DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

It all left Democrats on the convention floor feeling euphoric and focused, confident that her speech would spur the Democratic base to turn out in November. But outside the arena, and outside the bubble of ride-or-die Democratic voters, some voters, particularly Republicans, said they did not even bother to watch the speech. And among some still on the fence — those who could make a difference in a tight contest — Ms. Harris’s words did not make immediate converts. Bob and Sharon Reed watched Ms. Harris’s speech on their farm in the hills of central Pennsylvania. They came away from Ms. Harris’s speech feeling a little conflicted.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Donald J, Trump, ”, Bob, Sharon Reed Organizations: Democratic National Convention, Democratic, Mr Locations: Pennsylvania

☆ She’s Fighting Big Oil in Texas. But Republicans Want to Make Her D.A.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They immediately ran into a problem finding a candidate to oppose the incumbent. There were only 16 practicing lawyers in the three counties that make up the deep-red district, including the present Democratic office-holder, Randy Reynolds, who some said was not an effective prosecutor. Desperate for a challenger, they turned to Sarah Stogner, an oil-and-gas lawyer who, on paper, would seem to be an unlikely candidate to boost the Republican Party in what ought to have been one of its strongholds. She has never tried a criminal case. And she’s made her mark in Texas oil law mainly for suing Chevron over environmental damage from abandoned oil wells.

Persons: Randy Reynolds, Sarah Stogner, she’s Organizations: Republican Party, Chevron, Texas Railroad Commission Locations: Texas, El Paso

The autumn of 2021 delivered a shock to the state of Texas. More than 9,000 migrants crossed the border on a September day into the town of Del Rio and huddled in a tent camp under a bridge. Thousands more came later that week from countries all over the world, challenging the town’s ability to handle them. The following spring, Texas opened a new frontier of its own. Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, suggested that many of the migrants had been “tricked” into riding the buses by the Texas governor, Greg Abbott.

Persons: Muriel Bowser, “, ”, Greg Abbott Organizations: Station, Washington , D.C, state’s Division, Emergency Management, Washington’s Locations: Texas, Del Rio, Washington ,, Eagle Pass , Texas

☆ Amid Talk of Border Chaos, Crossings Have Sharply Declined
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Miriam Jordan | J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The soaring number of unlawful entries at the southern border was always going be a central part of the 2024 presidential campaign. On the campaign trail, former President Donald J. Trump has been showcasing a chart showing a rising mountain of migrant encounters at the border under President Biden. Greg Abbott of Texas got big cheers for his vow to continue busing migrants to liberal cities. But amid the heightened rhetoric, the reality on the ground has recently changed. There were 83,000 apprehensions of migrants last month, according to official data, down significantly from 117,000 in May.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, Greg Abbott Organizations: Republican National Convention, Gov, Texas, U.S . Customs, Border Protection Locations: U.S

☆ China economy and employment: People who used to work for major tech giants are now doing manual labor
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Chris Lau | Hassan Tayir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Li, 27, is part of a growing base of Chinese workers swapping high-pressure office jobs for flexible blue-collar work. But these firms are slowly losing their appeal as China’s economy faces headwinds including a property crisis, declining foreign investment and slumping consumption. The trend to move from professional to manual jobs comes amid surging demand for blue-collar workers, according to Chinese recruitment platform Zhaopin. And blue-collar workers’ pay has also gone up, attracting more people to jobs they might have previously avoided. Pressure of another kindBut some wonder if blue-collar work is truly the stress-free refuge people like Li and Wang imagine it to be.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Leon Li, ”, Li, “, Alice Wang, Wang, –, Larry Hu, Zhang Yuxiao, David Goodman, commenter Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, National Bureau of Statistics, Workers, NBS, University of Sydney’s China Studies Centre Locations: China, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Chengdu, –, Macquarie, Shanghai

Former President Donald J. Trump began his prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday with a message of unity, presenting a softer image of himself that appeared aimed at courting undecided voters. But then he went on for an hour and a half, a long verbal walk through the kinds of exaggerations about his record and attacks on Democrats that have become familiar to voters from Mr. Trump’s previous two campaigns and presidency. For a group of undecided voters from around the country, who are sharing their thoughts on key moments in the race with The New York Times, the effect was not strong. Some found the speech off-putting. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Sharon Reed, 77, a retired teacher-turned-farmer in rural Pennsylvania who previously voted for Mr. Trump but is torn this year.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, “, ”, Sharon Reed Organizations: Republican National Convention, New York Times, Mr Locations: Pennsylvania

