🌱 Houstonian Astronaut Breaks Record + Smoothie King Controversy

Happy Thursday, people of Houston! Here's everything worth knowing around town today.

First, today's weather:

Pleasant with plenty of sun. High: 76 Low: 53.

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Here are the top five stories in Houston today:

1. NASA Astronaut and Houstonian Mark Vande Hei arrived at the International Space Station on April 9, 2021. His return to Earth on Wednesday means he spent 355 days in low-Earth orbit, breaking the previous record held by retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly by 15 days. (CW 39)

2. Nearly a quarter of all COVID-19 cases sequenced by Houston Methodist Hospital contained the new, more-contagious COVID-19 omicron BA.2 subvariant, researchers say. The latest genome sequencing shows 24% of COVID-19 cases in the region were BA.2, up from just 3% over the last few weeks, according to the hospital. Cases did not climb substantially, but the type of subvariant shifted. (Houston Public Media)

3. E-cigarettes are officially banned under Houston's new smoking ordinance. Dr. Lindy McGee, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, said the toxic chemicals in vaping can create risks for all ages. She also emphasized concern for teenagers and adults. (ABC 13)

4. A Conroe Smoothie King employee has been fired after reportedly issuing a controversial receipt describing three Black customers with the derogatory n-word term. Last Tuesday, local civil rights activist Quanell X held a press conference outside the Smoothie King saying it was evident "racism is alive and well." (KHOU 11)

5. A Houston group is sending 3 truckloads of donations and supplies to Ukraine. It is accepting donations for those that want to help. Items like medical supplies, non-perishable foods, clothing, blankets, and more were all donated. (Click2Houston)

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Today in Houston:

• Business Over Beignets at Houston East End Chamber-Commerce. (8:30 AM)
• Grand Opening at CenterWell Senior Primary Care Sharpstown. (10:00 AM)
• HAIS Theater Collective at Houston Academy for International Studies. (3:30 PM)
• Pilates at Discovery Green. (6:30 PM)
• The Riot Comedy Show Presents "The Truckstop Triple." (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Future Astros program, presented by Houston Methodist, has kicked off its 2022 season all across Texas and Louisiana. Learn more about the program and all that it has to offer at www.astros.com/futureastros. (Facebook)
• Houston SPCA's cruelty investigators assisted Office of Constable Alan Rosen, Harris County Constable Precinct 1 rescue two dogs after being found improperly tethered. (Facebook)
• Only a few weeks remain until the world-premiere "Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs" exhibition leaves Houston Museum of Natural Science. (Facebook)
• Houston Police Department is releasing body camera footage of an officer-involved shooting at 2501 Lazy Hollow on March 2. The summary video is posted here: https://bit.ly/3uEYQyo All videos can be viewed here: bit.ly/CIVLazyHollow. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Online Discussions on the Effectiveness of Drug Addiction Treatment in a Houston Addiction Treatment (March 31)
• ACCH Maker Market - Funky, Fun one-of-a-kind creations by local Houston Artist / Makers (April 2)
• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (April 8)
• Add your event

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday. I'll see you soon!

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.