Houston, known for its mild winter temperatures, has experienced an unusually prolonged absence of freezing weather over the past year. According to Eric Berger of Space City Weather, Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport has not recorded temperatures below 33 degrees since December 26, 2022, marking a 364-day period and making it the city’s seventh-longest stint without a freeze.
However, this lengthy streak may come to an end this week, as Weather.com projections indicate a dip in temperatures into the mid-30s on both Thursday and Friday nights. While daytime highs are expected to reach the mid-50s, there is a possibility, as noted by Berger, that areas outside the Houston metro, such as Katy or The Woodlands, may experience freezing temperatures later this week. Berger advises residents in these areas to prepare for the possibility of a freeze, while areas closer to the coast are expected to remain warmer.
The current week might be Houston’s only opportunity for freezing temperatures this winter. January projections suggest temperatures bottoming out in the low 40s, with an average daily temperature of 44 degrees. These forecasts align with predictions from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, anticipating a mild but damp winter for Texas in 2023-24, with wetter-than-usual weather in the southern regions, including Texas.
The Almanac states, “Wetter-than-usual weather is coming to the southern portions of the Deep South, Texas, and California, with potentially drought-quenching rain.” While precipitation is expected to be above normal, it is not anticipated to be extreme, and the best chances for snow are predicted in the north in late December and late January.
For those who vividly remember the challenges posed by Winter Storm Uri in 2021, the current absence of icy conditions might be a relief. Nevertheless, Houstonians are advised to enjoy the upcoming days of holiday sweater weather while remaining prepared with frost blankets, as the city faces the possibility of the freeze-free streak coming to an end.
Apple smartwatches ads are displayed as customers take a look at smartwatch accessories at the Apple store in New York, U.S., December 26, 2023.
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
Apple will be able to sell the latest Apple Watches after an import ban was temporarily paused by an appeals court on Wednesday, in a major victory for the iPhone maker.
Apple stopped selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches last week in response to an International Trade Commission order in October that found the blood oxygen sensor in the devices had infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company that sells to hospitals.
“The motion for an interim stay is granted to the extent that the Remedial Orders are temporarily stayed,” a court filing Wednesday said.
On Monday, the Biden administration declined to pause the ITC ban. Apple filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday. The company continues to seek a longer stay. The ITC will need to reply by Jan. 10.
The stay means Apple may be able to sell the latest models of one of its most important products during the busiest time of the year. Apple Watch sales are reported as part of Apple’s wearables business, which reported $39.8 billion in sales in Apple’s fiscal 2023, which ended in September.
The sales pause did not affect the Apple Watch SE, an older model that cannot read blood oxygen levels. The latest Apple Watch models also continued to be available from retailers like Best Buy or Amazon as long as they had stock.
Masimo shares fell more than 6% during trading Wednesday. Apple’s stock was flat.
Apple Watches were not on sale on Apple’s website on Wednesday. An Apple representative didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The multibillion-dollar sale of the Dallas Mavericks to a Las Vegas gaming and entertainment group was approved unanimously by the NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday.
The sale by Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban to the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, headed by Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont received a 29-0 vote, easily clearing the three-fourths majority required for an ownership sale.
A person familiar told our reporting partners at the Dallas Morning News the sale price was between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion franchise valuation, with the Adelson/Dumont families controlling 77% and Cuban retaining the remaining 23% and operational control of the Mavs.
“The state of Texas has always been friendly to our family, and we look forward to being able to repay that kindness,” Miriam Adleson said in a statement Wednesday. “I am excited to spend time cheering on the team and getting to meet members of its passionate fan base.”
The sale of the team ends the nearly 24-year majority interest Cuban held since buying the Mavericks for $285 million in 2000.
Patrick Dumont said in a statement the new ownership group is “committed to the long-term success of the Mavericks.”
“We look forward to working in partnership with Mark Cuban as stewards of this great franchise and bringing another NBA championship to the city of Dallas,” Dumont said.
A missing pregnant Texas teenager and her boyfriend were found dead in a parked car Tuesday in San Antonio, and police said they may have been there for days.
Savanah Nicole Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, were reported missing by police in Leon Valley, a few miles northwest of San Antonio suburb.
Two bodies were found in a Kia Optima matching the description of one belonging to the boyfriend, and they may have been there for three or four days, Police Chief William P. McManus said at a news conference.
