Morning Roundup: Love hurts edition

Good morning, Houston. The good thing about having a lovers' spat is that there's almost always someone else out there having one that's far worse — take, for example, the story of a Conroe quarrel that led to a woman ramming her ex-boyfriend's car. Thomas Young-Davis told police that his ex got upset that he had a new girlfriend, so she followed him to a gas station yesterday afternoon, backed into his car twice and then used a pickax to smash his car's windows. (Seriously, if your fights end in a similar way, just keep it to yourself — and remind us never to date you.)

>> Red county, blue county?: According to the 2007 Houston Area Survey, more Harris County residents identify themselves as Democrats than as Republicans for the second year — 43 percent to 33 percent in the current survey. Is that a sign of things to come? As you might expect, Democrats say yes: "I believe that it is very likely that the Democrats will sweep Harris County, all county offices," Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerry Birnberg said. Maybe not, but survey director Stephen Klineberg said it does show that Harris County residents support issues traditionally championed by Democrats, like reducing pollution and improving mass transit. "It's by no means a done deal here in terms of politics, but it's much more up for grabs," Klineberg said.

>> TSU student dies of meningitis: Rodney Bernard, one of two Texas Southern University students diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, died Thursday, prompting concerns that about 650 other students could be at risk of contracting the disease. It's not clear whether there was any connection between Bernard and the other sick student: They were in one class together, but other than that, officials say there's no particular reason why they should have both come down with meningitis at the same time. "It's very unusual to see two cases in this proximity, so we need to be aggressive in stopping it in its track," city Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kathy Barton said. TSU students who may have come into contact with Bernard and the other man are being offered vaccinations.

>> Today's weather: Less of a chance of rain today: Expect a partly cloudy afternoon with a high of 84 and around a 20 percent chance of a passing shower. The rain chance will hold through the night; look for a low around 67 and a persistent south breeze. The good news: Cooler, drier weather should be here by the end of the week.

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