HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A high school principal in Katy ISD is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old student earlier this month.
Mayde Creek High School assistant principal Adrian Lee Berg is charged with injury to a child in connection with the Oct. 3 incident.
According to records, at about 7:15 a.m., Berg was captured on video tackling the 14-year-old student with his body, pushing her into a wall after she had been involved in a verbal altercation with another student.
Berg is also accused of putting his arm around the student’s neck and slamming her to the ground.
The student was taken to the hospital with injuries, though her condition is unknown.
Berg appeared in court Thursday, and his bond was set at $15,000.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A newly formed political action committee is raising a lot of money in support of HISD’s proposed $4.4 billion bond, and much of that money comes from supporters of a pro-charter school group.
According to the latest campaign finance report, Houstonians for Safe and Healthy Schools took in more than $755,000 since it was formed in August.
More than half of that money — $420,000 – came from just six donors who donated a combined $115,000 to the Charter Schools Now PAC.
Members of the anti-bond group Community Voices for Public Education picketed a fundraiser for Houstonians for Safe and Healthy Schools Wednesday evening.
It cost as much as $100,000 to attend the fundraiser. The guest list included a number of people connected to the building industry, according to a flyer obtained by Eyewitness News.
That’s notable since almost $4 billion of the bond money would go to rebuilding and renovating multiple HISD campuses.
“They can be, in the future, potentially leased or sold to charter schools, so this is yet another way of taking public money and putting it in private pockets,” Sarah Terrell said.
“Houston has never seen anything so bad and so crass before,” she added.
Critics say the bond’s price tag is too high, even though HISD insists it won’t have to raise taxes to take on the additional debt.
“We’ve had five different companies and financial institutions look at that, and somewhere around $5 billion is where we can go without raising taxes,” Superintendent Mike Miles said in a previous interview.
However, without the new bond, HISD’s current tax rate would eventually come down after it pays off old debt.
“It’s gonna be a whole lot of extra that’s gonna be going to a whole lot of people’s pockets, and we’re not gonna be able to figure that out until it’s gone,” Ruth Hoffman-Lach said.
The bond will appear as Propositions A and B on the Nov. 5 ballot.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — That fall feel is in the air! With a clear sky and dry air in place, temperatures Thursday morning in most of Houston will dip all the way down into the upper 40s.
This will be Houston’s first dip into the 40s since April 4!
The sky should be perfectly clear all day long, and that sunshine will warm temperatures quickly to near 70 by noon with highs peaking the mid-to-upper 70s. You might consider dressing in layers given the large spread in temperatures between the low and the high.
How long does this cold air stick around?
Enjoy it on Thursday because the cooler air fades away Friday as the Gulf breeze returns. That said we do not have temperatures returning to 90 for the rest of our 10 day forecast, but it will get close late next week.
When could we see our next chance of rain?
Rain chances look slim to none over the next 10 days, but there is a small 10% chance of showers Saturday, mainly southwest of Houston.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
There are two areas we’re watching in the tropics, one with a low chance of developing as it approaches the Bahamas or the Greater Antilles. Another is located in the southern Caribbean and has a low chance of developing over the next 7 days. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for a complete look at what we’re covering in the tropics.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) announced more store closures Tuesday, as the retail pharmacy giant continues to face pressure from the growth of online prescription delivery platforms and ongoing retail constraints.
Walgreens will close 500 stores next year, toward the end of the year, and reach a total of 1,200 store closings in the next three years, according to company executives on a fourth quarter earnings call today.
The number had not been previously announced, but Walgreens indicated up to 2,000 store closures coming during an earnings call in June. Walgreens stock jumped more than 12% in trading Tuesday on the news — signaling the move was no surprise, and even welcome, to investors.
The company announced fiscal fourth quarter earnings in line with expectations, with a loss per share of $3.48 compared to $0.21 in the same quarter in 2024. Revenues, meanwhile, increased 6% year over year to $37.5 billion.
Mary Langowski, president of US healthcare at the company, said the moves made to date have focused on near-term shareholder value. For fiscal year 2025, the company will focus on the growth of core lines of business, including the pharmacies and specialty pharmacy services.
CEO Tim Wentworth said during the earnings call Tuesday that when he took the top spot last year, he was focused on ensuring the struggling retailer takes steps to cut expenses and has since successfully reduced net debt by $1.9 billion.