☆ ‘This Storm Has Broken People’: After Beryl, Some Consider Leaving
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Houston is no stranger to natural disasters, but living through two crippling power outages in two months has driven some in the city to consider what may be the ultimate evacuation plan: moving out. The more powerful of the storms, Hurricane Beryl, devastated the power infrastructure over nearly the entire city. When it hit, thousands of people were already living in shelters and hotels, according to state officials, because they had been displaced by an earlier weather event, the spring thunderstorms that caused wind damage and flooding. Everyone knows how long it took to get their power back from the first big storm — and when they lost it again. In many cases, of repairs to homes that were damaged in the major May storm had yet to be finished when Beryl arrived as a Category 1 hurricane.

Persons: Hurricane Beryl, Beryl Organizations: Houston Locations: Hurricane, Houston

☆ A Hurricane Divide in Houston: Who Has a Generator?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When the power goes out in Houston, some neighborhoods are filled with the sound of gas-powered backup generators, creating an instant sonic guide to the city’s social divisions. In wealthier parts of the city, the sheer number of generators can create a pervasive roar. In other neighborhoods, there is a low rumble from a handful of machines — or just one. “My neighbor has it just for his fridge,” said Theresa Del Bosque, 62, describing the rare home in her north Houston area with a generator. “Most people cannot afford it.”With around a million customers still without power on Thursday, more than three days after Hurricane Beryl tore through the city, the question of who has a generator, and who can get one, has become an urgent one.

Persons: ”, Theresa Del Bosque, Beryl Locations: Houston

☆ Rising Frustration in Houston After Millions Lost Power in Storm
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( J. David Goodman | Ivan Penn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sun felt hotter than usual in Houston this week, as millions of sweltering residents emerged from the rapid thrashing of Hurricane Beryl to face a prolonged power outage — the largest ever seen by the city’s utility, according to the state’s lieutenant governor. The outages from the storm affected as many as 2.7 million customers across the state, mostly in and around Houston. Despite a promise by the utility, CenterPoint Energy, to restore power to one million customers by the end of the day on Wednesday, large swaths of the nation’s fourth-biggest city remained without power. The scale of the outages raised questions about whether enough had been done to prepare the city, just 50 miles from the Gulf Coast, for the kinds of storms that climate scientists predict will arrive with greater frequency. “For a Category 1 hurricane to result in over a million customer outages in its immediate aftermath demonstrates that there is plenty of need for the resiliency hardening investments,” said Wei Due, an energy expert with PA Consulting and a former senior analyst and engineer for Con Edison.

Persons: Beryl, ”, Wei, Con Edison Organizations: CenterPoint Energy, PA Consulting Locations: Houston, Gulf

☆ Beryl Leaves Millions Without Power in Houston: What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A day after Tropical Storm Beryl struck Houston with deadly force, flooding roads and highways and killing at least seven people in Texas and an eighth in Louisiana, officials were struggling to restore power for millions of residents as hot weather returned to the region. But the force of its winds still left Houston residents reeling for the second time in two months after a deadly system of thunderstorms crashed through the city in May. The storm had sustained winds of 65 m.p.h. as it passed through Houston but also produced damaging, hurricane-force wind gusts above 80 m.p.h. Two of the confirmed deaths from the storm in the Houston area on Monday involved trees that fell into homes, crushing people inside.

Persons: Beryl Locations: Houston, Texas, Louisiana

Tropical Storm Beryl ripped a path of destruction through the heart of Houston on Monday, transforming roads into rivers, killing at least four people and knocking out power for more than two million customers across Texas. The storm, which made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane, weakened as it passed over the city and continued its swirling march north. But its relatively modest official strength undersold its power, local authorities said. As it churned through Houston, officials warned people to stay inside and away from windows, “as though there was a tornado coming your way,” Lina Hidalgo, the top official in Harris County, which includes Houston, cautioned residents. The center passed just to the west of the city, meaning Houston received some of the worst of the storm as it spun counterclockwise.

