Texas
China takes over closed US consulate in Chengdu
The American flag was lowered at the US consulate in China’s Chengdu city on Monday and Chinese authorities entered the building, as Beijing carried out a Cold War-style retaliatory closure of the mission. Earlier in the morning state broadcaster, CCTV showed footage of the flag being lowered, after diplomatic tensions soared between the two powers with both alleging the other had endangered national security. Beijing later confirmed the consulate had closed at 10am (0200 GMT). “Afterwards, Chinese authorities entered through the front entrance and took it over,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Relations have deteriorated in recent weeks in an intensifying standoff, with the Chengdu mission Friday ordered to shut in retaliation for the forced closure of Beijing’s consulate in Hou...
Donald Trump orders US census to exclude illegal immigrants in setting Congress numbers
President Donald Trump ordered the US census Tuesday to exclude illegal immigrants in its population count for determining representation in Congress, a move that could boost long-term Republican strength. The unprecedented order challenges the long-accepted constitutional mandate to count every person in the country every 10 years, as the basis for determining representation in the 435 seat House of Representatives. “For the purpose of the reapportionment of representatives following the 2020 census, it is the policy of the United States to exclude from the apportionment base aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status,” Trump’s order said. Excluding undocumented migrants in setting Congressional districts “is more consonant with the principles of representative democracy,” the orde...
US Sunbelt mayors push back against Trump’s virus optimism
US Sunbelt mayors warned Sunday that their cities are at risk of being overwhelmed by a surge of coronavirus cases as they pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s attempt to minimize the gravity of the spreading virus. COVID-19 has been raging for weeks across southern and western states. Florida has registered 10,000 new cases on some days. Arizona has seen record hospitalizations. And intensive care units in Houston, Texas are operating near maximum capacity. With President Trump continuing to play down the disease eschewing a mask, continuing to address large gatherings, saying a vaccine is only months away and asserting that “99 percent” of cases are not serious the exasperation of local officials has begun to boil over, with some floating the idea of new stay-at-home orders. “...
300 Teens Exposed to Coronavirus During Beer Pong Tournament
Hundreds of teenagers were exposed to coronavirus during a beer pong tournament in Texas last weekend. The Star-Telegram reports that about 300 high school students participated in a “pong fest” tournament near Lakeway, Texas on Saturday, June 27th. Several of those who attended the event have already tested positive for coronavirus, while others are still awaiting to hear back on their test results. Regardless of the final number of positive tests, the sheer scale of the exposure is putting a strain on the local health system. “The city is trying to get a handle on who attended, and the numbers are so big, contact tracing everyone is not possible,” Lakeway Mayor Sandy Cox explained. “Hopefully we can contain this. The worst thing that can happen is that we don’t contain this.” Texas has e...
Vanilla Ice to Play Fourth of July Concert, With 2,500-Person Audience, in Texas
Vanilla Ice’s upcoming concert could prove deadly, and it’s not because he’s playing a dope melody. The “Ice Ice Baby” rapper has announced a Fourth of July concert, with an audience, in the pandemic hotspot of Texas. With a spike in coronavirus cases, Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently ordered the closure of all bars and nightclubs. Restaurant are however allowed to stay open at a 50% capacity, and that’s the legal loophole that’ll allow Vanilla Ice’s concert to move forward as planned. The venue hosting the concert — Emerald Point Bar & Grill in Lake Travis — is considered a restaurant because at least 51% of its sales come from food. As a result, Emerald Point is able to welcome up to 2,500 patrons for its “Independence Day Throwback Beach Party”, which will be headlined by Mr...
Google Doodle celebrates the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth
In celebration of the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Google has produced a video Doodle set to the first verse of the poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called “The Black National Anthem.” It’s a 90 second piece of rousing animation that honors the end of slavery in the US. The video features art from artist Loveis Wise, music produced by Elijah Jamal, and the poem is read by LeVar Burton. Although slavery officially ended with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it wasn’t until June 19th, 1865 that the federal order reached Galveston, Texas on the western edge of the Confederacy. Juneteenth is shorthand for “June Nineteenth.” “This is an American story about freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and I hope that in these brown faces many Americans can see themselves,” s...
