Martin Santillan quickly wiped a tear from his face so people in the packed courtroom wouldn’t see him cry. But he couldn’t suppress his emotions as he heard Dallas County prosecutor Cynthia Garza apologize for the more than 25 years he spent jailed for a murder he didn’t commit “That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear since July of 1997,” …

AUSTIN — Energy experts and electric industry groups are calling a Texas Senate plan to back up the state’s power grid with state-financed fossil fuel power plants the end of the free market in Texas’ electricity economy. Senate Bill 6 is one of nine bills the Senate unveiled earlier this month as a suite of fossil fuel-centric bills that take aim at …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Warm and humid weather will continue for Thursday with temperatures in the 80s for highs. A weak cold front could bring scattered showers and storms Friday and Friday night. The threat for heavy rain and severe weather should stay away from the Houston area. How are rain chances looking the rest of this week? Most of us …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Bond was doubled on Wednesday during a first court appearance for a father charged with murder in his 2-year-old daughter’s death after a 30-mile chase and SWAT standoff. The original magistrate set bond at $1 million for Deontray Flanagan on Tuesday, though the suspect did not appear in probable cause court. However, the judge increased the …

It begins as a white powder in Chinese chemical factories. A mix of illegal drugs and chemical compounds, the powder, sometimes disguised as soap, journeys across oceans in massive container ships bound for Mexico’s western ports. From there, Mexican drug cartel workers press the fentanyl powder into small pills with blue coloring and stamp them. The pills are hidden inside …

AUSTIN — In an hourslong hearing Wednesday, a Texas House committee heard testimony on bills and resolutions that would expand gambling to include mobile sports betting and resort casinos. Plano GOP Rep. Jeff Leach’s House Bill 1942, which would legalize mobile sports betting in Texas and is backed by the most prominent sportsbook operators and a majority of Texas’ professional teams, …

A Dallas man police have linked to nearly a dozen previously unsolved sexual assaults was arrested Tuesday — just two days after he posted bail for a different alleged sexual crime. Officers arrested Christopher Michael Green of Dallas on Saturday in connection with an aggravated sexual assault offense from July 2005, Dallas police said. Green, 50, was booked in the …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A family is fighting to stay together for their 4-month-old little girl in the intensive care nursery, but the father’s job is denying him a transfer to be close to his daughter. Jessica Clark dreams of the day she can bring home her daughter Ruby, who has been at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital since November. Her room …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The aftermath of a major crash is causing delays for drivers Wednesday after a big rig was left stretched across the East Freeway at Beltway 8, officials say. Houston TranStar verified multi-vehicle crashes at 12:51 p.m. and at 1:42 p.m. on the main lanes in both directions on I-10 East Eastbound at Beltway 8 east. SkyEye video …

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — SkyEye was over the scene of a large fire that engulfed a former church on West Montgomery Road in northwest Harris County on Wednesday morning, but has learned that wasn’t the only fire crews had to tackle on that same block at the same time. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office said that it all …