Newswatch

News, trends and ideas we're tracking today.

Just in from Oort for ’13: comet with ‘amazing tail

Some are already dubbing ISON the “comet of the century.” And observer John Bortle says it could have a “tail of amazing length and brightness.”

Categories: General

Oak Ridge Boys bring Bush some musical cheer

What’s the fastest path out of the ICU? Country music. Former President George H.W. Bush got a pick-me-up Friday when one of his favorite acts, the Oak Ridge Boys, serenaded him by telephone with the hymn Amazing Grace and a little bit of their hit Elvira. “Hey, thanks,” the president said afterward. He also said  Read More

Categories: General

Worker fired for her looks tells her side

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. The woman who was fired from a dentist’s office for being too attractive — and then lost her court case challenging the move — said she’s devastated by the decision. Melissa Nelson of Iowa tells ABC News that that she had no idea her boss, Dr. James Knight,  Read More

Categories: General

Last print Newsweek is on the way

COVER: Newsweek’s last print issue before we go all-digital features a hashtag on the cover: #LastPrintIssue! twitter.com/Newsweek/statu… — Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 23, 2012 That’s a wrap for the print edition of Newsweek. The magazine released the cover of the final printed Newsweek today bearing the hashtag #lastprintissue. Here’s Newsweek’s tweet and some of the early  Read More

Categories: General

Top guns recovered by ATF in Texas

Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 when he went on a deadly rampage in Newtown, Conn., but across Texas a whole host of different types of weapons have been used in crimes. Here is how guns recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Texas broke down in 2011: Pistols: 7,605 Rifles:  Read More

Categories: Crime

Last class photo shows smiling faces at Sandy Hook

The last class photo of Sandy Hook Elementary School students killed in Friday’s mass shooting in Newtown was shown on ABC’s Katie Couric show on Tuesday.

Categories: General

End times? Many call storms a sign

More than out of of every three Americans are blaming recent natural disasters on the end times spelled out in the Bible. A poll released last week by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Religion News Service found sharp disagreement on what is behind recent disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, according to a report  Read More

Categories: General

Social media reaction from the Newtown, Conn., area near the school shooting

[View the story "Social media reaction from Newton, Conn." on Storify]

Categories: Crime, Social media

Video of the Milam hotel demolition

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Categories: General

Blame Heatmiser for Houston’s December. Really.

Rankin and Bass know your pain, Houston. The plot of 1974′s animated The Year Without A Santa Claus revolves around a town that’s, well, just too hot for Christmas. Sound familiar, Texans? Take it away, brothers. (They were voiced by Dick Shawn, who once played Jack Tripper’s father on Three’s Company, and George Irving.) It’s  Read More

Categories: General

Texas officials blamed in death of patient at Rusk

The state of Texas is being faulted in a federal investigation of the death of a patient at Rusk State Hospital earlier this year, according to a report Sunday. Brandy Bell, a mother of three from Conroe, died in May at the hospital from blood clots in her lungs. Statesman.com reports today that the hospital  Read More

Categories: General

Deputies: Son killed in stabbing after cell phone dispute

Authorities are investigating a stabbing death in east Harris County, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. According to news station KTRK, a woman and her 31-year-old son got into an argument over a cell phone at a home in the 6600 block of Eastleigh at Fawley near Uvalde Road and Highway 90. His step-father  Read More

Categories: General