Here are things to know for Wednesday, Nov. 17:
1. ‘Bharti is love’: Family, friends gather to say goodbye to 22-year-old Astroworld Festival victim
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It was an emotional day on Tuesday for family and friends of Bharti Shahani, the 22-year-old Texas A&M student who died after being injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival on Nov.5.
Shahani was with her sister and cousin at the concert when they were trapped in a crowd surge with hundreds of others. Shahani remained in a coma for nearly a week before she was declared dead at 6:50 p.m. on Nov. 11, becoming the 9th victim in the tragedy.
Mourners greeted her grief-stricken parents with loving hugs and condolences as a video montage of Shahani played on a screen. Images from birth to her adult years showed the happy days of the young woman who family members say is “gone too soon.”
2. ‘I thought I was dead’: 19-year-old says bullet narrowly missed him during road rage shooting on Fort Bend Tollway
A 19-year-old Missouri City man says he is lucky to be alive after a road rage shooting on the Fort Bend Tollway.
The shooting happened just after 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Marshall Ervin said it started when the driver of a Black Dodge Challenger started tailgating him as he entered the tollway from Hillcroft.
“The car in front of me was going about 50 to 55 mph. I tried to get around her and get into the fast lane, and at that point, about halfway into my merge, the Challenger sped up so that I couldn’t get over, and then I had to swerve back into my lane,” Ervin explained.
3. 2 Harris County commissioners file lawsuit against Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo
Two commissioners have filed a lawsuit against Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Harris County Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle are among the plaintiffs suing the county and Judge Lina Hidalgo over redistricting.
The lawsuit calls the plan adopted by Commissioners Court in October “unconstitutional and illegal,” claiming it strips more than 1.1 million people of their right to vote in next year’s county elections.
The court documents state the even-numbered precincts, 2 and 4, are slated for primary and general elections in 2022, and by intentionally moving voters from even-numbered to odd-numbered precincts, the plan stripped those specific voters of their right to vote.
4. Houston Methodist doctor resigns following suspension over controversial COVID-19 tweets
The local doctor who was suspended by Houston Methodist after they said she was spreading dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 treatments has resigned Tuesday.
Doctor Mary Bowden is an ear, nose and throat specialist. She runs her own private practice BreatheMD, but just recently joined the staff at Houston Methodist.
Bowden’s resignation comes days after Houston Methodist suspended the doctor’s hospital privileges and accused her of “using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments.”
Bowden claims she has treated more than 2,000 patients with COVID-19 and has been outspoken on social media recently about vaccine mandates and treatments.
5. Katy ISD parents demand answers from the district after finding books in campus libraries that contain ‘vulgar and explicit material’
Several Katy ISD parents are upset over certain books that are on the shelves at their kid’s schools. The parents said the books are obscene and sexually explicit in nature.
At Monday night’s Katy ISD board meeting, some parents voiced their concerns over six books found in schools.
“I have never read such vulgar, explicit material until now,” said one parent.
Parents read a few passages, they said, that were explicit and sexually graphic to the school board.
“I cannot even imagine how I would feel if my child came home with this type of book. We cannot unread this type of content,” said another parent.