HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The City of Houston’s financial situation has raised numerous questions recently. Firstly, are we facing financial hardship? Secondly, how can we afford a $650 million payout to firefighters for back pay? And finally, how did we manage to balance the proposed $6.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year? Let’s begin with the budget. The city …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — At Wednesday’s Houston City Council meeting, up to $8 billion was on the line just ahead of the new fiscal year starting July 1. The council reviewed a $6.7 billion city budget proposal and a $650 million settlement aimed at resolving a long-standing, contentious eight-year dispute with the firefighters’ union. Controller Chris Hollins estimates that the …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston police are currently on the lookout for a suspect believed to have robbed a 65-year-old man at gunpoint, stealing his Social Security check in the process. Oscar Lee Benjamin, 38, is facing charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm due to a prior felony conviction in connection …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A Harris County sheriff’s deputy was caught on camera repeatedly punching a man in the head with a closed fist during an arrest, with several deputies struggling to detain him. An onlooker, visibly shocked, captured the incident on their phone as deputies arrested the suspect on Beltway 8 near Woodforest. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Soil testing is currently in progress in Houston’s Fifth Ward at the site of the former Union Pacific Wood Preserving facility, an area identified by the City of Houston as having soil contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. has been tracking this issue for years. Residents have long voiced concerns that something in the soil was making them …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Although it’s now June, many residents in the Greater Houston area are still struggling to recover from the severe storms that hit in May. Several individuals have contacted , reporting weeks of waiting with no updates on their disaster recovery funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Sandra Edwards, a resident of Houston’s Fifth …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK)– A $1.5 million settlement has been reached in the lawsuit brought by former deputies of Harris County Precinct 1, according to the county commissioners. The lawsuit, which was filed by four women, alleged sexual exploitation during sting operations. The initial lawsuit named Constable Alan Rosen, Assistant Chief Chris Gore, and Lt. Shane Rigdon as defendants, though …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston Police Department officer discharged their weapon at an individual in an apartment complex on the city’s west side after a neighbor reported seeing three masked individuals via her Ring doorbell camera, authorities said. The incident occurred at the Flats on Tanglewilde apartment complex, located at 2630 Tanglewilde St. in the Mid-West neighborhood. The shooting …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The state-appointed superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) suggested that the state takeover of the district could conclude sooner than anticipated, based on this year’s STAAR test results. During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Superintendent Mike Miles shared this insight in response to a question from Eyewitness News. “If we maintain this level of …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A man has been apprehended in connection with the fatal stabbing of a driver, one of two random knife attacks that occurred in a north Harris County neighborhood, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Wednesday in the 2500 block of Sandlewood Trail Lane, located …