HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — More information was revealed in court overnight about two of the five suspects involved in an alleged scheme related to teacher certification tests.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said the million-dollar scheme placed 200 unqualified teachers in classrooms over the course of four years — including two child predators.
In court overnight, a judge set bond at $200,000 for two of the suspects.
Authorities announced charges in an alleged cheating scandal that led to illegally certified teachers working in Houston-area school districts.
The DA’s office said the scheme involved people paying money to have someone else take their certification test for them.
The following people are accused of being part of the operation:
Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, is accused of organizing the cheating scheme.
Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, was a test proctor, which officials said allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected.
Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, allegedly participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker.
Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX, is accused of taking bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.
LaShonda Roberts, 39, an assistant principal at Yates High School in HISD, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme.
The alleged ring leader, Grayson, is one of three Houston ISD employees facing charges. He has not yet appeared in front of a judge.
However, probable cause was found in the case against the two other suspects who worked for the district.
Former HISD assistant principals Newton and Roberts are both facing two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. Their respective bonds were set at $200,000.
Newton is accused of taking the certification tests. Roberts, whose charges were read even though she did not appear in front of the judge, is accused of recruiting participants.
“The allegation being that Ms. Roberts was involved in a scheme, whereby she was responsible for recruiting people that were going to be taking their teaching certificate exams, to pay her a sum of money to get access to a scheme whereby these people were essentially having proxies take their certification exams on their behalf,” prosecutors read in court.
HISD said the three employees involved are no longer with the district but will be paid until the legal process plays out.
Customers who allegedly withdrew money fraudulently from Chase Bank ATMs using an illegal scheme that blew up on TikTok over the summer could soon have to cut hefty checks back to the bank.
These people were able to withdraw funds by writing checks to themselves and immediately withdrawing funds before the checks bounced. Normally, the bank follows the industry standard of making a portion of any check available to customers before the funds clear. However, a temporary glitch allowed customers to withdraw more substantial amounts than typically allowed before a check clears.
Now the bank is suing four customers who allegedly owe the bank nearly $662,000, according to four lawsuits JPMorgan Chase Bank, Chase’s parent company, filed Monday in three federal courts.
One case in Houston involves a “masked man” who allegedly deposited a $335,000 check to a defendant’s account. Chase says the defendant owes it $291,000 – the most across all four of the cases – the bank said Monday in a Texas filing.
In all four cases, Chase said it reached out to the defendants demanding they “pay the amount of any overdraft along with any fees that apply.” However, the defendants have so far failed to do so, which the bank claims is a violation of the deposit agreement customers have to sign when they open an account.
Now, in addition to returning the funds they allegedly accessed illegally, Chase is demanding the defendants cover the bank’s legal fees and other expenses related to the cases.
JPMorgan also filed lawsuits in Florida and California federal courts.
“Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” Drew Pusateri, a Chase spokesperson, said in an emailed statement to CNN. “We’re pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to make sure if someone is committing fraud against Chase and its customers, they’re held accountable.”
Pusateri added that the bank is “open to pursuing other individuals or entities we believe engaged in bank fraud.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A surge of moisture is on the way to Houston, and this will bring us our best rain chances in over 5 weeks! In fact, the last time we had measurable rain at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport was on September 24th.
Get ready for a very mild morning with temperatures Tuesday starting off in the low 70s, well above the average low of 56 degrees. Why will it be so warm? That’s because a strong Gulf breeze will blow in bringing back low clouds and plenty of Gulf moisture along with them. Despite the warm start to the day, temperatures will only warm about 15 degrees to make it back into the upper 80s. Isolated heavy rain showers are possible as the Gulf moisture increases throughout the day, but the rain chance will climb even more for Wednesday and Thursday.
How how do rain chances go this week, and how much rain could we get?
Rain chances look to peak at 70% on Halloween, with a secondary peak of 60% odds on Saturday. We recommend carrying an umbrella around as soon as Wednesday with the chance of heavy showers climbing to 40%. As for how much rain could fall, we expect totals of 1-2″ to be fairly common through the weekend.
What kind of weather can we expect for trick or a treat time on Halloween?
