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.
DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) — Multiple workers in a new lawsuit are claiming the behavior of a Mexican energy company, PEMEX, whose Deer Park oil refinery had a gas leak last week, is “complete and reckless disregard.”
Now, some of those injured workers are filing lawsuits.
One lawsuit, filed by three injured workers, accuses the company of hurting not just workers but also the general public.
Their attorney said the workers are still out of work.
“Dizziness, headaches, vomiting, nausea, one of them still can’t get out of bed,” Mo Aziz, with Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, said. “What we do know is that there was an acute exposure. They were exposed to a high volume of gas in a very short time frame before they were evacuated.”
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic byproduct of the refining process.
“The permitting process requires that hazardous materials either be eliminated from the system or be confined,” Aziz said. “Here, we know that there was a loss of containment that went on for a prolonged period of time. The report that they have submitted with the EPA shows the release went on for more than 12 hours.”
“In Houston, almost every month, there’s a fire at a chemical plant, there’s a release, or there’s an explosion,” Aziz said. “Every time there’s an event, it’s due to lack of following procedure.”
Eyewitness News reached out to the refinery and the company that owns it but has yet to receive a response.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After more than a decade of back and forth, TxDOT will be breaking ground this week on its I-45 expansion project and holding two public meetings about the next phases. This comes as the massive $9 billion project continues to draw criticism for its plans to widen the freeway.
TxDOT spent more than 15 years studying, designing, and planning ways to reduce Houston’s worsening traffic and respond to the city’s population growth. It ultimately decided on the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), which would add lanes and widen I-45 from downtown north to Beltway 8.
The transportation agency said the project will not only alleviate congestion, but it will also replace aging infrastructure, enhance safety, and mitigate flooding. Construction is supposed to be completed sometime around 2042.
“We’re looking at ways to move the people and freight that comes through these areas. There’s a lot of activity going on and it’s about getting it around more efficiently,” TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez said. “We’re also correcting some of the older infrastructure and bringing those design standards up to date.”
However, the controversial project continues to face opposition from parts of the community, who have supported attempts over the last few years to halt the project without success. The project will displace people in more than a thousand homes, hundreds of businesses, and several places of worship that are mainly in communities of color.
Michael Moritz of the opposition group, Stop TxDOT I-45, believes the project would leave a detrimental impact on the neighborhoods in its pathway.
“I implore other Houstonians that are not directly impacted by this project to think about what it would feel like to lose your home, even if you got paid the taxable value for it,” Moritz said. “You may end up further from work, your kid’s school, or your friends and family.”
Opponents from Stop TxDOT I-45 said they are concerned that even for people who don’t lose their homes in nearby neighborhoods, they will be affected by poorer air quality, more noise, and light pollution.
State Sen. Molly Cook, who represents District 15 that overlaps with some parts of the project, believes there are better ways to deal with Houston’s traffic problem and wants to see more money go into public transportation.
“Right now, TxDOT is constitutionally mandated to spend over 90% of all pertinent revenue on roadway projects, and we need to untie those engineer’s hands so they can get creative, keep us safe, and invest in multi-modal transportation such as trains, buses, BRT, and facilities that are accessible to folks with disabilities,” Cook said.
TxDOT will hold two public meetings this week about Segment 1 and Segment 2 of the NHHIP, which cover portions that run from I-610 to Beltway 8 and I-10. They are not scheduled for construction until after 2030.
The in-person meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Moody Community Center. The virtual meeting will take place Thursday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m., with a real-time-question-and-answer session.
The groundbreaking for Segment 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 2 p.m., at Pitch 25 in downtown Houston. Construction for Segment 3B-1’s drainage and infrastructure will begin next month, and Segment 3B-2’s mainlane construction will commence in January 2026.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Our very anticipated cold front is still in the forecast for Wednesday morning but summer temps won’t be leaving quietly! We are expecting another record breaking day on Tuesday with highs climbing into the upper 90s!
