Month: July 2021

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives left the state Monday afternoon heading to Washington, D.C., in a bid to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions. With 26 days left in a special legislative session, most House Democrats boarded two planes out of Austin headed for the U.S. capital without a set return date. At least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives — the number needed to break quorum — were in the process of leaving Monday afternoon, most arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Monday to board chartered flights that departed around 3:10 p.m.

The House is set to reconvene Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats would mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules. Democratic leaders said in a joint statement released Monday: “Today, Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote.”

The House and Senate proposals resemble failed legislation, known as Senate Bill 7, from the spring regular legislation session — the demise of which Texas Democrats used last month to make their pitch on Capitol Hill for action on voting rights. The House voting bill as passed by committee over the weekend would rein in local voting initiatives like drive-thru and 24-hour voting, further tighten the rules for voting by mail, bolster access for partisan poll watchers and ban local election officials from proactively sending out applications to request mail-in ballots.

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) warned of an increased risk of Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological disorder, following the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after 100 preliminary cases of the syndrome were reported among the 12.5M doses administered. The agency noted that 95 of the cases were serious and required hospitalization, including one death. The FDA is updating vaccination materials for health care providers and patients to note an “association” between the vaccine and a risk of GBS, however, they said the data are “insufficient to establish a causal relationship.” Similar issues have not been reported tied to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The FDA still recommends the vaccine to prevent the serious health risks posed by COVID-19, stating:  “Importantly, the FDA has evaluated the available information for the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and continues to find the known and potential benefits clearly outweigh the known and potential risks. The chance of having this occur is very low, and the rate of reported cases exceeds the background rate by a small degree.”

According to the CDC, the majority of people who develop Guillain-Barre report the symptoms after having a respiratory illness, including the flu or getting sick with diarrhea. According to the FDA, patients should seek medical attention if they experience a weakness or tingling sensations, especially in the legs or arms, and that might worsen or spread to other parts of the body. Other symptoms might include difficulty walking or making facial movements; double vision or inability to move eyes; or difficulty with bladder control or bowel function.

Four people were arrested after a hotel housekeeper tipped off authorities to more than a dozen weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition stored at a hotel room in Denver. Police removed 16 long guns, body armor and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from a hotel room on the eighth floor of the Maven Hotel near Coors Field, which is set to host the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Police executed a search warrant and found a man inside the room which featured a balcony overlooking the downtown Denver area along with the weapons. The suspects were identified as 42-year-old Richard Platt and Gabriel Rodriguez, 48, who are both facing investigation for possession of weapons by a previous offender and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Ricardo Rodriguez, 44, is being investigated for possession of a weapon by a previous offender and Kanoelehua Serikawa, 43, is being investigated for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Platt and Serikawa were both also wanted on warrants from other jurisdictions.

The FBI on Sunday said it had “no reason to believe this incident was connected to terrorism or a threat directed at the All-Star Game. We are not aware of any threat to the All-Star Game events, venues, players or the community at this time.”  The MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is set to be held at Coors Field on Monday, followed by the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Editorial credit: Travel_with_me / Shutterstock.com

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson and five other passengers successfully launched to the lower edge of space — about 50 miles above Earth — and back to planet Earth on Sunday in the first fully crewed flight from his private space tourism firm Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic’s reusable SpaceShipTwo returned to Spaceport America, about 170 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M., in the desert after taking off 1/2 hours earlier from the same runway attached beneath to a twin-fuselage jet. Unity was launched from the Eve mothership at an altitude of 50,000 feet and live stream video showed it shooting into space. Within 30 seconds the spacecraft reached Mach 2 speed and a few seconds later hit Mach 3 at an altitude of weightlessness. Branson, 70, served as a mission specialist on the flight. Onboard video showed Branson and the three other astronauts unbuckling their seatbelts to float around the cabin and take in view of the curvature of Earth. At around 11:40 a.m. ET the spacecraft touched back down on Earth, making a smooth landing back in New Mexico.

Branson said at a news conference following the historic flight: “I think like most kids I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid and honestly nothing can prepare you for the view of Earth from space.” He said he was honored to “test the customer experience” and declared, “Welcome to the dawn of a new space age. It’s just magical. I’m just taking it all in. It’s just unreal.”