Here are things you need to know for Thursday, July 2:
1. Galveston beaches will close during Fourth of July weekend due to increase COVID-19 cases
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All Galveston city and county beaches will be closed over the Fourth of July weekend due to the increase of coronavirus cases, officials said.
Beach parking will also be blocked on both sides of Seawall Boulevard to help protect residents and visitors, officials said. The county will close access to beaches in unincorporated areas at 5 a.m. Friday and the closure will continue till 12 a.m. Monday.
2. More than 300 children in Texas day cares have caught COVID-19, and the numbers are rising
Although COVID-19 transmission rates nationwide among children have appeared to remain relatively low, more than 300 children at Texas child care centers have tested positive and the numbers are rising quickly.
As of June 30, there were 950 reported positive cases of COVID-19 — 307 children and 643 staff members — at 668 child care locations. Statewide, 12,207 licensed child care operations are open, and total reported coronavirus cases have risen from 59 cases in mid-May and 576 on June 23.
3. M.D. Anderson Blood Center ‘seriously limited’ in blood, seeking donors this weekend
The M.D. Anderson Blood Center is putting out a call for donors, as supplies of blood and blood products dwindle going into the holiday weekend.
Maintaining an adequate supply is always a struggle, but the process is even more difficult due to COVID-19.
To collect more blood, the MD Anderson Blood Center at 2555 Holly Hall Street near the Texas Medical Center is expanding its capacity of the weekend. Donations are completed by appointment only. Masks and social distancing are required.
4. Texas bar owners file $10 million federal lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott
Several Texas bar owners filed a $10 million federal lawsuit Tuesday afternoon against Gov. Greg Abbott, in an attempt to void his executive order shutting down bars for a second time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Abbott this week after more than 30 Texas bars filed a lawsuit in Travis County over his recent shutdown order on Monday.
5. FULL REPORT: Audit of HPD Narcotics found 404 errors in more than 200 cases involving Gerald Goines and Steven Bryant
On Wednesday, Houston police tweeted the full 66-page audit of the HPD Narcotics Division that was ordered after the botched January 2019 Harding Street raid.
The audit revealed a glaring lack of supervision within the HPD Narcotics Division with the major recommendation highlighting a need for greater “supervisory oversight.”
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WORD OF THE DAY
Laicism [ley-uh-siz-uhm] (noun) the nonclerical, or secular, control of political and social institutions in a society (distinguished from clericalism).
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
July 2, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Interpretation is the revenge of the intellectual upon art.” - Susan Sontag