HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — FBI Houston announced Wednesday morning that several people were in custody at an NRG facility as part of a federal investigation.
The agency said it’s leading the operation targeting numerous alleged criminals throughout Houston and Harris County.
Authorities did not tell ABC13 what the operation was about but confirmed those arrested and taken to NRG were from that investigation.
FBI agents partnered with Houston police officers, Harris County sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Marshals Service deputies, and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to conduct the arrests at multiple locations. FBI tactical teams from New Orleans and San Antonio also assisted.
Officials said there is no threat to public safety, adding that more information will be released soon.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party’s likely new nominee for president, will be in Houston on Thursday.
Harris will be in Houston to speak at the American Federation of Teachers national convention, according to a White House statement. Delegates for the teachers’ union voted Monday to endorse Harris’ bid to succeed President Joe Biden and become the first woman, first Asian American, and second African American to serve as president of the United States.
Harris last visited Houston in November for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and was in other Texas cities earlier this month.
President Joe Biden announced Sunday he was ending his reelection bid after a poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump, the 78-year-old Republican nominee, and mounting pressure from fellow Democrats. The 81-year-old Biden immediately endorsed 59-year-old Harris to be his successor, who’s quickly rallied support across the country and from local officials like Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and more.
Texas delegates to the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for next month in Chicago, voted Monday night to support Harris. In addition, Harris has secured enough support from party delegates to become its presidential nominee, according to a survey by the Associated Press.
However, delegates may still vote for another Democratic candidate during next month’s convention, according to AP.
Brittany Guidry’s uncle Ronald Love, speaks at a press conference on July 23 joined by Brittany’s family to ask for public’s help in identifying Guidry’s killer. Photo by Indira Zaldivar / Que Onda Magazine.
By Indira Zaldivar & Edward Saenz
Crime Stoppers and HPD need the public’s help in identifying the suspect who shot 25-year-old Brittany Guidry, more than four years ago.
Those who provide information may receive up to $5,000 cash for information leading to the charge and arrest of the suspect, believed to be a Black male in his 20s.
“It must be very hard for you to walk around every day,” Juana Johnson said to her daughter’s killer during the July 23 press conference in the Crime Stoppers Building.
“Anything you do wrong; it does come back.”
The crime happened on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at approximately 12:00 p.m., Brittany Guidry and another individual were shot in the 7400 block of Calhoun Road in Houston, Texas.
Guidry and the other victim were inside of a parked vehicle in front of a convenience store.
An unknown Black man approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and opened fire shooting Guidry multiple times, and the other victim in the leg. Unfortunately, Guidry died on the scene.
The suspect fled in an unknown vehicle in an unknown direction of travel.
“Brittany Rena Guidry, my cousin, my first best friend, my sister, I could write a book on the kind of person she was,” said Brittany’s cousin, Teara Ketchum-Rouse during the press conference on July 23.
“It’s been four years and three months since she was violently taken from us. That’s 1,550 days that the person responsible has been able to walk around freely and enjoy four years worth of holidays with their family and friends while we are stuck with the memories.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Federal officials said their agents took down the man leading one of the largest drug operations in the history of the United States, hailing it as a big step forward in the fight against fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced during a press conference Monday afternoon that Minsu Fang, 48, was indicted on July 17 for four counts of conspiracy to import, export, and manufacture fentanyl.
According to federal charging documents, Fang and his associates sent raw materials used to make fentanyl from China to the United States. The fentanyl precursors eventually ended up in Mexico, where they would be made into laced pills and then sent back to the U.S. for sale and distribution.
Investigators said Fang and his co-conspirators avoided law enforcement interdiction by mislabeling packages, lying about the contents, and mixing them with other products. As a result, the shipments were allegedly admitted into the U.S. without a detailed inspection of the individual contents.
Between August and October of 2023, federal officials said agents seized approximately 100 shipments in Laredo, Texas, containing more than two tons of raw materials, enough to make millions of pills. Fang was arrested in New York on June 19 on an arrest warrant.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said it’s possible drugs manufactured by Fang’s team could have ended up in Houston but emphasized that there was no way for them to know for sure. Their goal is to encourage parents to have a conversation with their children about the dangers of fentanyl.
“You’ve got children who think they’re taking Percocet, Oxycodone, or Adderall. They have no idea that those pills are laced with fentanyl because a friend gave it to them. What ends up happening is those kids don’t wake up the next day. Our plea to parents is that one pill shouldn’t be a death sentence. This is part of trying to cut that out,” Hamdani said.
Fang, a Chinese national, is scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate Tuesday morning. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison on each count of conviction and a $10 million fine.
Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president.
A survey by the Associated Press on Monday evening said she had received the endorsement of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting.
That means Ms Harris is on course to be crowned the party’s standard bearer and take on Republican Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.
It becomes official when party delegates hold a roll call vote ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
Delegates are people who are selected to represent their electoral area. Their pledges of support are non-binding until the vote but unlikely to change.
No-one has publicly stepped forward to challenge Ms Harris since President Joe Biden left the race on Sunday.
He found himself under mounting pressure from senior members of his party following his stumbling debate performance against Trump.
If the total holds between now and when delegates cast their votes, scheduled to take place from 1-7 August, Ms Harris would formally clinch the party’s nomination.
The survey by AP is an indication of the groundswell of support for Ms Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.
Since Mr Biden’s announcement, millions of dollars in donations have poured into her campaign and leading Democrats have lined up to support her bid as the Democratic nominee.
Ms Harris is due to appear in the key swing state of Wisconsin on Tuesday, at a rally in Milwaukee that marks her first campaign event since Mr Biden made his decision and said he was endorsing his deputy.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden will return to the White House after spending a period of time in isolation with a Covid-19 infection. He is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, during the other leader’s visit to Washington.
Ms Harris will meet Mr Netanyahu separately, but an aide of the vice-president told the BBC that a previously-scheduled event meant she would be unable to preside over a planned address by Mr Netanyahu to a joint session of Congress.https://polling.bbc.co.uk/ws/av-embeds/articles/c51ywewzpz2o/p0jczvtg/en-GB/amp#amp=1Video caption, Kamala Harris: ‘I know Donald Trump’s type’
Speaking to staff at her campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday evening, Ms Harris had Trump in her sights.
Referring to her early career as a prosecutor in California who took on predators and fraudsters, she added: “I know Donald Trump’s type.”
She said the Biden-Harris campaign had always been about two different versions of the future of the country – theirs and Trump’s.
“One focuses on the future, the other focuses on the past,” she said. “Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards… we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.”
She also noted Mr Biden’s accomplishments, saying her time serving as his vice-president was “one of the greatest honours of my life”.
Before Ms Harris took to the stage, Mr Biden made his first comments since dropping out of the 2024 election via phone call while isolating after contracting Covid-19.
He thanked aides and told them to “embrace” Ms Harris because “she’s the best”.
“I know yesterday’s news was surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” Mr Biden told them.
He vowed to remain fully engaged in the campaign because democracy was at stake.
Meanwhile Trump’s new running mate, Senator JD Vance, attacked both Ms Harris and Mr Biden while campaigning in Virginia.
“History will remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States of America,” he said.
“But my friends, Kamala Harris is a million times worse and everybody knows it. She signed up for every single one of Joe Biden’s failures, and she lied about his mental capacity to serve as president.”
Humble ISD trustees are set to consider taking action on Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen’s employment status more than two months after voting to place her on paid administrative leave.
What’s happening?
During the board’s May 14 meeting, trustees voted to place Fagen on paid leave and appointed Deputy Superintendent Roger Brown to serve as acting superintendent in the interim.
According to the agenda for the board’s July 23 meeting, trustees will “consider and take possible action regarding the employment of Superintendent [Fagen], including proposed termination.”
To date, trustees and district officials have not provided any official details concerning the reason for Fagen’s temporary removal or potential termination.
Some context
The decision to place Fagen on administrative leave in May came about a month after trustees voted to release a report detailing the findings of a Title IX investigation launched against Fagen’s husband, former HISD Athletic Director Troy Kite.
Kite married Fagen in 2023 after disclosing their relationship to the board in March 2022, district officials said. Fagen said she recused herself from the Title IX investigation in May 2023.
During the May 14 meeting, trustees voted 4-2 in favor of placing Fagen on paid administrative leave after spending nearly two hours in executive session.
While board members have not publicly linked Fagen’s potential termination to the Title IX case, their vote to place her on paid leave came after months of community members voicing their frustration over the rising cost of legal fees incurred related to the investigation.
According to budget documents included in the board’s June 21 meeting agenda, the district has spent at least $1.15 million on legal fees related to the case.
Also of note
Trustees are also set to revisit Kite’s Title IX investigation during the board’s July 23 meeting.
According to a report released in April detailing the findings of the investigation, the initial complaint against Kite was filed by an athletic department employee in May 2023 and alleged the common use of sexually explicit comments within the department.
Following the investigation, Giana Ortiz—a lawyer with The Ortiz Law Firm who wrote the report—recommended the district terminate Kite’s employment.
