Wednesday, March 3 top stories

It is Wednesday, March 3. Here are today’s top stories.

Yesterday afternoon Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced he is ending the statewide mask mandate.

@GregAbbott_TX: "I just announced Texas is OPEN 100%. EVERYTHING. I also ended the statewide mask mandate.”

ABC News reported that hospitals in Houston are now preparing with more staff and ventilators. A hospital official said he hopes history won’t repeat itself with a tsunami of new cases.

Abbott also said everything, 100% is open. He said restrictions on small business owners must end now. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted that Abbott was reckless.

@GavinNewsom: “Absolutely reckless.”

The CDC said masks help to protect yourself and other people. The CDC said about 7% of Texas’s 30 million residents have been fully vaccinated.

Abbott ordered the statewide mask mandate in July when there were high rates of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the state. He shut down bars and put strict restrictions on other businesses. By the end of November, Abbott said shutdowns do not work because Covid-19 rates were still high. Abbott blamed infection rates on people socializing at home or other areas.

Many businesses in Texas said they would still keep the mask mandate on their properties. Masks will still be required on airports and public transportation under federal orders from President Joe Biden. NBA’s Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he would still limit the amount of fans at games.

In separate but related news, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced the same thing for his state — no more mask mandates and 100% reopening of businesses. He said it’s time because hospitalizations and case numbers are going down as vaccines are being distributed.

President Joe Biden announced yesterday afternoon that he believes every adult can be vaccinated by the end of May. He said Johnson & Johnson and Merck, who are business rivals, would partner up to produce vaccines 24/7. Here is a video clip.

[Video clip]

Joe Biden, with ASL interpreter: "Let me say that again. When we came into office, the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccines to cover adults in America. We rectified that. About three weeks ago, we were able to say that we’ll have enough vaccine supply for adults by the end of July. And I’m pleased to announce today, as a consequence of the stepped-up process that I’ve ordered and just outlined, this country will have enough vaccine supply, say it again, for every adult in America by the end of May, by the end of May. That’s progress, important progress…”

So, that’s hopeful news for those who are looking forward to receiving vaccines to have protection against the coronavirus.

Did former President Trump and former First Lady Melania receive vaccines? News reports said they did, but in secret. Both CNN and Fox News reported that the Trumps were inoculated in January before they left the White House. At the CPAC conference in Orlando on Sunday, Trump said everyone should go and get a shot because it was unpainful, but didn’t explicitly mention whether he was vaccinated or not. There is criticism because there are people out there who are distrustful of the vaccine despite clinical trials showing its safety, and when public officials and leaders show themselves getting vaccinated, it could give confidence to others. Was Trump making a political decision to get vaccinated in secret and not mention it at the CPAC conference?

[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) sustained head injuries in a fall last weekend in Boston. He said he was playing with his grandchildren, fell, and was knocked unconscious. He was hospitalized and received stitches on his right eyebrow and lip. Romney joked that he got hurt because he went to the CPAC where Trump gave a speech in Orlando. Romney said he is doing better now.

In Iraq, 10 rockets struck an air base housing U.S. troops on Monday. It is not known who fired the rockets and whether there was anyone hurt. Pope Francis plans to visit Iraq this Friday. We know that the U.S. military dropped several bombs that targeted Iranian-backed militia targets last week. An analyst with USA Today said it’s concerning because the U.S. and Iran might be escalating a deadly back-and-forth again.

CNN reported that the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that descendants of African-Americans who were enslaved by people within the tribe have a right to tribal citizenship and its benefits. The court ruled to strike the words, “by blood” from its Cherokee Nation Constitution. This would grant descendants of the slaves, called Cherokee Freedmen, full tribal citizenship. A historian from Brown University explained that in the 1800’s, both Native Americans and African Americans were enslaved, but some wealthier citizens of tribes had slaves. The Cherokee tribe abolished slavery in 1863, two years before the U.S., but Freedmen didn’t feel they had equal rights because they were excluded based on not having Cherokee blood. Now they have full rights as Cherokee citizens.

The U.S. Capitol Police Department announced yesterday that they obtained intelligence that shows there is a militia group that wants to breach the Capitol on Thursday, March 4. Capitol police said they are taking the information seriously and can’t provide additional details at this time. On Tuesday the FBI sent out an alert warning that some groups want to overtake the Capitol and remove democratic lawmakers on the 4th of March. CNBC explained that followers of the extremist QAnon ideology are finding symbolism on the 4th of March because it was the old date of presidential inaugurations up to 1937. The followers have a fantasy that Trump will take over power on that day. Capitol Police said they are prepared with security upgrades and increasing manpower to protect Congress.

That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.

https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1366846908480815106

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/texas-biggest-us-state-lift-covid-19-mask-76208428

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-texas/staff-at-some-major-u-s-firms-to-keep-masks-on-in-texas-even-as-state-lifts-mandate-idUSKCN2AU2QM?il=0

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-mask-mandate-where-masks-are-required/269-225247b3-d851-4a79-9a7a-486dde7b3169

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/texas-governor-mask-mandate/index.html

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1366845363831775233

https://twitter.com/tatereeves/status/1366849019935412228?s=20

https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1366861386324664322

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-coronavirus-vaccines-white-house-in-january

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/joe-biden-speech-on-covid-19-pandemic-vaccine-distribution-transcript-march-2

https://apnews.com/article/mitt-romney-fall-unconscious-grandkids-f3e07f03fd5d74c88ce7a1caac3b7ff0

https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1366528378308820993

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/us/politics/donald-trump-melania-coronavirus-vaccine.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/03/03/rockets-strike-iraq-pope-francis-visit-united-states-troops/6900529002/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/politics/trump-melania-vaccinated-white-house/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/25/us/cherokee-nation-ruling-freedmen-citizenship-trnd/index.html

https://www.theonefeather.com/2021/02/cherokee-nation-supreme-court-issues-decision-that-by-blood-reference-be-stricken-from-cherokee-nation-constitution/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/capitol-police-prepare-for-possible-militia-plot-against-congress.html