The Showboat Drive-In, in Hockley, has been open since 2006.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A beloved Harris County drive-in is preparing to roll the credits.
Showboat Drive-in, northwest of Cypress, will air its final movie on Sept.14. Owner Andrew Thomas told ABC13 the drive-in is a casualty of COVID-19.
“Starting in 2020 when COVID hits you have a huge number of movies get delayed and a typical year there’s about 100 to 150 major releases that come out and we only had 40 that year and the average over the last three years has been about 80 so we’re still way behind where we need to be,” Thomas explained.
Thomas told ABC13 the Hollywood writers’ strike compounded the problem along with property taxes.
He said development in the area has caused light pollution, impacting the viewing experience.
For the above reasons, Thomas and his wife are closing the cash only drive-in which opened in 2005. They have plans to reopen in two new locations.
Thomas’ twelve employees will be out of jobs. Among them is Kendall Carty. Carty told ABC13 that she got her first job at the theater a decade ago at the age of 16. She has since worked her way up to managing the facility and lives on-site. She is now looking for work and a new home.
“It is essentially my life,” Carty said. “A huge part of who I am as a person.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Five years and eight months after Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle were shot to death by Houston police during a botched “no-knock” drug raid on their home, the lead case agent, Gerald Goines, is finally going to trial for murder.
The disgraced former officer is accused of lying about the case to a municipal judge, getting a no-knock warrant based on those lies, and executing the warrant at 7815 Harding St. that was, by all accounts, tragic.
The former narcotics officer arrived at court at about 8 a.m. with his attorneys. Shortly after, Nicholas and Tuttle’s relatives also filed into the courtroom. Tuttle’s family held on to framed photos of the dead couple.
WATCH: Goines’ charges read at start of trial
Disgraced officer Gerald Goines is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle. In their opening statements, prosecutors painted Goines as a dirty cop who lied on the search warrant and did no actual police work before barging into the couple’s house. They also accused him of making up a “Confidential Informant” who allegedly bought drugs at the Harding Street house when none ever existed.
“He swore to that judge that this must be a no-knock warrant. That if it’s not a no-knock, it would endanger police officers,” prosecutor Keaton Forcht said.
Instead, Forcht painted a scene where officers barged into a home with no drug dealing history. He said it was the home of a couple who suffered from multiple medical ailments, did recreational drugs, and had almost no money. On the evening of the raid, Forscht said Tuttle was in the bedroom, Nicholas on the couch, and their dog Star was nearby. Soon, all three would be dead.
“Evidence will show Gerald Goines was legally responsible for every shot in that house, whether it was from officers or Dennis Tuttle,” Forcht told jurors.
Forcht stated that the only reason Tuttle came out of the back bedroom with his gun was because he thought people were breaking into his home.
“Mr. Tuttle reacted as anybody would, any normal person, hearing guns ring out in their house, their doors blown in, his wife on the couch, the dog is dead in the living room. He grabs his pistol and comes storming out,” Forcht said.
WATCH: Prosecutors lay out their case against Goines
Prosecutors claim Goines, who was the lead case agent, lied about drug activity to obtain the warrant that resulted in the 2019 deadly raid. In its opening statements, the defense admitted that Goines lied to obtain the search warrant but said the only reason that the couple is dead is because neither followed police instructions.
“While it’s true you’re not going to be happy with Gerald Goines for some of the things that he said that were not true, in that affidavit, and later in that hospital, he didn’t murder anybody,” defense attorney Nicole DeBorde said. “He is not legally responsible for murder. This is a case of the wrong charges being filed. There are other consequences for him.”
DeBorde claims it was Tuttle and Nicholas who did not follow police commands, which, in turn, resulted in their deaths. Specifically, she detailed to the jury how Tuttle was able to shoot and injure four officers at close range. “Tuttle’s choices to commit attempted capital murder of four police officers is the cause of him being killed,” DeBorde said.
Prosecutors claim Goines, who was the lead case agent, lied about drug activity to obtain the warrant that resulted in the deadly raid. They also point out that this all started when a neighbor made several false 911 calls on Jan 8, 2019. That neighbor, also scheduled to testify in this trial, has since served federal prison time for making those calls.
WATCH: Defense attorneys deliver their opening statements
The defense team did agree that Gerald Goines lied to get the search warrant at the heart of the deadly 2019 raid. Opening statements ended at about 11 a.m., and the trial moved quickly onto its first witnesses.
The first person to take the stand was Sarah Sanchez, a long-time neighbor who called 911 the day of the botched raid. Sanchez also recorded many police actions that day on her phone. She shared the video with ABC13 back in 2019. You can hear several gunshots in the video, as well as Sanchez telling her family to get somewhere safe while she wondered if her neighbors were alright.
