ARLINGTON, Texas — B.J. Thomas, whose smooth voice made him a country and pop crossover success, died Saturday of complications from lung cancer in his Arlington home, his publicist said. He was age 78. Thomas first came to prominence with a cover of the Hank Williams standard “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” spending 13
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans are digging for a final weekend vote on some of the most restrictive new voting laws in the U.S. The sweeping bill finalized Saturday would eliminate drive-thru voting, reduce polling hours and scale back Sunday voting. The changes would have to be approved before the GOP-controlled Legislature adjourns at midnight
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WASHINGTON, DC —With Texas Republicans poised to sign off on a sweeping voting bill, President Joe Biden said Saturday that legislation like Senate Bill 7 that restricts voting access is “un-American.” “Today, Texas legislators put forth a bill that joins Georgia and Florida in advancing a state law that attacks the sacred right to vote, ”
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A new Federal Emergency Managment Agency funeral assistance program aims to help families pay for COVID-19 funerals they did not expect to be having, but more than a month into its launch, thousands are still waiting to be paid. “I was calling on behalf of a family to help,” said
Continue Reading FORT WORTH, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott called the smuggling of fentanyl across the Texas-Mexico border a “crisis” and said Thursday that he has deployed 1,000 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and National Guard members to combat the problem. In the first four months of this year, Abbott said at a press conference in Fort Worth,
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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has approved a bill to cap the cost of insulin copays at $25. The bill would reduce and cap the cost of insulin co-pays for each prescription per month for insured Texans on state-regulated health plans. Sen. César Blanco joint authored the bipartisan bill Senate Bill 827 by Chair of
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — Three former and current Harris County deputy constables allege they were being sexually exploited, molested and harassed by their superiors while assigned to a human trafficking task force, according to a federal civil lawsuit filed Monday. The female officers — Liz Gomez, Marissa Sanchez and Felecia McKinney — claim they were rookie
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Texas Sen. John Cornyn was clear in February: Congress should establish a 9/11-style outside commission to investigate the January 6 attack, a rare sign of bipartisanship just a month after the deadly Capitol insurrection. “I agree w/Speaker Pelosi — a 911-type investigation is called for to help prevent this from happening again,”
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers have given final approval to allowing people carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has said he will sign it despite the objections from law enforcement groups
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EL PASO, Texas — There’s no road trip, no soul searching. No beard or blogging. But Beto O’Rourke is making a political life decision again. Three years after becoming Democrats’ breakout star out of Texas, and a year removed from crashing back to Earth in a short-lived presidential run, O’Rourke is again weighing another campaign
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UPDATE: Officials said Alejandro Alvarado Jr., the 2-year-old child that went missing from Amarillo, was later found and is safe. No further details were provided. ORIGINAL REPORT: AMARILLO, Texas — A statewide Amber Alert was issued in Texas Monday morning for a missing 2-year-old boy out of Amarillo, who authorities believe has been abducted and
Continue Reading As U.S. officials push for more vaccinations amid slowing demand across the country, another state has now crossed an important milestone. Rhode Island is now the eighth state to have administered at least one Covid-19 shot to 70% of its adult population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden will host the family of George Floyd at the White House on Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of his death at the hands of police, a White House official confirmed to CNN. The White House visit comes as lawmakers are likely to miss the President’s initial May 25
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Click here for the latest Severe Weather Warnings, Watches and AlertsClick here for ABC-7’s LIVE Interactive StormTrack Doppler Radar EL PASO, Texas — The National Weather Service office in El Paso issued a Tornado Watch Saturday for Culberson and Hudspeth Counties in west Texas and Otero County in southern New Mexico. The Tornado Watch had
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — About 60% of the Covid-19 vaccine doses that have spoiled since Texas’ vaccination program began in December were wasted in the past two weeks, according to an analysis of state data. According to a Houston Chronicle analysis of the roughly 60,000 vaccine doses spoiled since December, about 36,000 were lost in the past
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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has approved a bill to ban homeless encampments throughout Texas — a response to the city of Austin lifting a similar local ban two years ago that was recently reinstated by voters. House Bill 1925 would make camping in an unapproved public place a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a
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TARRANT COUNTY, Texas (KTVT) — On a hot night in mid-July, Stephanie Hellstern got home late from work after picking up dinner for her 16-year-old son, but she couldn’t find him. She knew Kyle was home. She had checked the location of his phone and aside from it showing he had gone down the street
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — When Bridget Wiedenmeyer learned Texas was banning mask mandates in public schools, she immediately worried about her 11-year-old daughter — who has a chronic lung condition but is too young to be vaccinated against Covid-19. “There’s a large contingent of people who are like, ‘Well, only this teeny tiny percent of kids
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Kluber threw the major leagues’ sixth no-hitter this season and second in two nights, leading the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 2-0. The 35-year-old right-hander, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, came within a third-inning walk to Charlie Culberson of throwing a perfect game. Kluber pitched his
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HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Quintin Jones was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville on Wednesday night, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Jeremy Desel. Jones, 41, is the first inmate executed in the state of Texas since July 2020, and only the third person put to death in the
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount said he authorized a ransom payment of $4.4 million in response to a cyberattack on the company’s network earlier this month, according to The Wall Street Journal, which published an interview with the CEO Wednesday. This is the first public announcement by the company that a ransom
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SUGAR LAND, Texas — A Texas man accused of torturing and killing four kittens had worked as a geometry teacher at a Houston-area high school before his arrest, the school district said. Graham Reid, 29, of Sugar Land, faces four counts of felony cruelty to non-livestock animals. He was arrested in late April, and the
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AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a law that bans abortions in Texas before many women even know they are pregnant and differs singularly from similar efforts nationwide: leaving enforcement to private citizens, who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. The law puts Texas in
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that public schools must end mask requirements starting in June and ordered Texas’ cities and counties to drop nearly all face covering mandates by the end of the week. The announcement does not affect businesses, which can still require customers or workers to wear masks. But the
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Many can see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. But after more than a year of drastic lifestyle changes, many children are still struggling emotionally. A new resource from the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and Texas Pediatric Society aims to help.
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HOUSTON, Texas — The Houston Astros will permit 100% attendance for games at Minute Maid Park starting May 25. The capacity will remain at full capacity for the rest of the season, the team said Monday. The Astros will not require masks for fans who are fully vaccinated. The team said fans who aren’t fully vaccinated
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas on Monday joined the growing number of states that will stop paying the federally funded $300 in extra pandemic-related weekly unemployment aid as businesses that scaled back or shuttered during the pandemic are reopening. The extra benefits in Texas will end June 26, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter to the
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston businesswoman says she helped arrange for the return of India the tiger after being was contacted by investigators. Linda McIngvale, the owner of “the resort-style athletic” Club Westside, says she became acquainted with Victor Hugo Cuevas and his wife, Gia Cuevas, when they visited the establishment as guests of a
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Your Covid-19 vaccine record card is likely one of the most important documents you will receive all year. Health providers urge you to protect the document and keep it in your records after you’re fully vaccinated. If you accidentally lose or damage the card, there are some things you can
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — Tales of Bengal tigers on the loose, like the one found roaming a Houston front yard last week, may soon be history if a bipartisan bill becomes law. The Big Cat Public Safety Act would largely ban people from owning lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, cougars and jaguars as house pets. Zoos and
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