Today is
Monday May 20, 2024
GALVESTON (AP) — A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into waters near busy shipping channels and closing the only road to a small neighboring island. No injuries were reported.
The impact sent pieces of the bridge, which connects Galveston to Pelican Island, tumbling on top of the barge and shut down a stretch of waterway so crews could clean up the spill. The accident knocked one man off the vessel and into the water, but he was quickly recovered and was not injured, said Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ray Nolen.
Ports along the Texas coast are hubs of international trade, but experts said the collision was unlikely to result in serious economic disruptions since it occurred in a lesser-used waterway. The island is on the opposite side of Galveston Island’s beaches that draw millions of tourists each year.
The accident happened shortly before 10 a.m. after a tugboat operator pushing two barges lost control of them, said David Flores, a bridge superintendent with the Galveston County Navigation District.
“The current was very bad, and the tide was high,” Flores said. “He lost it.”
Pelican Island is only a few miles wide and is home to Texas A&M University at Galveston, a large shipyard and industrial facilities. Fewer than 200 people were on the campus when the collision happened, and all were eventually allowed to drive on the bridge to leave. The marine and maritime research institute said it plans to remain closed until at least Friday. Students who live on campus were allowed to remain there, but university officials warned those who live on campus and leave “should be prepared to remain off campus for an unknown period of time.”
The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.
The tugboat in Texas was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said. The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, has a 30,000-gallon capacity, but it’s not clear how much leaked into the bay, said Galveston County spokesperson Spencer Lewis. He said about 6.5 miles of the waterway were shut down because of the spill.
The affected area is miles away from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a large shipping channel for ocean-going vessels. Aside from the environmental impact of the spill, the region is unlikely to see large economic disruption as a result of the accident, said Marcia Burns, a maritime transportation expert at the University of Houston
“Because Pelican Island is a smaller location, which is not in the heart of commercial events, then the impact is not as devastating,” Burns said. “It’s a relatively smaller impact.”
At the bridge, a large piece of broken concrete and debris from the railroad hung over the side and on top of the barge that rammed into the passageway. Flores said the rail line only serves as protection for the structure and has never been used.
Opened in 1960, the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge was rated as “Poor” according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2023 National Bridge Inventory released last June.
The overall rating of a bridge is based on whether the condition of any of its individual components — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if present — is rated poor or below.
In the case of the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge, inspectors rated the deck in “Satisfactory Condition,” the substructure in “Fair Condition” and the superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — in “Poor Condition.”
The Texas Department of Transportation had been scheduled in the summer of 2025 to begin construction on a project to replace the bridge with a new one. The project was estimated to cost $194 million. In documents provided during a virtual public meeting last year, the department said the bridge has “reached the end of its design lifespan, and needs to be replaced.” The agency said it has spent over $12 million performing maintenance and repairs on the bridge in the past decade.
The bridge has one main steel span that measures 164 feet, and federal data shows it was last inspected in December 2021. It’s unclear from the data if a state inspection took place after the Federal Highway Administration compiled the data.
The bridge had an average daily traffic figure of about 9,100 cars and trucks, according to a 2011 estimate.
FRISCO (AP) – Reba McEntire is hosting Thursday’s Academy of Country Music Awards, promising a night of memorable performances, including a tribute to Toby Keith.
When McEntire takes the stage at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, it will be a record 17th time she’s emceed the show.
“I love the award show because it’s almost like a family reunion,” she recently told The Associated Press.
This year’s nominees range from veteran acts to new talent, including the much-beloved Jelly Roll. This year marks his first-time receiving ACM nominations; he’s up for entertainer of the year, male artist of the year, single of the year (for “Need a Favor,” which won big at the CMT Music Awards last month), and music event of the year, for “Save Me” featuring Lainey Wilson. The last time a musician was up for entertainer of the year in his first round of ACM awards nominations was Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.
The ACM festivities actually began ahead of Thursday’s event, when the new artist of the year awards were handed out at Tuesday’s ACM Country Kickoff fan festival at The Star: Megan Moroney took home new female artist of the year, Nate Smith won in the male category and Tigirlily Gold took home to prize for new duo or group.