Former NBA Star Stephen Jackson Remembers His “Twin” George Floyd
Source: @_stak5_ / Instagram The senseless murder of beloved Minneapolis security guard and Houston, Texas native George Floyd is still sending shockwaves of rage throughout the nation. Former NBA star Stephen Jackson, a longtime friend of Floyd and someone he regarded as a brother, is among those who have expressed their anger and is demanding justice at all levels over Floyd’s death. Jackson, 42, who was born in Port Arthur, Texas, shared a series of Instagram posts in the wake of the news that Floyd, 46, died after a white Minneapolis police officer impeded his breathing by putting a knee to the back of his neck. The shocking images of Floyd’s violent arrest when he himself allegedly didn’t resist has sparked protests and anger in Minneapolis and across the nation. In an Instagram video...
Matthew McConaughey Delivers 110,000 Masks to Rural Hospitals in Texas
Texas native Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves have delivered 110,000 medical masks to rural hospitals in the Lone Star State. The personal protective equipment was paid for by automobile company Lincoln, for whom McConaughey is a spokesperson. The Oscar-winning actor made the announcement in a Facebook statement. He posted a photograph of a well-stocked pickup truck, almost overflowing with boxes labelled for Lincoln’s parent company Ford. He captioned the pic, “me and Camila Alves hitting the road to get em to rural hospitals in need across Texas.” The nationwide mask shortage has continued into May, with a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll finding that two-thirds of health care workers report PPE shortages, with 80% having worn one mask for an entire shift, and 70% re-w...
Joe Rogan Threatens to Move to Texas over California’s Coronavirus Policies
On the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the polemical comedian complained about California’s coronavirus policies and threatened to move to Texas. The discussion was part of a broader conversation about the decision by LA County officials to extend stay-at-home orders through July. Other counties in California are cleared to reopen, though Rogan isn’t considering a same-state relocation. He said, “If California continues to be this restrictive, I don’t know if this is a good place to live. First of all, it’s extremely expensive — the taxes are ridiculous. If they really say we can’t do stand-up until 2022 or something, I might jet. I’m not kidding. I don’t need to be here.” Afterwards, Rogan called MADtv alum Bryan Callen, who quickly advanced a conspiracy theory that stay-at-ho...
Rory McIlroy to play first three PGA Tour events when season resumes
World number one Rory McIlroy says he is planning to play in the PGA Tour’s first three tournaments when the season resumes next month after the COVID-19 disruption. The golf calendar has been severely impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 291,000 people around the world, with three of the sport’s four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled. The Tour’s schedule restarts with the Charles Schwab Challenge (June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas) followed by the RBC Heritage (June 18-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina) and the Travelers Championship (June 25-28 in Cromwell, Connecticut). “Right now, I’m planning to play the first three events,” McIlroy, who is also set to play in a $3 million charity skins match on May 17, told reporters. “I miss the competition...
Pfizer, BioNTech dose U.S first participants of trial coronavirus vaccine
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, that the first participants have been dosed in the U.S in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19. The trial is part of a global development program, and the dosing of the first cohort in Germany was completed last week. The Phase 1/2 study is designed to determine the safety, immunogenicity and optimal dose level of four mRNA vaccine candidates evaluated in a single, continuous study. The dose level escalation portion (Stage 1) of the Phase 1/2 trial in the U.S will enrol up to 360 healthy subjects into two age cohorts (18-55 and 65-85 years of age). The first subjects immunized in Stage 1 of the study will be healthy adults 18-55 years of age. Older adults will only be immunized with ...
Nigeria drags Kase Lawal to court over $35 million debt
Nigeria has sued an oil exploration production company, ALLIED ENERGY PLC, owned by Texas-based billionaire Kase Luqmon Lawal to demand $35.7 million debt. The suit was filed at a Federal high Court in Lagos by the oil minister, which is President Muhammadu Buhari. The amount in question was for royalty on oil and gas production, concession rental and gas flaring penalty. In a statement of claim, assistant director, planning Division of the Department of petroleum resources Efe Bassey, alleged that Allied Energy PLC in receivership, in the course of it’s mainstream business, applied for and was granted an oil mining lease number 120(OML120) and oil mining lease number 121(OML121) for the exploration and production of petroleum oil and gas assets. Upon the grant of the aforesaid OMLS by min...
