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LAS CORTES MUNICIPALES DE LA CIUDAD DE HOUSTON EXTIENDEN LA SUSPENSIÓN DE TODOS LOS JUICIOS POR JURADO Y SERVICIO DE JURADO PARA INCLUIR LA SUSPENSIÓN DE TODAS LAS AUDIENCIAS EN PERSONA, PRIMERAS COMPARECENCIAS, JUICIOS POR JUEZ Y AUDIENCIAS DE NO CUMPLIMIENTO A PARTIR DEL DÍA 1 DE ENERO, 2021 HASTA NUEVO AVISO
CITY OF HOUSTON MUNICIPAL COURTS EXTENDS SUSPENSION OF ALL JURY TRIALS AND JURY DUTY TO INCLUDE ALL IN-PERSON HEARINGS, ARRAIGNMENTS, JUDGE TRIALS, AND NON-ISSUE SETTINGS STARTING JANUARY 1, 2021 UNTIL FURTHER NOTIFICATION
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Novavax begins phase 3 trial of COVID-19 vaccine
Novavax on Monday announced it is beginning a phase three trial of its coronavirus vaccine, becoming the fifth company to enter a late-stage trial in the United States.
While two other coronavirus vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, have already been authorized in the U.S., the addition of more options would make more doses available and speed the vaccination campaign.
The Novavax vaccine, which uses a more traditional vaccine technology than Pfizer and Moderna, also has the advantage of not requiring ultra-cold storage, making it easier to distribute.
Novavax, with backing from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, is enrolling up to 30,000 volunteers at 115 sites across the U.S. and Mexico in the clinical trial.
A trial has already begun in the United Kingdom. Novavax had intended to begin its U.S. trial earlier but delayed the start because of manufacturing problems.
“The launch of this study—the fifth investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate to be tested in a Phase 3 trial in the United States—demonstrates our resolve to end the pandemic through the development of multiple safe and effective vaccines,” said Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert.
Surging virus cases across the country can actually help speed up the trial, given that cases of the virus in the group receiving the placebo will accrue faster.
“Trial sites were selected in locations where transmission rates are currently high, to accelerate the accumulation of positive cases that could show efficacy,” Novavax said in a press release.
Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt urges teammates to fight for fans. ‘We stink, but they care’
The 2020 season has been brutal for the Houston Texans, with Sunday’s 37-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals dropping the defending AFC South champions to 4-11.
Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, wasn’t pleased, and when asked if the team will be able to close the season on a positive note, Watt talked about the fan base — and, most importantly — accountability.
“We’re professional athletes getting paid a whole lot of money. If you can’t come in and put work in in the building, go out to the practice field and work hard and do your lifts and do what you’re supposed to do, you should not be here,” he said.
“There are a lot of people that watch us and invest their time and their money into buying our jerseys and buying a whole bunch of s— and they care about it. They care every single week. We’re in Week 16 and we’re 4-11 and there are fans that watched this game, that show up to the stadium, that put in time and energy and effort and care about this. So if you can’t go out there and you can’t work out, you can’t show up on time, you can’t practice, you can’t want to go out there and win, you shouldn’t be here, because this is a privilege. This is the greatest job in the world. You get to go out and play a game.”
It’s clear that Watt is fed up with mounting losses and the lack of commitment from some teammates, and that Texans fans deserve better.
“If you can’t care enough, even in Week 17, even when you’re trash when you’re 4-11 if you can’t care enough to go out there and give everything you’ve got and try your hardest, that’s bull—-.”
Houston’s defense allowed 540 yards against the Brandon Allen-led Bengals during Sunday’s loss. Allen completed 29 of 37 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns.
Regardless, Watt says that he continuously hears from supportive fans and believes that the team is letting them down.
“They have no reason whatsoever to. We stink,” Watt said. “But they care. That’s who I feel the worst for is our fans, and the people who care so deeply and the city, the people who love it, and the people who truly want it to be great. And it’s not. And that sucks as a player, to know we’re not giving them what they deserve.”
The Texans fired head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start and Romeo Crennel was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who suffered an apparent hand injury late in Sunday’s loss, says he plans to play in the season finale against the Tennessee Titans.
