Here are things to know for Wednesday, September 8:
1. 2 people killed in murder-suicide inside lobby of Marriott Marquis Houston hotel, HPD says
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A man and woman are dead following a shooting inside the lobby of a hotel in downtown Houston, according to Houston police.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at the Marriott Marquis Houston Hotel located at 1777 Walker Street around 3:30 p.m.
According to Houston police chief Troy Finner, a man in his late 30s shot a woman in her early 20s to death before turning the gun on himself.
Finner said the man and the woman arrived at the hotel in separate vehicles but met inside of the lobby and looked to be having a conversation with one another before the shooting.
Investigators said they cannot determine the relationship between the man and the woman at this time, but according to surveillance video and witnesses on the scene, the two seemed to know one another.
The identities of the man and woman have not yet been released.
2. Wanted man turns himself in after deadly shooting in SE Houston, police say
A man accused in the fatal shooting of another man in southeast Houston is in custody after police said he turned himself in.
Jalen Deshaun Gibson, 20, was charged with murder in connection with the death of 37-year-old Charrod Gibson, according to police,
Authorities said Charrod Gibson was standing outside his home when Jalen Gibson approached him and fired two shots, hitting him in the chest.
3. Mu COVID-19: What to know about the new strain that’s been in Houston area since May
The Mu variant has been in Houston since May, but there’s a reason you haven’t heard a lot about it, mostly because it wasn’t considered a named variant by the WHO until last week, and health leaders say the Delta variant is still the main concern.
In the timeframe that Mu has been detected, which is about 50 times at the Houston Methodist Hospital, Delta remained prominent in 99% of the cases they tested, said Dr. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist and a clinical pathologist.
According to the CDC, the Delta variant spreads more easily than other variants, it’s more contagious than other variants, and fully vaccinated people with the Delta variant can spread the virus to others. However, vaccinated people appear to spread the virus for a shorter time.
4. Gov. Abbott signed the Senate Bill 1 into law Tuesday. Here is what you need to know
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1, which is what he also calls the “election integrity bill,” into law on Tuesday in Tyler, Texas.
Abbott was joined by Sen. Bryan Hughes and Rep. Andrew Murr at 11 a.m.
In a news release, Abbott said the legislation “creates uniform statewide voting hours, maintains and expands voting access for registered voters that need assistance, prohibits drive-through voting, and enhances transparency by authorizing poll watchers to observe more aspects of the election process.”
Abbott says the bill also bans the distribution of “unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots” and gives voters with a defective mail-in ballot the opportunity to correct the defect.
5. ‘Unacceptable for Houston region’: Lawmakers demand answers after audit reveals mail delays continue to plague north Houston postal facility
Since before the start of the pandemic, many of you have complained about not getting your mail on time.
Every piece of mail that comes in and out of Houston is sorted and processed at the North Houston Processing & Distribution Center on Aldine Bender.
The largest and busiest in the United States, a recent audit by the Postal Services’ Office of The Inspector General revealed it has the highest overall delayed mail volume in the country.
“That’s unacceptable for the Houston region,” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, (D) TX-29. U.S.
Representatives Garcia and Al Green held a news conference Tuesday afternoon after meeting with postal officials and auditors hours before. Both said they are not happy after officials and auditors failed to answer questions that were part of a letter sent to the OIG in September 2020.