Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| The Brief for April 2 |  | In today’s Brief: President Donald Trump’s Twitter threats, and the potentially tight Republican runoff race for a Texas congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold.
Cassi Pollock , Texas Tribune 04/02/2018    | | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| As Wait Times Grow, Calls to the Texas Abuse Hotline Unanswered | | More than 100,000 callers each year to report potential child or elder abuse and neglect in Texas are hanging up before reaching an operator because of long wait times. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is on track this year to exceed 180,000 abandoned calls to the agency’s abuse hotline, the most in at least a decade. As of Tuesday, there had been 23 days this year in which a caller had been on hold for more than an hour; in the past, the agency has had one or two such days per year. Lawmakers last year infused more money into the agency to maintain the raises over the next two years as well as to implement additional improvements. To boost funding to Child Protective Services, however, Department of Family and Protective Services officials had to shift resources in all agency programs, including in the statewide intake division.
Julie Chang, Austin American-Statesman 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Austin American-Statesman |
| After Harvey, a =E2=80=98Second Storm’ of Air Pollution, State Reports Show | | Hurricane Harvey spawned nearly 4,000 tons of unpermitted air pollution from 75 industrial sources in the Houston and Port Arthur areas and beyond, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of reports supplied by dozens of industrial plants to state environmental officials. Statewide, six major Texas refineries, chemical plants and a huge tank farm have acknowledged releasing anywhere from 1,883 to 28,500 but pounds of benzene =E2=80=94 a known human carcinogen =E2=80=94 as part of some of the most hazardous unauthorized emissions specifically blamed on the storm.
Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Most Homes Damaged by Harvey Were Outside Flood Plain, data show | | Hurricane Harvey damaged more than 204,000 homes and apartment buildings in Harris County, almost three-quarters of them outside the federally regulated 100-year flood plain, leaving tens of thousands of homeowners uninsured and unprepared.The new details come from the most extensive disclosure of flood data yet released by city and county officials. The numbers follow a pattern: More than 55 percent of the homes damaged during the Tax Day storm in 2016 sat outside the flood plain, as did more than one-third of those during the Memorial Day floods in 2015. The findings raise questions about local government plans to prevent flooding that focus on tightening building codes inside the flood plain. They also cast further doubt on the accuracy of the maps used to identify housing most in danger of flooding.
David Hunn, Matt Dempsey, and Mihir Zaveri, Houston Chronicle 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Two Law Firms Drop Mandatory Arbitration Requirements | | More employers are dropping mandatory arbitration requirements as the secretive practice is coming under increasing attack in Congress, state legislatures and the courts. Employees who sign arbitration agreements typically waive their rights to sue and agree to settle disputes through binding arbitration.
L.M.Sixel, Houston Chronicle 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| 2 Injured in Suspected Gas Explosion at South Dallas Duplex | | Atmos Energy is investigating another suspected gas explosion, this time at a duplex in South Dallas. The explosion was reported to Dallas Fire-Rescue about 12:45 a.m. Monday in the 3700 block of Spring Avenue, near Fair Park. Investigators suspect the explosion is gas-related but have not determined its cause.
Naheed Rajwani & Jennifer Emily , The Dallas Morning News 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| States Protect Their Carnival Ride Inspectors From Lawsuits | | Most lawsuits target the ride owners and manufacturers but not the government-employed inspectors =E2=80=94 a distinction that some attorneys think should raise questions about how much accountability there is for the people inspecting carnival rides. The family of a 16-year-old who died when she was thrown from a ride two years ago at a church festival in El Paso, Texas, filed a lawsuit against the ride's owner and the church but not the state. Among the claims was that the owner failed to properly inspect the ride.
Associated Press, The New York Times 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| Card Data Stolen From 5 Million Saks and Lord & Taylor Customers | | A well-known ring of cybercriminals has obtained more than five million credit and debit card numbers from customers of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, according to a cybersecurity research firm that specializes in tracking stolen financial data. The data, the firm said, appears to have been stolen using software that was implanted into the cash register systems at the stores and that siphoned card numbers until last month.
