Story
'Totally Under Control' dissects failures in the US coronavirus response
"Totally Under Control" is, in some ways, a greatest-hits collection of Trump administration failures and missteps pertaining to Covid-19, but with an extraordinarily timely kicker in the president's own diagnosis. Director Alex Gibney and his collaborators also earn degree-of-difficulty points for having assembled this documentary during the pandemic, designing a remotely operated "Covid-cam" to safely record interviews.
Story
Adding Fuel to the Fire of Our Pandemics
Nero, the Roman Emperor who legendarily fiddled while Rome burned is a symbol for an irresponsible, ineffective, and callous leader who shows indifference to people in crisis. The great Rome fire took place in the first century AD. The fiddle wasn’t invented until the eleventh century, so it is unlikely that the hedonistic emperor played the fiddle while his city was burning. More likely, he was engaged in some trivial or sybaritic act, regardless of the crisis.
Story
Stimulus negotiations: Pelosi rejects possibility of short-term extension of federal jobless benefits
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the possibility of a short-term extension of federal jobless benefits during her news conference on Thursday, taking a hard line in demanding that Congress approve a large-scale stimulus package that the White House has so far rejected.
Story
Trump remakes America in his own image: Angry, hateful, afraid
Donald Trump seems determined to make America ugly again. He has insulted scores of nations, undercut our allies and projected the worst of American xenophobia, racism, small-mindedness and vulgarity overseas.
Story
Staffing shakeup to overshadow five Cabinet members pitching infrastructure plan to the Hill
Five Cabinet secretaries are heading to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a hearing on infrastructure, but it's likely other issues will come up amid the news that President Donald Trump is shaking up his administration.
Story
The Long No
An acquaintance in the entertainment industry once explained to me why a project we were working on was stalled. He said we were getting “The Long No.”
Story
NYT: White House reviews plan that would send up to 120,000 US troops to Middle East
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented a military plan at a meeting of top national security officials last week that would send as many as 120,000 US troops to the Middle East in the event that Iran strikes American forces in the region or speeds up its development of nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported Monday.
Story
65 Years After Brown v. Board of Education
This week marks the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the unanimous Supreme Court decision that outlawed apartheid in America, declaring segregated schools "inherently unequal" and unconstitutional.
Story
Texas congresswoman to Trump: 'I refuse to be an accessory' to El Paso visit
Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas on Tuesday said she declined an invitation to join President Donald Trump on his upcoming visit to El Paso, Texas, as the city recovers from a mass shooting.
Story
This Valentine’s Day, what’s even better than a box of chocolate?
Mixologists say they know the best way to indulge in chocolate
Traditional boxes of chocolate are so ordinary. There’s a better, “outside-the-box” way to show your thoughtfulness. Crafted in Salzburg, Austria for more than 150 years, all-natural Mozart Chocolate Creams and Liqueurs are masterpieces made with only high-end ingredients such as rich Belgian chocolate, fresh cream and real Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar.
Story
Wedding Oak Winery Wins 3 Class Champion Awards at the 2018 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition
Wedding Oak Winery was recognized with three Class Champion, and two Double Gold medals, among nine wines that won medals at the 15th annual Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, held Nov. 11 – 12, 2017, at NRG Center in Houston, Texas. Wedding Oak Winery received Class Champion, Class Champion and Double Gold medals for its 2016 Marsanne and 2015 Tioja and a Class Champion, Texas Class Champion, and Silver medal for its 2016 Wedding Oak Winery Bridal Veil white blend. All Wedding Oak wines submitted to the competition are made using 100 percent Texas grown grapes.
Story
Alvarez’s Walk Off Against The White Sox Continues Dramatic Flare At Minute Maid Park
"The plan was just to not get too desperate at the plate," said Alvarez who had his first walk-off hit of his major league career. "Wasn't trying to hit a home run. I just wanted to make good, solid contact with the ball and that's what happened."
Story
Kushner resurfaces with op-ed on the Middle East
Top Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner resurfaced on Sunday by penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed about the Middle East, his first public remarks since the end of the Trump administration and offering a potential indication into how he will seek to cement his own legacy and accomplishments.
Story
A Question of Justice
In 1838, in a shameful chapter of American history, U.S. forces under Gen. Winfield Scott forced tens of thousands of Cherokee Indians - one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" that had embraced the customs and language of white settlers - to march 1,200 miles to what was designated "Indian Territory" across the Mississippi (centered in what is now Oklahoma). Their lands were confiscated; their homes looted. Along what became known as the Trail of Tears, whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, and starvation took a deadly toll, with an estimated one-quarter of the Cherokee people perishing along the way.
Story
Stages Theater 2022 Holiday Season
Join Stages as they welcome DeQuina Moore, one of Houston’s most talented souls, home for the holidays in this Christmas cabaret. In addition to a flurry of holiday hits, DeQuina will share personal stories, from growing up in Houston to backstage on Broadway.
Story
Harris County Gender Wage Gap Widens
UH Analysis Reveals ‘Double Gap’ for Women of Color
Even as the gender wage gap narrowed nationwide, the average pay disparity between men and women in Harris County widened, according to an analysis of the latest census data by the Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality (IRWGS) at the University of Houston. Factor in race and ethnicity, and the contrast is even more stark.
Story
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Ignorance is Death
We live in ignorant times. By now, surely this is obvious beyond argument to anyone who's been paying attention. From the Capitol insurrectionist who thought he was storming the White House to Sen. Tim Scott's claim that "woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy" to whatever thing Tucker Carlson last said, ignorance is ascendant.
Story
Trump officials can testify on former President's actions leading up to insurrection, Justice Department decides
The Justice Department formally declined to assert executive privilege for potential testimony of at least some witnesses related to the January 6 Capitol attack, a person briefed on the matter said.
Story
Biden administration launches roadmap to tackle pollution from widely used 'forever chemicals'
The White House on Monday announced a new plan to combat pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals that can cause severe health problems and linger in the environment after being released.
Story
Biden keeps confronting a good problem: A hot labor market
President Joe Biden touted a hotter-than-expected February jobs number on Friday as a sign that his agenda is working, even as the Federal Reserve considers increasing its pace of interest rate hikes in the coming weeks as a part of its ongoing efforts to tame inflation.