But there is still more work to be done. “Building on this momentum is critical as we turn our executional focus to stabilizing our core economics,” Wentworth said.
The store closures, or “footprint optimization” strategy, is focused on what Wentworth has called “re-orienting” the company as a retail pharmacy. Wentworth said he doesn’t expect further cuts in the 300,000-member workforce, which is already strained.
“We don’t have a ton of de-staffing left in the stores … our stores are tight. That’s not where you will see us making a difference,” he said.
Walgreens Pharmacy and store closing sign at entrance, Queens, N.Y. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) · UCG via Getty Images
More closures expected
The move to close stores is just part of the first phase, along with VillageMD closures announced earlier this year, of a “right-sizing” process for the company.
“While the decision to close the store is never an easy one, we feel confident in our ability to continue to serve our customers,” Wentworth said, adding that affected employees would be redeployed to other locations.
Walgreens is working with patients to ensure the prescription fills are not interrupted, including through home delivery if they are not close enough to another location. But the company isn’t including that as part of its future modeling for the business — indicating it is unsure what the fallout will be. But the stores that are closing have low volume and are making very little money, executives said on the call Tuesday.
“We are prioritizing closing locations that are cash flow negative, underperforming stores where we own the locations, and ones where the lease expirations are coming due in the next few years,” said CFO Manmohan Mahajan.
He added that based on the previously disclosed 2,000 store target, another 800 stores are being evaluated for closure.
Wentworth said that the shake-up of the retailer isn’t over. “We are in the early stages of a turnaround that will take time. The fiscal fourth quarter was an important building block in the foundation of this turnaround, and we expect further progress in fiscal 2025,” Wentworth said.
Battling PBM reimbursements
In addition to the store closures, Wentworth also said the company has been aggressively pursuing fairer reimbursement for prescriptions by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The issue of reimbursements has been impacting pharmacies large and small in recent years.
“Today, we have a high level of visibility into reimbursement for approximately 80% of the anticipated script volume in fiscal 2025. We are pleased with the willingness that some of our PBM partners have shown to consider current trends and adjust reimbursement,” Wentworth said.
He said the company has been engaged in tough negotiations with PBMs and ensured that all sales to patients — no matter how they pay — aren’t a loss to the company.
“We’re willing to walk away from a line of business if it doesn’t make sense. I’ve said that … we would rather have 5% of the cash-paying cadre than 100% of a reimbursed contract,” Wentworth said.
There are still more contracts that are under negotiation, but Wentworth said that the current state of contracts is “right where I would expect us to be” to ensure stronger revenues for the upcoming fiscal year.
EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings have acquired running back Cam Akers for the second time in 12 months, this time from the Houston Texans in an exchange of 2026 conditional draft choices, the team confirmed Tuesday.
The Vikings will send a conditional 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Texans in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round draft pick as part of the deal.
Akers started two games this season for the Texans in place of the injured Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, including one against the Vikings in Week 3. He rushed nine times for 21 yards in that game and totaled 147 yards and one touchdown on 40 carries during his time in Houston.
Akers became expendable with Mixon and Pierce both returning for the Texans.
The short-term status of Vikings starter Aaron Jones is uncertain because of a right hip injury. Ty Chandler has been Jones’ backup and would start Sunday against the Detroit Lions if Jones can’t play, but Akers gives the Vikings better depth than current No. 3 running back Myles Gaskin.
Akers has a long history with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, as the trio spent time together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and 2021.
The Vikings first acquired Akers from the Rams two weeks into the 2023 season. He played in six games behind starter Alexander Mattison, rushing for 138 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries before tearing his left Achilles tendon in Week 9. He also tore his right Achilles tendon while with the Rams in 2021.
The Vikings tried to re-sign him prior to training camp this summer, but he chose to join the Texans instead.
“I love Cam Akers,” O’Connell said last month. “Cam is a unique, special and talented person. To deal with the type of adversity he has in his young career and never once have you ever heard him feel sorry for himself. Incredibly tough player, both mentally and physically. … I have a great relationship with him, and care about him tremendously.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Following a recent corruption scandal centered on misusing $8.5 million taxpayer dollars, Houston Mayor John Whitmire seeks to expand the city’s ongoing audit.
In June, three people affiliated with a TIRZ in Midtown were arrested for reportedly not handling the funds correctly which were going to be allocated for affordable housing.
