Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Baylor: "Incendiary" Allegations it Destroyed Evidence are Unfounded |
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Lawyers for Baylor University said a suggestion that school officials destroyed records was “incendiary” and false, and that documents used to make the claim were unrelated to a wide-ranging sexual assault scandal that has dogged the private Waco university for years. The response was made in documents filed in federal court Wednesday evening, the latest exchange in one of several ongoing lawsuits against the school. Claims that Baylor officials destroyed evidence, made last week in a different court filing, are “serious accusations that lack any reasonable basis in fact,” Baylor’s filing says. Lawyers for the school attached internal emails to back their response.
SHANNON NAJMABADI, Texas Tribune02/23/2018    |
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| Record Reservoir Flood Predictions Kept Secret Before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston |
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A day before Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast last August, an internal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers forecast predicted that the storm would fill Houston's Barker Reservoir to record levels, flooding neighborhoods on the reservoir's western border for two weeks or more, government records show. That projection was made Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 - before Harvey hit Houston. The next day's Army Corps forecasts got worse and worse: Both Barker and Addicks reservoirs would spill beyond government-owned land, engulfing nearby homes and businesses. But the Corps did not share these predictions with the public. The documents are emerging six months after Harvey because the Corps has been compelled to produce records in response to lawsuits filed by thousands of flooded out homeowners.
Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle02/23/2018 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| On Karolyi Ranch, Gymnasts with Olympic Dreams Endured ‘Perfect Environment for Abuse’ |
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Public allegations, including claims in two lawsuits, that Bela and Martha Karolyi's severe, Soviet-inspired training -- and the secretive, secluded ranch they constructed -- created a culture of fear and intimidation that enabled Dr. Larry Nassar, the women’s national gymnastics team doctor, to sexually abuse young gymnasts over nearly two decades. One of the lawsuits, filed in California by Antolin, contends that a harmful environment at the Karolyi Ranch allowed the abuse to happen.
David Tarrant & Terri Langford, The Dallas Morning News02/23/2018 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Toyota Was Aware of Decreased Prius Fuel Economy, Says Lawsuit |
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A lawsuit was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleging that Toyota failed to alert consumers that a fix for an issue with its Prius model cars caused drivers to lose fuel economy. According to the lawsuit, the carmaker "concealed from consumers that the software reflash decreased the fuel efficiency — defeating the very purpose of owning these hybrid vehicles." The complaint states that a fix for problems with the electrical system overheating led to a decrease in the cars' fuel economy by about five miles per gallon. The lawsuit is seeking class action status.
Sebastian Blanco, Forbes02/22/2018 |
| Read Article: Forbes |
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