Morning Roundup: Look at Frosty go! edition

Good morning, Houston. 'Tis the season for strange missing persons reports: In Tyler, the latest individual to go missing is a 42-foot-tall snowman. The inflatable snowman was last seen at a Tyler tree farm Friday night; the tree lot's owner, Royce Wisenbaker, told the AP that he believes it was hoisted over a fence and carted away. The snowman is worth about $10,000, and a $1,000 reward has been posted for information leading to its recovery — we're guessing it shouldn't be all that hard to find.

>> Barricade for Metro's light rail plan?: Federal Transportation Administration officials have asked Metro to re-apply for preliminary engineering approval for its North and Southeast light rail lines because the agency switched its plans from bus rapid transit to full light rail. Metro has to update its forecasts and capital cost estimates, and then it must submit a totally new application for federal funding — an application that has to be approved before construction begins if Metro plans to use federal money for the projects. The news means construction on the lines could be postponed; a Metro spokesman told KHOU that the agency is still evaluating the effect the request may have on the project timeline.

>> Truck driver killed in fall: A truck driver was killed early Tuesday when his tractor-trailer fell from a Highway 290 overpass and burst into flame. The accident happened around 2:15 a.m., when the driver was eastbound on 290 near Kickapoo Road; investigators said the driver ran over a median, hit a metal guardrail and concrete retaining wall, then plunged off the overpass and landed on a grassy area below, where it caught fire. The driver was killed at the scene, and police are still investigating the crash.

> Third man confesses in coke case: The third of four men suspected of stealing cocaine from a DPS lab in Jersey Village pleaded guilty yesterday, while the fourth chose to go to trial. Tommy Norris, 34, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in exchange for a 25-year sentence; he and the three other men are accused of taking more than 26 kilograms of cocaine from the lab, replacing it with a lookalike substance and planning to sell it. The fourth man, 42-year-old Everett Brumfield, is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 28.

>> Today's weather: Looks like another beautiful afternoon ahead: plenty of sunshine and a high of 73. Tonight, skies will remain mostly clear and temperatures will fall to near 50.

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