Category Archives: Texas

European Union reportedly set to ban US travelers over Covid-19 concerns – as it happened

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We’re ending our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. A summary of some key events:

California’s governor has granted clemency to 21 prisoners as Covid-19 outbreaks have continued to infect thousands behind bars in an escalating public health crisis.

Gavin Newsom, who has faced mounting pressure to release people en masse from state prisons, announced Friday that he is granting commutations to 21 people, a move that reduces their sentences and creates a potential path for their release. He also announced pardon grants for 13 people, a step that restores some rights for those who have already served sentences.

There's growing pressure on @GavinNewsom to grant clemency to elderly + vulnerable women who are domestic violence survivors and at high risk of death in prison.

I spoke directly with some of them. LISTEN to their own words ⬇️ (thread):https://t.co/btI8Ns7wMw #SixNineteen

Patricia Wright has terminal liver cancer, is currently in chemotherapy and likely has months to live. She told me she just wants to see her children and grandchildren before she dies: pic.twitter.com/0ydwwgCem1

Related: California governor grants clemency to 21 prisoners as thousands infected with Covid-19

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Texas Covid-19 cases soar weeks after state lifts lockdown restrictions – video

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Texas reported an all-time daily high of 5,489 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, weeks after the state became one of the earliest in the US to ease its coronavirus lockdown measures. The significant increase in cases has left hospitals in Houston near capacity, with some adult ICU patients treated at Texas Children’s hospital

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Texas Covid-19 cases hit all-time daily high as Houston hospitals near capacity

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Increase in coronavirus infections prompted governor to tighten public health restrictions after resisting calls to slow reopening

Texas recorded an all-time daily high of 5,489 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday as hospitals neared capacity in Houston.

The dramatic increase in cases prompted the governor, Greg Abbott, to tighten public health restrictions after resisting calls to slow the state’s reopening process.

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Half of US states see coronavirus surge as officials warn first wave far from over

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29 states reported a jump in cases, while Trump says increased testing is a problem: ‘It makes us look like we have more cases’

More than half of all US states have reported a rise in new coronavirus cases, with some breaking daily records. Amid fears of a second wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths, public health officials have warned that the first is far from over.

Related: ‘New York always comes back’: workers return as city enters phase two of reopening

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Calls for justice as George Floyd’s life celebrated at funeral in Houston – video

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George Floyd, the African-American man whose death in police custody roused worldwide protests against racism, was extolled on Tuesday as a symbol of the oppressed's struggle for justice at his funeral in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Family members and friends, most dressed all in white, stepped up to a microphone to describe Floyd as a loving, larger-than-life personality who deserved justice after his death while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers on 25 May

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George Floyd: large procession of mourners expected to follow private Texas funeral – live

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The Guardian’s Vivan Ho reports from Houston, Texas:

Supporters of George Floyd stood outside the church in the punishing Houston humidity, waiting for the procession to Floyd’s final resting place.

Joe Biden expressed support for the Buffalo protester who was shoved to the ground by police officers, after Trump suggested the 75-year-old man might be an Antifa plant.

My Dad used to say there's no greater sin than the abuse of power.

Whether it's an officer bloodying a peaceful protester or a President defending him with a conspiracy theory he saw on TV.

I'm a Catholic – just like Martin. Our faith says that we can't accept either.

Related: Trump makes baseless claim about man, 75, shoved by police: ‘Could be a set-up?’

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket prototype explodes during test

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  • 394ft rocket designed to carry humans and cargo to moon and Mars
  • No immediate indication of injuries after explosion in Texas

A prototype of SpaceX’s upcoming heavy-lift rocket, Starship, exploded on Friday during ground tests in south Texas as Elon Musk’s space company pursued an aggressive development schedule to fly the launch vehicle for the first time.

The testing explosion was unrelated to SpaceX’s upcoming launch of two Nasa astronauts from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center using a different rocket system, the Falcon 9 with the Crew Dragon capsule fixed on top.

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Coronavirus US live: Trump abruptly leaves press conference after clash with reporters

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Trump ends the briefing on a very abrupt and sour note.

Asked by CBS White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang why he is so fixated on comparing the US’ testing capability to other countries as opposed to focusing on the lag that still exists here, Trump snapped: “Maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, okay?”

Trump throws a fit when @kaitlancollins of CNN tries to ask him a question and abruptly ends the press conference pic.twitter.com/58AVZ9CABl

Trump walked out of his own news conference after accusing @weijia of asking a "nasty question" and refusing to take @kaitlancollins's questions after calling on her.

Trump spent Mother’s Day sending conspiratorial tweets about his predecessor. In one tweet he accused Obama of committing the “biggest political crime in American history, by far!” Trump.

Asked to name the crime he is accusing Obama of committing, Trump replied: “Obamagate. it’s been going on for a long time it’s been going on before I even got elected.”