Kite told Community Impact in April he had filed his own Title IX complaint against the district in response to the investigation, noting he believed the investigation process was unfair. Kite also questioned why outside legal counsel was brought in to assist with the investigation.
According to the board’s July 23 agenda, trustees will consider taking action “regarding [the] investigation and decision-making regarding Title [IX] complaints filed by [the] assistant athletic director.”
Trustees will also consider taking action on the Title IX complaint filed by Kite against the district.
What’s next
Trustees are set to meet at 5:30 p.m. July 23 at the district’s main administrative office for their next board meeting. However, trustees will begin the meeting by going into executive session and aren’t expected to take any public action until at least 7 p.m. District officials have not yet outlined a plan for selecting a new superintendent should trustees vote to terminate Fagen’s contract.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Families across Houston ISD woke up on Tuesday morning to a letter about bus route changes.
According to the letter sent to parents, the district is cutting dozens of bus routes for the upcoming school year.
The district said it decreased the number of bus routes from 508 in the 2023-2024 school year to an estimated 423 routes in the 2024-2025 school year.
HISD says the more than $50 million spent in the past to transport roughly 9,000 zoned and choice students to school is not sustainable.
Choice students elect to attend a school other than the one they are zoned to. The school choice program allows families to choose from hundreds of neighborhood and specialty school options via a single application, according to HISD.
The 85 bus routes that were cut will mostly impact students in the school choice program.
HISD plans to reduce total transportation costs by $10 million this upcoming school year.
Superintendent Mike Miles’ budget passed in a late-night five-to-four vote. As part of his plan, one-third of the funds will go toward the 130 “NES” schools.
Just last month, the district passed its $2.1 billion budget.
HISD cuts have been a hot topic. ABC13 reported in the past that 1,500 positions were eliminated across the district.
As part of the $10 million in total transportation cost reduction, HISD says streamlining routes will save an estimated $3 million. Additional cost savings will reportedly come from improving the way the district dispatches and manages buses.
Student bus stops will now be within a three-mile radius of the student’s home, HISD said. The radius was previously two miles.
The district said families should learn their new route before the end of July.
According to HISD, this change will also reduce the time spent in transit for students and maximize time spent learning.
HISD claims the average student ride time will be reduced from one hour and 45 minutes each way to one hour and 15 minutes.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Torrential downpours from tropical moisture are possible through Thursday, so we are on Weather Watch for the possibility of street flooding.
We saw heavy rain come down across parts of SE Texas Monday with some spots seeing over a half a foot of rain. That again will be a possibility in parts of SE Texas for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Multiple rounds of heavy downpours expected this week could trigger Flash Flood Warnings, especially Wednesday and Thursday.
We will start off Tuesday with rain near our coastal cities and that will move farther inland as we head closer to midday. The storms will continue marching northward and eventually fizzle out in the evening. The early onset of rain will keep highs capped in the mid-to-upper 80s.
It would be a good idea to pad in extra travel time wherever you go this week in case you have to slow down during heavy rain or find an alternate route due to a flooded roadway.
What should I know about the Weather Watch Days Tuesday through Thursday?
This is the time period with the highest levels of tropical moisture, which steadily increase through Thursday and then quickly decline Friday through Sunday. A stationary front is also parked nearby, allowing for potentially slow-moving downpours. This is when street flooding and flooding of low-lying/flood-prone areas could be a concern in communities that experience heavy rain. The Weather Prediction Center has put almost all of southeast Texas at slight risk for flooding during this time, and an upgrade to a moderate risk is possible for Wednesday through Thursday morning. Some of the heaviest showers could produce rainfall rates over 3″ per hour. There are also signs that an area of low pressure may spin up west of Houston Wednesday night and Thursday morning, and if confidence in this scenario grows, it will greatly increase the threat of sustained heavy rainfall and warrant an upgrade to an ABC13 Weather Alert Day.
How much rain are we expecting this week?
We are expecting 5 to 7 inches of rain to be common south of I-10 with 3 to 5 inches of rain to be common north of I-10. Locally higher amounts are possible with some locations picking up over 10 inches of rain for the week. Because the rain will be falling in multiple waves, these totals should be mostly manageable for our watersheds. Bayous, creeks, and streams will likely be running high by week’s end.
Will these storms bring any severe weather?
Severe weather looks unlikely at this time, but a few storms could potentially grow strong enough to also bring gusty winds. The main concern this week will be street and area flooding from heavy downpours.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
Right now, we’re tracking plumes of Saharan dust, so no tropical development is expected over the next seven days. In fact, one of those plumes could reach us late in the week to help bring rain chances back down, even if only for a day or so. We are seeing signs that the tropics could come back to life the first week of August. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for the latest on what’s happening in the tropics.
