As COVID Cases Surge, CDC Says Mask Up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that vaccinated individuals should begin wearing masks indoors again in areas with high community spread. North Texas meets that description as Dallas County reports 1,453 new cases in its latest 3-day totals. County Judge Clay Jenkins says most of the area’s hospital beds for COVID patients are mostly occupied by people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. UT Southwestern released a guide for speaking with friends and family members who are still reluctant to take the vaccine.
COVID Surge Threatens Hope for Normal School Reopening. The CDC and the Texas Teachers Association requested that Gov. Greg Abbott lift his ban on school districts requiring face coverings in schools, but the governor has refused. Some parents want to continue to have a virtual learning option, but state lawmakers haven’t funded virtual school for the upcoming year. Parents with children too young to be vaccinated and vulnerable family members at home are scared. “My husband has cancer,” Wallis Johnston told the Fort Worth ISD’s board. “I had to look at my 10-year-old with tears streaming down his face when he said, ‘Mommy what if I get COVID from someone at school and bring it home to dad.’”
Jake Ellzey Beats Trump-Backed Susan Wright in Congressional Runoff. Both candidates vying to replace Wright’s late-husband Ron Wright in the U.S. Congress have similar stances on many issues, but Donald Trump’s support of Susan Wright turned the race into a bellwether for the former president’s influence within GOP party politics.
UT, Oklahoma Officially Request SEC Membership. It’s all but a done deal. After the two Big 12 powers jump ship to the SEC, they might as well rename the conference the National U-22 Football League, pay players a salary, drop the requirement that athletes attend college classes, and stop pretending this isn’t just another pro sports league.
