Here are things to know for Friday, Feb. 26:
1. Biden in Houston: Here is a look at what the president plans to do during his visit
Recommended Videos
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Houston Friday as Texas recovers from the winter storm.
The president will also meet with Gov. Greg Abbott at the FEMA vaccine super-site at NRG around 5 p.m. Friday. This will be Biden’s last stop after touring several locations.
Biden is expected to survey damage and recovery efforts following the deadly winter storm.
2. Gov. Greg Abbott weighing end to mask order, other statewide coronavirus rules, says announcement coming ‘pretty soon’
Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that Texas is looking at when it will be able to lift all statewide orders related to the coronavirus pandemic and that an announcement is forthcoming.
Abbott made the comments at a Corpus Christi news conference where he was asked when the statewide mask mandate would be ended as Texans continue to get vaccinated. That requirement has been in effect since July of last year.
Abbott called it a “great question.”
“We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re gonna be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon,” Abbott said, without giving a specific time frame.
3. H-E-B donates $1 million to Texas food banks to help those in need after winter storm
H-E-B is going above and beyond to make sure Texans have food on their table by donating $1 million to food banks across Texas.
The donation was highlighted by Ellen DeGeneres during her talk show Wednesday, where H-E-B was a sponsored donor.
According to a news release, working directly with food banks affiliated with Feeding Texas, H-E-B’s donation will support 18 food banks throughout the state.
4. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo named a leader on Time Magazine’s 100 Next list
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo joins 99 other history-makers in “TIME” Magazine’s “Top 100 Next” series.
In the essay penned by former 2020 Democratic presidential nominee and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, he said it’s hard to imagine a tougher first set of circumstances to confront her first term of office, and the ability to expand Early Voting sites, which had tripled during the 2020 Election.
“[Hidalgo] has really distinguished herself and makes us proud—not just as Democrats but as Texans,” O’Rourke wrote. “That’s what leadership looks like.”
“Proud to represent Harris County on the #TIME100Next list,” Hidalgo tweeted. “Thank you [Beto O’Rourke] for the incredible words, and for all you’re doing in the wake of this disaster.”
5. Amid COVID-19 pandemic, flu has disappeared in the US
February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors’ offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But not this year.
Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades.
Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu probably helped, too, as did fewer people traveling, they say.