TIRZ, also known as a Tax Income Reinvestment Zone, is a city property tax zone that allows independent boards to control a portion of city property taxes for neighborhood improvement projects. The city has more than 180 such zones, and the mayor’s proposed audit expansion would extend to each.
“There’s a real question about how the money is being spent and if it is being spent in the way that’s in the best interest of taxpayers in the City of Houston,” political scientist Dr. Mark Jones of Rice University said.
The call to expand the audit comes as the city scrounges for cash amid a projected $260 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.
The deficit prompted the mayor and his council colleagues to authorize a $580 million Ernst & Young audit of city services, which is currently concluding.
“The Ernst & Young initial report is showing that we’ve got like 40% of the city’s directors supervising three or four employees. Now, you want to ask people to raise the tax rate when we’ve got 40 percent of our directors supervising three people? They don’t understand that,” said Whitmire.
If the council authorizes the mayor’s proposed audit expansion on Wednesday, the audit’s total price tag will increase to approximately $1.35 million. The additional $770,000 will be pulled from the TIRZ and funded with property tax revenue.
Wednesday’s council is also expected to approve Whitmire’s proposal to keep the city’s property tax rate as is. Whitmire has repeatedly said he will not raise taxes until he can ensure voters that corruption and waste is stamped out. Jones told ABC13 he believes the mayor is using the Ernst & Young audit to build a case to raise taxes next year.
“He’ll likely go to voters and ask them for a greater increase with the argument that he’s done everything possible to make the city efficient and reduce waste and corruption but that he still needs money,” Jones said.
Murder charges against disgraced Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines have been dismissed again.
The re-indictment doesn’t come as much of a surprise after former HPD Officer Gerald Goines — who led the 2019 raid that left Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle dead — was convicted of murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison last week. Goines is among the 11 former officers re-indicted.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said publically to the other officers in a press conference that this wasn’t over.
The 11 former officers are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. They are accused of lying as part of an overtime scheme and working together to fake their hours.
The total wages allegedly stolen from the city of Houston is at least $30,000 and less than $150,000, according to court documents.
The cases against the indicted officers will likely carry over to the next district attorney, who will be decided by voters in November.
Three of the indicted officers are also facing tampering and theft charges. They’re due in court on Friday.
SEABROOK, Texas (KTRK) — A 22-year-old man killed a young mother in Seabrook to avenge the murder of his half-brother, according to court records made public this week.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Dawayland Hurst for the murder of MaryJayne Collins, 23. Collins had two sons under the age of 10 who may have been witnesses, police said.
According to court records, Hurst’s half-brother was killed by Michael King in 2020. King had a son with Collins, who started dating Hurst in June.
In the days before her murder, she told friends Hurst was abusing her and showed them injuries, records state.
On Oct. 4, after Collins had moved into a new apartment, the violence escalated, court records state, when King somehow made a video call from prison.
Hurst was present and taunted King before slapping King’s son, which was captured on the video and sent to friends. Collins’ body was found later that morning by police. She had been stabbed to death. Her boys were scared, but safe.
All of the events led police to conclude that Hurst was “motivated to revenge the death of his brother” and “thus, befriended, abused and then murdered the victim who was the mother of Michael King’s children.”
Collins’ family tells ABC13 they want justice for her and that “Hurst needs to be arrested.”
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to contact Seabrook police or Crime Stoppers.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Several hundred thousand Houston families will soon be getting letters about the city’s plan to identify possible lead pipes.
The City of Houston announced this week it’s working to identify and replace lead pipes as part of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule. This requires water utilities to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years to make sure residents have access to clean drinking water.
Houston Public Works is sending notices to 429,662 customers in their water bills, informing them that their water service line is made of unknown materials. So, if you get one, it does not mean your pipes contain lead; it just means the city doesn’t know what they contain.
As of now, the city says it has not found any lead pipes in its service lines.
This comes after the White House ordered cities nationwide to remove all lead pipes by the next decade.
President Biden is setting a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes.
Anyone with a service line of unknown material will receive this notification no later than Nov. 15.
The city also created an inventory map that allows you to find your address and view current records of the material used in your water service line. It will let you self-report what type of pipes you have and include photographs.
If your water service line is unknown, the city will provide any next steps you’ll need to follow.