Here’s what you need to know before the main ACMs attraction begins.
HOW TO WATCH THE ACMs
The 2024 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch Live at 8 p.m. Eastern. A red carpet feed will become available on Prime Video, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and Amazon Live at 7 p.m. Eastern.
THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS NOMINEES
Luke Combs leads the 2024 nominations with eight nods. For a fifth year in a row, he’s up for both male artist of the year and entertainer of the year.
Combs’ eight nominations includes a first-time nomination for Tracy Chapman. His cover of her “Fast Car” is up for song of the year, a category that recognizes songwriters and publishers in addition to artists. Last year, Chapman’s 1988 song won song of the year at the Country Music Awards for Combs’ cover, making her the first Black songwriter to win in the category.
Morgan Wallen and Moroney closely follow Combs’ nominations with six each, while Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Wilson are tied with five.
Jordan Davis and Jelly Roll have four nominations.
WHO’S PERFORMING AT THE ACM AWARDS
Jason Aldean will perform the tribute to Keith, who died in February.
“I’ve been a fan of his since the beginning and his songs are some of the first songs I played back in clubs early in my career, including the one I’ll be performing on the show,” he said in a statement. “It means a lot to be able to honor him and properly celebrate his iconic career and legacy. He was one of a kind.”
In addition to Aldean: Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Post Malone, Parker McCollum, Johnson, McEntire, Wilson and Stapleton will also perform during the telecast.
Fans can expect a few interesting collaborations as well — Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan; Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and Smith with Avril Lavigne.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The future of a barrier of giant buoys that Texas Gov. Greg Abbot placed in the Rio Grande last year to deter migrant traffic may turn on whether a rocky, shallow stretch of the border river can be considered “navigable” and whether immigration sometimes constitutes a hostile invasion.
The full 17-member 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the issues in New Orleans on Wednesday, the latest courtroom debate in multiple legal disputes over border control between Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republican governor. The judges did not indicate when they would rule.
Part of the hearing touched on Texas’ claim that the barrier is authorized constitutionally as a means of defending against an invasion.
“Are you saying that federal law overcomes the constitutional right of the state?” Judge Edith Jones asked Justice Department attorney Michael Gray. She later added: “Under what circumstances can the United States thwart that attempt at self-defense?”
In response to questions from Jones and Judge James Ho, Gray argued that a governor cannot get around federal law simply by claiming an invasion. “Their argument is, once they say invasion ‘We can do anything we want for as long as we want.’ We don’t think that’s right,” Gray said.
But much of the hearing dealt with whether the administration was correct that the Rio Grande is subject to federal regulation as a navigable waterway.
Texas says the stretch of river is rocky and shallow — describing it as “ankle deep” in one filing.
“For most of its length and much of its storied history, the Rio Grande has been little more than a creek with an excellent publicist,” Lanora Pettit, with Texas Attorney General’s Office said.
The Biden administration has pointed to past ferry traffic in the area, the use of the area by vessels with the U.S. Coast Guard and the International Boundary and Water Commission and the possibility of future projects to make the stretch better suited for commercial traffic.
The state installed the orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys last July. The barrier stretches about 1000 feet (304 meters) along the international border with Mexico between the Texas border city of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.
In December, a divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with a federal district judge in Texas who said the buoys must be moved. But the panel’s 2-1 ruling after was vacated in January when a majority of the conservative-dominated court’s 17 active judges voted to rehear the case. An 18th judge who is on part-time senior status and was on the three-member panel also participated with the full court Wednesday.
The Biden administration also is fighting for the right to cut razor-wire fencing at the border and for access to a city park at the border that the state fenced off.
And a decision is pending from a 5th Circuit panel on whether to allow Texas to enforce a law that allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally.
GALVESTON (AP) — A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, although officials said one person on the barge was knocked into the water and quickly rescued.
