Here are things you need to know for Wednesday, August 26:
1. Attorney: Missing Fort Hood soldier’s body found in Texas
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The body of a missing soldier is believed to have been found about 30 miles from Fort Hood, the Army base in Texas where he was stationed, police said Tuesday.
Identification found with the body in Temple, Texas, indicates the man may be missing Fort Hood soldier Sgt. Elder Fernandes, according to a statement from local police. Forensic confirmation is pending.
Fernandes is the third soldier from Fort Hood to go missing in the past year, and two have been found dead this summer.
2. Tracking the tropics: Hurricane Laura becomes major Category 3 hurricane; expected to become Category 4
As of 7 a.m., Laura had winds of 115 miles per hour and was moving northwest at 15 mph. Laura is expected to be a major Category 4 hurricane at landfall with winds of 130 mph at landfall.
The official forecast track for Laura continues to take the storm northwestward before turning north just before Landfall near the border of Texas and Louisiana after midnight Thursday.
The forecast confidence is increasing and the forecast cone is becoming more narrow. As of Wednesday morning, Houston and Galveston are no longer in the cone.
3. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott outlines effort to combat COVID-19 as areas evacuate ahead of Hurricane Laura
Gov. Greg Abbott made a disaster declaration for 36 more Texas counties ahead of Hurricane Laura at the same time he outlined ways local authorities are planning to cope with the challenge of the pandemic and evacuations.
Abbott urged families to isolate themselves and stay in hotels and motels to avoid being in areas with other people in shelters that are being established. He said state and local authorities will be making decisions to handle people by placing fewer people in certain sheltering areas and making more trips with evacuation bus shuttles to help people leave areas safely.
4. City of Galveston imposes curfew for next 3 nights; violators could face $1,000 fine
The City of Galveston has implemented a series of curfews over the next three nights ahead of Hurricane Laura. The first curfew will go into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday night.
Per the curfew order, “any person found on the public right of way and not evacuating may be stopped by law enforcement and subject to a misdemeanor and an up to $1,000 fine,” officials said. The goal of the curfew is to protect residents from looters.
5. These are the Harris County ZIP codes in zones A and B under a voluntary evacuation order
A voluntary evacuation has been issued for zones A and B in Harris County, which are located along the county’s coast.
Zones A and B include places near Galveston Bay such as Webster, Seabrook, La Porte, Morgans Point, Nassau Bay, Clear Lake, El Lago, Taylor Lake Village and Shoreacres.
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WORD OF THE DAY:
Obfuscate: [ob-fuh-skeyt, ob-fuhs-keyt] (verb) to make obscure or unclear: to obfuscate a problem with extraneous information.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
Aug. 26, 1939: The first televised Major League Baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“If you count all your assets you always show a profit.” - Wilson Mizner