Need help with your rent? Houston-area leaders promote resource to help renters in need
Commissioner Garcia says struggling renters “aren’t getting any breaks” and “there are no days off for them.”
Renters facing eviction can access information and resources online to help keep them in their homes and apartments.
Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia spoke at an event Monday morning to encourage renters to know their rights and access this resource.
Garcia says Harris County leaders are supporting a resource at http://stoptxeviction.org/, which helps people not only learn about how they can get help paying their rent but also aims to help keep evictions during the coronavirus pandemic off renters’ permanent records.
“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home, especially during a pandemic,” Commissioner Ellis noted on his Facebook page.
The resource helps to:
- Get legal information about the eviction process and your rights.
- Get access to important documents you can give to your landlord or the court.
- Apply for legal assistance from organizations in your area that provide free legal services to qualifying tenants.
- Find out about rental assistance and other resources in your area and how to apply.
- Chat with a real lawyer about your questions regarding eviction.
At Monday’s press conference, Garcia criticized Gov. Greg Abbott, calling him “Governor absent,” over the state’s current eviction diversion program.
“The state program is poorly designed,” said Garcia, noting that it relies on a partnership that is currently on a “two-week vacation.” Garcia said struggling renters “aren’t getting any breaks” and “there are no days off for them.”
That program, which began in October, currently only covers “select pilot counties” but is expected to expand to the rest of Texas starting in January 2021.
Get more info on the program for renters here: http://stoptxeviction.org/
Houston Health Department, HFD paramedics receive Moderna vaccinations
Mayor Sylvester Turner said both departments each received 3,000 doses of the vaccine, which he considers a major step in Houston’s ongoing battle with coronavirus.
Employees with the Houston Health Department and Houston Fire Department paramedics started receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccines on Monday.
During a press conference, Mayor Sylvester Turner said both departments each received 3,000 doses of the vaccine, which he considers a major step in Houston’s ongoing battle with coronavirus.
“Today is a big day for Houston,” Turner said. “Houston has received a potentially life-saving gift just in time for the holidays.”
“This is the beginning of the end,” said Dr. David Persse, the city’s chief medical officer.
Health care providers and first responders qualify for the state’s Phase 1A vaccination group. Also included in Phase 1A are hospital workers, nursing home providers, community pharmacy staff, embalmers at funeral homes, and school nurses.
“Over the next few days we will be offering vaccines to over 365 HISD and Pearland school nurses who currently qualify, all of those who are in Phase 1A,” said HHD Director Stephen Williams.
Dr. Persse encourages anyone who qualifies for Phase 1A, whether you’re in Tier 1 or Tier 2 group, to get vaccinated.
“This is going to help you personally because it’s going to help you protect yourself, but also remember the person you are most likely to infect is a member of your very own family. So when your opportunity comes up for you to get vaccinated, I would jump on that” Persse said.
COVID by the numbers in Houston
The city of Houston stands at an 11.6 percent COVID positivity rate. Last week, the positivity rate was 11.2.
The health department added an additional 765 positive cases Monday, bringing the city’s total to 116,043. The death toll due to coronavirus us 1,544.
“If I can put it in these terms, even though the numbers are high in terms of the number of people getting the virus, the death numbers still remain relatively low and when you compare it to other [parts] of the country,” Turner said.
City officials said the health department will continue to play its traditional role in the fight against COVID-19, including offering vaccines in multi-service centers once doses become available to the general public.
“We will use the same principles and strategies that we used for testing, mobile testing sites, strike teams, to ensure that there is sufficient vaccine uptake in vulnerable communities especially,” said Williams.
HFD Chief Sam Pena said coronavirus has ravaged the department, so receiving doses of the Moderna vaccine is extremely exciting for his department.
He said firefighters have been responding extremely well to getting the vaccine and he hopes to get all firefighters vaccinated within the month.
As of Monday, there are 192 HFD firefighters in quarantine. There is currently one firefighter in the emergency room due to respiratory issues after testing positive for the virus.
The city is hoping the Houston Police Department will start receiving vaccines by next week as well as more people beyond the health department and EMS workers.