Sanchez, wearing a red shirt, was in tears as she testified in court Monday. Prosecutors then played the recordings for the jury.
Testimony by a Houston police officer who responded to the shooting followed Sanchez’s time on the stand. Jurors were shown videos from his bodyworn camera where gunfire could be heard.
SEE ALSO: Murder charges for couple killed in botched 2019 no-knock raid reinstated against HPD officer
Disgraced HPD officer Gerald Goines from the 2019 botched Harding raid is again charged with murder for deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The department has since banned unannounced, no-knock raids.
Last March, the indictments against Goines were dropped after his attorneys argued they were poorly written. However, he was re-indicted a week later.
Prosecutors and Goines’ attorneys have not spoken to the media leading up to the trial. Due to the prolific attention, a gag order is in place. New Houston police chief, J. Noe Diaz, emailed his department saying they can’t speak to the media about the trial or post about it online.
Houston criminal defense attorney Murray Newman, who’s not working with either side in the case, told ABC13 the city’s entire legal community in Houston has been keeping an eye on this.
One reason? He pointed out what the Goines’ side has argued – that a fair trial would be impossible due to the consistent coverage over the last five years.
“The thing that’s so interesting about this amount of publicity is so much of it seems to have been pushed by the (district attorney’s) office,” Newman said. “The DA’s office really seems to have been using its machinery within its PR department to push out a narrative intentionally about the case.”
On the other side, Newman said prosecutors are working with a widespread belief within the community that nobody needed to die that day.
The search for a jury began in June with a pool of 120 potential jurors. There are 12 jurors and four alternates for the trial. The trial is expected to last several weeks
Legendary actor James Earl Jones, best known for his innumerable movie roles and the booming voice of the character of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise, has died, his representative confirmed to ABC News.
He was 93 years old.
Jones died on Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, surrounded by his family, according to longtime agent Barry McPherson.
FILE – James Earl Jones arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26…Show moreAP Photo/Chris Carlson, File
The thespian, whose powerful, deep voice brought to life the iconic villain of Darth Vader, acted for more than six decades and won three Tony Awards, including a lifetime honor in 2017, two Emmys and a Grammy. He was recognized for lifetime achievement by the Academy Awards in 2011.
Jones was born in 1931 in Mississippi and famously battled a severe stutter as a child.
“People would come to the house and there’d be introductions made and I couldn’t introduce myself,” he told PBS in 2014 of just how bad the affliction was back then. Jones said he learned to stayed silent for long stretches at a time.
“I found it was, oh, so good sometimes because silence isn’t bad. It’s good to listen. And I learned to listen,” Jones told PBS.
It was the stutter that led Jones into acting after a high school teacher used poetry to help him speak more clearly. After college and then the Army, serving in the Korean War, Jones eyed Broadway for his start in theater and the arts.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Jones was a Broadway staple. From “On Golden Pond” to “The Best Man,” his work earned four Tony nominations, winning for “The Great White Hope” in 1969 and “Fences” in 1987.
Director Tom Gries, above, James Earl Jones and Diana Sands, go over their lines for “W…Show moreAP Photo/Ruben Goldberg
Almost simultaneously, he was garnering acclaim on TV as well. The eventual two-time Emmy Award winner earned his first nod in the 1960s for his work on “East Side/West Side.”
He picked up both his Primetime Emmy wins in 1991, for best supporting actor in the miniseries “Heat Wave” and best actor for the series “Gabriel’s Fire.” He also won a Daytime Emmy for the children’s special “Summer’s End” in 2000.
Jones later earned his first Oscar nod, adapting “The Great White Hope” to the silver screen in 1970, playing boxer Jack Jefferson. Jones was just the second Black actor after Sidney Poitier — who was nominated in 1958 and 1963 — to be recognized by the academy with a nomination.
For the better part of the 1970s, Jones continued to juggle his work on stage, TV and film. Then, in 1977, he was cast as the voice of a new villain, Darth Vader, in the space saga, “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
Dave Prowse as Darth Vader points to Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in a scene from the 1977…Show morePhoto by Screen Archives/Getty Images
While bodybuilder David Prowse would be the figure behind the black mask of the Sith lord, Jones was the voice that uttered so many iconic lines in the film and its sequels — including, “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” and then, of course, to Luke Skywalker in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back,” his big reveal, “No, I am your father.”
Jones was always humble about being the voice of such an iconic foe.
“I’m simply special effects,” he told the American Film Institute in 2009 about voicing a character who was physically played by someone else. “George [Lucas]wanted, pardon the expression, a darker voice, so he hires a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. That’s the voice, that’s me. I lucked out. From all these so-called handicaps, I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000, and I thought that was good money.”
