We’re happy to have you here. I’m Melissa Wilson. We have a lot coming your way. Obviously. First, though, we start with the tough situation.
Breaking news from Cypress, where there is a big police presence outside a home on Bonaventure Drive. We’ve learned a man and woman were found dead inside. Denise Middleton just arrived there to the scene. Live there in northwest Harris County. Denise, we know you just got there.
Any information you can share at this point? Well, it really is a sad situation. You know, we’re told a married couple in their 50s were found dead in this home here behind me, wher you see the red truck and detectives there investigating with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. The crime scene unit, as you can see, has just d as well. We’re told this is believed to be a murder suicide.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says parents of the couple live next door and noticed that they hadn’t left for work, so they went to check on them around seven this morning. That’s when they found the husband and wife dead in their bedroom from multiple gunshot wounds.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says. There was also an adult and two small children in the home. There were no other injuries reported.
Now, right now, they are talking to neighbors and to the parents of the couple to learn more about exactly what may have happened. And they’re also looking into possible calls at this home in the past, you know, so far, they told me this is a quiet area and they haven’t been called to this home recently. But again, they’re still looking into everything and gathering evidence. So we’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon they clean this. Traffic is moving around at a okay, since they were able to get over there on that shoulder.
So with my signature, the federal government will now resume normal operations. Well, after 43 days, the historic government shutdown is now over. The House passed the funding bill. And then as you see there, President Trump signed the legislation last night reversing federal worker workers layoffs resulting from the shutdown. This will only keep the government open through January 30th of next year.
This is to help lawmakers work out a long term deal for fiscal year 2026. Now, while the the bill does fund Snap benefits for a full year, that does not start until 2026, some Texans who receive food assistance started seeing partial payments loaded to their cards this week, but still unclear when those payments will be issued for this month. We are told it could take a few days to a week to get Snap benefits loaded to recipients, debit cards, and states that paid partial benefits might be slower as they work out the formulas. Now, the problems at airports nationwide could continue to linger, though, as the government reopens. You’re looking live here at terminal E at Bush at this hour, totally different than what we saw the last week or so.
At last check, though, 32 flights were canceled to and from Bush, 21 at hobby, and the FAA is confirming flight cuts will remain at 6% instead of rising to 10% by the end of the week. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says this is due to a rapid decline in air traffic controller callouts. Many of those workers have gone without pay since October 1st, some of them even picking up extra jobs to supplement that income because they missed two full paychecks.
This most notably, though, does not include the extensions for the Affordable Care Act subsidies. That is really what the Democrats were holding out for.
Yes they were. Here’s a live look for you right now at Capitol Hill this morning, where the Republican majority leader promised the Senate would take up a Democratic bill on health care subsidies next month. But there is no guarantee that it will actually pass. Now, the bill did, however, include a ban on selling THC across the country. It bans most intoxicating hemp derived products like Delta eight.
The change is expected to have a big impact here in Texas, where a similar ban survived this year. The ban won’t go into effect for another year, though. Back here at home, Houston Mayor John Whitmire is pushing back on allegations that police officers have been ordered to cooperate with Ice.
Denise Middleton joins us here in the studio with how HPD does interact with federal agents. What’s the latest, Denise?
Well, you know, the mayor says HPD focuses only on enforcing state and local law, not immigration or deportation. Now, during Wednesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Whitmire addressed concerns after the Houston Chronicle quoted him over the weekend, saying, I’m not going to say that we’re not cooperating with Ice because that’s frankly not true. End quote. Now, the mayor clarified that they do not ask for immigration status in the field or on patrol. However, if there is an outstanding criminal warrant, they will cooperate with federal agents.
Both the mayor and Houston police officers, Union President Doug Griffith, spoke to the public and council to confirm and expand upon the policy. We have consistently had the same policy since day one, and I’m told it’s the same policy of previous administrations and previous police chiefs. Do we drive around looking for people going, hey, let’s check these guys and see if there’s an Ice detainer? No, we don’t have the manpower for that. We are still 1500 officers down.
Now, during the council meeting, there was a question over whether Ice has uploaded nonviolent immigration administrative based warrants into the system. But Griffith said, either way, by law, they have to cooperate with outside agencies serving a warrant. Reporting live in the studio Denise Middleton Fox 26 News in San Jacinto County. The body of a missing father has been found. On Sunday, 63 year old William Poff jumped into the Trinity River to save his teen son and his son’s friend after their kayak had overturned.