‘Wonder Woman 3’ is coming soon after Warner Bros. calls ‘1984’ a hit
The box office numbers are in, and Warner Bros. says “Wonder Woman 1984” is a hit.
Armando Manzanero, legendary Mexican singer and composer, dead at 85
Mexican composer and singer Armando Manzanero died Monday morning after battling Covid-19 for weeks.
Trump slams US fashion magazines for not giving Melania a single cover shoot while he has been in office
President Donald Trump has bashed leading US lifestyle magazines for not giving his wife, Melania Trump, a single front page cover while he has been in office.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump called the First Lady “the greatest of all time,” while retweeting a Breitbart post that said “elitist snobs in the fashion press” were ostracizing the “most elegant First Lady in American history.”
“Fake News!,” Trump added.
Trump fans have long noticed and lamented the absence of the First Lady from US newsstands, and often accused the US press of revealing their liberal bias by granting Michelle Obama, the wife of former president Barack Obama, 12 magazine covers in her two terms as First Lady, including three Vogue covers.
“If you need any further proof of the shameless bias of the liberal mainstream media, the most stunning First Lady in American history has never graced our nation’s major style magazine covers,” US actor and Trump supporter James Woods tweeted in February 2020.
In April 2019 Vogue editor Anna Wintour said: “You have to stand up for what you believe in and you have to take a point of view.”
However, Melania Trump drew criticism from Vogue readers and magazine publishers in February this year over comments she made during a leaked private phone call about Wintour’s decision to let Beyoncé guest-edit an issue of the magazine.
“Anna gave the September issue of Vogue cover — complete, complete, complete, everything — to Beyoncé,” the First Lady said on the July 2018 call.
“She hired a Black photographer. And it’s the first Black photographer ever doing a cover of Vogue.”
The president himself has also expressed his personal distaste some for TIME Magazine, which each year name the “Person of the Year.”
TIME named Trump as “Person of the Year” in 2016, but the president took issue with the magazine’s choice of Greta Thunberg for the 2019 award issue.
CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE PRESIDES OVER FLOOR DEBATE ON THE CRUCIAL “CASH ACT” TO PROVIDE $2,000 PAYMENTS TO AMERICANS IN NEED
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and the Budget presides over the long-awaited floor debate for the crucial Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020, which will increase the amount of money struggling Americans receive in the second round of direct payments to $2,000.
After the President changed his mind last week and decided to support Democrats’ call for increasing direct payments to $2,000, House Democrats immediately went to the Floor to ask for Unanimous Consent to bring a stand-alone bill to increase the payments. But on that day, Christmas Eve, House Republicans blocked the request – rejecting the American people’s right to receive $2000 direct survival payments that the President agreed to support.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was chosen as a senior member of Congress to preside over the crucial floor debate in the U.S. House of Representatives, which will provide $2,000 direct survival payments to 15 million Americans. “I am honored to once again serve as Speaker Pro Temp, especially for this historic vote that will provide hardworking Americans with long-awaited direct survival payments. Thanks to the outstanding leadership and persistence of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, we can now move our nation forward and finally get a lifeline to so many hurting Americans who are desperate for relief.”
The CASH Act:
- Increases the value of the economic impact payments (EIPs) provided in the end-of-year COVID relief package so that each eligible family member receives $2,000, up from $600.
- Applies the same, broader eligibility established in the end-of-year package to mixed-status families where one spouse has a Social Security Number (SSN). As specified in the latest COVID relief legislation, these families are eligible for the EIP amount for each family member with an SSN and can claim the corresponding amount for the first round of economic impact payments when they file their 2020 taxes.
“The $2000 in payments to individuals will be used to pay bills, rent, utilities, car notes, or purchase needed items like winter coats, and other essentials, which will translate into income for small businesses. All of this spending will generate local, state and federal tax revenue as it fuels consumption and the provision of services that are still available through the economy.
“I have always supported a $2000 plus cash disbursement to support desperate families. House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly called for bigger checks for the American people. House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected – first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and last week, with their act of callousness on the Floor.
“Now, with this vote on the stand-alone CASH Act, Republicans will be on the record. They have a choice: either vote for this bill, or vote to deny families the relief they desperately need.”
The debate will begin on the House Floor at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Text of the legislation is available HERE.