In a 2004 documentary titled “Star Wars: Empire of Dreams,” Jones spoke about when he first found out that Vader, the film trilogy’s main villain, would reveal that he was the long-lost father of Skywalker, the primary hero.
“I said to myself, ‘He’s lying,'” Jones admitted. “I wonder how they are gonna play that lie out.”
But it wasn’t a lie. From 1977 to 1983, the three original “Star Wars” films would become some of the most revered and original movies of their time, not just for special effects, but also for the shocking plot and themes.
After “Star Wars,” Jones made memorable appearances in Eddie Murphy’s 1988 film “Coming to America,” then starred opposite Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams” in 1989. A few years later, he once again lent his voice to a famous character, starring in the Disney animated feature “The Lion King” as Mufasa.
Jones had almost 200 credits to his name, according to IMDB, as he stayed active for more than 60 years, including in movies like “The Sandlot,” shows like “House” and “The Simpsons,” and in his return to a galaxy far, far away in 2004’s “Revenge of the Sith.” He came back to voice Vader several more times in recent years, including in the animated series “Rebels,” 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” and the 2022 Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
He also reprised his role in the “Coming to America” sequel, “Coming 2 America,” in 2021.
In 2011, Jones was given an honorary Academy Award for the breadth of his acclaimed work.
Cassius Clay, right, allows himself to be tagged with a left thrown by actor James Earl Jones…Show moreAP Photo/GB
It was while Jones was starring in the play “Driving Miss Daisy” in London in 2011 that he was surprised by co-star Vanessa Redgrave, who waited until the end of the show to let the crowd in on his honor that year. The cast and the academy held a special ceremony for Jones right on the stage, with Sir Ben Kingsley coming out to hand Jones his Oscar.
“If an actor’s nightmare is being onstage naked and not knowing his lines, what the heck do you call this?” he said of the surprise honor. “How do I feel? Well, more than flabbergasted. … That’s the only word I can think of for this improbable moment in my life.”
In March 2022, it was announced that Broadway’s Cort Theatre would be renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.
Jones married twice. His second wife, Cecilia Hart, died in 2016 after 34 years of marriage. The couple is survived by their son, Flynn Earl Jones.
Francine has shifted westward, pushing the predicted track closer to the Texas coast before it makes landfall Wednesday in Louisiana. A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for the entire Texas coastline except from High Island to Sabine Pass, which is now under a Tropical Storm Warning. It is now expected to pass by our coast offshore as a category 2 hurricane Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. For our local coastline, we expect a storm surge tide of 1 to 3 feet above normally dry ground, a few inches of rain, and wind gusts over 50 mph. Impacts for inland communities like Houston will be minimal with less than one inch of rain likely and wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range.
Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Lamar made the announcement on Sunday via his social media, with the NFL also confirming the news.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one,” Lamar said in a statement.
Super Bowl LIX will take place on February 9, 2025, in New Orleans and will air on FOX. The NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music revealed the news at the start of the 2024-2025 NFL season.
Lamar, known for hits like “Not Like Us,” previously performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022 alongside Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent. However, this will be his first time headlining the event, which draws millions of viewers annually.
Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation is overseeing Lamar’s live performance, praised the rapper as “a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” adding that Lamar’s work “transcends music” and his influence on culture is “unparalleled.”
Lamar is widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most influential artists. He has won 17 Grammys and made history in 2017 by earning a Pulitzer Prize for his album Damn, becoming the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to receive the honor. In 2022, he released his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. His hit single “Like That,” a collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His track “Not Like Us,” released in April 2024, topped the chart for two weeks.
Last year, Usher headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, drawing a record-breaking 123.4 million viewers, while Rihanna’s 2023 performance ranks as the second-most watched, with 121 million viewers.
Super Bowl LVIII saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling game, becoming the most-watched American television broadcast in a generation.
Potential Storm Six continues to strengthen in the Bay of Campeche with winds of 50 mph and gusts up to 65 mph. However, the system does not have a defined center which is why it’s not a named storm yet. Potential Storm Six is expected to become Francine Monday evening as it begins to shift north into the western Gulf of Mexico.
Soon-to-be Francine will then track closely along the Texas Coast Tuesday and Wednesday, potentially strengthening to a category one hurricane off the Southeast Texas coast before making landfall Wednesday evening as a high-end category one storm.
It’s important to note that without a well-defined center, it’s still too early to let our guard down in Southeast Texas. Some computer model tracks bring Francine closer to Houston with a potential landfall in Southeast Texas Wednesday. Tropical Storm, Storm Surge and Hurricane Watches could be issued as early as Monday.
September 8, 4 p.m.
The National Hurricane Center has issued its first forecast for Potential Storm Six, and it is predicted to pass by or over the upper Texas coast as a hurricane on Wednesday. Watches are likely to come for our coast later this evening.