He didn’t identify the bodies pending confirmation by the medical examiner but said they were believed to be those of the missing couple.
McManus didn’t provide other details and said he didn’t know whether a weapon had been found in the car.
“What we’re looking at right now is a very, very perplexing crime scene,” the chief said.
“Detectives right now are looking at this as a possible murder but we don’t know for sure,” he said. “Because of the complexity, the complex crime scene, we can’t say for sure what we have.”
Bartlett National Bank opened in 1904 before shuttering during the Great Depression.
Jennifer Tucker helped restore the bank and transform it into a cozy vacation rental.
The three-bedroom home maintained many original features, including vault doors.
Jennifer Tucker was exploring the downtown streets of Bartlett, a quaint town nestled in southeast Texas, when she stumbled upon an abandoned bank in 2019.
“It was dilapidated, and nobody had opened the front door in many, many years,” Tucker, 49, told Business Insider. “It was in pretty bad shape.”
Tucker owns Amazing Realty, a real-estate brokerage based in Austin, and is passionate about historic preservation. The bank building — a relic of Bartlett’s heyday in the early 20th century — was a shell of its former self.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, the town is named after John. T. Bartlett, who donated the land that would become Bartlett. The town had early economic success by shipping cotton and wool, but opportunities began to dwindle amid the Great Depression in the 1930s, per the TSHA.
Tucker recalled walking up to the bank’s front windows and peeking inside, where the phrase “Bartlett Natl. Bank” was carved on the tile floor.
“At that moment, I just knew I had to have this building,” Tucker said.
Now Bartlett National Bank has three bedrooms and two bathrooms on two floors and is available for rent at $248 a night on Airbnb.
Here’s how Tucker restored a 119-year-old bank into an idyllic vacation rental.
Bartlett National Bank was built in 1904 and has a tumultuous history spanning over a century.
A plaque on the building’s brick exterior touches on the history of Bartlett National Bank, which opened in June 1904 with $25,000. It remained operational until 1931, when it closed for a federal holiday amid the Great Depression and did not reopen for several decades.
Bartlett National Bank made a brief three-year return in the 1990s but was shuttered again because it lacked drive-up teller windows, according to the plaque. Although the bank survived an ill-fated attempted robbery in the 1960s and appeared in the 1998 film “Newton Boys,” starring Matthew McConaughey, it remained relatively quiet until Tucker stepped in.
Tucker told BI that she viewed ledgers written when the bank opened, indicating that John Bartlett’s wife played a significant role in managing the bank. Tucker said Mary Bartlett became president of the bank because John died two months before it opened.
“She ran that bank into the 1920s successfully, so her signature and all of her documents are there,” Tucker said.
Tucker acquired the bank in December 2019 and began renovations in 2020.
Tucker said the restoration process started soon after she purchased the bank in December 2019. She and a work crew experienced with preservation spent about six months renovating the building, between January and July.
It cost about $200,000 to renovate the 1,200-square-foot building, Tucker told BI.
There were many challenges during the restoration process, but also some victories.
One of Tucker and the team’s biggest challenges was working with the building’s archaic structure. Since the bank was built in the early 1900s, there was limited electricity, zero plumbing, and no bathrooms.
As a result, they had to rewire the electricity and briefly remove the original hardwood floors to install plumbing. They also installed air conditioning, fixed broken tiles, and added UV coating to the windows to block the unforgiving Texas heat.
On the other hand, Tucker is ecstatic that they preserved so much history. The staircase, windows, doors, vaults, and some flooring are original to the bank.
Guests can see the bank’s original craftsmanship in the living room on the first floor.
Bartlett National Bank’s living room features floral-themed tile, hardwood, and a glimpse at the teller station. One of the original vaults sits in a corner near the front door.
“It’s got a huge living room, which was the main bank area,” Tucker said.
Tucker told BI that she and the renovation team managed to find a teller cage.
The original teller cage is near the kitchen.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
Tucker and her team went the extra mile by fixing up the bank-teller station, including finding an antique teller cage.
“We were able to find a teller cage that was built in the exact same year. We had to drive to Bells, Texas, to rescue that,” Tucker said. “It’s not exact, but it’s very similar to the two photos that I do have from the inside of the bank.”
As you walk through the living room, visitors will also see historic finds in the kitchen.