The bridge that leads to Pelican Island, north of Galveston, was struck by the barge around 9:50 a.m. when a tugboat backing out of Texas International Terminals, a fuel storage operator next to the bridge, lost control of two barges it was pushing, said David Flores, a bridge superintendent with the Galveston County Navigation District.
“The current was very bad, and the tide was high. He lost it,” Flores said.
One of the barges hit the bridge and two telephone poles, he said.
The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.
The accident Wednesday knocked one man off the vessel and into the water, but he was quickly recovered and was not injured, said Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ray Nolen.
The tugboat was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said. The accident resulted in oil spilling from the barge into the bay and crews were working to clean it up, he said. The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, has a 30,000-gallon capacity, but it’s not clear how much leaked into the bay, said Galveston County spokesperson Spencer Lewis. He said about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway was shut down as a result of the spill.
Pelican Island, which is connected to Galveston by the bridge, is home to a large shipyard, Texas A&M University of Galveston, and Seawolf Park, a former immigration station that now attracts tourists to its iconic fishing pier and decommissioned U.S. Navy vessels.
Fire trucks drove over the bridge as workers and law enforcement officials looked at the remnants of the collapsed rail line. Aerial footage showed a large piece of broken concrete and debris from the railroad hanging off the side of the bridge and laying on the barge that officials said rammed into the passageway.
Flores said the rail line only serves as protection for the structure and has never been used.
A statement posted on the City of Galveston’s Facebook page said there were no reports of injuries and that the island is currently inaccessible to car traffic.
“Engineers from the Texas Department of Transportation are also enroute to inspect the roadway and determine if there is damage,” the statement said. “The bridge will remain closed until it is deemed safe to use.”
One business, Baywatch Dolphin Tours, said they were seeking the university’s approval to shuttle people off the island and were planning how to provide a long-term service while bridge repairs are underway.
Opened in 1960, the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge was rated as “Poor” according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2023 National Bridge Inventory released last June.
The overall rating of a bridge is based on whether the condition of any of its individual components — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if present — is rated poor or below.
In the case of the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge, inspectors rated the deck in “Satisfactory Condition,” the substructure in “Fair Condition” and the superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — in “Poor Condition.”
The bridge has one main steel span that measures 164 feet (50 meters), and federal data shows it was last inspected in December 2021. However, it’s unclear from the data if a state inspection took place after the Federal Highway Administration compiled the data.
The bridge had an average daily traffic figure of about 9,100, according to a 2011 estimate.
(NEW YORK) — An acrimonious divorce between a Texas couple fighting over their frozen embryos could end up having an impact on in vitro fertilization care in the entire state, and possibly a replay of the controversial court decision in Alabama that briefly ended IVF access in the state.
Caroline Antoun has argued that life begins when an egg is fertilized and claims the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — which overturned Roe v. Wade and left it up to the states to regulate abortion care — gives her a right to “custody” over their three embryos, despite previously signing over her rights to the embryos to her husband in the event of a divorce.
In August 2022, a trial court judge ruled the embryos should be considered “property” and awarded them to the husband — Gaby Antoun — and upheld the agreement between the former couple. That court declined to side with Caroline Antoun’s argument that the embryos are living beings.
In August 2023, an appeals court judge affirmed that ruling and declined Caroline Antoun’s request to hear an appeal.
The embryos were the key point of disagreement in the couple’s divorce, according to court documents.
The arguments
Caroline Antoun is asking the Texas Supreme Court to take up her case and address the “treatment of embryonic tissue during divorce proceedings,” arguing the court needs to issue new guidance on the treatment of these disputes since Roe is no longer in effect.
“In the interest of providing the most robust protection to all life, embryos should be treated as children rather than as property during divorce proceedings,” Caroline Antoun’s petitioner’s brief argues.
“While legislative action will undoubtedly be necessary to fill out the framework this Court may provide, the Court is presented the opportunity to reclassify embryos from property to unborn children, and to address in the first instance what rights those unborn children (and their parents) have,” the petitioner’s brief argues.
