A Hedwig Village Police Department officer, who is also a chaplain, shot and killed a suspect who allegedly fired several shots following a brief chase late Monday.

Dozens of law enforcement officers and Polk County inmates were back at work Tuesday to clear out tens of thousands of marijauna plants from fields in the area. By late Tuesday morning, they had uprooted more than 70,000 pot plants.

Firefighters responded to a fire that sent a plume of smoke into the skies above southeast Houston early Tuesday.

It?ll be hot again on Tuesday, but there?s good news in the form of dropping temps and rain.

It's being called a record-breaking pot bust south of Livingston, and now we're learning more about the operation. Polk County deputies recovered 44,000 marijuana plants from a wooded area in Goodrich, Texas.

A wrong-way driver has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after he caused a head-on crash that killed a woman Monday night, Harris County Sheriff?s Office deputies said.

Review one lawyer's fight vs. Harris County probation officials.

A Harris County teenager was taken to the hospital Wednesday after lighting himself on fire while participating in a dangerous game that is trending on social media. The teen poured isopropyl alcohol on himself while standing in the shower, then lighted the alcohol, said Lt. Dean Hensley of the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office.

Harris County attorneys filed a motion Wednesday asking Judge Mike Engelhart, who oversaw Wilson's three-day residency trial earlier this month, to overturn the jury's unanimous finding and rule in the county's favor. The county argues Wilson does not live in a warehouse on W. 34th Street that he claimed as his residence when running for the HCC seat in November. Wilson used an address on W. 34th Street, in HCC District II, when he ran for the seat, but the city later determined the warehouse there was not up to code and could not be used as a residence.

Standing in front of a slew of video cameras and reporters Wednesday, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia pleaded for help solving a 6-month-old murder case that left a Cypress family dead in their home. At sheriff's office headquarters on Baker Street, Garcia gave a message to the killer: "I hope you are in such pain and agony that you will be willing to turn yourself in ... because it's only a matter of time before we will arrest you." Authorities continued to refuse to speculate about a possible motive for the slaying, or explain what they have been able to ascertain from the evidence recovered at the scene of the crime. Cypress residents and members of Houston's Chinese community have both been rattled by the slayings, mourning the loss of the couple's two boys, Timothy and Titus, 9 and 7, who were active in local soccer and swim clubs and the local Cub Scout pack.

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton AUSTIN ? The second highest ranking member of the Texas state House is drawing criticism from some corners after using a controversial term about Cajuns in a Tuesday legislative hearing. State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, an Angleton Republican and House Speaker Pro Tempore, used the term ?coonass? in a Select Committee on the Fiscal Impact of Border Support Operations discussion about the challenges of educating the flood of unaccompanied children from Central America illegally crossing the border. In the discussion, prompted toward the end of the five-hour hearing by testimony from Texas Education Agency lawyer David Anderson, Bonnen argued it would be tougher for schools to accommodate the [...]

A logo given to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services by the ?Up the Enterprize? staff (Courtesy of Up the Enterprize) AUSTIN ? Earlier this summer, a strange newsletter began to show up in employee break rooms at the offices of the state Health and Human Services Commission agencies.  ?Up the Enterprize,? a play on the corporate-speak name ?the enterprise? for the five commission agencies, included ?news? such as this: ?The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is seeking focus group participants to provide input on whether there are too many focus groups. The focus groups, referred to by staff as the ?focus-group focus groups,? are the [...]

J.C. Penney Co., under major pricing and merchandising changes, swung to a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss and said Tuesday it no longer expects to meet its previous profit forecast for the year as it sees more restructuring charges.

Three members of the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court face re-election this year, but two will have to survive primary opponents who accuse the court of becoming too pro-business.

Researchers say they've shown that certain plants have smarts during dry times.

Gov. Rick Perry isn't saying whether he approves of the University of Texas at Austin president whose job was reported to be in jeopardy.

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has placed her longtime chief of staff on administrative leave.

A Central Texas teenager has pleaded guilty to murder in the 2011 Waco drive-by fatal shooting of another youth.

Derrick Rose's basketball resurgence continued Wednesday as the former MVP opened more eyes during Day 3 of Team USA's training camp.

A patient of the plastic surgeon has come forward after what she says was a botched breast augmentation

To Patrick Peterson, his ongoing Twitter feud with Richard Sherman is all in good fun. Peterson doesn't think Sherman sees it the same way.

Parents of a Spring Branch ISD student are outraged after they say their first-grader was forced to sit on the floor for weeks -- as a form of punishment

A dog with ties to some special members of the ABC-13 family is now in need of a good home.

A 14-year-old set himself on fire in northeast Harris County Wednesday playing a game that's going viral on social media

Once again, the Houston City Council voted July 30 to delay the long-awaited ruling on the vehicles-for-hire ordinances surrounding Uber, Lyft and taxi companies for at least another week. City Council delayed the vote, in part, to give council members the opportunity to review new amendments as well as changes to the original ordinance. Much of the amendments focus on accessibility for the disabled community in Houston. Under the proposal, no less than 2 percent of vehicles-for-hire must be wheelchair?