Persons: Beryl, ” Lina Hidalgo Organizations: Houston Locations: Houston, Texas, Harris County

☆ Texas Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Gender Transition Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Texas Supreme Court upheld a state law on Friday that bans gender-transition medical treatment for minors, overturning a lower-court ruling that had temporarily blocked the law and dealing a blow to parents of transgender children. The court, whose nine elected members are all Republicans, voted 8 to 1 in favor of allowing the law, which passed last year, to remain in effect. It bars doctors from prescribing certain medications to minors, like hormones and puberty blockers, and forbids them from performing certain surgical procedures, like mastectomies, on minors. The argument is a powerful one in Texas, where protecting parental rights from government intervention has been an important goal, particularly for conservatives. But the court found that the argument fell short.

Organizations: Texas Locations: Texas

They started the night hoping that President Biden would use the first debate of 2024 to his advantage, that he would finally quash fears about his age and give the impression of a determined statesman compared with former President Donald J. Trump. But for the roughly 40 Democrats who gathered Thursday night at a union hall in Sacramento, it did not take long for the mood to descend into something between grim despair and mild panic. Within minutes, even ardent supporters in the capital of California fell silent, exchanging glances and acknowledging quietly that Mr. Biden, his virtues aside, seemed less forceful than Mr. Trump, and weary. Toward the end, some of the younger attendees left before the debate was over. “Neither of them inspires confidence,” said Dubrea Sanders, 25.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, ”, Dubrea Sanders, “ It’s, Mr Organizations: Trump, Young Democrats Locations: Sacramento, California, China

On Today’s Episode:Six Takeaways From the First Presidential Debate, by Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan SwanSchools Police Chief Indicted in Uvalde Shooting Response, by J. David Goodman and Edgar SandovalOklahoma’s State Superintendent Requires Public Schools to Teach the Bible, by Sarah Mervosh and Elizabeth DiasAfter a Testy Campaign in Tense Times, Iranians Vote for President, by Farnaz Fassihi and Alissa J. Rubin

Persons: Shane Goldmacher, Jonathan, J, David Goodman, Edgar Sandoval Oklahoma’s, Sarah Mervosh, Elizabeth Dias, Farnaz Fassihi, Rubin Organizations: Jonathan Swan Schools Police, Schools, Times

☆ Schools Police Chief Indicted in Uvalde Shooting Response
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( J. David Goodman | Edgar Sandoval | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pete Arredondo, the former chief of the school district police in Uvalde, Texas, was indicted and arrested over his actions during the police response to the 2022 school shooting in which a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, the Uvalde County sheriff said on Thursday. Arredondo is currently in our custody,” the sheriff, Ruben Nolasco, said in a text message, adding that Mr. Arredondo was being held on the charge of “abandoning/endangering of a child.”The indictment, which comes more than two years after the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School, is the first set of criminal charges stemming from the shooting and suggests failures in the police response beyond poor decision-making. A second former officer was also indicted over his actions that day, according to two people briefed on the grand jury’s decision but who requested anonymity to share the findings before they were made public. The second officer, who worked under Mr. Arredondo at the school Police Department, was not in custody as of Thursday evening, Mr. Nolasco said.

Persons: Pete Arredondo, “ Mr, Arredondo, Ruben Nolasco, ”, Nolasco Organizations: Robb Elementary School, Police Department Locations: Uvalde , Texas, Uvalde

☆ Killing of Texas Girl Becomes a New Immigration Flashpoint
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The killing of a 12-year-old Houston girl, found last week in the shallow water of a city drainage ditch after having been strangled, was already a horrific crime. Then investigators arrested two recent Venezuelan migrants and charged them with killing the girl, Jocelyn Nungaray. The second of the two appeared in court on Tuesday; both were being held on a $10 million bond. Suddenly the killing, which had ripped apart a Houston family, became the latest flashpoint in the debate over immigration, seized on by Republicans and immigration opponents who drew a direct line between the crime and President Biden’s policies at the border. Greg Abbott of Texas urged the death penalty for the men charged in the killing, adding that Jocelyn “would be alive today if Biden enforced immigration laws at the border.” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas agreed.

