CBS 11 Dallas - Fort Worth

TXA 21 continues the crusade to help North Texans get back in the workforce. This week's Get-A-Job Candidate is Debra Simmons. Simmons has been out of work for more than a year and a half and has experience as a as a substance abuse and mental health counselor. Full Story »

You think of the zoo as a place that keeps animals inside, but there's an area of the Fort Worth Zoo that's specifically designed to get animals out of the zoo. Some of the animals were a 'wild' gift for some sick children. Full Story »

Maybe the Dallas Cowboys' two straight losses in December have nothing to do with the calendar. Maybe they just aren't very good. That's one of the theories going around now that the playoffs are approaching and the Cowboys are retreating -- again. Full Story »

A burglar shot and killed a 69-year-old Grand Prairie man who caught the crook red-handed, police say.  Johnie Stailey, seen at left, had just returned from church with his wife. Full Story »

It could be a 'pass or fail' year at four Dallas Independent School District high schools. The schools have consecutive low performing years, and the state could step in next year. Now, classroom success may not be enough to save the schools. Full Story »

Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, has died. He was 91. His spokesman A. Larry Ross said by phone from Carrollton, that Roberts died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif. Full Story »

The danger is something most parents don't worry about or even know about, but children can have strokes. It's something Patricia and Ruben Quiroz never knew could happen. Their three-year-old daughter, Dawson, suffered a stroke and now they're working to raise awareness of the potentially deadly medical emergency. Full Story »

Arlington Animal Services and the SPCA raided an exotic animal import business Tuesday, saying they had found thousands of animals inside. Hundreds were dead or at risk of dying, they said. Full Story »

A 57-year-old member of a polygamist group raided by Texas authorities last year has been convicted of sexual assault of a child. A Schleicher County jury in the West Texas town of Eldorado deliberated less than two hours Tuesday before convicting Allan Keate. Full Story »

While you're writing Christmas cards this holiday season, Fort Worth's mayor hopes you'll write a thank you card to the TCU football team. Full Story »

No one had heard from a southeast Dallas family since last week, so police and fire crews were called to make a welfare check late Monday.  When Dallas Fire Rescue arrived at the home of Jose and Beatris Vega they found the couple and their 16-year-old daughter dead.  Firefighters say they were likely killed by fumes from an outdoor heater that they used inside their house. Full Story »

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says Texas should concentrate on middle school students to help avoid higher dropout rates. Full Story »

Four Texas cities and 15 elected officials have filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to declare part of the Texas Open Meetings Act unconstitutional. Full Story »

An expert testified a 2005 marriage was not legal in the West Texas trial of a polygamist group member accused of tying the knot with a 15-year-old. Full Story »

J.J. Barea scored a season-high 23 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored four of his season-low 10 in the final 59 seconds, sending the Dallas Mavericks to a 94-90 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night. Full Story »

A federal review finds the rate of Texas prison population growth has slowed and fewer new units are needed.  The Justice Department report, released this week, found the number of admissions to Texas prisons increased by 0.4 percent in 2008. The state's average increase had been 3 percent since 2000. Full Story »

The government and the window covering industry on Tuesday recalled more than 50 million Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds because of the risk children may be strangled by the cords.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission said five deaths and 16 near-strangulations from Roman shades have been reported since 2006, while three deaths connected to roll-up blinds have been reported since 2001. Full Story »

For more than a decade, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's director wanted to do more than just a nice Christmas show. David Davidson wanted his annual holiday show to change lives. If he were still alive, Davidson would know he succeeded. Full Story »

Last week, a 57-year-old Garland man was arrested on charges of Possession and Promotion of Child Pornography. Garland detectives took William McBurney into custody after discovering thousands of images and videos of child pornography on a computer. CBS 11 News found McBurney working on motorcycles at his home. Full Story »

A Dallas high school student is still traumatized after an encounter with a police imposter. The fake cop not only pulled the girl over, he also groped her before she managed to escape. CBS 11 News talked exclusively with the victim about the traffic stop that has her afraid to get behind the wheel again. Full Story »

Governor Rick Perry has appointed Tarrant County's medical examiner to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, a group shaken up this fall when Perry replaced several members. Perry replaced the head of the commission and two of its eight other board members on Sept. 30. That was just days before the panel was to consider a report critical of an arson finding leading to the execution of Cameron ... Full Story »

For two Dallas Independent School District programs, getting national acclaim as one of the best schools in the country is nothing new. With their success, many are asking what makes the Talented and Gifted, and the Science and Engineering schools of Townview Magnet Center so effective. Full Story »

Two women were attacked in separate armed robberies in Lewisville Monday morning, and police think the incidents are related. Full Story »

A Tarrant County College course is teaching some very specific skills. The program, paid for with stimulus money, is taking people from desperation to the workplace in just four weeks. Full Story »

Dallas Police are looking for a man who allegedly impersonated an officer and groped a 17-year-old girl. Full Story »