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The last large stand of woods in a Seattle suburb. A unique desert canyon just outside of Los Angeles. Rangelands deep in the heart of Texas. All are set to be felled, filled and bulldozed so that stately homes, a sprawling reservoir and perhaps even a massive hydroelectric dam may one day rise in their place. Aside from their still...

Texas and most other states are doing a poor job of supporting their newest teachers, contributing to the high turnover rate for those teachers during their first five years on the job, according to a new study by an education research group. The study by the nonprofit National Council on Teacher Quality found that while Texas is making some...

A woman was fatally shot while trying to protect her daughter from an estranged boyfriend who had kicked in the front door of her southwest Houston townhome Thursday evening, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. After the unidentified woman was shot, deputies said the gunman kidnapped his estranged girlfriend and her 17-month-old child....

From Clear Channel to Texas Instruments, employers are hemorrhaging jobs. Will the stimulus bring them back? The House's passage Wednesday of an $819 billion stimulus raises hopes that the massive package will speed the recovery from a recession whose victims now include Texas. The Congressional Budget Office suggests the bill could create...

President Obama has said repeatedly that the $819 billion economic plan approved Wednesday night by the House is just a first step along the road to the final stimulus package. NASA and its supporters certainly hope so. The House on Wednesday rejected pleas from pro-NASA lawmakers to include up to $2 billion for space exploration and...

At first, it will trickle into paychecks in small, barely perceptible amounts: perhaps $12 or $13 a week for many American workers, in the form of lower tax withholding. For the growing ranks of the unemployed, it will be more noticeable: benefit checks due to stop will keep coming, along with an extra $25 a week. At the grocery store, a...

House members say they want to trust. But new era or not, they still need to verify. In adopting rules they'll operate under for this year's session, members on Wednesday reflected damage from six years of acrimony in their chamber. Representatives wrangled over how to limit a speaker's power over bills and how to protect against...

Amid all the noise of big numbers in its quarterly and year-end results, ConocoPhillips had one underlying message that its peers are likely to echo in the coming days: 2009 will be a rough ride for the oil and gas industry. “We came to the conclusion we would experience a serious multiyear recession” stretching into 2010, James Mulva,...

The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education’s current budget. The proposed emergency...

The freezing rain and sleet have moved on, but not before leaving most of Dallas-Fort Worth coated in upwards of a quarter-inch of ice, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say roads and sidewalks will remain icy until late morning when temperatures are expected to warm above freezing. Most schools, including the Dallas...