Persons: John Whitmire, Jocelyn Nungaray, Biden’s, Greg Abbott of, Jocelyn “, Biden, Ted Cruz of, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Gov Locations: Houston, Greg Abbott of Texas, Ted Cruz of Texas

☆ Texas House Speaker Survives Challenge From Hard Right
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The speaker of the Texas House, Dade Phelan, won renomination in a runoff on Tuesday, surviving a bruising Republican primary challenge from a party activist and first-time candidate who was backed by former President Donald J. Trump and his Texas supporters. The race, in a southeast Texas district that includes part of the city of Beaumont, was a bitter political showdown among some of the most powerful players in Texas politics, and was likely to have been one of the most expensive ever for a Texas House seat. Millions poured in to the campaigns during the primary, including large donations from West Texas oil and gas billionaires and out-of-state school-choice advocates who backed the challenger, David Covey. For his part, Mr. Phelan had help from deep-pocketed donors like Miriam Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate and widow of the Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson. Covey, a technical adviser to the oil and gas industry who has described himself as a “very committed Christian and a conservative,” led Mr. Phelan in the first round of voting in March, when neither candidate won a majority.

Persons: Dade Phelan, Donald J, Trump, David Covey, Phelan, Miriam Adelson, Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, . Covey, Christian, ” Organizations: Texas House, Las, Republican Locations: Texas, Beaumont, West Texas, Las Vegas

☆ Uvalde Families Sue Instagram and Activision Over Promotion of Guns
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The families of schoolchildren who were shot at Robb Elementary School in 2022 filed two lawsuits on Friday accusing Instagram, the publisher of the popular “Call of Duty” video game and a manufacturer of semiautomatic rifles of helping to train and equip the teenage gunman who committed the massacre. The unusual lawsuits were filed on the second anniversary of the elementary school shooting, in which 19 fourth-graders and two teachers were killed in their classrooms by an 18-year-old gunman who had purchased his weapon — an AR-15-style rifle — a few days before, as soon as he was legally able. Each company, the lawsuits claim, took part in “grooming” the teenager to become a mass shooter. Together, the suits are among the most far-reaching actions to be filed in response to the escalating number of mass shootings in the United States. The California suit, which names the publisher Activision, appeared to be one of the first to go after a video game maker for helping to promote weapons used in mass shootings.

Persons: Instagram Organizations: Robb Elementary School, Activision Locations: California, Texas, United States

☆ Uvalde Settles With Victims’ Families Over School Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Edgar Sandoval | J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The city of Uvalde, Texas, has reached a settlement with most of the families of children who were shot by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in 2022, lawyers for the families said on Wednesday. To avert a lawsuit, the city promised to overhaul the city’s police force, create a permanent memorial to the victims and pay $2 million, the lawyers said. The settlement, announced at a news conference in Uvalde, involved the largest group of potential plaintiffs: 17 families of children who were killed during the May 24 massacre, and two families of children who were wounded. That lawsuit also names as defendants Pete Arredondo, who was chief of the Uvalde public school police department when the shooting occurred, and Mandy Gutierrez, who was principal of the school at the time. State police officers, along with scores of officers from local agencies and federal agents, were outside the classrooms for 77 minutes before a team, led by federal Border Patrol agents, breached a door and killed the gunman.

Persons: Pete Arredondo, Mandy Gutierrez Organizations: Robb Elementary School, Texas Department of Public Safety, State, federal Border Patrol Locations: Uvalde , Texas, Uvalde

☆ ‘We Can’t Sleep’: Houstonians Still Without Power Struggle to Stay Cool
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( J. David Goodman | Alex Stuckey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three days after a devastating thunderstorm tore through Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city began lurching back onto its feet on Sunday. Power returned to hundreds of thousands of homes but still remained out across hard-hit areas not far from downtown. Traffic crawled through blackened intersections or down neighborhood streets now lined with limbs and leaves piled up like green-brown snow banks. Clear skies helped dry out the sopping city over the weekend but also presented a new danger as temperatures climbed to around 90 degrees and were expected to stay. “We can’t sleep,” said Dolores Valladares, 61, with sweat on her brow as she sat outside her home in the city’s East End, watching her grandchildren.