VINDU GOEL & RACHEL ABRAMS, The New York Times 04/02/2018
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| Sewage Leaks in Operating Rooms Still Plagued Washington's Hospital for VIPs, Reports Show | | "A black, grainy foul-smelling substance" coated the floor of an operating room at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, which also suffered from at least one "active leak" of sewage, according to a review by the District of Columbia health department last August. That health department report was cited in a lawsuit filed against the hospital by the husband of a woman who died from a post-operative infection after surgery at the hospital, where the operating rooms had suffered from leaks of bacteria-filled sewage for months.
Jayne O'Donnell, USA Today 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: USA Today |
| More Lawsuits Filed After Florida Pedestrian Bridge Collapse | | More lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of a pedestrian bridge collapse near a Florida university campus. The Miami Herald reports that a 19-year-old who was a passenger in an SUV crushed by a slab of concrete filed a lawsuit Thursday against several companies involved in the bridge's construction near Florida International University. The teen, Richard Humble, was riding in an SUV driven by FIU student Alexa Duran. He managed to escape but she did not survive. Duran's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday.
Associated Press, The New York Times 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| Bard Owes Injured Woman $3.6M In IVC Bellwether, Jury Finds | | A Phoenix federal jury awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages on Friday to a woman who said a clot-stopping vein filter manufactured by C.R. Bard Inc. broke apart in her body, finding the device maker responsible for 80 percent of the harm for a total of $3.6 million in damages.
Cara Salvatore , Law360 ($) 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Remington’s Bankruptcy Stalls Ruling in Sandy Hook Families’ Suit | | The lawsuit brought by family members of those killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School has been watched closely over years of winding its way through the court system. But a new hurdle stands in the way of a much-awaited ruling. Remington, one of the nation’s oldest gunmakers and a defendant in the lawsuit, recently filed for bankruptcy as its sales have declined and debts have mounted.The case is now before the Connecticut Supreme Court, where families brought an appeal with the aim of bringing the case to a jury trial. Remington’s bankruptcy does not guard the company from potential liability, but it has stalled the court from issuing a ruling on the lawsuit until the company emerges from the process. The court has been weighing the case after hearing oral arguments last year.
KRISTIN HUSSEY & RICK ROJAS, The New York Times 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by Pulse Shooting Victims' Families | | A Michigan judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by more than a dozen families of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims against social media companies. The lawsuit, filed in December 2016, accused Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (owned by Google) of knowing that ISIS recruited members online and doing nothing to stop it. Because the Pulse gunman, Omar Mateen, was able to view extremist propaganda on these social sites, the lawsuit said they were civilly liable. The complaint demanded a trial by jury.
AMIR VERA, CNN , Yahoo News 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: Yahoo News |
| Ft Worth Company Recalls Over 7,000 lbs of Meat | | Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered the problem at PFP Enterprises, doing business as Texas Meat Packers, on Friday and issued the recall Saturday. The company operated March 24 without inspection, the USDA said in a release. According to the release, the beef was sold to institutional and retail locations in Texas, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Tom Steele, The Dallas Morning News 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Fatal Tesla Crash Raises New Questions About Autopilot System | | Tesla’s semiautonomous driving system is coming under new scrutiny after the company disclosed late on Friday that a fatal crash on March 23 in California occurred while Autopilot was engaged. The company said the driver, Wei Huang, 38, a software engineer for Apple, had received several visual and audible warnings to put his hands back on the steering wheel but had failed to do so, even though his Model X S.U.V. had the modified version of the software. His hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds before his Model X slammed into a concrete divider near the junction of Highway 101 and 85 in Mountain View, and neither Mr. Huang nor the Autopilot activated the brakes before the crash.
NEAL E. BOUDETTE, The New York Times 04/02/2018 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
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