โFabulous expression of frustrationโ: Protesters collide with Democratic lawmaker rally on steps of Houston City Hall
A rally involving Democratic state lawmakers was interrupted Saturday by a group calling for justice for a man killed by Houston police last April. It lead to heated moments on the steps of city hall, but ended with a common goal.
Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon
The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosiโs home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories.
'Gladiator' actor Russell Crowe feted in Rome
Russell Crowe, who won a best actor Academy Award for portraying a gladiator in the 2000 film of the same name, is being feted by the city of Rome, home to the Colosseum where real gladiators clashed before thousands of spectators through the time of the Roman Empire.
โFreedom Over Texasโ: Entertainment lineup, more details released for โin-personโ return of July 4 celebration
Mayor Sylvester Turner was joined by various community leaders and sponsors at City Hall Tuesday to announce details for the in-person return of Houstonโs official Fourth of July celebration, โFreedom Over Texas.โ
Announcement on future of HPD leadership coming later this week, Turner says
HOUSTON โ Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he will announce the future of leadership at the cityโs Police Department later this week. Turner spoke at City Hall on Monday morning after news broke Sunday night that Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo is leaving to take the same job in Miami. โI hate to see him leave the city of Houston,โ Turner said as he congratulated Acevedo on his next chapter. Turner said Acevedo, who took the job as chief of the Houston Police Department in 2016, is leaving the department in better shape than he found it. AdโArt was the right person at the right time,โ Turner said.
Portland mayor seeks $2 million to stem rampant gun violence
(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File)PORTLAND, Ore. โ The mayor of Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday he would seek $2 million in one-time funding for police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem rampant gun violence in the city. The move by Mayor Ted Wheeler represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit. During an hour-long news conference Thursday, Wheeler, activists, faith leaders and community members reiterated that in order to solve the problem of gun violence, the community must work together. Wheeler said the tactic is not the same as the now-eliminated Gun Violence Reduction Team and would be more transparent. Wheeler said he supports the ideas, beginning with asking City Council to appropriate $2 million in one-time fiuds from the cityโs reserve stability contingency account created last fall, to address gun violence.
Concrete Cowboy cancels โmask offโ party and closes its venues ahead of Wednesday, Mayor Turner announces
Turner encouraged all Houston-area business to continue to enforce the mask policy, despite Abbottโs order. โ Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) March 8, 2021The Houston Health Department announced that the cityโs COVID-19 positivity rate is 13.1%, which is up from last week. During the news conference, the Houston Health Department said the U.K. COVID-19 variant was growing in Houstonโs wastewater. On Feb. 8, the U.K. COVID-19 strand was found in 21 of the 39 wastewater plants in the city, according the Health Department. The Brazilian and the South African variant was also found in the cityโs wastewater, but the Health Department was not able to release the exact measurements just yet.
Hereโs how to sign up for coronavirus vaccine waitlists in the Houston area
HOUSTON โ Nearly a quarter-million first vaccine doses are headed to the nine-county Houston area this week, including the first Johnson & Johnson shipment, according to state data and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Finally, 42,120 Pfizer doses and 12,000 J & J doses will go directly to the FEMA site at NRG Park where residents on the Harris County and Houston waitlists will be vaccinated. Joining a waitlistThere are 13 vaccine hubs in the Houston area and there are waitlists for each of them. Go to vacstrac.hctx.net or call 832-927-8787 to join the Harris County version of the waitlist. To find information about all of the waitlists for the 13 vaccine hubs in the Houston area, go to dshs.texas.gov.
Food fight: Meat-free school meals spark furor in France
FILE - In this Jan.18, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron meets pupils as he visits a school canteen in Saint-Sozy, southwestern France. With a meatless four-course meal that Lyon City Hall says will be quicker and easier to serve to children who must be kept socially distanced while eating lunch to avoid coronavirus infections. With more local elections expected later this year, the arguing over Lyon's school meals offered a foretaste of broader political battles to come. Lyon City Hall said serving the same meal to all children, instead of offering them their usual meat and meat-free options, would shorten the time they take for lunch. City Hall said it also opted for meat-free meals because they suit all children, including those who habitually don't eat meats for religious, dietary or other reasons.