The front should move in early Wednesday morning bringing much more seasonable temperatures to SE Texas. Morning lows Wednesday will start in the upper 50s or low 60s with afternoon highs in the mid-upper 70s.
When are we going to break this streak of 90 degree high temperatures?
Temperatures will climb into the mid-to-upper 90s again Tuesday, likely breaking another record high temperature. Then we get a rush of cooler air dropping in here Wednesday morning, which will bring high temperatures down into the upper 70s through Thursday! The last time Houston recorded a high in the 70s was on a rainy day in late July.
How cold will it get behind this front, and how long does it stick around?
Highs will only reach into the mid-to-upper 70s both Wednesday and Thursday, and it will dip as cold as the mid-to-upper 40s on Thursday morning. That’s 50 degrees colder than Monday’s high of 99! The cooler air fades away on Friday as the Gulf breeze returns, but we do not have temperatures returning to 90 for the rest of our 10 day forecast.
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 on Friday and through the weekend.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
A new area in the western Caribbean is one to watch for over the next 7 days. The region near Cancun has a low chance of developing at this moment and should stay far away from the Texas Coast. There’s another area of potential development in the open Atlantic with 60% development odds as it approaches the Bahamas. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for a complete look at what we’re covering in the tropics.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Southeast Texas is going from sweltering weather to sweater weather this week thanks to s strong cold front that will swing through midweek.
Temperatures Monday will rise up into the upper 90s in the afternoon under full sunshine. The record high temperature for October 14th is 92 degrees, and we are predicting the high to get all the way up to 97! If that verifies, it will also be a new record for that latest 97 degree has been observed in the calendar year. The current record is October 2nd, 1938.
An actual Fall front is expected though as we head into Wednesday morning bringing back cooler temps to SE Texas.
When are we going to break this streak of 90 degree high temperatures?
Temperatures will climb into the mid 90s again Tuesday, likely breaking another record high temperature. Then we get a rush of cooler air dropping in here Wednesday morning, which will bring high temperatures down into the upper 70s through Thursday! The last time Houston recorded a high in the 70s was on a rainy day in late July.
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 on Friday and Saturday.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
A new area in the western Caribbean is one to watch for over the next 7 days. The region near Cancun has a low chance of developing at this moment and poses an even lower threat to the Texas Coast. There’s an area of potential development in the open Atlantic with 60% development odds as it approaches the Bahamas. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for a complete look at what we’re covering in the tropics.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recalled almost 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products due to possible listeria contamination, some of which were on H-E-B shelves.
The video above is from ABC13’s 24/7 livestream.
The recall concerns 75 ready-to-eat meals made between June 19 and Oct. 8 by BrucePac, a company that produces meat for restaurants, food service vendors, and big stores like Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi.
The list includes three frozen H-E-B meals: The Texas Ranch Style Chicken, Texas Ranch Chicken Casserole, and Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole.
The recalled products have the numbers “51205 or P-51205” on the packaging. BrucePac said any affected products should be thrown out.
The USDA said there have been no confirmed reports of negative reactions after eating any of the products. However, eating food contaminated with listeria can lead to symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, gastrointestinal issues, and more. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs, center, is flanked by his defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, and Teny Garagos, in Manhattan Federal Court, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
NEW YORK — A new wave of lawsuits filed Monday accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy.
At least six lawsuits were filed against the hip-hop mogul in federal court in Manhattan. They were filed anonymously, two by women identified as Jane Does and four by men identified as John Does.
The accusers are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs in the wake of his sex trafficking arrest last month.
One of the John Does, a man living in North Carolina, alleges that Combs fondled his genitals when he was 16 at one of the rapper’s famous white parties in Long Island’s Hamptons in 1998.
The man alleges that during a conversation about possibly breaking into the music industry, Combs abruptly ordered the then-teen to drop his pants.
According to the man’s lawsuit, Combs explained to him that it was a rite of passage to becoming a music star, at one point asking him: “Don’t you want to break into the business?”
