Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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Editorials/Columns/Letters
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| Editorial: Would You Buy a Self-Driving Future From These Guys? |
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People have good reason to doubt grand promises about world-changing technology. They have lost countless hours to unreliable software and had their personal data hacked. They have been let down by companies that hid safety defects or lied about emissions. Further, experts warn that the hype around automated cars is belied by the struggles these machines have in the rain, or when tree branches hang too low, or on bridges or on roads with faded lane markings. Yet, members of Congress, encouraged to do so by auto and tech lobbyists, have proposed bipartisan bills that would let industry roll out automated cars more quickly by exempting them from existing safety regulations, like those that govern the performance of steering wheels, airbags and brakes, and by directing the Department of Transportation to come up with new rules instead.
Editors, The New York Times10/16/2017    |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Woodlands MUD Inaction Caused 100 Houses to Flood, Residents Say |
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Homeowne= rs in The Woodlands' neighborhood called Timarron Lakes believe the flooding of 100 homes during Hurricane Harvey in August was most likely caused by a faulty drainage system that they had asked officials to overhaul after flooding in May 2016. Hurricane Harvey is raising new questions about the role played by MUDs in flooded neighborhoods, their close ties to developers, and their accountability and transparency in dealing with the homeowners whose properties have been damaged or destroyed.
James Drew, Houston Chronicle10/16/2017 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| At Least 7 People Injured, 1 Missing After Oil Rig Explodes |
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An oil rig explosion on a lake north of New Orleans, apparently caused when cleaning chemicals ignited, injured seven people and left authorities searching for another who was missing. There were "a lot of injuries," many of them serious, with at least seven confirmed and more expected from the Sunday evening explosion on Lake Pontchartrain, Kenner Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian McGregor told The Times-Picayune . No deaths were immediately reported. The platform, which is located in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, is in production and owned by Clovelly Oil Co.
Associated Press, Yahoo News10/16/2017 |
| Read Article: Yahoo News |
| Lake Conroe Dam's Releases Cause Flood of Lawsuits |
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In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, officials at the Lake Conroe dam began unprecedented releases into the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, sending an amount of water rushing downstream that approached the average volume pouring over Niagara Falls. Now hundreds of property owners down river are in court, demanding the San Jacinto River Authority, the overseers of the dam, be held accountable for releasing about 106 billion gallons of water into their communities and flooding thousands of homes in Montgomery and northern Harris County.
Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle10/16/2017 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| She Said Her Boss Raped Her - Her Sexual Harassment Case Made Legal History. |
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Mechelle= Vinson had been fired from her job at Capital City Federal Savings Bank in Northeast Washington when she filed her lawsuit in 1978. In it, she claimed that during the four years she worked at the bank, the branch manager, Sidney L. Taylor, repeatedly sexually assaulted her - once forcing her to the floor in the bank vault. Taylor threatened to fire her if she refused his demands, she said. The case, Meritor Savings Bank vs. Vinson, was the first of its kind to reach the Supreme Court. On June 19, 1986, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that sexual harassment violated federal laws against discrimination and that companies could be held liable for sexual harassment committed by supervisors - even if the company was unaware of the harassment.
THE WASHINGTON POST and DENEEN L. BROWN, Denver Post10/16/2017 |
| Read Article: Denver Post |
| Aaron Hernandez's Family Drops C.T.E. Suit Against N.F.L., for Now |
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The family of Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who committed suicide in jail in April, has dropped its lawsuit against the National Football League, but left open the possibility of refiling it in a different court. n a filing Friday, lawyers for Hernandez's daughter, Avielle, and her mother, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, said they had dismissed their case against the N.F.L. "without prejudice," which allows them to refile it. A lawyer for the Hernandez family told The Associated Press that he intended to refile the case in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts next week, and that state court would be a better venue for his case because it allowed more claims to be filed there than in federal court.
KEN BELSON, The New York Times10/16/2017 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
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