Accredited investors have a new tool to invest in the oil and gas space, and it?s based right here in Houston. EnergyFunders LLC is a crowdfunding platform specifically for accredited investors, or those who earned at least $200,000 in each of the past two years or have a net worth of at least $1 million. After going through the proper verifications, investors can check out and invest in various projects that are seeking funding. Started by three Houstonians with different backgrounds, EnergyFunders?

Despite Houston's technology scene beginning to develop around a booming economy, the demand for information technology-skilled workers is a rapidly growing concern, according to a new study from advisory company CEB. The study looked at both the supply and demand of IT jobs for states and major metropolitan hubs around the country. Houston had 16,000 IT job openings last year, which represented around 20 percent of its total IT workforce, the study said. In comparison, rapidly growing IT hubs like?

Even though the economy is on the rebound, most businesses still maintain minimum staff. After all, tough times are hard to forget. So when employees experience a hurricane or flood, businesses can lose valuable employees for weeks, because most employees are not prepared for disasters. They may evacuate without any identification or insurance information and return to residences that have been destroyed along with vital documents. Not having these documents can create delays in insurance claims?

With crowdfunding becoming a popular way to raise quick and easy capital, and Texas considering enacting a crowdfunding exemption giving unaccredited investors the ability to invest in equity of a startup, I decided to take a look at some of Houston?s Kickstarter projects and see how they were doing. Kickstarter by and large is one of the more popular crowdfunding websites. You create a project with a financial goal, offer various rewards for donors and set a date by which you aim to reach the?

On Tuesday, I wrote an article highlighting why public relations is a waste of money for technology startups. But there are always two sides to every story. I called a couple of Houston's big shots in the PR industry and got their take on why their trade is crucial for the growth of a tech startup. With all the noise surrounding the technology industry today, having a dedicated individual to get your name and message out there is crucial to a startup?s customer growth, said Allie Danziger,?

Talk show hosts Rich Lord and Sean Pendergast will join KILT?s (610 AM) Texans pre- and postgame coverage for the 2014 season, the station said Wednesday. Lord, who had worked as sideline reporter for Texans radio network games since 2007, will be the pregame host with KILT talk show hosts John Lopez and Seth Payne. Pendergast, who joined the station late last year, will join KILT talk show hosts Mike Meltser and Ted Johnson on the postgame show. Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware will continue as the play by play announcer and analyst, respectively, on KILT and the Texans radio network. Former KGOW (1560 AM) and Yahoo! Sports Radio host [...]

Undrafted rookie linebacker Max Bullough is trying to catch on with the Texans. (Photo by Joe Robbins / Getty Images) Max Bullough Position: Linebacker Ht./Wt: 6-3, 249 College: Michigan State Experience: Second year. Prospects: Bullough?s name continues to ring out during training camp, as the team keeps shifting around linebackers to cover up the absence of starter Brian Cushing. While the Texans went 2-14 last season, they don?t have many open spots on their 53-man roster. Bullough has a good chance to find a home if he can continue his rookie surge. Best case, he?s a backup throughout 2014.

Astros two-time All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who made two of the outs in the six-run first inning, extended his hitting streak to a season-high tying 12 games with a single up the middle in the sixth inning. He and Christian Yelich, Jose Abreu, Jose Bautista and Nick Markakis are the only players in baseball with multiple 12-game hitting streaks. Altuve is hitting .396 (21-for-53) during his streak. He leads the majors with 151 hits. jesus.ortiz@chron.com twitter.com/OrtizKicks

Jon Singleton hit a two-run home run to left in the fifth inning to become the first Astros rookie first baseman to collect eight home runs in a season since Jeff Bagwell had 14 as a rookie in 1991. ?It?s definitely nice,? Singleton said. ?Any time we can go out there and put up runs and hit home runs it?s nice. It?s always nice to see us score a lot of runs.? jesus.ortiz@chron.com twitter.com/OrtizKicks

Outfielder Alex Presley, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain, swung the bat off a tee Wednesday for the third consecutive day. He estimated his effort at around 60 percent. ?Just trying to do more baseball activity basically,? he said. ?I?m starting to swing the bat a little bit the last couple of days. Not hitting BP or anything. Just trying to get some swings and see how everything responds. I hope to keep progressing further every day.? Presley has been on the DL since July 18. Barring a setback, he might be able to take swings off soft tosses next week. jesus.ortiz@chron.com twitter.com/OrtizKicks

Box score Scheduled to start Wednesday afternoon, Dallas Keuchel had already left Minute Maid Park and gone to sleep by the time the Oakland A?s mounted their stunning comeback Tuesday night. If he needed a reminder not to take anything for granted, he got one when he woke up Wednesday and learned about the previous night?s result. So when the Astros responded with a six-run rally in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday at Minute Maid Park, Keuchel made sure the A?s couldn?t recover. Keuchel threw a four-hitter to claim an 8-1 victory, helping the Astros win the three-game series 2-1 over the team with the best record in [...]