The man said he complied out of fear, anxiety and power imbalance he felt with Combs, only realizing later that what had happened was sexual assault.
Until Monday’s lawsuit, Combs had only been accused in civil cases and his criminal indictment of sexual activity with adults.
Combs’ lawyers and other representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. When the planned lawsuits were announced Oct. 1, a lawyer said Combs “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.”
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Combs’ lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Bad Boy Records founder freed on bail. He has been held at a Brooklyn federal jail since his Sept. 16 arrest.
Two judges have concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if he is released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has been plagued by violence and dysfunction for years. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a proposed $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding Combs might tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.
On Friday, an appeals court judge denied Combs’ immediate release from jail while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.
Other lawsuits filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan include allegations of rape, forced oral sex and drugging to incapacitate victims.
One of the Jane Does suing Combs alleges he raped her in a locked hotel room in 2004 after he invited her and a friend there for a party, gave them drinks and told them to snort cocaine.
The woman, then a college freshman, alleges Combs also forced her friend to perform oral sex on him and said he would have them both killed if they didn’t comply with his demands.
The other Jane Doe alleges Combs violently attacked and raped her in a bathroom in 2005 at a party for the late rapper Biggie Smalls’ music video, “One More Chance.”
According to the woman, Combs brought her into the bathroom to talk privately and then started kissing her unexpectedly. When she tried to pull away, she alleges, he slammed her head against the wall, causing her to fall to the floor. The woman said she tried to escape, but Combs hit her again and raped her.
Afterward, according to the woman, Combs nonchalantly adjusted his clothing and told her: “You better not tell anyone about this, or you will disappear.”
In another John Doe lawsuit, a man working as a security guard at Combs’ Hamptons white party in 2006 alleges the star gave him an alcoholic beverage he came to believe was laced with a drug that made him feel extremely ill. The man alleges Combs then pushed him into a van, held him down and sexually assaulted him.
In the other lawsuits filed Monday, Combs is accused of forcing a man to perform oral sex on him in the stockroom of Macy’s flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square in 2008 and sexually assaulting a man at a party in October 2021. The latter man, who suspects a drugged beverage left him unable to fight back, recalls multiple men assaulting him and distinctly recalls seeing Combs above him, naked, at one point during the assault, his lawsuit said.
Approximately 17,579 whooping cough cases, with the highest number in the Middle Atlantic states, have been reported as of the week ending on Oct. 5, the most recent data available. This time last year, there were only about about 3,962 cases, an increase of over fivefold since October 2023.
Here’s what parents should know about this common disease amid the latest outbreak.
What is whooping cough?
“This is a very contagious, bacterial respiratory infection,” explained ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton on “Good Morning America” Monday.
Whooping cough spreads through coughing or sneezing and impacts the body’s cilia, causing swelling in the airway.
The CDC also notes that babies under 1 year of age and anyone with a compromised immune system or moderate to severe medically treated asthma have the highest risk of developing whooping cough and severe complications from the infection.
What are the symptoms of whooping cough?
“It can often start as symptoms of a cold – low grade fever, runny nose, a mild cough for maybe one to two weeks,” Sutton said. “Then, that progresses into the second stage, and that’s the most concerning. That includes these violent coughing attacks that often leave people gasping for air, which is where the whooping cough comes from.”
In babies under 1, the symptoms may vary. “It might not come with any coughing at all,” Sutton added. “It might come with periods of apnea or when they stop breathing, which is why it’s so important to pay attention.”
What is the treatment for whooping cough?
Whooping cough is often treated with antibiotics and is best treated early.
“To give you a picture of what it looks like when a patient comes into the emergency room, we often start with gathering the history, whether or not you’re updated on your vaccines. Do you have a risk of exposure?” Sutton explained. “Also, certain blood tests and imaging can help confirm if you have other types of respiratory infections and then it’s confirmed with a swab and that helps us to confirm the diagnosis.”