City officials discuss stateโs COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner answers a question during a news conference at City Hall on Feb. 1, 2021. During a briefing at 2 p.m. Saturday, Mayor Turner joins other elected officials and community leaders to discuss the stateโs vaccination distribution efforts. The officials are slated to discuss โCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the inequities in the stateโs distribution of supplies,โ according to the mayorโs officeโThe lack of resources has created glaring disparities in high-risk, vulnerable, disadvantaged and underserved communities,โ a scheduling announcement from the mayorโs office read. KPRC 2 is streaming the briefing live.
Houston plans to soon offer self-scheduling for second vaccine doses
HOUSTON โ People who are supposed to get their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine will soon be able to schedule that appointment themselves. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that the cityโs Health Department has received nearly 42,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine with nearly 34,000 of them having been administered. He said nearly 12,000 people have appointments to get their second dose this week. Turner said the Houston Health Department is currently contacting people directly to schedule their second dose. However, he said the second dose is necessary to get the full benefits of the vaccine.
Mayor Turner, Judge Hidalgo participate in national Memorial to Lives Lost to COVID-19
HOUSTON โ Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo participated in the national Memorial to Lives Lost to COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon. The combined Honor Guard from the Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department also participated in the memorial. This was the nationโs first nationwide COVID-19 Memorial to Lives Lost, which was part of the Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The event emphasized the importance of the past and remembers the lives lost to the coronavirus and gives hope to the future. I encourage everyone to join us by illuminating your building, ringing a bell, and watching the virtual program,โ Turner said.
Turner says future vaccine megasites are dependent on supply
HOUSTON โ Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that future coronavirus vaccine megasites will be dependent on the supply of doses that is received by the city. Turner said demand for the vaccine is far outpacing the amount of vaccine that is available. Turner said that as soon as more doses of the vaccine are received, the city will start opening up additional appointment slots. Williams said the Houston Health Department is expecting to get more vaccine doses from the state this week. โMiddle of the stormโThe Houston Health Department reported an additional 1,460 cases Monday, bringing the total number of cases to more than 131,000.
Houston hosts 25th annual menorah lighting ceremony
HOUSTON โ The city of Houston will light the public menorah Sunday night in front of City Hall at Hermann Square. The program will feature addresses by dignitaries Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin, Jewish community leader and chair of the Jewish Federation Robert Lapin, and Mayor Sylvester Turner. The symbol of the public menorah reflects the very principles upon which America was founded: freedom of religious observance from religious oppression, the power of light pushing away darkness, and the victory of righteousness over wickedness, according to the city. โThis is symbolized by kindling the Menorah. By adding another candle each night, we learn the lesson of increasing in goodness and kindness.
VIRUS TODAY: Health experts warn against holiday gatherings
With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving, health officials are warning people begging them, even not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year's season. Andrew Cuomo has ended indoor dining indefinitely in New York City as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb. As of Monday, only takeout orders and outdoor dining will be allowed in one of the worldโs great cuisine capitals. THE NUMBERS: Deaths in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,260 per day on average, about equal to the peak seen in mid-April. ___Find APโs full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
Students return to NYC schools once more after virus closure
Public schools reopened for in-school learning Monday after being closed since mid-November. Public school doors reopened for preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning. Overall, the city counts about 1 million public school students; most have opted to learn from home this fall. Masks and social distancing are required at all city schools. About 190,000 students were eligible to return to school buildings starting Monday.
Long wait for Hawaii vote spurs call for more voter centers
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo, a long line of people waiting to vote stretches around City Hall on Election Day, in Honolulu. Voter advocates say Hawaii should set up more voter service centers after a last-minute surge of voter interest led to hours-long lines for in-person voting on Election Day even as the state shifted to a vote-by-mail system for casting ballots. Overall, the stateโs vote-by-mail election appears to have been a big success, leading to record numbers of voters participating. The law also gives voters the option to vote in person at voter service centers, where people may also register to vote or get help with casting a ballot. Ma said people waited between two to four hours on Tuesday at the two voter centers on Oahu, an island with about 549,000 registered voters.
