In a significant legislative move, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted 360 to 58 in favor of an updated version of the divest-or-ban bill targeting the popular social media platform TikTok. If passed into law, this would mark the first instance of the US government taking action to shutter an entire social media platform.
The bill, championed by Texas Republican representative Michael McCaul, aims to address concerns regarding the alleged influence of Chinese propaganda on TikTok, labeling the app as a potential security threat. McCaul emphasized the importance of safeguarding Americans, particularly children, from what he described as the “malign influence” of Chinese propaganda infiltrating the platform.
The passage of the updated bill was part of House Republican speaker Mike Johnson’s broader foreign aid package, which includes provisions for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The Senate is slated to vote on the bill next week, with President Joe Biden signaling his intention to sign the legislation into law upon its passage.
Critics of TikTok have long raised concerns about the app’s parent company, ByteDance, which is based in China, alleging potential data privacy risks and censorship of content critical of the Chinese government. These concerns gained further traction after Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, warned about the possibility of Chinese interference in the US’s upcoming presidential elections through TikTok.
In response, TikTok has vehemently denied allegations of data sharing with the Chinese government, asserting its independence as a platform with leadership based in various countries outside China.
However, the House’s move to advance the bill has drawn sharp criticism from TikTok, which expressed disappointment over what it sees as a threat to free speech rights and economic contributions to the US. The platform’s objections were echoed by the president of Signal, an encrypted messaging service, who highlighted broader implications for data privacy across social media platforms.
Despite these objections, the bill’s passage underscores growing bipartisan concerns about the potential risks posed by foreign-owned social media platforms, particularly in the realm of data privacy and national security.
President Biden’s previous commitment to signing the bill, coupled with recent congressional scrutiny of TikTok’s operations, signals a concerted effort to address these concerns through legislative action.
In a recent legal battle concerning Harris County’s pioneering guaranteed income initiative, a state district judge ruled against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit on April 18. The ruling effectively permits the continuation of the Uplift Harris program, enabling over 1,900 eligible households living below 200% of the poverty line to receive monthly funds of $500 by the end of April.
The $20.5 million program, funded through a combination of local and state resources from the American Rescue Plan Act, forms a crucial component of Harris County’s comprehensive strategy to combat economic inequality within the region.
Representing the county in the case, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee emphasized the program’s significance in assisting struggling families. Menefee stated, “Helping families in need is a proper use of government funds. Giving people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty is both morally sound and good public policy.”
However, the legal dispute isn’t resolved yet. Anticipating an appeal from the state, county officials are prepared for the case to potentially escalate to the Texas Supreme Court.
The crux of Paxton’s lawsuit, filed on April 9, centered on the allegation that the program’s distribution of public funds violates the Texas Constitution. Paxton argued that taxpayer money should be spent lawfully and in the public interest, without mere redistribution lacking accountability or a clear benefit.
In response, Harris County contended that Uplift Harris serves a “public purpose,” a crucial criterion established by Texas courts. Menefee reiterated that the program’s objective is to uplift families out of poverty, thus positively impacting the local economy.
Another point of contention was the selection criteria for Uplift Harris, with Paxton asserting that the process was not “rational” under the Texas Constitution’s equal protection clause due to the use of a lottery system. However, the county defended its approach, emphasizing that applicants had to meet specific income and geographic requirements, and the randomized selection process did not contravene the state constitution.
The decision was hailed as a victory by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who spearheaded the program. Ellis emphasized the significance of initiatives aimed at improving the lives of constituents, underscoring the broader impact of such programs as potential models for other counties grappling with similar challenges.
Zooming out from Harris County, the initiative aligns with broader trends in Texas, with Austin City Council recently approving a contract with nonprofit UpTogether to continue its own guaranteed income program. These efforts reflect a growing recognition of the role of guaranteed income programs in addressing housing challenges and economic disparities across the state.