It will almost certainly be a humid Trick-or-Treat time this Halloween, but there is a fair chance the rain will occur earlier in the day and come to an end for most by Trick-or-Treat time. We still need another day to nail down the timing of the rain, but at a minimum prepare for the ground to be wet even if the sky is dry at that time. Temperatures will likely be rain-cooled in the 70s.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
There is now a region in the southwestern Caribbean that has 40% development odds over the next 7 days. While we’ll be keeping a close eye on this region for any storms, the general pattern over Texas and the Gulf should steer any potential storms away from us over the next two weeks. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for a complete look at what we’re covering in the tropics.
HOUSTON – As a nationwide shortage of firefighters continues, the Houston Fire Department (HFD) is taking action to fill gaps in its ranks. Chief Thomas Munoz has highlighted HFD’s robust recruitment efforts, which include outreach to colleges and partnerships with high schools, to attract new talent.
“Recruiting has become very aggressive,” Munoz explained, describing the department’s efforts to engage individuals who feel a calling to serve.
HFD, which handles an average of 1,200 emergency calls daily—85% of which are EMS-related and 15% fire-related—is looking to onboard dedicated individuals ready to respond to emergencies where every second counts.
Among the new recruits is Morgan Holman, a 31-year-old cadet who will graduate from the academy in April 2025. Driven by her sense of purpose, Holman expressed her goal of not only becoming a firefighter but also serving as an instructor in a predominantly male field. Currently, women make up only 2% of HFD’s membership, below the national average of 3.5%.
Another cadet, Hunter Reed, represents a legacy within HFD. As a third-generation firefighter, Reed follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who contributed significantly to the department’s history.
Recruitment is a top priority for HFD, with the department facing a shortfall of approximately 600 firefighters. Initiatives include rehiring firefighters who left in recent years, a step Assistant Chief of Professional Development Mike Brown says has already drawn interest. Brown added that staffing and a paramedic shortage are among HFD’s biggest challenges.
With over a thousand HFD members eligible to retire, the department aims to expand its workforce to around 4,500. HFD, currently the third largest fire department in the United States, continues to update facilities and equipment, recently putting several new apparatuses in service and remodeling two stations.
For those interested in joining HFD, opportunities for advancement are available, with up to six academy classes held each year.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities in Houston announced charges against five people allegedly involved in a million-dollar teacher certification cheating scandal on Monday.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and prosecutors spoke during a 2 p.m. press conference detailing the alleged cheating scandal that they say led to illegally certified teachers working in area school districts.
The DA’s office provided the following names of the people believed to have been part of the operation:
Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, is accused of organizing the cheating scheme.
Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, was a test proctor, which official said allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected.
Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, allegedly participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker.
Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX, is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.
LaShonda Roberts, 39, an assistant principal at Yates High School in HISD, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme.
According to officials, they all face two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity.
Investigators said they suspect as many as 400 tests were taken, and at least 200 teachers were falsely certified.
“This scheme goes back as far as our investigation can take it – to May 2020,” Ogg said during Monday’s press conference. “We know that the co-defendants collectively profited in the amount of at least $1 million.”
Ogg said among the several hundred people who were illegally certified, two of them were child sexual predators, adding that it was through this false certification that allowed them to commit the crimes.
“It’s very troubling,” Mike Levine, a felony chief in the DA Office’s Public Corruption Division, said. “Because teachers – especially teachers and coaches who help influence children’s behavior – we count on them for their moral compass. A part of what they do goes beyond their mastery of their subject matter.”
The DA’s office urges anyone with information about these certifications to contact local police or Crime Stoppers.
The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark as a pocket by late afternoon for the next few months in the U.S.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time next Sunday, Nov. 3, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.
That spring time change can be tougher on your body. Darker mornings and lighter evenings can knock your internal body clock out of whack, making it harder to fall asleep on time for weeks or longer. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.
“Fall back” should be easier. But it still may take a while to adjust your sleep habits, not to mention the downsides of leaving work in the dark or trying exercise while there’s still enough light. Some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter, may struggle, too.
Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun – and human biology.
Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do – mostly in Europe and North America – the date that clocks are changed varies.
Two states – Arizona and Hawaii – don’t change and stay on standard time.
Here’s what to know about the twice yearly ritual.
How the body reacts to light
The brain has a master clock that is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines when we become sleepy and when we’re more alert. The patterns change with age, one reason that early-to-rise youngsters evolve into hard-to-wake teens.
Morning light resets the rhythm. By evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to surge, triggering drowsiness. Too much light in the evening – that extra hour from daylight saving time – delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
And that circadian clock affects more than sleep, also influencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.
How do time changes affect sleep?
Even an hour change on the clock can throw off sleep schedules – because even though the clocks change, work and school start times stay the same.
That’s a problem because so many people are already sleep deprived. About 1 in 3 U.S. adults sleep less than the recommended seven-plus hours nightly, and more than half of U.S. teens don’t get the recommended eight-plus hours on weeknights.
Sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems.
How to prepare for the time change
Some people try to prepare for a time change jolt by changing their bed times little by little in the days before the change. There are ways to ease the adjustment, including getting more sunshine to help reset your circadian rhythm for healthful sleep.
Will the U.S. ever get rid of the time change?
Lawmakers occasionally propose getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act, proposes making daylight saving time permanent. Health experts say the lawmakers have it backward – standard time should be made permanent.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A woman says the sword-wielding man accused of setting fire to her West Harris County home remained defiant when confronted.
Jackie Gray said her cameras detected motion around 4 p.m. Wednesday, prompting her to go outside to investigate.
Surveillance footage shows Gray’s neighbor, Phi Le Nguyen, walking up to her house with a gasoline can.
Gray said she found the can smoking, propped up against the side of her house.
“I just saw you and I got cameras,” Gray is heard telling the suspect.
“Yeah? What you gonna do?” he retorts.
Before going to Gray’s home, video shows Nguyen walking to a neighbor’s house with a gasoline can.
That house was also set on fire.
Both Gray and her neighbor managed to put the fires out, but surveillance footage shows Nguyen returning to Gray’s house and pouring gasoline on her driveway in a possible attempt to start a second fire.
“He actually started pouring it up underneath my truck. Then, that’s when he started pouring it all in front of the driveway and everything else,” Gray said.
When he’s done, he can be seen standing at the foot of Gray’s driveway. At one point, he swung his sword, which Gray said she almost fell victim to.
“He was coming with the sword kind of up in his hand, kind of like he was coming to charge at me,” she said.
When Harris County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they reported being treated to the same hospitality.
Nguyen was charged with aggravated assault for threatening both Gray and a deputy.
“He goes into his garage still kind of swinging at the police officers, and that’s when they end up tasing him down,” Gray said.
Nguyen’s bond has upped to $200,000 since Friday. He’s due in court Monday morning.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — This well above normal stretch of warm weather will take us all the way through the end of the month, but there is hope for some rain before October is over.
It’ll be a warm and muggy Monday for SE Texas. Temperatures will climb to near 90 degrees once again. There is also the chance for an isolated shower southwest counties near Matagorda Bay during the afternoon and evening. By Tuesday the chance for a hit or miss shower spread to the rest of Southeast Texas.
When will rain chances return?
Rain chances gradually climb this week and humidity levels increase with stronger onshore flow expected to roll in from the Gulf. There’s a 10% chance for a spot shower Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday the combination of deep tropical moisture from over the Gulf plus an approaching front could lead to a few more showers developing throughout the day Wednesday. The best chance though for rain this week is on Halloween with scattered showers and even storms possible Thursday evening.
Speaking of Halloween, will the weather be a trick or a treat?
That depends on your perspective! We desperately need some rain, and rain chances are back on the final day of October. It will almost certainly be a warm, humid Halloween with a 60% chance for showers and thunderstorms. Low temperatures will start off in the low 70s, then warm into the mid 80s during the afternoon. It is too early to say with any certainty if there will be rain around at Trick-or-Treat time, so stay tuned as we gain more clarity on the timing of the rain.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
There is now a region in the southwestern Caribbean that has 40% development odds over the next 7 days. While we’ll be keeping a close eye on this region for any storms, the general pattern over Texas and the Gulf should steer any potential storms away from us over the next two weeks. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for a complete look at what we’re covering in the tropics.
