Matt Harab

Dec 12, 2023 | houstonpublicmedia.org | Becky Fogel |Toluwani Osibamowo |Michael Hagerty |Matt Harab

A federal judge in Austin has rejected a challenge to Texas' ban of TikTok on government-issued devices such as cell phones, tablets and laptops. The policy applies to all state agencies, including public universities and colleges. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University had sued Gov. Greg Abbott and state officials on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, which includes academics and researchers. The lawsuit claimed the ban was unconstitutional.

Nov 30, 2023 | houstonpublicmedia.org | Sara Willa Ernst |Matt Harab |Paul DeBenedetto |Shivani Parmar

A ransomware attack has prompted a health care chain that operates 30 hospitals in six states to divert patients from some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals while postponing certain elective procedures. Ardent Health Services said it took its network offline after the Nov. 23 cyberattack, adding in a statement that it suspended user access to information technology applications such as software used to document patient care.

Nov 14, 2023 | houstonpublicmedia.org | Sarah Grunau |Patricia Ortiz |Matt Harab

A Houston man who was in federal custody after allegedly studying bomb-making and expressing support for killing Jewish people online pleaded not guilty Monday to being in possession of a firearm in his arraignment. A judge Monday determined that 20-year-old Houston resident Sohaib Abuayyash will face trial in January. Abuayyash was arrested in October after being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by an immigrant under a nonimmigrant visa.

Nov 13, 2023 | houstonpublicmedia.org | Rebecca Noel |Lucio Vasquez |Matt Harab |Laura Isensee

Parents gathered outside of Tomball ISD's administrative offices today to protest what they say was a bait and switch, as the district plans for the construction of a new campus for fifth and sixth graders on a lot located far from many residents. Of the around 30 attendees, many of them were from the Creekside neighborhood in the Woodlands, and said they supported a bond that passed in 2021 to build a new school in Tomball ISD.

Nov 1, 2023 | houstonpublicmedia.org | Sarah Grunau |Patricia Ortiz |Matt Harab |Laura Isensee

A Houston man is in federal custody after “studying how to build bombs and posting online about his support for killing Jews,” FBI Director Chris Wray said on Tuesday. Houston resident Sohaib Abuayyash was referenced during a U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Tuesday, when Wray addressed looming threats on the United States amid a weeks-long war in the Middle East.