Despite acknowledging that an agreement between the couple and their fertility clinic awards the embryos to Gaby Antoun, Caroline Antoun argues that embryos have been designated as property because IVF procedures started after the ruling in Roe v. Wade was issued in 1973. The first live birth from IVF wasn’t announced until 1978.
Caroline Antoun also claims she did not know what she was signing and she did not intend to relinquish any future parental rights regarding the embryos. She also says she did not intend for them to be implanted in anyone but herself, according to Caroline Antoun’s petitioner’s brief.
In responding court filings, Gaby Antoun said the court “properly upheld existing law when it comes to the treatment of embryos.” He also argues the post-Roe treatment of embryos is for the legislature to take up.
He also argues the Dobbs decision simply returned the regulation of abortion to the states, but did not find that embryos should be considered people, according to Gaby Antoun’s response to the petition for review.
“Texas Legislators have yet to address if frozen embryos should be classified as people instead of property. This is a case that the Court should allow the legislature to have time to enact legislation that applies rather than the Court attempting to create law regarding frozen embryos,” according to Gaby Antoun’s response.
The Texas Supreme Court has received briefs from Caroline and Gaby Antoun but is still considering whether it will take up the case, according to court records.
Potential fallout
If the state Supreme Court takes up the case and rules in favor of Caroline Antoun, it could be detrimental to IVF treatment in Texas — months after a similar situation played out in Alabama.
After the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that embryos are children, IVF treatment in the state was suspended at the three largest providers for two weeks until lawmakers passed legislation to restore access.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine warned, in an amicus brief to the case, that if the court sides with Caroline Antoun, it “could impede access to IVF in Texas and also affect the many thousands of Texans who have relied on IVF to establish or grow their families.”
Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, pushed back in legal filings and said a “custody hearing for frozen human embryos does not directly impact the IVF industry.”
“Texas Right to Life and its members across the country are opposed to all intentional acts that cause the death of any innocent human life, regardless of their stage of development, location, or whether created naturally or in a laboratory,” Texas Right to Life said in an amicus brief.
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FRISCO (AP) – The time has come to raise a red solo cup. Jason Aldean will pay tribute to the late Toby Keith at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards.
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas universities eliminated or changed hundreds of jobs in recent months in response to one of the nation’s most sweeping bans on diversity programs on college campuses, school officials told lawmakers Tuesday.
In the fullest public accounting of the new Texas law to date, the head of the University of Texas system announced that its nine academic and five health campuses alone had cut 300 full- and part-time positions. Those campuses combined also did away with more than 600 programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion training.
“You may not like the law, but it is the law,” University of Texas Systems Chancellor James Milliken said.
Milliken was one of several chancellors who GOP state senators called to the Texas Capitol to testify on how campuses are complying with the law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last year. Texas is among about one-third of states across the nation that have taken steps to limit or prohibit DEI initiatives and practices.
Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton, in a letter to chancellors in March, said he was concerned that some campuses were trying to skirt the law or find loopholes, such as renaming employing titles or campus offices.
“This letter should serve as a notice that this practice is unacceptable,” Creighton wrote in the letter.
Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states have filed bills seeking to restrict DEI initiatives this year, according to an Associated Press analysis using the legislation-tracking software Plural. Meanwhile, Democrats have sponsored measures supporting DEI in at least 20 states.
Last month, the flagship University of Texas campus in Austin — one of the largest campuses in the U.S. — announced the closure of the school’s Division of Campus and Community Engagement and the elimination of jobs in order to comply with the ban.
Earlier this year, the University of Florida announced more than a dozen terminations in response to a similar state ban.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp told lawmakers the legislation “makes it crystal clear” that “if you tread back into the bad waters, something bad is going to happen to you.”
On Monday, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved diverting $2.3 million of state funds for advancing diversity to instead serve public safety and policing. The move comes as North Carolina’s public university system will consider changing its diversity policy before the legislature steps in.
In Oklahoma, the head of the University of Oklahoma’s Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center announced earlier this month that he was forced to terminate its National Education for Women Leadership program because of an anti-DEI executive order signed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt last year. The program trained more than 650 women from dozens of colleges and universities across the country over the past 20 years.