Sadly, none of them survived. Harry’s health had its first town hall meeting, discussing its plans to extend or expand.
Ben Taub Hospital. The plan was extended or expanded. Approved.
The expansion plan was approved in 2023. To make this happen, though, Harris Health says it needs to use nearly nine acres of land from Hermann Park. If you look at this map here, top left of your screen, you see that orange block there? That is this. That is the area of land we’re referencing there at the park.
The company says this expansion will not impact Hermann Park’s golf course, the zoo or Miller Outdoor Theater, but some residents are still concerned about this outcome. I don’t think this is a correct solution. I don’t think we should be using Hermann Park for this purpose. I think there’s other alternatives. We need beds.
I have insurance now, but I care about those who don’t have insurance, who are in hallways waiting on medical care.
Another town hall meeting will be held at the George H.W. Bush Community Center in spring on Monday night. The Nutcracker Market returns to NRG center today.
It’s so fun and magical. Don’t you all go all the time? Yes, I do, but we need. I think we should go and wear little matching headbands. Wouldn’t that be so fun?
Matching headbands.
Okay, we can. We can figure out something to match. I’m telling you, the guys do it. It is so much fun.
You name it, it’s there. It’s a Houston tradition kicking off a holiday season. As always, it runs through Sunday, so you have time to get out there. Doors open at 10:00. Nearly 300 booths.
Merchants selling clothes, jewelry, gourmet food, seasonal decor.
You can find it all. You can buy a ticket online at Nutcracker market.com. Or you can actually go to the market the day of.
But you have to have cash or check only. That’s important to know, because you don’t want to go through parking and then get inside and not be able to get your ticket again. Cash or check only at 100% of the ticket sales. Go back to the Houston Ballet and its scholarship programs, along with a percentage of the sales. So that is a blessing for a whole lot of people.
So you get to shop and help someone at the same time. You told me you and your mom go.
We do. We sure try to It’s pretty, isn’t it? Boy, what a week it has been, right?
I mean, we had low temperatures that were getting down near the freezing mark earlier this week, and now we’re waking up to temperatures in the 60s. And we are also talking about potential for record high temperatures before very long. So let’s get into it spring like again. It really is a nice quiet morning out there. Really no big problems.
We had a little bit of patchy fog earlier this morning. I think most of that is dissipating right now. There may be an isolated drizzle today. Can’t rule that out, but nothing really all that widespread at all otherwise. Kind of a breezy day today.
There’s a look at your marine conditions, a slight chop on the bays and 2 to 3 foot seas offshore yesterday. Well, our average high for the day is 74. We hit 84 at hobby and 83 at Intercontinental. So obviously well above average. Today we’ll continue that trend with very similar high temperatures.
We’re looking for temps to rise about 20 or so degrees from where we are now. Currently we’re at 62 at both airports in Houston and everyone else, you guys are in the upper 50s and low 60s. So right now we’re 3 to 7 degrees warmer than we were this time yesterday. Some spots, in fact College Station ten degrees warmer than this time yesterday. And also the humidity is going to be on the increase.
One good thing about this Gulf breeze is that it tends to drive algae levels down. When you talk about tree pollen and things like that.
So the tree pollen is medium today. The ragweed pollen is also medium. So that’s down from the heavy category where we found it earlier this week.
Right now it still is in the 50s in a few spots. But if you step outside out there around Columbus, Brenham and it kind of feels refreshing, well, don’t expect that to last because you could see some middle 80s, not just today, but for the next several days. Travel weather today really very warm all across the Texas Gulf Coast, about 87 down in deep South Texas, about 87 in Lubbock for the day today. Over to our east. It has been a very chilly week for places like New Orleans up to around 76 later today.
What about the extended forecast? So this takes us beyond the seven day. This takes us from next Wednesday through the following Sunday. So the longer term forecast continues to call for above average temperatures, but also fortunately slightly above average chances for seeing rain rain that we desperately need. And I’ll have another look at that drought monitor map for you coming up at eight, because it just got updated and it doesn’t look great for our area.
So breezy, mild and mainly rain free here for today, tomorrow and now through the weekend. Rain chances don’t look really high heading into next week. We’re looking for the potential for record.
