Sarah Smith

A list of nonfiction books about Texas, including the Alamo, foster care, school district battles and more

A Texas-based novels roundup, with stories based in Houston, Odessa, fictional East Texas towns and more

The city of Houston has its share of nicknames. Here's a few — plus their origin stories.

Twenty years ago, Jaysen Kettl went to prison for a crime he doesn’t deny: plotting a Texas school shooting. Now, he’s found purpose and passion in drag.

Navigating resources for Houstonians in need — whether that be legal assistance, food aid or mental health resources — can be confusing. If you, a friend or a loved one are looking for assistance, you can always dial 211. Here, we’ve listed a few other options and organizations you can turn to for help. Where can I find legal assistance? Lone Star Legal Aid offers help to low-income Texans. You can contact them via their website or call their main office at 713-652-0077. Houston Volunteer Lawyer…

There is a certain way of measuring tenure in Houston based on the yardstick of disasters. Instead of asking when you moved here, we will ask: Were you here for the freeze? Harvey? Ike? Rita? Allison? We will follow up with: Did you lose power? For how long? Did you flood? How badly? It is just the beginning of this year’s hurricane season, but we already have a new pencil scratch for our doorframes. Hurricane Beryl marched across our city July 8, killing at least 13 and knocking out power for 2…

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Latest on Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial (all times local): Hunter Biden has returned to the courtroom as the lawyers in his federal gun trial continued talking with the judge in sidebar. The sidebar discussion came after attorneys finished discussing the final jury instructions. Hunter Biden been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gu…

Inside the May 16 derecho, a powerful storm system that stunned Houston

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A northern Arizona man was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder and other crimes in the 2020 starvation death of his 6-year-old son. Authorities say the boy, Deshaun Martinez, was locked in a tiny bedroom closet for 16 hours a day over a month with his older brother as punishment for stealing food in the home at night while their parents slept. A Coconino County Superior Court jury found 28-year-old Anthony Martinez guilty in the boy’s death. Martinez also was convic…

Chuck Simmons will take a walk on the second Saturday in May. The entirety of the walk will take about 20 seconds. Thirty, if he walks slowly. Forty-five, if he shuffles. He will not drag it out that long. Those 20 seconds will hold 50 years. STRESSFUL TIME: Teen mental health in crosshairs of college application season The story of Chuck Simmons starts in 1944. He is born to a bus driver father and a mother who raises her four children. They live in northwest Houston in a two-bedroom wood-frame…