Houston residents, according to a 2023 poll from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, express support for a range of policies aimed at tackling housing issues, including the provision of a universal basic income for low-income working adults. The growing housing crisis in Houston, highlighted by a doubling of median house prices since 2011, underscores the urgent need for innovative solutions to address economic disparities within the city.
In a bid to celebrate Earth Day and promote sustainable practices, H-E-B, the renowned retail grocer across Texas, has announced plans to distribute complimentary reusable shopping bags to its customers. The initiative, slated for April 22, will see shoppers at various H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop, and Mi Tienda outlets across the state receiving one reusable bag each.
The giveaway, scheduled to commence at 1 p.m., aims to encourage environmentally conscious shopping habits among consumers. As part of its commitment to environmental stewardship, H-E-B has already distributed over 3 million reusable bags in previous Earth Day celebrations.
As per company officials, this year’s initiative marks the beginning of a three-part series featuring collectible Earth Day bags, each highlighting iconic state parks. The inaugural bag showcases a picturesque postcard design featuring the renowned Big Bend Ranch Texas State Park.
Highlighting the broader environmental agenda of H-E-B, representatives emphasized the company’s dedication to promoting sustainability. This distribution of free reusable bags underscores H-E-B’s ongoing efforts to reduce plastic waste and provide eco-friendly alternatives for shoppers across Texas.
Earlier this April, H-E-B rolled out several initiatives aimed at supporting sustainable practices. Notably, the company’s annual School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge saw participation from Texas students, who collectively gathered thousands of pounds of plastic bags. This year’s competition witnessed an unprecedented turnout, with 675 schools statewide collecting over 5 million plastic bags for recycling.
Hailing the top-performing schools in different regions of Texas, H-E-B officials recognized the outstanding efforts of students and educators alike. In the San Antonio region, Rose Garden Elementary School emerged as the top collector of plastic bags, closely followed by Pleasanton Primary School and Fields Elementary School, underscoring the widespread community engagement in environmental conservation efforts.
(Houston, TX) Today, Hany Khalil, Chair of New Economy for Working Houston issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of a $249,700,00 million “Solar For All” grant award for Harris County and a coalition of partners in Texas. Details of the announcement may be found here.
“This award has the potential to be a game-changing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the residents of Harris County,” said Khalil. “Today, electricity for millions of residents costs too much and fails too often. Despite living in the energy capital of the U.S., working people are paying far more for electricity compared to the rest of the country while coping with the constant threat of ERCOT grid failures. With this grant, our community may finally have a chance to bring down power costs and increase power reliability by building our own clean energy infrastructure.
“New Houston commends Harris County Commissioners for working closely with the Power Up Harris County coalition, among others, to craft such an innovative, bold proposal that stood out in a large field. However, the work is not yet done to ensure that this opportunity becomes the game-changing reality we know it can be. Harris County officials must ensure that the jobs that will power this project are good union jobs, and that the poor and working class communities of color that are so often disenfranchised from these opportunities are given access to these jobs through recruitment, training, and additional support. We must ensure that the exploitative practices of the old economy are not transferred to the new clean energy economy.
“Workers and the community stand ready to partner with Harris County so that together we can fully realize the potential of this historic investment in our communities.
“I would like to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for following through on their promise to support Harris County and for rewarding the years of hard work by a broad array of local organizers fighting to make life better and more prosperous for Texans.”
Background:
Despite assurances from executives and state officials about the reliability of Texas’ power grid, millions of residents across Houston and the state of Texas are frequently forced to endure anxiety and uncertainty from ERCOT due to the fragility of the state’s grid. Most recently, ERCOT warned of potential failures during warmer-than-expected weather in April – long before the peak heat of Summer. Making matters worse, the lack of reliability has driven up utility bills for ordinary Houstonians already struggling to make ends meet financially. Last year, ERCOT had the most expensive electricity market in America, while every other regional grid had lower electricity prices.
