George Floyd s family stood in front of the Texas Capitol on Saturday and called on state lawmakers to pass legislation named after him.
Floyd was a Black man with Houston roots who died last year during an arrest in Minneapolis that was caught on a bystander s video that went viral. Derek Chauvin, the police officer who had pinned his knee on Floyd s neck for nearly nine minutes, is currently on trial, where he faces murder and manslaughter charges.
The George Floyd Act awaiting action in the Texas Legislature is a Democratic-led, sweeping police reform measure filed in the wake of nationwide protests that erupted last summer over Floyd s death and other cases of police brutality.
Dozens rally Saturday at Texas Capitol to denounce hate, attacks against Asian community
Dozens of people met at the Capitol on Saturday to decry anti-Asian racism and to highlight the tragedy of the Atlanta-area spa shootings as well as the rise of hate incidents against people of Asian descent amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, held at the Texas African American History Memorial on the south lawn of the Capitol, coincided with a news conference nearby attended by relatives of George Floyd and Black activists, who called on state lawmakers to pass the police reform bill named after Floyd, a former Houstonian.
Austin rescue crews on Thursday saved a man who was left stranded and dangling from a rope on the side of a downtown Austin skyscraper, Austin-Travis County EMS officials said.
EMS officials tweeted around 3.34 p.m. on Thursday that it was notified of a man who was dangling from an emergency rope on the side of the Ashton Austin, a residential high rise in downtown Austin.
Around 4:06 p.m., EMS officials tweeted that the man was saved by rescue crews who pulled him in from a nearby balcony, adding that the man was not injured and refused being taken to the hospital.
Fire damaged the historic Buford Tower in downtown Austin on Thursday evening but is now under control, according to Austin fire officials.
Austin firefighters were trying to put out a fire near the structure earlier in the evening. Around 9:20 p.m. Thursday, Austin fire tweeted that the fire had spread to the tower.
The fire department tweeted shortly before 9:30 p.m. that the fire was under control and added that the damage was mostly limited to the exteriors and the windows of the structure, which is located at the intersection of Cesar Chavez and Colorado streets.
Fire officials said the fire that spread to the tower is believed to have stemmed from a camp near the structure that is occupied by people who are experiencing homelessness.
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