Thursday, March 28

Headlines

California court rules in favor of Jeff Bezos defamation case by girlfriend’s brother over leaked affair and nude photos
Headlines, Houston

California court rules in favor of Jeff Bezos defamation case by girlfriend’s brother over leaked affair and nude photos

A panel in the Court of Appeals for Second Appellate District in California has ruled in favor of Jeff Bezos saying that his girlfriend's brother, Michael Sanchez, did not have enough for a defamation suit against the founder of Amazon.com Michael Sanchez, the brother of Lauren Sanchez who is now the girlfriend of Jeff Bezos appealed a decision over a defamation case he brought against the former Amazon CEO on January 31, 2020 and lost. The alleged defamation stemmed from allegations that Bezos made back in 2019 stating that he was the subject of an attempted blackmail attempt. The alleged blackmail attempt was reportedly over his affair with Michael's sister Lauren and came to the surface when a tabloid, National Enquirer attempted to extort Bezos. The tabloid claimed to have e...
Woman accused of killing world-class cyclist captured by U.S. Marshals in Costa Rica
Headlines, Houston

Woman accused of killing world-class cyclist captured by U.S. Marshals in Costa Rica

Kaitlin Armstrong was captured in Costa Rica at the Santa Teresa Beach hostel by U.S. Marshals on Wednesday, June 29 after being on the run for 43 days according to a press release. The U.S. Marshal's said in the statement that they were able to find her after learning just the week prior to her capture that she had sold her Jeep Grand Cherokee to a CarMax dealership in south Austin for $12,200. After selling her car, she left on a plane from ABIA in Austin, to Hobby Airport from Houston. She then booked a flight under her name to New York LaGuardia airport. At this time there was no warrant issued for her arrest. Austin Police enlisted the Lone Star Fugitive Task force to try and help locate Armstrong. It was on May 17, 2022, that Austin police were able to issue a homicide war...
FCC demands Apple, Google remove TikTok from their app stores by July 8
Headlines

FCC demands Apple, Google remove TikTok from their app stores by July 8

FCC Commissioner, Brendan Carr, posted an open letter to his Twitter account to both Apple and Google requesting they both remove the popular social media app TikTok app from their app stores due to growing national security concerns over the app. In the letter, Carr alleges that TikTok is a "sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data." and goes on to state that the popular video app collects everything "from search and browsing histories to keystroke patterns and biometric identifiers, including faceprints", which could be used in facial recognition technology as well as voiceprints and the list goes on from there. He then proceeds to go down a list of questionable TikTok data practices in the last couple of years that serves ...
Appeals court rules that ban on portable signs in Fort Myers, Florida violates First Amendment
Headlines

Appeals court rules that ban on portable signs in Fort Myers, Florida violates First Amendment

Adam Lacroix, a "street preacher' decided to challenge a Fort Myers Beach ordinance after he was cited in December of 2020 for carrying a "portable sign" to spread religious messages to those around him in accordance with an ordinance that was put in place by the Town of Fort Myers Florida. The ordinance specifically prohibits twenty-four different types of signs but outright banned portable signs. The ordinance also allowed for exemptions in certain cases like "real estate/open house signs, garage sale sales, and temporary signs.", but did require prior permit approval from the Town of Fort Myers. The appeals court did however agree that the ban is "content-neutral" and wrote: "The rich tradition of political lawn signs perhaps is surpassed only by America’s history of marches a...
Judge rules against McDonald’s employees in court ruling upholding a no-poaching policy of the fast-food giant
Headlines, Houston

Judge rules against McDonald’s employees in court ruling upholding a no-poaching policy of the fast-food giant

A federal judge in Illinois ruled against McDonald's employees today, upholding McDonald's no-poaching policy. The case, started back in 2017 when Leinani Deslandes filed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's claiming that she lost out on higher wages when another McDonald's franchise offered her a job but she was restricted by the fast-food giant from doing so because of a no-poaching policy. According to the Summary Judgment, each franchisee signed a franchise agreement that reads: "Franchisee shall not employ or seek to employ any person who is at the time employed by McDonald’s, any of its subsidiaries, or by any person who is at the time operating a McDonald’s restaurant or otherwise induce, directly or indirectly, such person to leave such employment. This paragrap...
What does the Harris County burn ban mean for fireworks?
Harris County, Headlines, Houston

What does the Harris County burn ban mean for fireworks?

