Here are things you need to know for Monday, July 27:
1. Harris County Precinct 5 deputy dies from COVID-19 after ‘courageous battle,’ officials say
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A deputy with Harris County Constable Precinct 5 died Saturday after contracting COVID-19, the department announced.
Precinct 5 Deputy Mark Brown, 53, “passed away last night after a courageous battle against COVID-19,” officials wrote in an statement.
Brown was a 23-year veteran of law enforcement. He began his career with the Hempstead Police Department and went on to serve as a Spring Branch ISD police officer for 18 years. Brown joined Precinct 5 in March 2017, serving as a patrol deputy in the department’s Central District. He became a uniformed investigative Deputy in the department’s Special Operations Division in 2019, officials said.
2. First COVID-19, now mosquitoes: Bracing for bug-borne illnesses
Sophia Garabedian had been dealing with a persistent fever and painful headache when her parents found her unresponsive in her bed one morning last fall.
Doctors ultimately diagnosed the then-5-year-old Sudbury, Massachusetts, resident with eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a rare but severe mosquito-borne virus that causes brain swelling.
Garabedian survived the potentially fatal virus after about a month in Boston hospitals, but her parents say her ordeal and ongoing recovery should be a warning as people take advantage of the outdoors this summer.
3. Mnuchin: Virus aid package soon, $1,200 checks by August
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that Republicans were set to roll out the next COVID-19 aid package Monday and assured there was backing from the White House after he and President Donald Trump’s top aide met to salvage the $1 trillion proposal that had floundered just days before.
Mnuchin told reporters at the Capitol that extending an expiring unemployment benefit — but reducing it substantially — was a top priority for Trump. The secretary called the $600 weekly aid “ridiculous” and a disincentive for people to go back to work. He also promised a fresh round of $1,200 stimulus checks would be coming in August.
4. Hundreds of Texas bar owners pledge defiance to Abbott order
Hundreds of Texas bar owners say they’ll defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate that ordered them closed after a surge in coronavirus cases.
Fort Worth bar owner Chris Polone has organized what’s labeled as “Freedom Fest,” in which hundreds of bar owners say they’ll open their doors and set ‘em up Saturday. About 800 bar owners have promised participation, Polone told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which could place their state liquor licenses in jeopardy.
5. Justin Verlander talks about racism, Astros kneeling before national anthem on Opening Day
Most of the Houston Astros kneeled before the national anthem Friday night at Minute Maid Park on Opening Day.
When asked about most of the team kneeling, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander addressed it before speaking at length about his recent realizations about race and racism.
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WORD OF THE DAY
Jerboa [jer-boh-uh, jer-] (noun) any of various mouselike rodents of North Africa and Asia, as of the genera Jaculus and Dipus, with long hind legs used for jumping.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
July 27, 1974: The House Judiciary Committee recommends that America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.” - Josh Billings