Related: Trump charges Obama with 'biggest political crime in American history'

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Carnival to resume cruises in August despite infections and deaths on ships

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Eight cruise ships to resume operations from 1 August, sailing from Texas and Florida

Carnival Cruise Line has announced plans to resume operations at the beginning of August despite dozens of deaths on cruise ships during the Covid-19 pandemic and investigations into the industry’s possible role in spreading the disease around the planet.

In a statement on Monday, the operator said eight cruise ships would resume operations from 1 August, sailing from Galveston, Texas, and Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida, once a no-sail order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had expired.

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Tornadoes rip through US south leaving trail of devastation and killing dozens

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  • More than two dozen tornadoes reported in four states
  • Louisiana sheriff reports ‘extreme flooding’ seen rarely ‘if ever’

At least six people were killed after severe storms tore through a number of southern states late on Wednesday, adding to weeks of extreme weather that had already killed more than two dozen people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Related: Tornadoes and storms hit US south as six killed in Mississippi

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Protests in Maryland, Texas and Ohio against coronavirus stay-at-home orders – video report

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Demonstrations have taken place across the US against orders put in place to limit the spread of coronavirus. The protests were organised by the far-right media site Infowars. Rallies were held in state capitals, with more planned for next week in other states. Hundreds of people stood and chanted for the US to be reopened. Rightwing media and Donald Trump have supported the protests but they appear to represent a minority opinion


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‘These houses are flattened’: tornadoes and storms hit US south – video report

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A tornado strike destroyed homes and left a trail of devastation across large parts of the US south on Sunday. In northern Louisiana, up to 300 homes and other buildings were damaged, and utility companies reported thousands of power outages. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed at least six deaths in the state from the severe weather

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Tornado strikes Louisiana as powerful storm could affect over a dozen states

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Twister destroyed buildings in Monroe, Louisiana, while local media said at least two tornadoes touched down in central Texas

A tornado strike destroyed homes and left a trail of devastation across parts of Louisiana on Sunday, as forecasters warned that a powerful Easter storm could affect more than a dozen states and millions of people before the early hours of Monday.

The storm provided a dilemma for public safety officials trying to find the balance between wanting people to stay in lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic and wanting them to leave their homes for shelter if conditions worsened.

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Two people struck by gunfire during US New Year’s Eve celebrations

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  • Three-year-old wounded by backyard gunfire in Phoenix
  • 61-year-old woman killed by stray bullet in Houston

A three-year-old boy was shot and wounded in Phoenix and a 61-year-old woman was shot and killed in Houston as people celebrated the New Year, authorities said.

Related: Headless torso found in cave identified as murderer who escaped jail in 1916

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Texas shooting details supercharge NRA’s ‘good guy with a gun’ defense

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Security duo shot and killed gunman in Texas, prompting gun-rights groups to urge states to pass laws expanding firearms access

Every time the US suffers another mass shooting, gun rights activists make an argument that goes something like this: if a good guy with a gun had been there, this terrible tragedy could have been prevented.

Related: Texas shooting: two dead and one injured at Fort Worth church

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Architect of Mexico’s war on drugs held in Texas for taking cartel bribes

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Genaro García Luna, who ran Mexico’s federal police for six years, charged with accepting briefcases of cash to protect Sinaloa cartel

A former minister who was considered an architect of Mexico’s war on drugs has been arrested on charges that he allowed the Sinaloa cartel to operate with impunity in exchange for briefcases stuffed with cash.

Genaro García Luna, who oversaw the creation of Mexico’s federal police, was arrested in Texas on Monday.

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Houston police chief criticises politicians and NRA after officer death – video

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Houston's police chief Art Acevedo criticised politicians for not standing up to the National Rifle Association after the the fatal shooting of an officer. 'The NRA doesn't like the fact that we want to take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse their girlfriends. And who killed our sergeant? A boyfriend abusing his girlfriend,' Acevedo said


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Thousands evacuated after explosions at Texas chemical plant – video

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About 60,000 people within a four-mile radius of the Port Neches chemical plant in Texas were ordered to leave after a series of explosions. Three workers were injured in the initial blast and there was a second, larger explosion followed by a number of smaller explosions later in the day.  Local residents said windows and doors were blown out by the blasts 

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Father of black woman killed by police in her Fort Worth home dies

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Marquis Jefferson, whose daughter Atatiana was shot dead by police during a welfare check, has died from a heart attack

The father of a black woman fatally shot by a white police officer inside her Fort Worth, Texas, home has died.

A spokesman for Marquis Jefferson, Bruce Carter, told the Dallas Morning News that the father of Atatiana Jefferson suffered a heart attack and died Saturday night at a Dallas hospital. Carter told KDFW that Jefferson “just couldn’t get back from what happened with his daughter”.

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Beto O’Rourke withdraws from Democratic race – and faces Trump’s abuse

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Beto O’Rourke withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday. His decision met with tributes from his former competitors and insults from Donald Trump.

Related: Who anointed Beto O'Rourke to be our political saviour? He did | Moira Donegan

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