In a press release issued on June 28, 2022, the Harris County Fire Marshall's Office (HCFMO) announced that the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a burn ban throughout Harris County just before the 4th of July and this has a lot of people asking if they can still light up fireworks on the 4th of July. in their backyards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNiHJVznBYA&ab_channel=houstonstringer According to the HCFMO, fireworks can still be bought and sold since the burn ban was issued based on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) numbers that were issued on June 15, 2022. While you can buy fireworks and launch them into the air from the comfort of your own home, HCFMO strongly recommends that residents attend professional displays only, since these are highly regulat...
Sysco accuses some of the world’s largest meat companies of conspiring to inflate beef prices in a federal lawsuit filed in Houston
Headlines, Houston

Sysco accuses some of the world’s largest meat companies of conspiring to inflate beef prices in a federal lawsuit filed in Houston

Sysco Corporation (SYY), a food service distributor that was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, filed a lawsuit in the Houston Federal Court on Friday, June 24, 2022. The complaint accuses some of the world’s largest meat companies of conspiring to inflate the price of wholesale beef in the United States as early as 2015. The defendants include Cargill, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation (A/K/A Cargill Protein A/K/A Cargill Protein - North America), JBS S.A., JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., National Beef Packing Company, Tyson Foods, Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., which according to the lawsuit, the defendants “sold approximately 80 percent of the more than 25 billion pounds of fresh and frozen beef supplied to the U.S. market. Co...
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez withdraws from I.C.E nomination
Harris County, Headlines, Houston

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez withdraws from I.C.E nomination

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced in a series of Tweets that he has officially "withdrew from consideration for the post of Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement" after informing President Biden's administration on Sunday, June 26, 2022. In the series of tweets, thanking President Biden for the opportunity, Sheriff Gonzalez contributed his withdrawal in large part due to the "paralyzing political gridlock that threatens far more than our nation's border" as he pointed out that it has been more than a year since Biden nominated him and this position has not been confirmed by the Senate since President Obama was in office. During the nomination process, both Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and his wife, Melissa Gonzalez had to push back against unsubstituted claims of domes...
Glass falling from 2 Houston Center in Downtown Houston #hounews
Headlines, Houston

Glass falling from 2 Houston Center in Downtown Houston #hounews

Security and building engineers for Two Houston Center blocked off the sidewalk in the 1100 Block of Mckinney @ Fannin when the glass fell from the tower above around 2 p.m. on June 13, 2022. According to a security officer, it is unknown what caused the glass to fall at this time, but they blocked off the area to prevent any injuries from happening as they investigate why the glass is falling off and correct the problem. The building, managed by Brookfield Properties was built in 1974 and was recently renovated in 2020 according to their website.
A woman goes viral after claiming that a #houston dealer sold a vehicle with a fake CARFAX report
Headlines, Houston

A woman goes viral after claiming that a #houston dealer sold a vehicle with a fake CARFAX report

In a video that is going viral on the popular social media app, TikTok, a Houston woman (@immstroublemaker) claims that a car dealer in north Houston sold a vehicle with a fake CARFAX report. The report claimed the vehicle was accident-free. However, when the customer pulled the CARFAX directly from carfax.com, it was determined that this particular Honda Pilot was involved in three accidents and that it had substantially more miles than the dealer had listed. View the viral TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@immstroublemaker/video/7106293846102805806?_t=8SzqXZDTAY2&_r=1 The dealer, "Cars Come Clean" is located at 2798 W Mount Houston Road in North Houston, TX.