Morning Roundup: Our national gas problem edition

Good morning, Houston. If you're hoping that the United States will one day be free of its dependence on foreign natural gas — and we're sure at least one of you is — this isn't your lucky day: According to a report from the Energy Forum at Rice University's Baker Institute, there's no end in sight to our use of imported gas. Natural gas accounted for 22 percent of total primary energy use in the U.S. in 2006, and demand is expected to rise an average of 1.3 percent a year; about a fifth of all the natural gas Americans use is imported. That, of course, means that we'll have to continue to be concerned with our gas supply. And here's something else: Even if restricted areas of the United States are opened to gas exploration, it won't make a difference, the Energy Forum said. Ah well.

>> Shocking details of 'Baby Grace' murder: KHOU has gotten hold of court documents related to the final moments of life of Riley Ann Sawyers, the girl known as "Baby Grace" since her remains were found in a plastic container in Galveston Bay last month — and they paint a shocking picture. Sawyers' mother, 19-year-old Kimberly Dawn Trenor, has apparently confessed to killing the child; according to the court papers, Trenor and her husband, 24-year-old Royce Clyde Zeigler II, beat Sawyers with leather belts and held her head under water in a bathtub at their Spring home on July 24. Trenor said Zeigler picked Sawyers up and flung her across the room, then put her face-first into a pillow and couch. When the child was dead, Trenor said she and Zeigler bought the plastic container from Wal-Mart and put her body in it; they kept the box in their back yard for a few weeks, then threw it off the Galveston Causeway. When the body washed ashore, Trenor said she created a fake document saying that Sawyers had been removed from her custody because of alleged sexual abuse. Trenor and Zeigler were arrested this weekend and charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, and Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said police are now awaiting the results of DNA tests.

>> Seniors rescued from mid-rise fire: Firefighters rescued several senior citizens Monday morning from a four-alarm fire at their southwest Houston housing facility. The fire broke out at the eight-story building on Bellerive just before 10 a.m., leaving some of its residents stranded on upper floors; rescuers used ladder trucks to help some of the seniors to safety. "There was big, big smoke -- big smoke. I couldn't get out. The fire department's taken me out because I can't see nothing," resident Alejandro Mastache told KPRC. The fire was extinguished by 11 a.m., and fortunately, none of the residents sustained serious injuries. "They did a tremendous job of controlling this fire, getting people out. ... But there's a lot of work left to be done," HFD Assistant Chief Rick Flanagan said. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

>> Today's weather: Hey, it's fall! How about that? And it looks like we're in for another beautiful fall day today: Look for plenty of sunshine and an afternoon high of 64, with a few clouds drifting into the area tonight as temperatures drop into the mid-40s.

Speaking of dropping, how's about you drop into some headlines?