http://www.khou.com/news/national RSS Feed for KHOU - News - National en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 08:36:49 GMT http://www.khou.com/news/national/208451421.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — Councilman Eric Garcetti, who jammed with pop star Moby and fashioned himself as a voice for a new generation of city leaders, has opened a growing lead in the race for Los Angeles mayor with the pool of uncounted ballots steadily shrinking. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208448041.html AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature, a furious final week is being dominated by distrust, deadlines and delays. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208445971.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to check the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the U.S. armed forces, a House panel is poised to approve a series of revisions to longstanding military law. They include stripping commanding officers of their unilateral authority to change or dismiss a court-martial conviction and requiring that service members found guilty of sexual offenses be dismissed or dishonorably discharged. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208446681.html BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A 15-year-old girl found dead in woods north of Bangor knew the man charged with killing her, her best friend said, contrary to early reports that before her disappearance she'd headed outside her Glenburn home to see someone she recently met on Facebook. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208436591.html Today is Wednesday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2013. There are 223 days left in the year. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208430751.html AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A much-watched bill designed to give the public more information on schools, taxes, government spending and debt held by state entities has gone down on a House technicality. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208372511.html AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Friction over a Texas budget deal revealed signs of distrust and frustration Tuesday night when the House blew off a midnight deadline and again postponed a major vote on a new state water plan that is crucial to a spending compromise. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208425481.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County prosecutors say they want to retry five former officials in the city of Bell who were accused of corruption and overpaying themselves with public funds. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208421161.html WACO, Texas (AP) — Federal agents and the state fire marshal have effectively barred a federal safety panel from the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others, hampering its investigation, the panel's chairman said. http://www.khou.com/news/national/208421151.html AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A technicality on the House floor has killed a bill that would have created special districts operated by turnaround experts to improve struggling schools.