This year's Diwali celebrations will be brighter than ever in the Houston area after Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday approved fireworks sales for the holiday for the first time.

Harris County Commissioners voted to add a fireworks sales season specifically for Diwali, despite concerns raised by fire chiefs about potential safety risks.

Texas first passed a law in 1997 that allows astronauts to vote if they will be in space during early voting and on Election Day.

American astronauts from NASA will be on the International Space Station (ISS) on 5 November, Election Day, and will cast their votes via postal ballots, CNN reported. They will float 320 kilometres above the nearest polling station that day.

Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday gave final approval to its financial plan for the upcoming year, including an 8% increase in the county's property tax rate for the new fiscal year beginning on Oct.