The United States Secret Service director told Congress on Monday the attempted assassination against former President Donald Trump was the “most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades” and took full responsibility for the lapses in security that day.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee. “As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened.”
In her first hearing before Congress, Cheatle also told the committee that she will move “heaven and earth” to ensure what occurred on July 13 will never happen again.
“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13th remind us of that,” she said. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
This is yet another consequential week for the Secret Service, which is tasked with providing security to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, D.C., something the director has been focused on while also overseeing the security in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
Cheatle is facing a grilling before the House Oversight Committee over how her agency handled security around the attempted assassination of Trump.
She has faced calls from multiple Republicans and at least one Democrat to resign after the former president was targeted at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee are going to press Cheatle on what went wrong, what the Secret Service knew and when they knew it.
The hearing room was packed, with standing room only, as opening statements were given by chairman James Comer, ranking member Jamie Raskin and Cheatle. House Speaker Mike Johnson was also in attendance.
Cheatle will also face questions about whether her agency denied former President Trump’s security detail resources it has requested in the two years before Saturday, as first reported by The Washington Post, something her agency initially denied but then admitted over the weekend.
In a statement to ABC News, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said, “In some instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the security of the protectee. This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protectee.”
“The American People have lots of questions, and they deserve answers,” the Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked about Monday’s hearing.
In a rare bipartisan statement, the committee’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, had joined Comer in demanding that Cheatle testify after the Department of Homeland Security asked that her appearance be delayed, resulting in Comer issuing a subpoena.
“Americans have many serious questions about the historic security failures that occurred at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle must appear before the House Oversight Committee without delay on Monday, July 22 to answer our many questions and provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve and that are at the foundation of our government,” they wrote.
The DHS inspector general has opened three separate investigations into what went wrong, the FBI is currently leading a criminal investigation and House Speaker Mike Johnson has pledged congressional resources for a separate investigation.
As the head of the agency, Cheatle said it was her responsibility to investigate what went wrong and ensure that it does not happen again.
“The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an exclusive interview last Monday. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
Cheatle has been in Milwaukee the past week overseeing security for the Republican National Convention and met with the former president last Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation.
“Secret Service is not political,” she told ABC News. “Security is not political. People’s safety is not political. And that’s what we’re focused on as an agency.”
Republicans also signaled they would question her about past statements that promoting diversity in the agency was a top priority.
DHS pushed back against criticism of women in Trump’s security detail.
“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some people have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including in the United States Secret Service,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other senior leaders wrote in a statement. “These assertions are baseless and insulting.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Get ready for a wet week! Multiple rounds of showers and storms, some heavy, are on the way this week and could lead to street flooding. Tuesday and Wednesday are Weather Watch days due to the street flooding threat.
We are starting off your week mostly dry Monday morning but rain chances should climb heading into the afternoon. With the slow storm motion, street flooding will be a possibility. 1-3″ of rain will be possible with any storm that pops up Monday. More rounds of widespread rain are anticipated through your work week. Temperatures should only rise into the upper 80s/low 90s.
What should I know about the Weather Watch Days on Tuesday and Wednesday?
With this rainy forecast, Tuesday and Wednesday stand out for being the days where rain could be the most widespread across Southeast Texas and the heaviest. The stationary front will park right over the region each day, allowing for potentially slow-moving and heavy rains. This is when street flooding and flooding of low-lying/flood prone areas could be a concern in areas that experience those heavy rains. The Weather Prediction Center has put almost all of Southeast Texas in its slight risk for flooding both days as well. Some of the heaviest showers could produce rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inchesan hour.
How much rain are we expecting this week?
On average, all of Southeast Texas could easily pick up 3 to 6 inches of rain by the end of next weekend. More likely though, accumulations of 6 to 8 inches will be common. Locally higher amounts are possible too with some locations pick up 10 inches of rain for the week. Most of this rain will be falling in multiple waves, so these totals should be manageable for our watersheds. But bayous, creeks and streams will likely be running high by week’s end.
Will these storms bring any severe weather?
Severe weather looks unlikely at this time, but a few storms could potentially grow strong enough to also bring gusty winds. The main concern this week will be street and area flooding from heavy downpours.
What are you tracking in the tropics?
Right now, we’re tracking plumes of Saharan dust, so no tropical development is expected over the next seven days. In fact, one of those plumes could reach us late next week to bring rain chances back down, even if only for a day or so. We are seeing signs that the tropics could come back to life the first week of August. Head to our daily Tropical Update page for the latest on what’s happening in the tropics.