Vice President Kamala Harris has regained a slight lead among likely voters nationally in the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll, albeit with the race close enough to leave the outcome of the 2024 presidential election to the uncertainties of the Electoral College.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APhttps://amp.cntxcdm.com/amp-embed/index.html?playerId=ps_94a77ea9-06c2-4b60-a975-daa5b45dbe79&url=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Famp%2FPolitics%2Fharris-regains-slight-lead-nationally-electoral-college-holds%2Fstory%3Fid%3D115083875&isSafariOrIos=true
Turnout is key. Just 2 percentage points divide Harris and Donald Trump among all registered voters, 49-47%. This goes to a slight Harris advantage among likely voters, 51-47%, with some pro-Harris groups showing a bit more propensity to vote.
Vote Preferences. Among likely votersABC News/Ipsos and ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos polls
Compared with earlier this month, Harris has regained a more customary Democratic advantage among Hispanic people and widened her advantage among suburban women, while remaining strong in core groups including Black people. Trump pushes back in rural areas and among non-college white men, and runs competitively among younger men.
See PDF for full results.https://bf264d69baeabb51fb611821e1f58d72.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html?n=0
Issues
The candidates divide the pie in trust to handle top issues. Trump’s best include immigration, with a 12-point advantage over Harris among registered voters; the economy overall, +8 points; inflation, +7; and the conflict in the Middle East, also +7. Harris responds with double-digit leads in trust to handle abortion (+15) and health care (+10); she’s also 8 points ahead in trust to handle “protecting American democracy” and +6 on helping the middle class.
The economy and inflation continue as prominent concerns, with 90% and 85% of registered voters, respectively, calling these highly important in their vote. But this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, with fieldwork by Ipsos, finds a shift in intensity: The shares assigning topmost importance to the economy or inflation, calling them “one of the single most important issues” in their vote, have declined by 7 points apiece since September.
Issue Importance and Trust. Among registered votersABC NEWS/IPSOS POLL
Any shift from economic concerns likely would aid Harris, given her shortfall in trust to handle the issue and dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s economic performance. President Joe Biden labors with just a 36% job approval rating; differentiating herself from him has been a challenge for Harris. She has 95% support among registered voters who approve of Biden’s job performance, compared with 16% among the majority who disapprove.
Notably, as well, protecting democracy ranks nearly as high as inflation in importance, cited by 81%. That’s well above the importance of immigration, which Trump has been hitting hard, and abortion, a central focus for Harris. But these reflect partisan realities: Democrats are far more apt than others to pick abortion as a top issue; Republicans, to select immigration.
Issue Importance by Partisanship. Among registered votersABC NEWS/IPSOS POLL
Attributes
While they battle on issues, Harris continues to lead Trump on most personal attributes. Assessed head-to-head, Harris leads Trump by 11 points, 49-38%, in being seen as having the mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president — a measure on which Trump had led Biden by 31 points.
Harris’ advantage widens to 29 points on having the physical health to serve effectively; she’s also more apt than Trump to be seen as honest and trustworthy, by 15 points; to understand the problems of people like you, by 10 points; and to share your personal values, by 8 points.
That said, there is a remaining personal attribute on which Trump runs essentially evenly with Harris, one that may matter in an unstable world: being trusted in a crisis. Forty-three percent pick Harris on this, 41%, Trump.
Preference on Personal Attributes. Among registered votersABC NEWS/IPSOS POLL
These aren’t the only differences in views of the candidates’ attributes. As reported Friday, registered voters are twice as likely to call Trump a fascist as to say this about Harris, and 16 points more likely to think he often says things that are not true. But they’re also 5 points more likely to think Harris rather than Trump makes proposals just to win votes, not that she intends to carry out.
Voter groups
Eight percent of adults (and 10% of registered voters) say they’ve already voted (as of early last week); a disproportionately Democratic group, they went 62-33% for Harris.