How can you prevent whooping cough?
The most effective way to prevent whooping cough is through vaccination, according to the CDC. The agency recommends everyone from young kids to adults get vaccinated.
“This is a part of the routine vaccinations for children and this is about five vaccines between the ages of two months, kindergarten and, once again, around fifth or sixth grade,” Sutton said of the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis) vaccination series.
“For adults, we should get updated every 10 years,” Sutton added about adult Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) vaccinations. “And then most important for pregnant women, they encourage that you get this vaccine at the end of your pregnancy, during the third trimester, and the goal of this is to help protect again, the most vulnerable.”
Universities across the country have transformed at the command of anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) legislation. At the University of Texas-Austin, the legislation led to resource cancellations, office closures, and staff firings — pushing some students to create alternatives to their school’s defunct diversity programs.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 17 into law in 2023, barring public institutions of higher education from having diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, as well as programs, activities, and training conducted by those offices. The law also restricts training or hiring policies based on race, gender identity or sexual orientation.
His office told ABC News in a recent statement that the legislation was intended to ensure people “advance based on talent and merit at public colleges and universities in Texas.”
Abbott’s office criticized universities for using DEI offices to “advance political agendas and exclude conservative viewpoints on college campuses. These efforts adversely affect our students, limit exposure to diverse thought, and destroy our education system,” read the statement from Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris.
ABC News spoke to UT Austin students and a terminated faculty member about the compounding impact the loss of diversity programs has had on campus.
The Monarch Program
The long list of potential college life logistics – like how to pay for school, open an independent bank account or get a job – is even longer for undocumented students and those with temporary status.
These students are not eligible for federal student aid, federal work-study, are limited in their access to grants and scholarships and, in some cases, cannot accept paying jobs while in school.
With limited guidance and limited options, Arely, a student at UT Austin who asked to be referenced by only her first name out of privacy concerns, said her status created many unknowns and uncertainties for her future when applying to colleges. As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, Arely told ABC News she worked hard to be at the top of her high school class so she could get into a good school.
DACA is a U.S. government policy allowing some undocumented immigrants to temporarily remain in the United States and work. Recipients must have entered the United States illegally before their 16th birthday and be younger than 31 years old on June 15, 2012, according to the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services website.
“It was always kind of told to me, like, your education is going to be the only way you’re going to be able to kind of push forward and build something out for yourself – it’s through your education,” said Arely.
At UT Austin, students like Arely had a place to turn to for answers. Monarch, an on-campus student program for undocumented and temporary status students, hosted workshops on those logistical concerns, mental health resources at little to no cost, career fairs specifically geared toward undocumented students, panel discussions with undocumented grads, and a donor-based scholarship.
“Those are the things that I would help students navigate,” said Alicia Moreno, the former Monarch Student Program Coordinator. “Like working with campus partners to create resources and help students understand what their options were because many students that I heard – before they ran into Monarch – they believed their options were really slim.”
Monarch was a way for the university to ensure students could succeed despite the barriers they face due to their status, Moreno said.
“A lot of my college experience would have definitely been way more different had Monarch not been there,” said Arely. “I can’t imagine in what situation I would have been had I not had that support system.”
Arely, who worked at the center, said the Monarch team would also get requests from faculty and staff asking to hold trainings regarding undocumented students’ challenges.
“A lot of these students had gone their whole college career having access to these resources, and now they were suddenly taken away and ripped out of their hands,” said Arely. “Especially for, like, incoming freshmen who had maybe specifically applied to UT Austin because of this program, and now they’re going to get to the UT campus and they’re going to realize that program that was supposed to support them and acknowledge them is no longer there.”
Moreno was one of about 60 people whose positions were terminated following the closure of DEI offices and related initiatives, according to a joint letter from the Texas NAACP & Texas Conference of American Association of University Professors.
