TTLA Annual Board Member Orientation, Jan 13 | Board members are encouraged to participate in our annual Board Orientation live webinar, which will include a review of TTLA policies, Board duties, and budgetary information. Please click on the headline to register. | Registration is Open for TTLA PMD Seminar, Feb. 10 in Austin | The 2017 faculty features some of the most seasoned and talented mass tort attorneys in the country, providing information you cannot get anywhere else and a program structured to maximize the flow of up-to-the-minute information in an interactive setting. Click on the headline to learn more and register. | Women's Caucus Lobby Day, Jan 31 | TTLA is hosting the TTLA Women's Caucus Lobby Day on Jan 31st. This is a great opportunity to learn about key bills and meet face-to-face with lawmakers. Deadline to RSVP is Jan 20th, click on the headline to RSVP. | General Membership Lobby Day, Feb 7th | Deadline to register for the General Membership Lobby Day is Jan 27th. This is a great opportunity to learn about key bills and meet face-to-face with lawmakers. Click on the headline to register. | Texas Tribune Daily Brief | | Lawmaker's Family Reaches Settlement with Water Park Over Son's Death | | A settlement has been reached between a Kansas state representative's family and the owner of a water park where the lawmaker's 10-year-old son died in an accident on a water slide over the summer. Winter Prosapio, spokeswoman for the Schlitterbahn Water Park, told NBC News that the park had reached a settlement with the family of Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab, but she declined to provide additional details of the case. Caleb Schwab died on the Verrßckt ride at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City in August. PHIL MCCAUSLAND, NBC 5 - DFW 01/12/2017 | Read Article: NBC 5 - DFW | 6 Volkswagen Executives Charged as Company Pleads Guilty in Emissions Case | | Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges on Wednesday against six Volkswagen executives for their roles in the company's emissions-cheating scandal, a sharp turn by a departing administration that is trying to remake its image of being soft on corporate crime. The six executives include a former head of development of the Volkswagen brand and the head of engine development. One of those charged on Wednesday, Oliver Schmidt, was arrested in Florida last week; the other five are believed to be in Germany. HIROKO TABUCHI, JACK EWING and MATT APUZZO, The Washington Post 01/12/2017 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Ford Adds 816,000 Vehicles to Takata Air Bag Recall | | Ford is adding more than 816,000 vehicles in North America to the growing Takata air bag inflator recall. The company says the latest callback covers the 2005-2009 and 2012 Mustang and the 2006-2009 and 2012 Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ. Also included are the 2007-2009 Ford Ranger and Edge, the 2007-2009 Lincoln MKX, the 2006-2009 Mercury Milan and the 2005 and 2006 Ford GT. Associated Press, KTSA 01/12/2017 | Read Article: KTSA | EPA Accuses Fiat Chrysler of Excess Diesel Emissions | | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of using software that allowed excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. trucks and SUVs sold since 2014, the result of a probe that stemmed from regulators' investigation of rival Volkswagen. The EPA and California Air Resources Board told the automaker it believes its undeclared auxiliary emissions control software allowed vehicles to generate excess pollution in violation of the law. Reuters, Reuters 01/12/2017 | Read Article: Reuters | Texas Man Fatally Shot by Arizona Police, Family Files Suit | | The family of a man from Granbury, Texas who was killed by Arizona law enforcement last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The man was killed last year by Mesa police while staying at a hotel during a week-long business trip. According to the lawsuit, the police officer who shot the unarmed man was intending to cause him harm. The lawsuit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday and alleges wrongful death and gross-negligence. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified punitive damages on behalf of the man's family. Ryan Osborne, Ft. Worth Star Telegram 01/11/2017 | Read Article: Ft. Worth Star Telegram | | |