Morning Roundup: Sweet tree lovin' edition

Good morning, Houston. Do you love trees? Well, you're in luck: Today happens to be Love a Tree Day. Houstonist has something of a soft spot for trees ourselves — we've often enjoyed their shade, climbed their branches and even skied into one or two — and so we wholeheartedly endorse showing a little tree love today. Don't have a tree to lavish your attention on? No problem: Join Trees for Houston and help make the city a greener place.

>> Maybe they should've called the store 'Mr. Novelty ID': Undercover officers from the Harris County DA's office and Houston police officers raided a southwest Houston store specializing in fake ID cards, on Tuesday. The store — called "Mr. ID" — sold made-to-order driver's licenses from every U.S. state; though the store manager said they were sold for novelty purposes, officials said people were using the fake IDs illegally. And the cards are used for more than just getting underage kids into bars: They could also help people carry out identity theft. "Someone could take Phil Archer's name and go get a photo ID with his name on it and then perpetuate fraud," Assistant DA Craig Still said. Sure, except that Archer would probably show up at your house and go all Chuck Norris on you. Just saying.

>> Police nab 3 in Wal-Mart attacks: Officials have made three arrests in a series of 15 attacks at area Wal-Mart stores — but a fourth suspect is still reportedly on the loose. Two of the suspects, a pair of women, stole another woman's purse in a Wal-Mart parking lot in The Woodlands on Sunday afternoon before robbing another shopper at a Wal-Mart on Louetta Road, then hitting another Wal-Mart location on FM 1960 near Willowbrook. It was there that an HPD officer found the women casing the parking lot; he arrested the women, Kinesha Williams Moore and Tenesha Henderson, and a man, Jeremy Parker. The fourth suspect, Alicia Russell, is wanted in connection with a number of the attacks — and yes, we imagine police have thought of looking for her at Wal-Marts.

>> How expensive does gas have to get? We'll see: A gallon of regular unleaded gas is bumping up against $3 in Houston right now, and it's closing in on $4 in some parts of the country — but even so, Americans don't seem to be cutting back on their gas consumption yet, according to government statistics. Part of the reason: Many Americans have long driving commutes, and they have no choice but to buy gas at whatever price it's sold. And then there are the folks like Eddie Engles, a Chicagoan who drives a GMC Yukon — not the most fuel-efficient car — and paid $83.89 to fill up his tank yesterday, a new personal record. "I need it," Engles said. "What am I going to do? Not fill up?"

>> Today's weather: The bad news: It'll probably rain today. The good news: The next few days look like they'll be amazing. Today, look for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon, with a high around 85; later, the rain chance will decrease and skies will clear, brining a low in the lower 60s. Then, look for partly cloudy skies and highs around 80 for the rest of the week and through the weekend. Ah, spring. Finally.

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