Crime

Is Trump Down For the Count? Maybe Not.

Is Trump Down For the Count? Maybe Not.

Opinion: Andrew Tate Picks on Greta Thunberg. Why?

Opinion: Andrew Tate Picks on Greta Thunberg. Why?

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Opinion: Santa Fe School Board Was Right Not to Put Memorial to Mass Shooting on School Grounds

By Jef Rouner
Oct 25, 2022

This past week, parents at Santa Fe High School were outraged when the school board voted unanimously not to erect a monument to the victims of the 2018 mass shooting. The attack killed eight children and two students. Instead, the memorial will be built on land owned by the district...
Immigrants Are Not Responsible for Surge in Fentanyl

By Jef Rouner
Oct 6, 2022

A key talking point in recent conservative, anti-immigrant rhetoric is that people crossing the southern border illegally are responsible for the surge in fentanyl deaths. There is no evidence that this is true. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be over 50 times as powerful as morphine. While legally...
Operator of Dog Transport Business, Charged With Animal Cruelty, Has a Monday Hearing [UPDATED]

By Faith Bugenhagen
Sep 19, 2022

Terri, like many other dog owners, thought she was doing the right thing. Her 11-month-old Pomsky puppy was getting overwhelmed in the company of Terri’s other dogs. She decided to return Scooby to the care of his breeders, Lisa and Israel Moyet, in Hollywood, Florida. With the rising temperatures and...
Beware Fake Occult Scams on TikTok

By Jef Rouner
Sep 15, 2022

Most of us are familiar with the classic online grifts such as the Nigerian Prince and email from “Ammazon” about a gift card you’ve won, but the latest scam is apparently impersonating occult and magick shops on TikTok to bilk people out of money for fake tarot readings. That’s what’s...
There Was No Shooter at Heights High School Tuesday

By Margaret Downing
Sep 13, 2022

There was a threat but no shooter. There were rumors that 10 kids were taken to the hospital - also not true. Parents of students at Heights High School had a very bad day Tuesday, but far from the worst. Someone called in a false report that there was an...
T.J. English Explores the Link Between Keeping Time and Committing Crime

By Bob Ruggiero
Jul 20, 2022

Author T.J. English is arguably the most astute and versatile chronicler of 20th century American crime. His non-fiction books have dug deep into the history and lore of American criminal gangs across ethnic lines including the Irish (The Westies, Where the Bodies Were Buried), Asians (Born to Kill), Cubans (The...
No, These Mass Shooters Are Not Trans

By Jef Rouner
Jul 15, 2022

The latest salvo in the conservative culture war against trans people is rushing to blame them for mass shootings. In the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Representative Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) claimed the shooter was transgender, a sentiment that was picked up by right-wing media personality...
Opinion: 5 “Crazy” Gun Reform Ideas That Just Might Work

By Jef Rouner
Jun 6, 2022

In the wake of the Robb Elementary shooting, the question of gun control has come up again. Unsurprisingly, Republicans uniformly resist any possible new regulations on guns. Governor Greg Abbott has even barred any talk of gun control from special committees in school shootings. All efforts at reform are portrayed...
HISD Superintendent Talks School Safety After the Uvalde Tragedy

By Margaret Downing
May 25, 2022

One day after the tragedy that unfolded in an Uvalde elementary school where at least 19 youngsters and two teachers were killed and several others injured, Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II called a noon press conference Wednesday to address safety and parents' fears. "Grief as we all know overwhelms...
Add Tax Evasion to the Charges Filed in Alleged HISD Bribery Scheme

By Margaret Downing
Apr 7, 2022

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston had more bad news for former Houston ISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby and contractor Anthony Hutchison Thursday, as it announced new charges against the pair accused of engaging in a massive bribery scheme involved the school district. The new charges cite the two...
Feds Unseal Bribery Indictment Involving Former HISD COO and Houston Vendor

By Margaret Downing
Dec 16, 2021

The former chief operating officer of Houston ISD participated in an alleged bribery scheme that reportedly paid him off in cash and home repairs in exchange for awarding inflated contracts to a Houston vendor, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Department of Justice announced Thursday. Brian Busby, who has been under...
Sheriff Gonzalez Insists Jail Is Not "Broken," Discusses Sexual Assault on Female Deputy

By Margaret Downing
Dec 8, 2021

Faced with both an inspection from the state that found the Harris County Jail out of compliance with standards and the sexual attack on a female deputy by an inmate this week, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez at a Wednesday morning press conference argued for more staffing, while saying that he doesn't...
Opinion: Rittenhouse Verdict Further Sanctifies “Defensive” Murder

By Jef Rouner
Nov 22, 2021

The jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse case found him not guilty of murder, which is exactly what laws like the Wisconsin castle doctrine are designed to do. It’s also a huge win for people obsessed with fatal defensive gun use. It’s a common misconception that the jury in the Rittenhouse...
Violence Threat at Cy Fair Schools

By Jef Rouner
Nov 18, 2021

Messages on social media threatening violence at two Cy Fair ISD schools on Wednesday night sent parents into a panic. The threats came from two SnapChat accounts, @imgoingtoshootupjerseyvillage and @cookmsisgoingtodie, referring to Jersey Village High School and Cook Middle School respectively. The message posted about Cook proclaimed, “death to mr...
Tony Buzbee Files Suit For More Than 120 Clients in Astroworld Case

By Margaret Downing
Nov 17, 2021

Representing more than 120 clients, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee filed suit Tuesday as expected in the Astroworld tragedy that left (now) ten dead and hundreds injured after people were crushed or had heart attacks amid a push toward the stage. What was less expected was that in addition to suing...
Lawyers and Lawsuits Line Up Following Astroworld Tragedy

By Margaret Downing
Nov 8, 2021

Rapper Travis Scout has offered to pay funeral expenses for the eight young people who died at his Astroworld Festival on Friday, which didn't stop the parade of lawsuits that began marching their way to Houston's courts on Monday, the first workday after the tragedy. As was expected, more than...
Opinion: When All the Numbers at Astroworld Add up to Nothing But Disaster

By Margaret Downing
Nov 7, 2021

Eight dead. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men— not to mention the 528 Houston PD officers and 755 private security workers on site at NRG Friday – couldn’t patch up or undo the awful tally at a Friday night’s Astroworld festival that was supposed to be fun...
Texas AG Paxton Says Since He's Elected, the Whistleblower Act Doesn't Apply to Him

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 23, 2021

Beleaguered Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s representatives argued in court this week that Paxton shouldn’t be considered a “public employee,” and therefore should be immune to a whistleblower lawsuit filed against him by former colleagues he fired after they accused their old boss of corruption. Meanwhile, Paxton’s been filing a...
Citing Low HPD & Fire Department COVID Vaccinations, Turner Considers City Worker Mandate

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 3, 2021

Given anecdotal reports that only 50 percent or fewer of Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department employees have taken a COVID-19 vaccine, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is considering issuing a vaccine mandate for city employees, Turner's communications director has told the Houston Press. When answering a question about tracking...
Local Criminal Court Backlog Likely To Keep Growing As Pandemic Surges

By Schaefer Edwards
Aug 26, 2021

When asked about how the massive slowdown in the local court system and the resulting backlog of tens of thousands of criminal cases has affected the men and women whom he defends on a daily basis, Joseph Vinas, local defense attorney and president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association,...