Texas Tribune Daily Brief
|
|
| The Brief for March 8 |
 |
More takeaways from Tuesday’s primary elections: Texas is still solidly red, women won big, and only one Hispanic Republican incumbent is returning to the Texas Legislature in 2019.
CASSANDRA POLLOCK, Texas Tribune03/08/2018    |
| Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| Report: Sexual Harassment, Racism and a Secret Settlement at the 'Crossroads of the Marine Corps' |
|
A Marine inspector general’s report in 2015 called out a toxic work environment at the Marine and Family Programs Division at Quantico. The report says the program struggled with complaints of sexual harassment, racial bias and bad management, including a secret settlement reached with one official to get her to leave quietly from the base known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps." The Marines have not released the report, but USA TODAY obtained a copy.
Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today03/08/2018 |
| Read Article: USA Today |
| After Decades of Improvement, Roads are Becoming More Dangerous for Pedestrians |
|
There is troubling trend in road safety in recent years: After decades of decline in the rate of fatal car accidents, numbers have crept back up in recent years. The trend is particularly pronounced for pedestrian fatalities: In 2016, the most recent year with complete Transportation Department data, nearly 6,000 pedestrians were struck and killed by vehicles on public roads. Experts suspect the increase is driven by a number of factors. Last month, the Governors Highway Safety Association released a report noting that rising pedestrian fatalities are correlated with the growth in smartphone adoption and use. Although deaths related to distracted driving are, on the whole, trending downward, smartphone use could be affecting pedestrians, too, by making them less aware of their surroundings.
Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post03/08/2018 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| Watchdog Report: Failed VA Leadership Put Patients at Risk |
|
A 150-page report released Wednesday by the VA internal watchdog offers new details to its preliminary finding last April of patient safety issues at the Washington, D.C., medical center. Shulkin acknowledged to reporters that the problems were "systemic," but said he was not aware of the issues at the Washington hospital. He pledged wide-scale change across the VA. Painting a grim picture of communications breakdowns, chaos and spending waste at the government's second largest department, the report found that at least three VA program offices directly under Shulkin's watch knew of "serious, persistent deficiencies" when he was VA undersecretary of health from 2015 to 2016. But it stopped short of saying whether he was told about them.
Associated Press, The New York Times03/08/2018 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Transgender Rights Protected by Federal Law, Says U.S. Appeals Court |
|
A U.S. appeals court has ruled in favor of a transgender woman who was fired from her job as funeral director after announcing her planned transition. On Wednesday the court ruled that federal law banning sex bias in the workplace prohibits discrimination against transgender workers. The discrimination lawsuit was filed against RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes Inc in Detroit by the former funeral director. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the funeral home failed to establish that the federal workplace law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, substantially burdened the ability of funeral home owner, who is a Christian, to exercise his religious rights.
Daniel Wiessner, Reuters03/07/2018 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Texas Energy Co. Wants $100M For Usurped Anadarko Bid |
|
A Texas energy company is seeking more than $100 million in a state court suit against Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and a private equity firm it claims used confidential information about a 40,000-acre Utah oil and gas property to poach its opportunity to buy the energy assets. Gravitas Resources Corp. alleges private equity firm Pearl Energy Investment Management LLC broke a nondisclosure agreement and wrongfully used trade secret information to buy a 40,000-acre site in Utah’s Helper and Drunkards Wash fields, owned by Anadarko.
Jess Krochtengel, Law360 ($)03/08/2018 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Children of Couple Killed in TX Church Massacre File Claim Against U.S. Government |
|
The children of a couple killed in the November mass shooting at a church in Texas have filed a claim against the U.S. government over the military’s failure to report the assailant’s criminal and mental health history to the FBI national firearms database. The six children of Dennis and Sara Johnson, churchgoers killed in the shooting in the small town of Sutherland Springs, say the failure allowed former U.S. airman Devin Kelley to pass an FBI background check and purchase the firearm that killed their parents. Had the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Department followed procedures, the children say, Kelley would have been denied the firearms and their parents would still be alive.
Paul Sonne , The Washington Post03/08/2018 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| Kobe Steel and Toyota Hid Use of Sub-Standard Metal, Says Lawsuit |
|
Kobe Steel and Toyota are facing a lawsuit alleging that they violated consumer protection laws and engaged in fraud by concealing the use of substandard metal components in vehicles. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who bought allegedly defective Toyota vehicles. The lawsuit was filed on Monday in federal court in San Francisco by two California residents and alleges the defendants violated federal and state consumer protection laws by claiming that the vehicles complied with U.S. quality standards. As alleged in the complaint, Toyota's Prius, Camry, Land Cruiser and Lexus vehicles were all made with "sub-standard" steel, aluminum and copper.
Tina Bellon and Yuka Obayashi, US News and World Report03/06/2018 |
| Read Article: US News and World Report |
|
|
