Tag: Texas

Texas passes food additive warning law, but the list has inaccuracies | Fast Company

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A new Texas law promoting the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda requires first-ever warning labels on foods like chips and candies that contain dyes and additives not allowed in other countries.

It could have far-reaching effects on the nation’s food supply, but a review of the legislation shows it also misrepresents the status of some ingredients that would trigger the action.

The law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday will require, starting in 2027, that foods made with any of more than 40 dyes or additives include labels saying they contain ingredients “not recommended for human consumption” in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the U.K. However a review shows that nearly a dozen of the targeted additives are either authorized in the cited regions—or already restricted in the U.S.

Read More

Now Texas is suing TikTok over children’s safety concerns, too | Mashable

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

TikTok’s legal troubles in the United States continue.

Reuters reported that the state of Texas sued TikTok on Thursday. According to state Attorney General Ken Paxton, TikTok has allegedly violated Texas state law and jeopardized children’s safety with the popular video-sharing app’s policies.

Paxton accused TikTok of not providing proper privacy settings for accounts belonging to children, as well as targeting advertising at children. He wants civil penalties of as much as $10,000 per violation of Texas’s Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act.

Read More

Freeze remains on strict new immigration law in Texas | BBC

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

An appeals court has kept a freeze in place on a Texas immigration law, one of the toughest of its kind, in a case being closely watched across the US.

The legislation would allow officials in Texas to detain and prosecute anyone they think has entered the country illegally, superseding federal powers.

The law briefly came into force on Tuesday for a few hours during a legal back and forth between courts.

A US appeals court heard arguments in the case on Wednesday morning.

The three-judge panel appeared split on whether the law can remain in place while its constitutionality is being challenged in court.

They issued no ruling on the case on Wednesday, and it is unclear when they will do so.

Read More

Texas says state-funded EV chargers must include Tesla plugs | TechCrunch

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Texas will require electric vehicle charging companies to include Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) and the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard in order to qualify for a state program to electrify highways through federal funds, Reuters reports.

“The decision by Ford, GM, and now Rivian to adopt NACS changed requirements for Phase 1. Each Direct Current Fast Charge port will be required to have 1 CCS connector and 1 NACS connector,” the Texas Department of Transportation said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday.

Read More

3 things Texas needs to do to prevent another catastrophic power failure | Fast Company

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Texans like to think of their state as the energy capital of the world. But in mid-February 2021, the energy state ran short of energy.

An intense winter weather outbreak, informally dubbed Winter Storm Uri by the Weather Channel, swept across the U.S., bringing snow, sleet, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures. Texas was hit especially hard, with all 254 counties under a winter storm warning at the same time.

Read More

Texas attorney general files lawsuit against Meta over Facebook’s facial recognition technology | TechCrunch

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Meta over Facebook’s facial recognition practices, his office announced on Monday. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which notes that the lawsuit seeks civil penalties in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The lawsuit alleges that the company’s use of facial recognition technology, which it has now discontinued, violated the state’s privacy protections regarding biometric data.

A press release announcing the lawsuit alleges that Facebook has been storing millions of biometric identifiers contained in photos and videos uploaded by users. Attorney General Paxton says that Facebook exploited the personal information of users “to grow its empire and reap historic windfall profits.”

Read More

These Are The Ten Most Profitable Companies In Texas | Entrepreneur

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Texas is the world’s ninth-largest economy. As of 2019, the U.S., with a GDP size of $21.4 trillion, is the world’s largest economy, followed by China, Japan and Germany.

As per the IMF ranking of global economies, Texas, with a GDP of $1.9 trillion, is technically at ninth place with Italy being at eighth with a GDP of $2 trillion, and Brazil at tenth with a GDP of $1.8 trillion. Moreover, the state is ranked among the top in the U.S. when it comes to growth prospects, owing to robust employment and income growth forecasts. Texas is home to several world-class companies, and last year, many companies have either moved to or expanded their operations in the state. Let’s take a look at the ten most profitable companies in Texas.

Read More

Time Warner Cable Ordered to Pay Texas Woman Nearly $230,000 for ‘Egregious’ Robocalling | Entrepreneur

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Time Warner Cable is giving Comcast — which once changed a customer’s billing moniker to ‘Asshole Brown’ and berated another user for simply wanting to disconnect — a run for its money in the belligerent customer service department.

A federal judge just ordered that Time Warner must pay Texas resident Araceli King $229,500 for harassing her with 153 robocalls over the course of a year, ABC News reports.

In her original suit, King only sought statutory damages of $81,500. But given that the calls persisted even after King complained that Time Warner was calling the wrong number, and even after she filed suit, the judge called the company’s behavior “particularly egregious.” He found Time Warner in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which states that companies can’t robocall personal cell phones without consent, and awarded King the maximum fine of precisely $1,500 per call.

via Read More.

Interactive Map Lets You Find Dinosaur Tracks, Extinct Volcanoes | Live Science

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Want to trace the footsteps of dinosaurs or pinpoint the exact location of extinct volcanoes? A new interactive geological map of Texas lets people browse everything from where dinos once roamed to the whereabouts of oil and gas formations.

The U.S. Geological Survey map, which can be accessed for free online, offers a unique window into the history of the ground beneath the Lone Star State. The map shows Texas at a scale of 1:250,000, and allows users to zero in on geographic layers of interest, such as specific fault lines or types of rocks.

Read More.