, according to the meeting agenda. 

Crisp fall weather will be the backdrop for Houston’s 76th annual Thanksgiving Day parade, which is open to the public and free to attend.

Companies like Google are using artificial intelligence to enhance online holiday shopping for consumers in Houston and beyond. But an AI researcher at Rice University cautions, "If the service is free, you are the product."

From the @TexasTribune, the state's DMV is implementing more stringent photo identification requirements for all vehicle registrations and renewals in an abrupt shift that could shut out undocumented residents from legally owning vehicles.

Cold and flu season typically happen during the fall and winter. Though it comes around every year, there's still a lot of confusion about viruses, vaccines and how to avoid getting sick. Experts and providers offer advice.

Texas’ chief financial officer has finalized rules for the state’s private school voucher program, clearing up confusion about funding for pre-kindergarten students and setting official dates for schools and families to apply.

For many families across Texas, Thanksgiving this year is complicated — because of the destructive flooding on the Fourth of July that left at least 138 people dead. They’re grappling with unanswered questions and loss.

The Secretary of State has initiated an investigation after Senator Paul Bettencourt filed a complaint claiming that Harris County allowed voters to register their home addresses to post office boxes in violation of bills he authored in 2023. 

Spring-area homeowners face a lengthy recovery process after a tornado struck their neighborhood on Monday.

Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia, a 15-year-old Houston boy with autism, was released from federal custody late last week after a weekslong separation from his mother. 

Houston's City Wide Club of America chapter expects to serve meals and supplies to at least 25,000 residents in need on Thursday at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

After days of deliberation, a federal jury awarded $13 million in damages to the family of a 75-year-old man who died in a car wreck involving a Houston Police Department vehicle.

From the @TexasTribune, House Speaker Mike Johnson is defending U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, in the wake of a report that his behavior on a congressional delegation trip to Mexico in August was inappropriate.

Former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards and acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee are vying to fill the seat left vacant since the death of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner in March. The runoff is scheduled for Jan. 31.

Los Angeles police have blocked the county coroner's office from releasing details about the death of a teen girl whose body was found in the trunk of a car registered to the Houston-born singer d4vd, the medical examiner's office said Monday.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath recently met with a top official from Turning Point USA to discuss creating chapters of the conservative youth organization in all of the state's high schools.

Houston ISD’s enrollment has declined more significantly than district leaders anticipated earlier this year, according to an internal district document obtained by Houston Public Media.

A League City man who reportedly works at a church is facing a felony charge after he allegedly pretended to be a federal immigration agent and coerced a masseuse to pay him hundreds of dollars, according to authorities.

A former Houston Police Department Captain now faces federal charges for child sex crimes, the Department of Justice announced.

A week after the University of Houston’s Pi Kappa Phi chapter was closed amid allegations of hazing, a prospective fraternity member filed a $10 million lawsuit against the fraternity and the university, claiming he suffered physical and mental anguish. 

Tornado warnings were issued Monday afternoon for parts of the Houston area as a line of thunderstorms makes its way through the region.

Five people, including one passenger, were hospitalized after an American Airlines flight diverted to Houston following reports of an odor onboard.

A man was found dead inside a clothing donation box north of Houston early Monday morning, according to the office of Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman. 

A Houston police officer shot and killed a man Sunday night who was suspected of stabbing another officer in the head. It was one of two incidents over the weekend in which Houston Police Department officers were involved in shootings.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has launched a campaign against CAIR, declaring the Muslim civil rights organization a foreign terrorist organization. What’s unclear is whether that will hold up under a legal challenge.

Defending Texas sovereignty has been central to Gov. Greg Abbott’s political identity. Yet he has helped President Donald Trump erode states’ authority over elections, policing and deploying the National Guard.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas' 2026 congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump likely discriminates on the basis of race.

A four-month-old from Galveston County has been hospitalized with infant botulism as federal and state health officials investigate a multistate outbreak of infant botulism linked to infant formula. 

Don't feel like cooking for Thanksgiving? Houston Public Media has you covered with where you can get mains, sides and desserts.

A recent report finds economically “distressed” zip codes in the Houston area are severely lacking in mental health care providers.

A 73-year-old woman died early Friday morning after she was struck by a truck while walking on Westheimer Road, which was recently cited as one of the most dangerous stretches of pavement for pedestrians in the United States. 

Rice University students of drinking age can get free beer on Saturday night as the Owls are hosting nationally ranked North Texas in a primetime matchup that will be televised on ESPNU.

The 18th Congressional District in Houston will have two elections in 32 days. If the Supreme Court reinstates Texas' redrawn congressional map, the two elections could be drastically different.

Harris County is critical to both major political parties' statewide ambitions, but has been blue for about a decade.

The U.S. Supreme Court will now make a final decision on whether Texas can use its new congressional map, which was drawn this summer to benefit Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

A Houston city council member has drafted a proposal that would allow police officers to decide whether or not to call ICE during traffic stops.

A local nonprofit is seeking sponsors for its food giveaway this weekend, after a spike in need.

A federal judge has issued a blistering dissent after two other judges on the same panel blocked Texas’ congressional redistricting map from taking effect next year.

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The Associated Press has found.

Some Humble ISD employees will soon be allowed to bring guns to school. Some parents in the Houston-area district are concerned.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, which includes Houston, has five judicial vacancies, more than any other judicial district in the country. Republican leaders are racing to fill those seats before the midterm elections.

Two more inmates died inside the Harris County Jail this week, according to a spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff's Office, bringing the jail's in-custody death total to 18 this year.

Galveston ISD leaders say they won’t change their stance on choosing not to display the Ten Commandments inside school classrooms as required by a new state law, which is being challenged in multiple lawsuits filed in federal court.

When Texas’ new GOP-friendly congressional map was struck down, state leaders blamed the “radical left” and “activist judges.” But the opinion was authored by Judge Jeffery Brown, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and Trump appointee.

According to an analysis by IDRA, 18% of students who started 9th grade in 2020 left school without graduating last year — a record low attrition rate.