Results tagged “terrorist”

Good morning, Houston. In these days of near-$3 gas, there's one group of drivers who aren't so worried: hypermilers, who use certain techniques to squeeze every possible M out of their MPG. Hypermiling involves a few pretty simple changes in the way you drive, including coasting, accelerating slowly from stops and the skillful use of cruise control. Used correctly, hypermiling can increase your car's fuel efficiency by 30 percent or more — so why...

So, Ashby Highrise. Here in one of Houstonist's favorite neighborhoods, we're seeing lots of signs that say "Tower of Traffic" and "Stop Ashby Highrise", and we got caught in that protest the other day on our way to and from Rice campus. But one detail we'd missed until now came to our attention in a Rice Thresher article. The Thresher, Rice's award-winning weekly newspaper, has its ups and downs, but it's extremely under-appreciated by Owls...

Houston Artist Screens 9/11 Parallel Tale No matter how many years pass, uttering the phrase "September 11th" will always bring a somber reflection of memories from 2001. Whether you recall where you were, what you were doing on that day in history, we feel it is most important to do the most America activity possible. And, no, we're not talking about eating a hot dog, watching reality TV, while plotting the comeback of Britney Spears....

Oodles of noodles on Shepherd at W. Alabama! Today marks the grand opening of the second Jenni’s Noodle House. The original Jenni’s Noodle House, located in Old Chinatown downtown, opened its doors six years ago. Houstonist loves Jenni’s because of the big personality that co-owner Scott Weaver brings to the store. Always the approachable and high energy character, we chatted with Scott about Jenni, Jenni’s and the new restaurant. What were the inspirations for the...

So we're all familiar with the Emergency Alert System, right? It's the thing that breaks into television and radio broadcasts to let us know about emergency situations, from explosions or terrorist attacks down to severe weather. Well, the local EAS system is on the blink right now — and, ironically enough, it was taken out by severe weather. The antenna for the radio-based alert system is atop the 31-story Five Greenway Plaza, and it seems...

Houstonist left work yesterday feeling a bit like James Bond, the spy not the ornithologist. Not suave and debonair, but rather like we'd just been worked over by a maniacal, blood weeping villain yielding a massive rope with which he was massaging our gentle parts. Like Bond, we sought refuge in the comfort of a martini. Like a true pre-Google dork, we watched the Casino Royale scene in which he rattles off the following...

As expected, Halliburton's announcement Sunday that it'll establish a corporate headquarters in Dubai and move its CEO there sparked some criticism in Congress yesterday from legislators who claim the company is making the change so it can increase business with Iran and take tax benefits in the U.S. "I think Congress ought to hold hearings to try to determine why one of this country's major defense contractors has decided to move its principal offices offshore,"...

Former Houstonian Daniel Joseph Maldonado has become the first American to be charged with joining terrorists in Somalia. Maldonado, 28, was arrested in Kenya last month and was ordered held without bond yesterday on charges that he trained with al-Qaeda to try to form an Islamic state in Somalia. According to the criminal complaint against Maldonado, he left Houston in November 2005 for Cairo; by December 2006, he was in Somalia, where he had been...

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not...

More on Shiraz Qazi, the third local man arrested for allegedly conspiring to help the Taliban: Yesterday, he was ordered to be held without bail because prosecutors said he heard conversations about possible terrorist acts and didn't tell authorities. Qazi, remember, was the guy who prosecutors were so vague about last week — they said his arrest was related to the arrests of two other local men and another in Dallas, but they didn't say...

Local security personnel at Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports will be trained to screen passengers by watching their behavior and facial expressions, the Chronicle reports — though the program may already be in place at one of the airports. The screening is part of a federal program called Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques (that's a bland name, sure, but the acronym is SPOT, which must have pleazed dozens of people in Washington), which was...

Remember the flap over who was responsible for stopping a suspicious passenger at Hobby Airport? Well, the TSA and HPD aren't the only ones taking about it: The passenger, Mohamed Ahwar Bataineh, said he lost his job and was unfairly put on a terrorist watch list. Bataineh, a 31-year-old Jordanian, was on his way to Atlanta for a truck-driving job June 26 and was stopped at a security checkpoint at Hobby, the TSA said, because...

After Tuesday's terrorist commuter train bombings in India and non-terrorist, but still scary subway fire in Chicago, Metro officials took no chances with our little rail system. Yesterday, security was beefed up along the MetroRail line though officials said there had been no immediate threat in Houston. The increased security includes extra Metro police officers at rail stations and K-9 units and a special operations response team to patrol the rail line. If there's ever...

Seems like today's shaping up to be "Those Crazy Kids!" day at Houstonist — first there was the erstwhile terrorist in Channelview, and now there's the Mission Bend teen who ran an elaborate scheme selling knockoffs of designer goods. Police say Christopher Oniya, a 17-year-old Bush High School student, imported fake shoes, bags and other items from China for pennies on the dollar, then sold them for retail price, claiming they were genuine. He even...

As part of their 25th anniversary of bringing big-name authors to Houston, the Inprint Brown Reading Series presents John Updike (he wrote a bunch of books your teachers should have made you read in high school instead of Great Expectations) tonight at the Alley Theatre. Following a banner year of literary appearances that included Louise Erdrich and Mary Gordon, tonight's event will include a reading from Updike's new book, Terrorist, a brief interview and a...

A man who inexplicably broke through barricades and drove through a closed construction site in northwest Harris County died when he ran into an oncoming construction truck Two Colombians were sentenced to prison for their part in a $25M weapons-for-cocaine deal that involved a Colombian terrorist militia and two Houston businessmen Houston Metro buses didn't join in the national transit tribute to Rosa Parks Thursday becuase the transit authority said it had already honored her...