About Power Up Harris County and New Houston
The Power Up Harris County campaign is a coalition of local labor and community organizations working to build an infrastructure for clean, reliable, and affordable energy while creating good paying union jobs. The Campaign Steering Committee includes the Texas Climate Jobs Project, The Workers Defense Project, New Economy for Working Houston, the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, and the Texas Organizing Project.
New Economy for Working Houston (NEW Houston) is a non-profit organization that brings together the power of grassroots organizing and public policy innovation to win a just economy for Gulf Coast working families. We seek to build an inclusive regional economy where workers and neighborhoods thrive, and where people of color, immigrants, women, and low-income residents have an equal voice and share equally in regional prosperity.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Charges have been filed against a man and woman in connection to the death of twin infants back in October 2023, according to court documents.
The video above is from the initial Oct. 4 report.
Angelina Belinda Calderon and Fernando Vega, both 21 years old, are charged with two counts each of injury to a child-serious bodily injury.
ABC13 reported on this story on October 4. 2023.
HPD patrol officers responded to a home in the 2100 block of Linden Creek Lane regarding two infants, twin girls, who were found unresponsive.
According to documents, the children’s father, identified as Vega, found them in their crib, not breathing. While on the phone with dispatch, Vega was given instructions on how to perform CPR, but the twins, who were born prematurely, did not survive.
Vega, in an interview with police, said the twins were “fussy” throughout the night, and he put them in a bassinet where they had fallen asleep. The children’s mother, identified as Calderon, said she saw the babies the following day and didn’t wake them because she was on her way to work, documents said.
Vega then took Calderon to work before returning home, where he found the twins.
Officials said the babies were one and a half months old.
Initially, police said officials found no visible signs of trauma on either child. However, a completed autopsy determined they suffered blunt force trauma.
It was also found that the twins hadn’t received check-ups since being released from the hospital, charging documents said. Calderon then told police the twins had been sick, but they did not seek medical care.
Further investigation revealed Calderon and Vega as suspects, who were both arrested on Friday, April 19, without incident.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A beloved Houston-area softball coach has died weeks after he was shot on Easter Sunday by someone who police say was trying to steal his truck, the softball team announced.
The video above is from a previous report.
Ivan Ramirez, 42, was pronounced dead on Wednesday, according to the team.
Ramirez was a coach for Texas Magic Fastpitch Travel’s softball team. He was also a husband and a father of three.
The shooting happened on March 31, outside the victim’s home at an apartment on the South Beltway near Pearland.
Ramirez was home at this apartment complex on Easter Sunday when an app on his phone alerted him that his truck door had been opened.
HPD said when he came outside to investigate, the suspect shot at him multiple times.
Ramirez was transported to Ben Taub Hospital that day. He had undergone multiple surgeries and was in critical condition before he passed away.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Showers and thunderstorms are expected this evening as a Flash Flood Watch was issued for portions of southeast Texas.
The watch is in effect starting at 4 p.m. Saturday for Trinity, Montgomery, Polk, Brazos, and San Jacinto counties.
Showers and storms will begin to develop west and north of Houston in the late afternoon and slowly make their way east through the evening and into the night.
What’s the latest on Saturday’s storms?
Thunderstorms will develop along a stalled front currently located across Hill Country and Central Texas later this afternoon. Those thunderstorms will stay over that region through the early evening before moving into Houston after sunset. That being said, locally heavy rain of up to 2 to 4 inches from Columbus to College Station to Huntsville could lead to area and street flooding in flood-prone areas Saturday evening. Houston and the rest of Southeast Texas will pick up around half an inch to an inch of rain tonight. And some of these thunderstorms could grow and become strong, producing strong wind gusts, small hail and lots of lightning. A brief tornado cant be ruled out either, but generally that threat is low for Southeast Texas Saturday.
How much rain could fall from these storms?
