News Roundup: Five Texas Counties Affected By Measles Outbreak

Our daily look at Texas headlines.

By Becky FogelFebruary 21, 2019 1:02 pm

The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.

The head of the Texas Department of State Health Services updated lawmakers on an ongoing measles outbreak affecting five counties.

Commissioner John Hellerstedt testified at the Texas House Committee on Public Health’s hearing Wednesday. He said measles is making a resurgence around the world.

“And Texas is seeing part of that as well. So we now, so far this year, 2019, have eight confirmed cases of measles in the state of Texas, and we’re keeping our vigilance as high as we can,” Hellerstedt said.

Bell, Denton, Galveston, and Montgomery Counties each have one confirmed case. Harris County has the most, with four confirmed cases of measles. In addition to the measles outbreak in Texas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are four other cases across the country. One of the outbreaks – which is defined as three or more cases of measles – is in Washington state, the other three are in New York.




Houston native, and global superstar, Beyoncé, along with her husband Jay-Z, won the Best International Group category at Wednesday’s Brit Awards, for their work as The Carters. The Brit Awards are the UK’s equivalent of the Grammys.

The pair accepted the award in a video. In it, they were standing before a portrait of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who is painted to look like the “Mona Lisa.” It’s a nod to the music video they shot for their song “APES**T” at the Louvre in Paris.

Beyoncé added on Instagram, “In honor of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beyoncé also congratulated Markle on her pregnancy.




The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into a January drug raid in Houston that left two people dead and five officers injured.

As Houston Public Media’s Travis Bubenik reports, the local district attorney has launched a massive review of criminal cases connected to the officer that helped initiate the raid:

Officer Gerald Goines is still recovering from being shot during the botched raid on a southeast Houston home. But his own department thinks he may have lied during the investigation that led to the raid. District Attorney Kim Ogg says the 1,400 cases under review span the narcotics officer’s decadeslong career. Twenty-seven active cases have been put on hold. Houston’s police chief has said he’s “confident” criminal charges against one or more officers will be filed. Goines’ attorney, meanwhile, has suggested police are rushing to judgement about the officer’s conduct before an internal review is finished. She’s called for an independent review.




Texas has the most powerful National Guard in the country, according to Business Insider. That’s reporting the recently appointed Adjutant General of Texas Tracy Norris mentioned during a state Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Border Security hearing Wednesday.

Norris is the first woman to command the Texas Military Department.

“And I’m not for or against the Business Insider, but today the Business Insider did publish the six most powerful U.S. states ranked by national guard forces, that are bigger than some countries. And it says when it comes to capabilities, no two states are alike. We rank [in] the top six, and overall, we found Texas has the most capable national guard,” Norris said during the hearing.

Norris added that with over 23,000 members, Texas has the largest state military force in the country.