Persons: . Power, ”, Dolores Valladares Organizations: ., Traffic Locations: Houston

☆ Accustomed to Disasters, Houston Didn’t See This One Coming
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The storm that hurtled through Houston late Thursday surprised a city long accustomed to bouts of serious weather. The Astros kept playing baseball, even as rain and wind whipped into the team’s closed-dome stadium. Many people, following their evening routines, were caught unaware on bikes or at the gym. Decades-old oak and pecan trees were ripped in two or knocked over at the roots, flattening fences or blocking roadways. Highway billboards buckled, including the Car Wreck Cowboy, a local lawyer whose sign, usually towering over Interstate 45 near downtown, had been flattened into an empty lot.

Persons: Houstonians Organizations: Astros Locations: Houston, —

☆ Texas Governor Pardons Man in Fatal Shooting of Protester in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Greg Abbott of Texas on Thursday pardoned a man who was convicted of fatally shooting a protester during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the summer of 2020, fulfilling a promise he made last year amid pressure from conservatives. The decision immediately followed a pardon recommendation from the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members are appointed by the governor. Lawyers for the man, Daniel S. Perry, argued that he had acted in self-defense against the protester, who was carrying an AK-47-style rifle. Mr. Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison in an emotional hearing last year in which prosecutors presented evidence of racist online comments he had made and said that psychological experts had found him to be “basically a loaded gun.” As the pardons board considered the case, lawyers with the Travis County district attorney, José Garza, met with the board to argue against a pardon. Under Texas law, a recommendation from the board is necessary before the governor can grant a pardon.

Persons: Greg Abbott of, Paroles, Daniel S, Perry, José Garza Organizations: state’s, AK Locations: Greg Abbott of Texas, Travis County, Texas

☆ Why Having Kennedy on the Ballot in Texas May Worry Ted Cruz
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While Mr. Kennedy is unlikely to win the Republican-dominated state, his addition to the presidential race in Texas could have an unintended and unexpected consequence: lending a hand to the Democratic challenger seeking to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. For weeks, the Cruz campaign has been privately expressing concern, seeing Mr. Kennedy as perhaps the biggest wild card in a race that Mr. Cruz had hoped to comfortably win. Texas has favored Mr. Trump in the last two elections, winning about 52 percent of the state’s vote in 2020. But a three-way race in November could upset that balance by bringing more voters to the polls who dislike both Mr. Trump and President Biden. More of those voters appear to also dislike Mr. Cruz, a two-term incumbent with nearly universal name recognition in Texas.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Ted Cruz, Cruz, Trump, Biden, Mr Organizations: Republican, Democratic, Texas Locations: Texas

☆ Houston Police Chief Departs Amid Inquiry Into Suspended Cases
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The chief of the Houston Police Department retired abruptly amid an investigation into more than 260,000 incident reports since 2016 that were not investigated, including sexual assaults and other felonies, because of a “lack of personnel.”The departure of the chief, Troy Finner, was announced by Mayor John Whitmire during a City Council meeting on Wednesday. He praised the chief and called him a “friend" but said that “new information” related to the suspended cases was distracting the Police Department. After the council meeting, Mr. Whitmire told reporters that the retirement had come after he had discussions with Mr. Finner on Tuesday. “I dealt with it because it was a distraction to the mission of the men and women in H.P.D.,” the mayor said.

Persons: Troy Finner, John Whitmire, Whitmire, Finner, “ Organizations: Houston Police Department, Police Department Locations: H.P.D

☆ ‘Someone’s Going to End Up Dead’: Settlements Over Fatal Astroworld Concert
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A lawyer for Live Nation, the concert company, said in court on Wednesday that settlements had been reached in all but one of the lawsuits over the deaths of 10 people who were fatally crushed during a performance by Travis Scott at the 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston. The disclosure came as lawyers were preparing for the first trial over the deaths. A lawyer for the plaintiffs in that case confirmed that a settlement had been reached with the defendants, including Mr. Scott, Live Nation and Apple, which live-streamed the event. The trial had been expected to present a jury with harrowing testimony about the chaotic conditions at the Nov. 5, 2021, concert and the warnings raised by some of those working there. The victims, including two teenagers and a 9-year-old boy, suffocated in the midst of the heaving crowd while Mr. Scott performed.

Persons: Travis Scott, Scott Organizations: Live, Apple Locations: Houston, United States

Search resuls for: "David Goodman"

25 mentions found