I said a few weeks ago that I would probably stop splitting the weekly Roundup into two parts. But, I am not quite there yet, though with Memorial Day upcoming, I think we're closer.


Dallas

County Judge Clay Jenkins is squaring off with legally semi-illiterate AG Ken Paxton over the county's coronavirus social distancing regs and enforcement.


Texas

Coronavirus deaths started surging in Texas last week. Given the latency time, this would exactly fit with Gov. Strangeabbott's "reopening" without adequate testing, and without other adequate issues.

I'll take Dr. Peter Hotez over Gov. Strangeabbott on coronavirus testing thoughts. Hotez and other actual health experts go in more depth here, expecting a surge in cases that will require a new set of shelter-in-place orders. Question is, will Strangeabbott actually pull the trigger?

State prisoners self-testing with kits with high false positive rates? And no indication how TDCJ will handle actual positives, anyway. As the Observer notes, Abbott's ignored the growing problem in Texas prisons. Sounds like Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Gerritt needs to crank up his keyboard again.

TEA is offering an online "STAAR test lite" so parents and schools can check for degree of possible backsliding. Given the percentage of kids who have skipped out on video instruction across the state, refudiating the salvific technologist world's attempts to increase its footprint in education, this could be an actual issue.

Thank doorknobs Danny Goeb doesn't run, nor advise, pro sports teams. He says they should open up games with live (for now, some dead later) fans.

Kuff references Abbott widening the reopening even as daily case numbers in the state continue to grow. More on cases and deaths here.

The Texas Supremes are back to the old normal, saying late rent evictions can start again next month, even though joblessness increased in May over April.

Sanford Nowlin shows a study that warns 4 million Texans could lost health insurance as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.


National

Toady Birx ups her toadying.

COVID antibody tests really don't mean that much.

The Grand Canyon joins Bryce and other national parks in a limited reopening that will likely backfire, but given the Trump Administration's keeping national parks open during the government shutdown, it likely doesn't care about.

Wingnut state AGs (surprised Kenny Boy Paxton has missed this one) and other wingnut lawyers are wasting taxpayer or private client money by suing China.

Surely due to rapid ramp-ups because of the flood of COVID-related claims, state unemployment payment agencies are suffering rampant fraud.

People recovering from severe COVID infections say "too soon" on too much economic reopening.


World

Northeast China's Jilin Province went on lockdown last week.