HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Classes at Rice University haven’t even started, and administrators are already scrapping their plans for a normal start to the fall semester. University officials announced Thursday that classes would move to online-only for at least the first two weeks of the term, and classes will begin two days later than originally scheduled, on Aug. 25 “As …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Employees at Houston ISD will now have an opportunity to receive a $500 stipend if they can prove they’re fully vaccinated. During an HISD special meeting on Wednesday morning, the district’s board of education approved an incentive program that gives employees a one-time $500 stipend for those who show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. The …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A man accused of forcing girls as young as 14 to work as prostitutes accepted a plea deal just days before going to trial. Malik Hayman, 26, was given 25 years in prison for charges stemming from 2018. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said he had 10 victims. One of his victims is Asia Phipps. …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The most honored commentator in the history of ESPN is now a published author. Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN/ABC’s lead college football analyst, has released Out of the Pocket, an intimate memoir about family and football. “Fatherhood and football remain at the core of who I am.” Listen to an excerpt from my audiobook OUT OF THE POCKET, available …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Police are investigating a shooting in southwest Houston where a 16-year-old boy was shot. It happened at a shopping center located at 12500 Bellaire Blvd. Thursday afternoon. According to a tweet posted by the Houston Police Department, the teen was sent to the hospital and is expected to survive. Westside officers are at a shooting scene …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A heat ridge steering Grace into Mexico will also bring hotter and drier weather to Southeast Texas. Even though Grace will pass several hundred miles to our south, the risk of rip currents along our local beaches will increase. It will be a muggy start to Friday with temperatures around 80 degrees. With an abundance of …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — HISD is launching a virtual academy for students who are too young to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In a letter to parents issued by Superintendent Millard House II, he said the virtual learning option will be made available for students who are 11 or younger with compromised immune systems. It’s going to start on Monday, Aug. …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Inside the Wu Training Studio off Richmond and Hillcroft, investigators say the family-owned business was hiding a dark secret. One of the instructors, known as Coach Ivan, is a convicted sex offender who never registered as one and changed his name. “Kind of just been living under the radar, under an alias, and no one really …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Lung cancer is the number one killer for both men and women, but more women who have never been smokers are diagnosed with it, according to a doctor at MD Anderson. Dr. Mara Antonoff said for too long, we have unfairly labeled lung cancer as a smoker’s disease. The truth is anyone of any age can …