Most will get less than an inch of rain, but where heavy thunderstorms train one after another, 2-4″ of rain could fall in a short period of time with isolated higher amounts. That would lead to street flooding, and these training storms are most likely to set up near the stalled front in Hill Country and Central Texas.
How cool will it get behind this front?
After the front’s passage, highs will drop into the 60s on Sunday, with lows in the 50s for a few mornings. In fact, some of you will wake up to temperatures in the upper 40s on Monday morning. Hopefully, you didn’t put the jackets away just yet! The front should also push the smoky haze away. There will also be a significant break in the humidity, and there aren’t many of those humidity breaks left before the real summer heat and humidity arrive.
Will the smoky haze be gone for good?
No. With the wind flow coming back at us from Mexico and Central America around Wednesday of next week, the haze, humidity, and storm chances should all return for the second half of next week.
Houston, known for its industrial haze and towering refinery smokestacks, may soon find itself recognized for a different kind of cloud. A recent study conducted by the Center for Advancing Health has revealed that Houston ranks 6th globally in cannabis consumption, surpassing major cities like Toronto, Tokyo, and Prague. Despite lacking full legalization, the city dubbed Clutch City also secures the 4th spot in the United States, trailing only behind New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The Center for Advancing Health (CFAH), recognized for its insights into health and cannabis-related matters, examined data from 140 cities. Their study encompassed both legal and illegal cannabis usage, shedding light on Houston’s prominent consumption patterns. Notably, the analysis did not adjust consumption rates per capita, suggesting a correlation between Houston’s status as the 4th largest U.S. city and its rank in cannabis consumption.
Furthermore, the study delved into the global pricing landscape of cannabis. Montreal emerged as the city with the cheapest weed globally, priced at $5.90 per gram, owing to its six-year history of legalization. Conversely, in Tokyo, where recreational marijuana remains illegal and carries severe penalties, the cost skyrockets to $33.80 per gram.
In the United States, prices exhibit less variation. Washington D.C. leads with the most expensive weed at $19.10 per gram, while Portland, Oregon boasts the lowest price at $7. Houston positions itself in the middle ground, with an average price of $10.10 per gram, akin to the cost of saffron, the world’s priciest legal spice.
The issue of cannabis consumption in Texas has become increasingly contentious, with the proliferation of unregulated Delta-8 smoke shops contrasting with the struggles of heavily regulated medical marijuana dispensaries. Recently, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick elevated the debate by considering a ban on Delta-8 and Delta-9 products among his legislative priorities, citing concerns over their marketing towards minors.
In 2022, Texas witnessed the hemp industry amassing over $8 billion in revenue, indicating the growing significance of cannabis-related commerce in the state.
Some 200 students at the University of Texas at Austin disrupted a virtual faculty council meeting conducted by university president Jay Hartzell on Monday to oppose the school’s decision earlier this month to lay off nearly 60 employees who worked in diversity, equity and inclusion-related positions on campus.
When Hartzell and other university officials logged on to the meeting, they were met with scores of students, all sharing a black background that read “No DEI = Not Our Texas” in red letters.
“We wanted to show them that we want transparency, we want communication from him, we want his support. We want him to address us and to clarify his questions about [State Bill] 17 compliance and the changes he’s been sweeping through our campus,” Christian Mira, of UT Austin’s Queer Trans Black Indigenous People of Color Agency, said of Hartzell. “If he’s going to claim that everything he does is for the students, it’s on our shoulders, it’s our burden to disprove that. We’re not happy with the direction the university’s going in.”
In a message to the school community on April 2, Hartzell announced that UT Austin would close its Division of Campus and Community Engagement and no longer fund programs or activities that support DEI, in accordance with SB 17, a Texas law passed last June that essentially bans DEI efforts at higher education institutions. On Monday, he confirmed reports that 57 employees who worked in DEI positions had been laid off, with eight moved from the positions back to regular teaching jobs. A spokesperson for the university, Brian Davis, confirmed the numbers and, when asked about specific allegations from students and faculty, referred NBC News to Hartzell’s initial message to the university community.