The university initially stated that some programs would be shifted to other divisions or renamed to complement ongoing operations. Monarch, according to students and former staff, was also initially not targeted by SB 17 since it does not specifically refer to any race or ethnicity.
However, university officials later stated that the law changed the scope of some programs, making them broader and creating overlap between existing programs.
The terminations came shortly after state Sen. Brandon Creighton, who introduced the legislation, warned universities against simply renaming their DEI programs, threatening to freeze funding.
“I was getting ready to prepare for the next year. My office was just painted. I had just gotten that Exemplary Service Award, and then – boom! – we were all terminated,” Moreno said.
Students say they have been left to pick up the pieces without the dedicated resources to support them. Victoria Uriostegui-Garcia, a member of a student-run group called Rooted, said her organization has become a substitute for the services once provided by Monarch. It is one of several student-run organizations to take on the responsibilities of the now-shuttered offices.
“It falls on students again to provide their own resources, which is a very heavy burden,” said Uriostegui-Garcia. “We’re going to try our best.”
Students lead the charge
Among the centers and programs shut down by UT Austin were Multicultural Engagement Center, the Gender and Sexuality Center, and the Fearless Leadership Institute – a professional development program for African American & Hispanic women.
However, UT Austin is not the only school facing these restrictions. Schools across the state — and across the country — have seen similar mass closures and firings following the implementation of anti-DEI legislation.
At least nine states have legislation restricting DEI: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, lowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Supporters of anti-DEI legislation, like Creighton, have applauded the changes made by SB 17. Creighton argued that it returned the university to “a merit-based operational framework, ensuring that every student, faculty, and staff member is afforded equal opportunities and not silenced by DEI-oriented policies,” he said in a March 2024 statement.
UT Austin states that it remains vigilant in ongoing efforts to ensure the university’s compliance with the state law, defining DEI offices as any office that implements programs or training with reference to race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, “influences hiring or employment practices” with respect to those identities or promotes “differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals” on the basis of identity.
“I recognize that strong feelings have surrounded SB 17 from the beginning and will shape many Longhorns’ perceptions of these measures,” said university president Jay Hartzell. “It is important that we respect the perspectives and experiences of our fellow Longhorns as the changes we are announcing today take effect. It is also important that this continues to be a welcoming, supportive community for all.”
UT Austin did not respond to ABC News’ requests for further comment.
Alex and Sophia, members of Texas Students for DEI who asked to be referenced by only their first names out of privacy concerns, say the services were targeted toward specific groups who have historically faced discrimination or barriers to success but were open to all students.
Alex noted, for example, that a closet of free clothes located in the gender center was open to all: “If it meant that you got kicked out of the home, or if it meant that you needed clothes for a job — hey, there’s clothes available, no questions asked.”
Alex and Sophia say many students they have spoken to did not know about SB 17 until it passed and they started seeing their centers close on campus.
Student organizations have stepped up to the plate, hoping to foster community in a time when university-backed resources have shrunk. They say schools across the state have “over-complied” with the law, leading to a chilling effect on classroom curriculum and discussion concerning race, gender, and sexual orientation.
“Even now, if you read some of the syllabi for some classes, they’ll have a disclaimer at the end saying no material in this class is pertaining to SB 17 or falls under the guidelines of SB 17,” said Sophia, despite the UT Austin website stating explicitly that academic instruction and research is not to be impacted by the law. “They’re expecting to be censored. They’re expecting the state to want to do things against them, and so they’re, they feel less comfortable talking about these topics openly, which ultimately affects our education.”
She continued, “We are a university, we’re a place of learning, and learning requires people to be open about information in a way that isn’t censored, and when a state tries to censor that, they ultimately harm themselves.”
With SB 17 passed, students are worried the state will continue to embrace other anti-DEI initiatives. They hope to safeguard from further efforts by educating the college community about what DEI is and what it means.
“It isn’t just one university. It’s all of us. And silence isn’t really the way out,” said Alex.