This poll finds a notable shift in vote preferences among Hispanic people, 12% of likely voters and a potentially important group given the close contest, especially in the battleground states of Arizona and Nevada. Biden won Hispanic people by 33 points in 2020, per the ABC News exit poll, and Harris leads in this group by a similar 30 points now, 64-34% — compared with 55-43% in early October.
Vote by GroupABC News/Ipsos and 2020 ABC News exit polls
Trump has some offsets to Harris’ gain among Hispanic people. He now is +41 points among white men without college degrees, essentially matching his showing in this group in the 2020 ABC News exit poll, and also +41 points among rural voters.
Additionally, men younger than 40 were +6 points for Harris early this month; now they’re +5 for Trump. This change is not statistically significant, nor is the difference between the candidates, given sample sizes. Nonetheless, the result stands in striking contrast to preferences among women younger than 40, who favor Harris by a 34-point margin.
Trump is a slight +6 among men overall, Harris +14 among women – almost exactly the average gender gap in presidential elections since 1996. This includes a 19-point lead for Harris among suburban women, vs. a slight 10-point margin for her in this group earlier in October.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Turning Point Action campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The longstanding gender gap in presidential preference reflects the fact that women are more apt than men to be Democrats — by 13 points among likely voters in this poll. This also appears in issue importance, with women more apt than men, by double digits, to pick both abortion and health care as top issues in their vote choice.
Many of these results among groups are similar to those in the 2020 exit poll. In one difference, Harris outperforms Biden four years ago among college-educated white women. She’s also strong among college graduates overall.
Another difference, though, is an important one for Trump: He’s essentially even with Harris among independents, a group Biden won by 13 points in 2020, vs. a scant Harris +1 now. The candidate who’s won independents has won nine of the last 12 presidential elections.
Turnout
Overall vote preferences are essentially even among the general population (Harris +1) and registered voters (Harris +2) alike. As noted, this inches to a slight Harris +4 among likely voters.
The shift toward Harris among likely voters relies in part on consolidated support among Democratic base groups, notably Black people and liberals. While Harris has a 70-point advantage among all Black people, that widens to 83 points among Black likely voters, 90-7%. Ninety-six percent of liberal likely voters support Harris, vs. 91% of liberals overall. Additionally, she goes from 53% support among all suburban women to 59% among those likely to vote. Trump, by contrast, doesn’t see significant bumps in support among likely voters.
Supporters hold up signs as Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during her campaign rally along with former U.S. President Barack Obama in Atlanta, Oct. 24, 2024. Megan Varner/Reuters
Identifying likely voters entails estimation, and it can be a moving target as the campaigns work overtime to motivate turnout for their candidate and demotivate it for their opponent.
In one potential indicator of turnout, the candidates are close in voter enthusiasm — 88% of Harris supporters are enthusiastic about her, as are 85% of Trump’s about him. In another, Harris maintains a slight edge in voter contact, with Americans overall 5 points more apt to have been contacted by her campaign than by Trump’s. In the seven battleground states, though, it’s a non-significant 4 points — and the 50-47% race there remains the equivalent of a dead heat.
Methodology
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® Oct. 18-22, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,808 adults, including 2,392 registered voters and 1,913 likely voters. Partisan divisions among all adults are 29-29-30%, Democrats-Republicans-independents; 32-32-29% among registered voters; and 35-35-27% among likely voters.
Results have a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points, including the design effect, for the full sample and for registered voters, 2.5 points for likely voters and 5.5 points for likely voters in the battleground states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, with sampling and data collection by Ipsos. See details on ABC News survey methodology here.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Hobby Airport announced flight delays after an Alert II was signaled after an aircraft experienced “hot brakes” on the runway on Saturday evening.
The video above is from ABC13’s 24/7 livestream.
According to the airport, ARFF and airport ops have responded to the alert to tow the aircraft off the runway.
Airport officials said the incident has resulted in flight diversions to nearby cities like Austin and flight delays.
Flights diverted will be arriving later in the night, airport officials said.
At 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, the airport reported an average departure delay of 1 hour and 24 minutes, and it is expected to continue increasing.
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