News stories from Houston and the surrounding areas....

Good morning, Houston. So you say you're a Dynamo fan, eh? Well, here's your chance to prove it: The back-to-back MLS champs are auctioning off a chance to get close to the team's two MLS cups — literally. If you win the auction, the cups will be dropped off at your house on Christmas Eve and picked up Dec. 26; in between, you can do whatever you want with 'em (within reason, of course).......

Good morning, Houston. As we were sitting around Monday morning contemplating using a witch's extremity to keep warm, we started to wonder exactly how cold it's gotten in the city before — and, thanks to the Internet, we know! According to the National Weather Service, the record low temperature for Houston was 5 degrees Fahrenheit, which we hit on Jan. 23, 1940. Maybe more interesting, though, is the Houston snowfall record: Turns out we......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • 28 miles per hour seems to be the magic speed when cruising downtown. • Insurance regulators approved a 10% hike in coastal wind insurance rates, that's an increase of about $84. • Rice University has transplanted over a dozen oak trees, including some over 100 years old, in order to make way for new dorms. • The Dynamo take on DC United......

We know it's irrational, but Houstonist has always been just a little concerned about driving behind car carriers on the freeway — and this morning, we remember why: Overnight, the driver of a car carrier on Highway 59 lost control, flipping his rig over and sending cars sliding across the freeway. (For the record, our concern always had to do with cars breaking loose and falling off the car carrier while it was moving, but......

So here's a weird story from northeast Harris County overnight: When a wrecker driver repossessed a man's car — or stole it? — he and the car's owner ended up in a high-speed chase that resulted in gunplay and the destruction of a taco stand. It started at about 11:30 p.m. yesterday when the tow-truck driver said he was repossessing a car at a home in the 4200 block of Weaver. The car's owner apparently......

So it looks like police officers aren't the only ones after HPD Chief Harold Hurtt: Now, 18-wheelers may be out to get him, too. The Chronicle reports that the chief had a near-accident yesterday morning as he headed into town on the Eastex Freeway. Hurtt was tooling along when a big rig suddenly pulled into his lane — so they do it to him, too — and he had to swerve into a traffic control......

Independent gubernatorial hopefuls Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn are now independent gubernatorial candidates — both gathered more than enough petition signatures to make it on the ballot The north and west sides of the Houston area are getting the rain they missed earlier this week as heavy storms move through Jury selection began today in the retrial of Andrea Yates, who is pleading innocent of drowning her five children by reason of insanity Jerome......

The Houston area can expect a hard freeze tonight, with temperatures in the 20s in the city and in the teens in northern counties The Astros signed outfielder Orlando Palmeiro to a two-year, $1.9 million contract A jury deadlock resulted in a mistrial in the case of Timothy Kramer, a Duke Energy trading executive accused of falsifying trades to increase profits A pack of wild dogs brought traffic to a halt when they ran onto......

An Amber Alert was issued Sunday for Teketria S. Buggs, a 12-year-old girl from Fort Bend County who has been missing since Friday Police have arrested a man caught on tape when he broke into a woman's apartment and did nasty things Doug Murphy, a former sports reporter at KTRK, was killed in a house fire in California The Battleship Texas is being moved to a dry berth so it doesn't rust away The Urban......