“As one of only a handful of women to have held leadership positions in the Legislature since statehood, I believe this program’s elimination is a terrible loss,” said Democratic Oklahoma state Sen. Kay Floyd in a statement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing has violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft more than five years ago, the Justice Department told a federal judge on Tuesday.
It is now up to the Justice Department to decide whether to file charges against Boeing. Prosecutors will tell the court no later than July 7 how they plan to proceed, department said.
New 737 Max jets crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia, killing 346 people. Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department in January 2021 to avoid prosecution on a single charge of fraud — misleading federal regulators who approved the plane. Boeing blamed the deception on two relatively low-level employees.
In a letter filed Tuesday in federal court in Texas, Glenn Leon, head of the Justice Department criminal division’s fraud section, said Boeing violated terms of the settlement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws.
The determination means that Boeing could be prosecuted “for any federal criminal violation of which the United States has knowledge,” including the charge of fraud that the company hoped to avoid with the settlement, the Justice Department said.
However, it is not clear whether the government will prosecute Boeing.
“The Government is determining how it will proceed in this matter,” the Justice Department said in the court filing. Boeing will have until June 13 to respond the government’s allegation, and department said it will consider the company’s explanation “in determining whether to pursue prosecution.”
Boeing Co., which is based in Arlington, Virginia, disputed the Justice Department’s finding.
“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement. “As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”
Boeing has come under renewed scrutiny since that Alaska Airlines flight in January, when a door plug blew out of a 737 Max, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the jetliner. The company is under multiple investigations into the blowout and its manufacturing quality. The FBI has told passengers from the flight that they might be victims of a crime.
Prosecutors said they will meet on May 31 with families of passengers who died in the two Max crashes. Family members were angry and disappointed after a similar meeting last month.
Paul Cassell, a lawyer who represents families of passengers in the second crash, said the Justice Department’s determination that Boeing breached the settlement terms is “a positive first step, and for the families, a long time coming.”
“But we need to see further action from DOJ to hold Boeing accountable, and plan to use our meeting on May 31 to explain in more details what we believe would be a satisfactory remedy to Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct,” Cassell said.
Investigations into the crashes pointed to a flight-control system that Boeing added to the Max without telling pilots or airlines. Boeing downplayed the significance of the system, then didn’t overhaul it until after the second crash.
After secret negotiations, the government agreed not to prosecute Boeing on a charge of defrauding the United States by deceiving regulators about the flight system. The settlement included a $243.6 million fine, a $500 million fund for victim compensation, and nearly $1.8 billion to airlines whose Max jets were grounded for nearly two years.
Boeing has faced civil lawsuits, congressional investigations and massive damage to its business since the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
HOUSTON (AP) — The one remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after 10 people were killed during a deadly crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld music festival has been set for trial in civil court in September, a judge said Tuesday.
State District Judge Kristen Hawkins scheduled jury selection to begin on Sept. 10 in the lawsuit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert by rap superstar Travis Scott.
If the lawsuit filed by Blount’s family goes to trial, it would be the first civil case stemming from the deadly concert that will go before a jury.
Blount’s family is suing Scott, Live Nation, the festival’s promoter and the world’s largest live entertainment company, and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including Apple Inc., which livestreamed the concert.
During a court hearing Tuesday, lawyers for Blount’s family had asked Hawkins if the trial could be held sooner But Hawkins said various legal and logistical issues made it unlikely the case could be tried before September.
Scott West, one of the lawyers for Blount’s family, told Hawkins they still planned to depose Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino before the trial.
Attorneys for Live Nation have fought efforts to have Rapino questioned on what he knew about the festival, arguing he didn’t have any unique knowledge about the event. But plaintiffs’ attorneys have argued Rapino had a hands-on role in booking Scott for the festival, was focused on ticket sales and capacity and also sent an email hours after the deadly concert saying that “if 5 died we would cancel” the second day of the festival. The second day was later canceled.
