Here are things to know for Monday, September 6:
HPD: Man sustains gunshot wound to the head, drives himself to hospital
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A man who police said sustained a gunshot wound to the head while sitting in his parked car drove himself to the hospital in critical condition late Saturday.
Officers said the man was shot at around 7:40 p.m. while sitting in his car, which was parked in a lot near the intersection of Bissonnet and Beechnut Streets.
The victim was talking with another man moments before the shooting occurred. Police said someone pulled up next to the victim’s car in a dark-colored SUV. An argument ensued between the SUV driver and the man the victim had been talking with and at some point the SUV driver fired multiple gunshots in the direction of the victim, injuring him.
The shooting victim, 49, then drove himself to the Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital.
At last check, he was in critical but stable condition and was expected to survive, police said.
Lawsuits begin as Texas GOP voting bill fight moves to court
Opponents of a sweeping Republican elections overhaul in Texas sued Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, going to court even before he had signed into law changes that would further tighten the state’s already strict voting rules.
Two lawsuits, filed in separate federal courts in Texas, are believed to be the first to challenge the far-reaching measure known as Senate Bill 1, which the Legislature approved this week after Democrats ended months of protests over changes that include new limits on voting hours and criminal penalties for obstructing partisan poll watchers.
Abbott said he would sign it, which could happen within days.
The challenges were brought by a broad coalition of voting rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, disability and minority rights organizations, and the elections administrator for Harris County, which includes Houston and was particularly targeted by the measure. Because of the pandemic, Texas’ largest county — which is a Democratic stronghold — last year offered 24-hour polling and drive-thru voting locations, and tried to send every registered voter a mail-in ballot application.
New Texas abortion law pushes women to out-of-state clinics
Even before a strict abortion ban took effect in Texas this week, clinics in neighboring states were fielding growing numbers of calls from women desperate for options.
An Oklahoma clinic had received more than double its number of typical inquiries, two-thirds of them from Texas. A Kansas clinic is anticipating a patient increase of up to 40% based on calls from women in Texas. A Colorado clinic that already had started seeing more patients from other states was preparing to ramp up supplies and staffing in anticipation of the law taking effect.
The Texas law, allowed to stand in a decision Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court, bans abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, typically around six weeks. In a highly unusual twist, enforcement will be done by private citizens who can sue anyone they believe is violating the law.
“There’s real panic about how are they going to get an abortion within six weeks,” said Anna Rupani, co-director of Fund Texas Choice, one of several nonprofits that help pay for travel and other expenses for patients seeking out-of-state abortions. “There’s this fear that if I can’t get it done in six weeks, I may not be able to get it done because I may not be able to leave my job or my family for more than a day.”
Get ready to dodge some storms and lightning this Labor Day
We are on storm watch this Labor Day. A frontal boundary parked over Southeast Texas will be the focus of thunderstorms and heavy rain this Monday. Make sure you have a backup plan this holiday because the rain will ruin some of our outdoor activities.
We’re also tracking the tropics. Thunderstorms in the Bay of Campeche could become a tropical system Wednesday. All of the models have the center of this moving toward the Florida panhandle. We’ll keep you posted with developments.
Labor Day is the unofficial start is Fall but our hot, humid summer feel remains this week. In fact, as high pressure builds in temperatures will climb to the upper 90s away from the beach. Rain chances fall to almost zero starting Wednesday.
These small Texas towns were named among the nation’s top family-friendly communities
Two small Texas were named among the nation’s top family-friendly communities. This information comes courtesy of real estate listing website Realtor.com, which recently determined the country’s 11 best suburbs for families.
The Texas locales of distinction include . . . Coppell (No. 4) and Tomball (No. 5).
Realtor.com’s data team considered several factors while putting together the list. First they looked at the suburbs around the nation’s largest 11 cities and isolated all the communities with at least 10,000 people. They then analyzed each based on the percentage of children living in each community, school rankings, commute times, and the amount of family-friendly business.