What’s going on: Patients across the United States are facing increasingly long wait times for medical appointments, as demand for healthcare services spikes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent Axios-Ipsos survey, nearly one in five respondents reported waiting over two months to see a primary care physician (PCP) or specialist. In some cases, patients have seen their visit times reduced, with NYC Health + Hospitals cutting primary care appointments from 40 minutes to just 20 to accommodate more patients.
Access to primary care is becoming a significant issue, with an estimated 100 million Americans struggling to secure a PCP due to physical or financial barriers. Even for those who manage to see a doctor, a negative experience, particularly among people of color, can deter future visits. Studies suggest that the fear of discrimination contributes to this reluctance.
What it means: Despite being one of the highest healthcare spenders globally, the U.S. is grappling with a growing healthcare crisis that threatens the well-being of millions. A stable relationship with a primary care physician is proven to improve health outcomes and longevity, yet for many Americans, medical services are increasingly inaccessible. Contributing to the issue is a decline in the number of medical students pursuing primary care, opting instead for more lucrative specialties. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortfall of up to 55,200 primary care doctors by 2032, exacerbating the strain on an already burdened system.
A California woman who had been missing for 12 days was found alive “severely dehydrated and emaciated,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.
Esmeralda Marie Pineda, 24, was rescued on Friday at the top of a river canyon in the vicinity of the Yuba River, north of Sacramento, the sheriff’s office said.
Police found Esmeralda Marie Pineda aft…Show moreNevada County Sheriff’s Office
Pineda required immediate medical attention and was transported to a hospital for treatment after being airlifted off the canyon by California Highway Patrol.
Pineda was reported missing on Aug. 26 after last being seen at a mining claim camp in Nevada City, California, according to the sheriff’s office.
The area was “treacherous” and required skilled Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers to rappel in and out of the canyon to look for her.
“The Sheriff’s Office and our search and rescue volunteers covered extensive ground throughout our search, and we are thankful today to find her alive,” said NCSO Sergeant Dustin Moe.
The extent of her condition and injuries is unknown.
Why it matters: Since Biden bowed out following his shaky debate performance, Harris has erased Trump’s comfortable lead in the polls, setting up a razor-thin election with less than two months to go.
State of play: The face-off Tuesday in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center won’t have a live audience and also won’t feature live mics despite Harris’ push for the feature.
“Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, will be fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President,” her campaign told ABC in a letter The Washington Post obtained.
“We suspect this is the primary reason for his campaign’s insistence on muted microphones.”
What they’re saying: Jason Miller, a Trump campaign senior adviser, told Axios in a statement that the campaign “accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate” planned when President Biden was still in the race.
Zoom in: The 90-minute debate will be moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.
It will run at 9pm ET on ABC News with two commercial breaks and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu, per ABC News. Other networks, including Fox News, will also carry the debate live.
A coin flip that Trump won on Tuesday earned him the privilege of choosing either podium placement or closing statement order, ABC News reported.
The former president opted to go last, giving Harris her selection of podium positioning. Hers will be on the right side of the screen.
Zoom out: Rules dictatemuch of the structure of the debate from where candidates will stand (behind their podiums) to what they will be given (water, a pen and pad of paper.)
ABC maintains no candidate will have access to topics or questions early, there won’t be opening statements, and closing statements will be held to two minutes for each candidate.
No props or earlier drafted notes are allowed, and candidates won’t be able to ask each other questions.
They will have two minutes to respond to questions, the same for rebuttals, and they will have an extra minute for any followup.
NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday, winning her first championship at Flushing Meadows and her third Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, adds this victory to her two Australian Open titles from the past two years, also on hard courts. This time, she left Arthur Ashe Stadium in a much better mood than when she was runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Pegula, a New Yorker whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was competing in her first major final. She had won 15 of her last 17 matches over the past month, but both losses came against Sabalenka in finals.
Sabalenka, seeded No. 2, appeared to be in full control after winning five consecutive games to take the first set and move ahead 3-0 in the second. However, Pegula made things interesting by launching her own five-game run. At 5-4, Pegula served with a chance to force a third set but lost the advantage, allowing Sabalenka to break and level the set.
Sabalenka finished the match with a three-game surge, collapsing to the court in celebration after the final point. Her powerful strokes, particularly her forehands, proved decisive, outpacing those of any other player in the tournament.
Sabalenka had more winners than Pegula (40-17) but also more unforced errors (34-22). In key moments, she maintained control, despite showing visible frustration during the match, such as when she slammed her racket to the court after a double fault in the first set.
Ultimately, Sabalenka held her nerve, winning the first set and closing out the match to secure the title. A year after losing a lead to Gauff, she made sure not to let history repeat itself.
