Here are things to know for Wednesday, August 4:
1. BOND REVOKED: Judge denies bond for man charged in connection with road rage shooting that left teen dead after Astros game
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A judge revoked the bond of the man suspected of a road rage shooting that left a teenager dead on Tuesday.
The bond denial comes hours after a judge granted Gerald Wayne Williams a $350,000 bond on Monday night.
David Castro, 17, was fatally shot in the head July 6 following a road rage incident after he and his family left an Astros game.
Williams arrived at HPD headquarters on Monday with activist Quanell X where he was charged with murder in connection with the shooting.
2. VIDEO, PHOTOS: Congressman Al Green, Texas State Rep. Ron Reynolds arrested while protesting in Washington, Reynolds’ office says
Congressman Al Green, who represents the 9th Congressional District of Houston, State Rep. Ron Reynolds, who represents Fort Bend County in District 27, and Michael Cooper, the NAACP Beaumont Branch leader, were arrested while protesting Tuesday in Washington.
According to a news release from Reynolds’ office, Green, Reynolds, Luci Baines Johnson, the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and Texas pastors including Bishop James Dixon, President Houston NAACP Branch and Dr. Freddie Haynes were protesting at the U.S. Capitol.
Reynolds told KPRC 2 that all three men who were arrested were charged with civil disturbance - obstructing traffic.
Reynolds said the arrests happened after the planned protest was ending and the group headed toward the Supreme Court across the street. That’s where he said they were detained by Capitol Police.
3. Man ‘severely burned’ by acid, family of deceased worker in LyondellBasell chemical leak file lawsuit
A worker who says he was severely burned by acid and the family of a worker who died after a chemical leak at the LyondellBasell Complex in La Porte on July 27 have filed a lawsuit.
According to a release from Abraham Watkins Law Firm, the family of deceased worker Dustin Day, as well as injured worker Seth Wheeler, are alleging “negligence and gross negligence claims against LyondellBasell Acetyls, LLC, Lyondell Chemical Company and Equistar Chemicals, LP.”
Before the deadly incident, attorneys said LyondellBasell became aware of the leak in the Acetyls Unit and called a company that specializes in sealing and repairing industrial leaks.
“After the company recommended that LyondellBasell have the leak repaired, Lyondell chose not to have the company repair the leak at that time and instead called other contractors,” the lawsuit stated.
4. Hospitalizations escalating at same pace as highest COVID-19 peak, according to TMC leader
COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Texas Medical Center are about to match where Houston has hit during previous peaks, like the second wave in June/July 2020.
President and CEO of TMC, Bill McKeon, said the hospitals might even hit new records, even though roughly half of the eligible Houstonians are vaccinated.
“What was so surprising is that right now we’re seeing, not the elderly coming into our hospitals, we are seeing young men and women in their 20s and 30s,” McKeon said. “As a matter fact, the average age when we studied it recently, it is 20 years younger than it used to be.”
The bigger internal crisis this time around isn’t a feared shortage of ventilators and PPE, but a major staffing shortage.
5. CDC issues new eviction ban for most of US through Oct. 3
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new eviction moratorium that would last until Oct. 3, as the Biden administration sought to quell intensifying criticism from progressives that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic.
The ban announced Tuesday could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has spread and states have been slow to release federal rental aid. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of virus transmissions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives.
The announcement was a reversal for the Biden administration, which allowed an earlier moratorium to lapse over the weekend after saying a Supreme Court ruling prevented an extension. That ripped open a dramatic split between the White House and progressive Democrats who insisted the administration do more to prevent some 3.6 million Americans from losing their homes during the COVID-19 crisis.