Texas news stories on Newser

Houston Family's College Bill: $1.5M

Matt Cantor — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:41:13 CDT

Good thing he wrote a bestseller. Houston dad Marc Ostrofsky has tallied up his family's college costs, and "we’re looking at roughly $60,000 to $70,000 per child per year," he tells KHOU . "A total of about $1.5 million after tax dollars." Ostrofsky has five daughters and stepdaughters;...

Army Training Missile Falls on Texas Town

Rob Quinn — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:45:05 CDT

The Army is investigating how a dummy Hellfire missile managed to become detached from an Apache helicopter to fall in a Texas neighborhood on Tuesday. A soldier's kids spotted the missile as it fell into a field around 8pm and told their dad, who contacted the military. Some 100 homes...

Convicted Murderer Won't Get New Trial...

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:45:33 CDT

The medical examiner changed her opinion on the cause of a toddler's death, but the Supreme Court won't consider giving the man convicted in the child's death a new trial. The high court today refused, without comment, to hear an appeal from Neil Hampton Robbins, convicted in the death of...

School Spells Own Name Wrong for Years

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:00:05 CDT

They may teach little kids their ABCs, but for the past nine years a school in Texas has misspelled its own name. The Sunrise Elementary School in Fort Worth added McMillian to its title in 2003 to honor its first teacher. But it turns out Mrs. McMillan did not possess...

10 Facts About That Imprisoned Candidate

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:33:07 CDT

The imprisoned felon who challenged President Obama for the Democratic nomination in West Virginia's primary and won an impressive 40% of the vote remains the bizarre political story of the day. Politico rounds up 10 facts about the locked-up candidate, Keith Judd, including:

$45K Offered for Killer of Sacred White Buffalo

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:58:46 CDT

A heartless hunter killed and skinned a rare white buffalo calf, and the Indians who believe the young animal was sacred are offering $45,000 for the killer's capture. White buffaloes are believed to occur once in several million births, and they're revered by the Lakota Sioux and other tribes....

Judge: No Blocking Funds for Planned Parenthood

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:05:00 CDT

A federal judge today stopped Texas from preventing a health organization affiliated with abortion providers from receiving state funds. The state immediately appealed. US District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled there is sufficient evidence that a law banning Planned Parenthood from the state's Women's Health Program is unconstitutional. He...

Latest Global Warming Culprit: Wind Farms

Mark Russell — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:18:05 CDT

From the damned-if-you-do department: A new study has found that wind farms, those environmentally friendly sources of clean, renewable energy, could be contributing to global warming, reports the Telegraph . The problem is that the giant propellers cause the air to circulate more. That means that during the night warmer air...

Cops: Suspect Had Miscarriage Before Baby Snatching

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:15:18 CDT

The woman accused of shooting a young mother to death and snatching her 3-day-old boy is a Texas nurse who told police she was planning to "adopt" the baby as her own after suffering a miscarriage, reports AP . Verna McClain, 30, confessed to killing 28-year-old Kala Golden outside a pediatrician's...