Morning Roundup: Entertaining the young'uns edition

Good morning, Houston. Have you wondered lately what Music World Entertainment founder Matthew Knowles is up to? You might never have guessed: He's releasing a new line of toys aimed at urban toddlers. The line is called Baby Jamz, and they're meant to be a twist on traditional kids' toys: "Think about it," Knowles told KTRK. "'Old McDonald' has been the same since we were kids. So what if we change 'Old McDonald' and make it hip and cool?" Well, sure, that sounds fun. Among the toys in the Baby Jamz line is a "blinking mix master chair [that] lets your toddler learn counting as they become a mini-DJ." Wait — more baby toys that make noise? Considerably less fun.

>> Hookers near the house of the Lord: The Rev. James Nash has dealt with a lot as the leader of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sunnyside — but as he told KTRK, he's fed up with the prostitutes in the neighborhood. The prostitutes advertise their wares at all hours of the day, Nash said, and they even take clients in the shadow of his church: "They'll just go right around the corner in the back of the building and take care of their business in the vacant lot," he said. Though the city has been cracking down — Channel 13's Crime Tracker, in fact, found a 10 percent decrease in prostitution-related crimes in the area — residents said the arrests aren't doing a lot to solve the problem, because the women end up out of jail and back on the same streetcorners. City Councilwoman Ada Edwards said the city needs some legal backing from Austin, and state Rep. Borris Miles said economic empowerment is the answer to cleaning up problem neighborhoods. Nash said he doesn't care who does it, but someone needs to make a move: "Somebody in the community has to do something about this," he told Channel 13. "I am just fed up with this."

>> Police ask for help in Crystal Beach murder: It's been almost two weeks since someone raped and strangled 28-year-old Bridgette Gearen on Crystal Beach, and Galveston County sheriff's deputies still don't have any solid leads in the case — so, once again, they're asking the public for their help in finding the killer. "Over just the past few days, we have had some very promising leads called in that have led us to look at some very interesting individuals. But every single one of those leads has turned out to be a dead end," sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo told KPRC. "There is someone out there that knows what happened to Bridgette." Gearen was attacked while spending the weekend with friends at a Crystal Beach beach house; her body was found July 15 by campers about 100 yards from the beach house. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case; anyone with information should call the Galveston County sheriff's office at 409.766.2222.

>> Today's weather: Soggy! And not that hot! Expect a 70 percent chance of rain this afternoon and tonight, with highs only getting up around 83 and lows in the lower 70s. It could be worse, though — remember previous summers when it was 175 degrees out and all the grass was scorched brown? That sucked.

Since you're trying to keep dry anyway, why not read some headlines?