Hartzell wrote in his initial message that the university had begun a “multiphase process” to make changes required by the new law. As a result, UT Austin leaders have broadened some programs, redistributed others and closed DEI programs altogether.
Critics of the layoffs said they were blindsided by the news and that Hartzell has not answered their many questions.
“People are really frustrated. It feels really unfair,” Karma Chávez, the chair of the university’s Mexican American and Latina/o Studies program, told NBC News. “The folks that I’ve spoken to, I think, are mostly pretty angry. I think there’s also a sense of feeling pretty disillusioned with the workplace.”
Chávez said that those impacted by the layoffs are mostly people of color. “Largely those are Black and brown, queer and trans folks. It’s been pretty intense. It really doesn’t feel like the university has the back of anyone who used to do this kind of work,” Chávez said.
The department that was shuttered provided resources for “those who may face the most significant challenges” in accessing education. In addition to layoffs, the university shut down several student support programs like Monarch, which helped undocumented students with college applications, financial aid and internships. The division also housed the Women’s Community Center, previously called the Gender and Sexuality Center, and it is not on the school’s list of programs to relocate, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The university’s beloved Multicultural Engagement Center, which students have called a “home away from home,” also shut down in January after SB 17 went into effect.
Backlash to the layoffs and changes have been swift. A group of professors with the school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors sent a letter to Hartzell last week demanding that the job cuts be reversed. The professors argued that the DEI layoffs were discriminatory and violated the employees’ right to freedom of expression. The Texas Legislative Black Caucus condemned the decision and the Texas NAACP released a statement asking for transparency from university officials and more information about the terminations.
Faculty members, students and staffers are calling for accountability and a reversal of the firings. Students have consistently spoken out against the shuttering of the programs they said supported them through college life.
“It’s beyond Black and brown students. It’s also students who have disabilities who are sad. There are students who represent different genders and sexualities who are sad,” graduate student Zion James told NBC News. “Overall, the campus morale is sad. We don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go, or how to move forward.”
James lamented losing staff and faculty who he’d come to call mentors and friends. “I feel like I’m being robbed of my family,” he said.
On April 8, a week after Hartzell’s initial message, at least 100 students gathered for a demonstration on campus with signs like “Not Our Texas,” condemning the DEI changes. At least 500 students, staff, alumni and campus organizations signed a letter demanding transparency from university and state officials on the matter.
“That there is a very present and active student body of marginalized students who are not just going to sit here and accept these changes that are happening without our buy-in, without our consent, without at least attempted collaboration,” said Amanda Garcia, a member of Texas Students for DEI,
Texas follows Florida to become the second state in the country to ban DEI initiatives in higher education. The Texas bill, which went into effect on Jan. 1, states that DEI promotes “differential treatment” on the basis of “race, color, or ethnicity,” a common talking point of conservative activists working to end the programs in several industries.
In the weeks since the UT Austin changes, about 20 staff members at the University of Texas at Dallas were also laid off to comply with the law, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Chávez and Mónica Jiménez, assistant professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the university, were among a group of UT Austin professors who spent months pushing back against SB 17 during the last legislative session. Jiménez said university officials met with groups of faculty and others who opposed DEI changes. She said officials told them that the university would move employees into other positions, restructure departments and rename programs and divisions but implied that people would not lose their jobs.
“To hear now, four months after implementation, after people have already done the hard work of learning new jobs and put into new positions, that they were going to be let go anyway, it’s been really frustrating for all of us on campus,” Jiménez said.
Chávez shared similar sentiments.
“They did say, ‘We’re going to do everything possible to make sure — that’s not our goal here to make anyone lose their jobs,’” Chávez recalled. “I never felt really confident about that, but I wanted to be able to take them at their word. Now it’s clear they were lying.”