Neal Manne, an attorney for Live Nation, said he hopes an agreement regarding Rapino’s deposition can be worked out but he might still appeal the issue to the Texas Supreme Court.
The lawsuit filed by Blount’s family is one of 10 wrongful death civil suits filed after the deadly concert.
Last week, lawyers had announced that the other nine wrongful death lawsuits had been settled. Terms of the settlements were confidential. Attorneys in the case have been limited in what they can say outside of court hearings because of a gag order in the case.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of 23-year-old Houston resident Madison Dubiski had been set to go to trial last week. But it was settled before jury selection began.
About 2,400 injury cases filed after the deadly concert also remain pending. More than 4,000 plaintiffs had filed hundreds of lawsuits after the Astroworld crowd crush.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Hawkins scheduled the first trial related to the injury cases for Oct. 15. That trial will focus on seven injury cases.
“There will be a range of degrees of injuries,” West said about the trial related to the injury cases.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the concert were caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern over capacity and safety at the event.
Those killed ranged in age from 9 to 27. They died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.
Scott, Live Nation and the others who’ve been sued have denied these claims, saying safety was their No. 1 concern. They said what happened could not have been foreseen.
After a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Air Force instructor pilot was killed when the ejection seat activated while the jet was still on the ground at a Texas military base, the Air Force said Tuesday.
The instructor pilot was in a T-6A Texan II at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the seat activated during ground operations on Monday. The pilot was taken to a hospital and died Tuesday, the Air Force said. The pilot’s name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine two-seater aircraft that serves as a primary trainer for Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots. In a training flight an instructor can sit in the front or back seat; both have lightweight Martin-Baker ejection seats that are activated by a handle on the seat.
In 2022, the T-6 fleet and hundreds of other Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps jets were grounded after inspections revealed a potential defect with one component of the ejection seat’s cartridge actuated devices, or CADs. The fleet was inspected and in some instances the CADs were replaced.
When activated the cartridge explodes and starts the ejection sequence.
Ejection seats have been credited with saving pilots’ lives, but they also have failed at critical moments in aircraft accidents. Investigators identified ejection seat failure as a partial cause of an F-16 crash that killed 1st Lt. David Schmitz, 32, in June 2020.
In 2018, four members of a B-1 bomber crew earned the Distinguished Flying Cross when, with their aircraft on fire, they discovered one of the four ejection seats was indicating failure. Instead of bailing out, all of the crew decided to remain in the burning aircraft and land it so they all would have the best chance of surviving. All of the crew survived.
HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle says that Houston is among the world’s wealthiest cities, with the number of millionaire residents here soaring during the past 10 years, according to a new analysis. There are 90,900 millionaire residents in Houston, according to an annual report from Henley & Partners, a London-based investment migration consultancy. According to that metric, Houston is the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States and 17th in the world, just above the canton of Zurich, in Switzerland. Houston is also home to 258 centimillionaires — those with a net worth of at least $100 million — and 18 billionaires, according to Henley & Partners. The consultancy advises wealthy individuals on migration decisions.
New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area lead the world when it comes to collecting millionaires, with about 350,000 in New York and 306,000 in the Bay Area. Tokyo ranks third, with about 298,000 millionaires. Tokyo is among several world cities where the number of millionaires has declined over the past 10 years, the report notes. But the number of has soared in many cities across the Sun Belt. Houston saw a 70% increase in local millionaires from 2013 to 2023, Dallas saw a 75% increase, and in Austin the number of millionaires has more than doubled to 32,700, according to the report. The Texas capital is America’s top city in terms of millionaire growth. “Taxes are quite low in states such as Texas and Florida, so that’s probably a major driver of the recent millionaire growth in these states,” said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth and a contributor to the report. He added that Houston could continue to attract and create more millionaires within city limits. “Strong growth in high-value sectors sector such as high tech, tourism, green tech, fintech, wealth management, and family offices and engineering will be key,” he said. “Also, if Houston is able to get more Fortune 500 companies to move their headquarters to the city, that would significantly boost wealth held in the city.”