Local officials have expressed cautious optimism about the rate of COVID-19 transmission in North Texas as the region recovers from the recent surge fueled by the more-contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. On Monday, the state hit 70,000 deaths from COVID-19, and Dallas County reached 5,000. But despite those grim numbers, health officials say there are also milestones to celebrate. …

U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 shot, a major expansion of the nation’s vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for children ages 5 to 11 — doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends who …

AUSTIN –– Texas voters were overwhelmingly favoring eight changes to the state constitution — including two amendments related to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the amendments would prohibit governmental entities from enacting any rule limiting religious services. The other would allow nursing home residents to designate an essential caregiver who could not be denied in-person visitation. Also on the ballot …

Andrew Yeager defeated Stephanie Williams on Tuesday in a pivotal special election that drew more than a third of the city’s registered voters to the polls and tilted the board further to the right. Yeager, a TV executive, won with 65% of the vote and the support of the Southlake Families PAC, which claimed responsibility for the victories of board …

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says he’s delaying his yearly State of the City speech by two weeks to finish quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. Johnson announced Tuesday that the speech is now set to be given Nov. 17 at Dallas City Hall. The talk had been scheduled for Thursday. The mayor, who is fully vaccinated, said he is …

HOUSTON, Texas — Most of the season, it just seemed this wasn’t their year. They dropped their first four games, and soon injuries piled up. They lost their most dynamic player before the All-Star break. They were stuck below .500 in August. Yet out of nowhere, suddenly, these Atlanta Braves transformed themselves and took off. Jorge Soler, Freddie Freeman and …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A strong cold front from Canada looks to push into Southeast Texas later this afternoon and push through Houston by the evening. The day will begin with a few showers developing in our far northern counties and morning lows bottoming out around 60 degrees. Rain chances climb to 80% during the late afternoon and evening hours. …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Editor’s note: A version of this story was originally written during the Astros’ 2019 World Series run. Fans of Houston sports teams know heartbreak well. But they also know triumphs when nobody expected them. The Astros, who were able to force a Game 6 and a return to Houston in the World Series, have tried in the last two …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As more than 100 cargo ships sit off the coast of California waiting to be unloaded, Gov. Greg Abbott is offering the ports in Texas to speed up the process. In a tweet, he said “Texas ports are open & ready to help fix America’s supply chain backlog. We can get goods out faster & at …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — “This is Your Time,” Valerie Koehler reads out the title of the book by Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges. “It’s an inspirational book,” she says wistfully. The New York Times bestseller may be written by the first child to integrate an all-white New Orleans public school. But in Texas, it is among approximately 850 book titles …