Good morning, Houston! Two, four, six, eight ... yeah, whatever, we weren't cheerleaders. But those of you who were (or those of you who are cheerleader fans — no more needs to be said about that) should be excited to know that Houston is one of the finalists to be home of the Cheerleader Hall of Fame. We're up against Ohio, Kentucky, California, Florida and another city in Texas for the Hall of Fame, which will "chronicle the history of the cheerleading industry." Word is Dallas could have the edge if the College Football Hall of Fame decides to relocate there, but we hope the Hall of Fame's planners won't forget that we take cheerleading really seriously around here. Really seriously.
>> Fast track, derailed: A state district judge on Tuesday blocked Gov. Rick Perry's executive order fast-tracking the permitting process for new coal power plants in Texas, saying environmental groups "are likely to prevail" in their argument that Perry didn't have the authority to issue the order. TXU is seeking approval to build 11 new coal plants and testimony was set to begin on permits for six of them today; under Perry's order, the permitting process would have been shortened to six months from 12.
>> Were they doing tattoos of donuts?: A Pasadena police officer crashed his cruiser into a tattoo parlor Monday night while trying to avoid running into a vehicle that turned in front of him. Though the tattoo parlor was open and people were inside, nobody was hurt — but things may not turn out so well for Brandon McGraw, the driver who almost hit the cop and was arrested after officers smelled marijuana on him and in his car.
>> Did he or didn't he?: An attorney for Daniel Joseph Maldonado, the former Houstonian accused of training with al-Qaeda in an effort to overthrow the Somali government, said yesterday that Maldonado had renounced his views on jihad before he was taken into custody. Brent Newton said during a court hearing that Maldonado never intended to fight with al-Qaeda and that he was deprived of sleep and denied an attorney for a week and a half after his capture, but an FBI agent testified that Maldonado wanted to fight for an Islamic government in Somalia and only left the training camp when he grew disillusioned with the way his family was treated and contracted malaria.
>> Today's weather: Looks like we'll have an early taste of spring the next couple of days. This morning's clouds should give way to sun this afternoon, with a high in the upper 70s; tonight we should see a low around 50 with clear skies. Tomorrow should be similar, but expect some rain leading into the weekend.
Give us an N! Give us an E! Give us a W! Give us an S! What does that spell? Um ...
- A homeowner shot and killed a man who was trying to steal his car Tuesday morning in northwest Houston
- Turns out a TV news viewer was responsible for finding the Meals on Wheels truck that was stolen from a northeast Houston apartment complex Monday morning
- State legislators are debating whether to use more of sales tax proceeds from sporting goods for state and local parks
- Ready to have the snot scared out of you? Wait until you hear a car equipped with a train horn
- Hundreds of people lined up for Hepatitis A shots because they believe that might have been infected by a Pappasito's waiter
- Police are on the lookout for a woman and her daughter who have been missing since Sunday afternoon
- Drug maker Merck is dropping its lobbying effort to get state legislatures to require that schoolgirls be vaccinated with its cervical cancer vaccine
- The state-created Texas Southern University Advisory Committee, charged with straightening out finances at the school, will hold a town hall meeting Thursday to hear recommendations on how to improve TSU
- Will Kevin Howard, the former financial chief of Enron's broadband unit, be tried a third time? Wait and see
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