The kitchen and staircase in Bartlett National Bank.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
Walking further into Bartlett National Bank leads you to the kitchen with exposed brick, hardwood floors, and an original staircase.
Tucker said the original stairs were removed when “Newton Boys” filmed at the bank, but a local woodworker kept the pieces in a workshop.
“He had kept all the wood from it because he was the woodworker back in the ’90s they had hired to take that out,” Tucker said. “He thought, ‘This old Victorian wood might be useful one day.'”
He later helped the restoration process by reinstalling the stairs, she told BI.
Behind the kitchen is a cozy dining room.
Bartlett National Bank’s dining room.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
The dining room features dark wood furniture and a light fixture hanging overhead. The dining-room and living-room walls are painted sage green, the same color as the bank’s original interior, Tucker said.
A bedroom with an en suite bathroom is located on the first floor.
One of the bedrooms in Bartlett National Bank.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
This spacious bedroom is painted green and white and includes a bank deposit box to drive home the aesthetic, although it’s not original to the bank.
The nearby bathroom has white tile walls and a green bathtub.
Another is located on the second floor of Bartlett National Bank.
A second bedroom inside Bartlett National Bank.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
There’s another bedroom on the bank’s top floor, which Tucker said was built in the 1990s during the filming of “Newton Boys.”
“Thanks to Matthew McConaughey and Hollywood, they’ve added a floor upstairs, which would’ve been the downstairs loan manager or loan officer space,” Tucker said.
There’s a third bedroom on the top floor, where guests can get a closer look at the bank’s intricate gray ceiling.
A bedroom and bathroom on the bank’s second floor.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
The third bedroom features carpeting, white walls, and a gray ceiling with designs. The bathroom connected to the room has a shower instead of a bathtub.
Guests raved about Bartlett National Bank online.
Guests seem to enjoy their stay at the Bartlett National Bank on Airbnb.Erik Fossum/Fossum Studios
Guests have left positive reviews of the restored building on Airbnb.
“If you like history or unique spots, this is a wonderful gem. The preservation is a nice balance of time period and modern,” one person wrote. “Bring your favorite creature comforts and shift your mind to adventure mode. The space can be your personal hideaway or memorable group gathering spot!”
Another added: “The host and property were 5-stars. Loved the theme and the details to the era. Thank you for the unique stay. Absolutely recommend spending time at the Bartlett National Bank!”
On Christmas morning, the childhood home of global music icon Beyoncé was ravaged by flames, prompting a swift response from the Houston Fire Department. The current occupants of the residence managed to escape unharmed, and no injuries have been reported, according to a statement from the fire department.
Located on Rosedale Street, the brick house has garnered recognition as a landmark, serving as a nostalgic connection to Beyoncé’s early years. When listed for sale in 2018, a realtor shared with “Good Morning America” that the Knowles family, including a young Beyoncé, resided in the home from 1982 until she was approximately 5 years old.
The fire emergency unfolded around 2 a.m. local time on Monday, prompting a rapid response from the Houston Fire Department. By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the second story of the residence was already engulfed in flames. Fortunately, the current residents had safely evacuated.
Firefighters worked diligently, and by 2:48 a.m., the fire was successfully extinguished. The cause of the blaze is now under investigation as authorities seek to determine the factors that led to the devastating incident. The community remains on edge as they await further details on the circumstances surrounding the fire at this iconic Houston property.
A somber incident unfolded in southwest Houston on Christmas Day, leaving three children orphaned after their parents were discovered dead in what authorities believe to be a murder-suicide.
The distressing event occurred within the confines of a residence on Grasila Drive, situated near the intersection of South Post Oak and Highway 90, a little after 10 p.m. on Monday. Houston police responded to the scene after a 14-year-old girl, one of the couple’s three daughters, bravely approached officers outside and disclosed the harrowing events that transpired within their home.
Upon entering the residence, law enforcement discovered the lifeless bodies of the parents in an upstairs bedroom. Preliminary investigations suggest that the 43-year-old husband fatally shot his 34-year-old wife multiple times before turning the firearm on himself.
The three sisters, aged 6, 9, and 14, miraculously emerged physically unscathed from the tragic incident. The Houston Police Department is now working diligently to determine the most appropriate course of action for the well-being and care of the surviving children.
“We do have family members on scene, who they’ll probably be released to for the evening until something more permanent is available,” remarked Lt. J.P. Horelica.
