Here are things to know for Tuesday, Dec. 8:
1. Hundreds ill, 1 dead due to unidentified illness in India
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At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday.
The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said.
Officials are trying to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples from impacted areas haven’t shown any signs of contamination, and the chief minister’s office said people not linked to the municipal water supply have also fallen ill. The patients are of different ages and have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or herpes.
2. Devil worshipper charged in 2016 slaying accused of another killing months after posting $25K bond
A Houston story made international headlines four years ago -- an 18-year-old is accused of killing his 16-year-old friend during a satanic ritual.
Edward O’Neal, the suspect in the case, admitted to KPRC 2 during a jailhouse interview in 2016 that he worshipped the devil.
Fast forward to the present, O’Neal is back in jail after being accused of killing again nearly ten days ago. His return to jail comes months after being released on a $25,000 bond in the 2016 homicide case.
3. ‘We have nothing’: Packed moving truck stolen from family that had just arrived in Houston from California
The Martinez family’s dreams were about to come true.
They packed up everything they owned in a U-Haul and drove 2,000 miles from San Jose, California to Houston, Texas. It was time for a fresh start.
But when they arrived in the Houston Area last week and woke up the next morning, the U-Haul and their car were gone.
Houston Police found the moving truck, empty and abandoned. Their car, packed with other belongings, is also gone.
4. Texas food banks may be less equipped to help hungry households in the new year
Food banks across Texas are projecting food shortages in coming months due to the end of three key federal and state programs that have helped them respond to high demand during the coronavirus pandemic and its accompanying recession.
“Food insecurity is twice as high as before the pandemic. We’ve had a lot of federal aid and that’s all going away at the end of the year,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, which coordinates the 21 food banks in the state. “We are facing a kind of a food cliff and we are worried of how long we are going to be able to keep up with demand without the help of the federal government.”
5. 3 Houston-area schools named on global, most sought-after schools ranking
Three Houston-area private schools were named in a ranking of the top 50 most sought-after secondary schools in the world.
A Seattle-based online test prep company, surveyed more than 16,000 students about the high schools to which they plan to apply for the 2021-2022 school year. Based on the responses, the schools were ranked as the top 50 most sought-after secondary schools in the world.