New this week: 'This Is Us,' Baby Yoda, 'The Craft' redone
(NBC via AP)Hereโs a collection curated by The Associated Pressโ entertainment journalists of whatโs arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIESโ Many things will be different about Halloween this year, but the annual rush of horror films is much the same. It stars Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku as a Sudanese refugee couple finding new horrors in life in England. But Neon, the โParasiteโ distributor, last week put a restored version into theaters and on Tuesday brings it to VOD. One is Natalie Margolin โThe Party Hop,โ which she wrote during quarantine in one week in early April.
Masked pope, faith leaders pray for peace and pandemic's end
Pope Francis lights a candle for peace during an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the square outside Rome's City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)ROME โ A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic. โThe pandemic is reminding us that we are blood brothers and sisters,โ they said in a joint appeal issued at the end of the service. For weeks, Francis has shunned facemasks in his public and private audiences despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across Italy and even inside Vatican City. The service was organized by the Rome-based SantโEgidio Community, which each year organizes an interfaith peace prayer in the spirit of the first one of its kind, celebrated by St. John Paul II in Assisi in 1986. In the past week 11 Swiss Guards and a resident of the hotel where Francis lives have tested positive.
Alexie, Pilkey books among most 'challenged' of past decade
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2016 file photo, author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie appears at a celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day at Seattle's City Hall. Alexie is included in a list of authors who wrote books that were among the 100 most subjected to censorship efforts over the past decade, as compiled by the American Library Association. All wrote books that were among the 100 most subjected to censorship efforts over the past decade, as compiled by the American Library Association. The association does not formally count the number of times books are actually removed from a library shelf or from a school reading list. โThere are actually two lines of objections to the Anne Frank diary,โ Caldwell-Stone says.
Police appreciation rally at Houstonโs City Hall met with protesters calling for defunding the department
HOUSTON โ At the steps of Houstonโs City Hall, a group of nearly 100 people gathered for a โPolice Appreciation Rally,โ Thursday evening. โIf we donโt have police on our corner, itโs going to be a bad world,โ Diggs previously told KPRC 2. Many held signs emblazoned with โBlack Lives Matterโ and calling for the defunding of the police department. There has to be a level of respect,โ said Justin James Jones, who was also demonstrating against the rally. โI didnโt really understand the need for a police lives or a blue lives matter movement in the midst of this black lives matter movement,โ Savannah said.
Mayor Turner issues executive order to ban chokeholds in Houston; city council discusses defunding police
HOUSTON โ City council members discussed next yearโs city budget as protesters demanded change outside City Hall. Dozens gathered for a rally Wednesday, a day after George Floyd was laid to rest. The council members talked about the re-allocation of nearly $12 million in under-utilized funds to be redirected to city programs, as well as enhanced training for HPD. George Floyd died because of the end result.โAt the funeral of Floyd, Mayor Turner said he would sign an executive order to ban chokeholds, require officers de-escalate situations and use all options before lethal force. โGeorge Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis after chokeholds have been banned, you canโt keep ordering executive on orders on something thatโs not working,โ said Woods.
VIDEOS: Powerful moments from the Houston Black Lives Matter protest seeking justice for Houston native George Floyd
HOUSTON โ Hundreds of people attended a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown demanding justice for Houston-native George Floyd, who was killed after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. Throughout the march, protestors chanted: โHands up, donโt shoot," โI canโt breathe,โ and โNo justice. She said the black community has been fighting for years against systemic racism. โIt can no longer (only) be black people out here stomping the ground for black people,โ she said. โEnough is enough.โReporter Hannah Mackenzie gives details on downtown Houston protestReporter Brandon Walker gives inside look at Houston protest for George Floyd