As investigators navigate the aftermath of the incident, they have reportedly recovered what is believed to be the murder weapon. The evidence processing is underway, with authorities asserting that, at present, there is no indication of any imminent threat to the public.
In the wake of this heartbreaking event, local authorities emphasize the availability of support for individuals facing domestic violence situations. Two hotlines, the Houston Area Women’s Center (713-528-2121) and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233), stand ready to assist those in need. The community is encouraged to reach out for help and support in such challenging circumstances.
The serene and calm weather that graced Christmas Day is expected to persist through the remaining days of the week, offering a pleasant atmosphere for the transition into the new year.
Today’s forecast includes the presence of high thin clouds, allowing ample sunshine to filter through and contributing to a gradual temperature rise into the upper 50s. This trend sets the tone for the upcoming week, promising a cooler and quieter weather pattern. Anticipate morning lows hovering in the upper 30s, while afternoon highs will comfortably settle in the mid-upper 50s for the majority of the week.
As for those with post-Christmas travel plans, the outlook remains favorable, especially for individuals staying within the borders of Texas. The calm weather conditions in Houston make for smooth travel experiences within the state. However, for those heading to the East Coast, it’s essential to be aware of potential disruptions. Showers and storms are forecasted for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, posing the possibility of travel delays. On the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest can expect lingering showers throughout the week. Fortunately, the rest of the country appears to be enjoying a relatively quiet and uneventful weather scenario. Travelers are advised to stay informed about local conditions and plan accordingly for a smooth and stress-free journey.
Stephens County officials in North Texas declared a state of disaster on Friday and took the drastic step of closing the crucial “Mile Long Bridge” over Hubbard Creek Lake after an emergency inspection uncovered alarming structural issues. The closure, effective immediately and until further notice, has significant implications for residents relying on the bridge, which serves as the primary link between the cities of Breckenridge and Albany, located on opposite sides of the lake.
The emergency measures were set in motion after a local fisherman observed a portion of the bridge collapsing on Thursday night and promptly reported the incident, according to Shelly Womack from KTAB-TV. In response, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office swiftly contacted the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to conduct a thorough inspection of the damage. Officials, posting on the Stephens County official Facebook page, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating that the structural issues were severe and rapidly deteriorating, rendering the roadway unsafe for public use. Consequently, the decision was made to close the bridge in the interest of public safety.
The closure, as reported by Womack, poses a significant challenge for approximately 15 percent of Stephens County’s residents, cutting off their most direct access to emergency services. Response times for these residents may now be extended to 45 minutes or more. To mitigate potential risks, emergency personnel have been strategically deployed west of the bridge to offer assistance if required.
Motorists accustomed to using the Mile Long Bridge for commuting between Breckenridge and Albany are urged to take alternative routes. A detour has been suggested, directing drivers to travel along US 183 to FMs 576 and 601. According to Google Maps, this alternative route adds about 10 miles to the usual journey. Another option involves taking a gravel path, turning from FM 576 to FMs 292, 290, and 294. Further updates and guidance are anticipated from TxDOT, Stephens County, and Breckenridge officials as they work to address the repercussions of the sudden bridge closure.
On Christmas Eve, a devastating fire wreaked havoc at an automobile auction facility in North Texas, consuming nearly 60 vehicles, according to officials. Denton County Emergency Services District shared images of the inferno and its aftermath on their Facebook page.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene around 1:32 a.m. after receiving reports of a grassfire in the 3700 Block of McPherson Road. Upon arrival, firefighters were met with a distressing sight as a “large column of smoke and flames” was visible from the nearby I-35 West.
The firefighting efforts were a collaborative endeavor, with Denton County ESD leading the charge and receiving assistance from the Fort Worth, Denton, Flower Mound, Justin, Roanoke fire departments, and Haslet Fire Rescue from Tarrant County ESD. All American Towing & Recovery played a crucial role by relocating vehicles to create a fire break, aiding in the containment of the blaze.
The intense operation resulted in the successful extinguishing of the fire, officially declared at 3:09 a.m. However, the toll was substantial, with 58 vehicles falling victim to the flames.
The Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office has taken charge of the ongoing investigation into the incident, working diligently to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage. The aftermath of this Christmas Eve blaze serves as a grim reminder of the challenges faced by emergency services during the holiday season.
