Coronavirus News

Texas plows onward with reopening of beauty salons and barbershops

Soon to be full of all sorts of social distancing challenges.

Photo by John Livas

Texas is moving forward with the next phase in its statewide reopening. On May 8, hair salons, nail salons, and barbershops can reopen, according to the latest order from Gov. Gregg Abbott.

Gyms can open 10 days later, on May 18, but in a limited capacity, with showers and locker rooms still closed.

This follows the first reopening phase which took place on May 1, when restaurants, movie theaters, and malls were given the OK to reopen, although at 25 percent capacity and with social distancing measures. State parks reopened on April 20.

The glaring exception to this late reopening round is bars. Abbott said that bars would have to prove they can install successful social distancing strategies before getting the go-ahead.

"If you're a big bar with a lot of room, that's one thing, but how about small bars?" he asked. "We need details on all the different types of issues that arise so we can run it by our doctors to make an assessment and then open again as quickly as possible."

He didn't clarify how beauty salons, nail salons, and barbershops would be able to observe social distancing practices, given the fact that all of the services require close proximity and actual touching.

Office buildings with five employees or 25 percent of the workforce are also allowed to reopen, presuming they can maintain appropriate social distancing, Abbott said.

He gave manufacturers another week, noting they would be unable to ramp back up on short notice, and needed time to make their facilities safe.

On May 5, Tarrant County reported 62 new cases and six more deaths. Neighboring Dallas county reported a record-high 253 new cases and seven more deaths.

Abbott has acknowledged that Texas might see an increase in positive cases, but has insisted that the increase would only be due to more tests.

However, in newly leaked audio from a private phone call on May 1, Abbott is heard admitting that "pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening, it actually will lead to an increase and spread" of COVID-19, showing that, despite what he says in public, he seems to be fully aware of the risks.

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Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."