Page 2 - Texas

Musk's legal fights likely to boost longshot Texas bid to become court hub

Speculation is mounting that litigious newcomers like Musk could help Texas pull off what has so far been the impossible and dethrone Delaware as a court hub

Indian-American entrepreneur Arun Agarwal named VC of Texas economic body

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Dallas-based Indian American entrepreneur Arun Agarwal as the vice chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corporation's (TEDC) board of directors. A key public-private partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism, TEDC is responsible for marketing Texas as the top US state for business, both domestically and globally, according to a statement from the Governor's office. It said that this appointment underscores Texas's commitment to diversity and highlights the growing influence of Indian American leaders in major economic roles. Agarwal's extensive experience in business, philanthropy, and international relations is expected to further elevate Texas's standing as a global economic powerhouse, the statement said. As the CEO of Nextt, Agarwal oversees a diverse portfolio that spans textiles, cotton trading, real estate, and sports management. He is also the chairman of the National Cricket League (NCL), USA,

Longtime US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas dies at 74 years

Longtime US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognise Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died. She was 74. Lillie Conley, her chief of staff, confirmed Friday night that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, had died. The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation's fourth-largest city since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2. The road ahead will not be easy, but I stand in faith that God will strengthen me, Jackson Lee said in a statement then. Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee in 1995. They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan's work, Jackson Lee told the Houston ..

Elon Musk to move SpaceX, X headquarters to Texas from California

With these steps, the billionaire, will have relocated Tesla and most of the businesses he controls or heads to Texas

Hurricane Beryl's cascade of crises in Texas a sign of storms to come

Beryl ripped through Texas last week and dropped up to 15 inches of rain in some areas, causing flooding. Storm winds knocked out power to over 1.3 million households and businesses

Beryl unleashes high winds, heavy rains in Texas, leaves 2 mn without power

Tropical Storm Beryl unleashed heavy rains and powerful winds along the Texas coast on Monday, knocking out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses and flooding streets with fast-rising waters as first responders raced to rescue stranded residents. Beryl had already cut a deadly path through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean before making a turn, sweeping ashore as a Category 1 hurricane in Texas early Monday, then later weakening to a tropical storm. At least two people were killed. The National Hurricane Centre said damaging winds and flash flooding will continue as Beryl continues pushing inland. More than 2 million homes and businesses in the Houston area were without electricity, CenterPoint Energy officials said. Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Texas Gov Greg Abbott is out of the country, said crews cannot get out to restore it until the wind dies down. Residents without power were doing their best. We haven't really slept, said Eva Costancio

Category 1 Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas, disrupts power supply

Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast near Matagorda early Monday with a dangerous storm surge and strong winds, knocking out power to more than half a million homes and businesses. The storm's centre hit land as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 am Central Standard Time about 85 miles southwest of Houston with top sustained winds of 80 mph (128.7 kph) while moving north at 12 mph (19.3 kph), the National Weather Service reported. High waters quickly began closing roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings after heavy storms in recent months washed out neighbourhoods and knocked out power across the nation's fourth-largest city. More than 750,000 customers were without power, many of them around Houston, before daybreak Monday, according to CenterPoint Energy in Houston. More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at Houston's two airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware Beryl dumped soaking rains across Houston after coming ashore and was expected to bri

Hurricane Beryl: Texas coastal region likely to have power outages, floods

Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and floodings as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. The outer bands of Beryl began lashing communities along the Texas shoreline on Sunday, bringing rain and intensifying winds. The storm was projected to make landfall around the coastal town of Matagorda, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Houston, but officials warned that the path could still change. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said residents along the coast should expect power outages as Beryl comes ashore. Much of Texas' shoreline was under a hurricane warning and officials in several coastal counties urged tourists along the beach for the Fourth of the July holiday to leave. The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows

As Beryl expected to regain hurricane strength, Texas braces for impact

Texas officials Saturday were urging coastal residents to brace for a potential hit by Beryl as the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We're expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct, said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Should that happen, it'll most likely be a Category 1 hurricane. The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials warned the state's entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they wait for a more defined path of the storm. The hurricane centre ha

Beryl batters Mexico as Texas officials urge coastal residents to prepare

Beryl battered Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday after hitting near the resort town of Tulum, whipping trees and knocking out power, while officials in Texas urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. Beryl hit Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane but weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The US National Hurricane Center expects Beryl to regain hurricane strength once it emerges into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is forecast to head toward northeastern Mexico and southern Texas, an area soaked by Tropical Storm Alberto just a couple of weeks ago. Beryl spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados this week after becoming the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said. Mexican authorities had moved some ..

Texas added more Hispanic, Asian and Black residents than any other state

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of residents of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who joined the state's population last year. The Lone Star State led all others in new Hispanic, Asian and Black residents in 2023. Among U.S. metro areas, Houston added the most Hispanic residents, and Dallas the most Asian and Black residents, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. Texas also the had the biggest jump last year in the overall population, adding 473,000 people. We are adding more people, and that would include all different kinds of people, and more diversity, said Xiuhong Helen You, associate director and senior demographer of the Texas Demographic Center. Whether it's people who are looking for job opportunities or whether it's people who are beginning to establish families and are looking for affordable homes. Nationwide, Hispanic residents propelled U.S. growth last year, accounting for almost three-quarters of the

Aditya Birla Group to invest $50 mn in manufacturing, R&D centre in Texas

Aditya Birla Group has announced an investment of USD 50 million in a manufacturing and research and development (R&D) center in Texas. Aditya Birla Group's Vice President of Sales and Marketing Scott Bastion said the company will be making a USD 50-million investment outside of Houston in the city of Beaumont, Texas, where it will produce epoxy resins -- that are used in a variety of consumer and industrial products. "In that site, we will have an application development center and will house an R&D team. We look forward to commissioning that site in the next 15 to 20 months. "In addition to that, we look forward to bringing greener solutions, sustainable solutions, and more importantly, being able to serve as well as expand the global footprint of our epoxy business," Bastion said. Aditya Birla Group already has a foundation in India, Thailand, as well as Europe. "This will be the fourth expansion on behalf of the epoxy business into the USA. This is the first phase of our ..

Kumar Mangalam Birla to invest $50 mn to build new chemical plant in Texas

The project will involve a 'state-of-the-art advanced materials site' on 35 acres in Beaumont, Texas

JSW Steel USA to invest $110 mn to modernise plate mill in Baytown, Texas

JSW Steel on Tuesday said its subsidiary JSW Steel USA plans to invest USD 110 million to modernise its steel plate mill in Baytown, Texas with new equipment and sustainable technology. These investments will enable the production of high-quality monopile steel plates to support the US administration's new actions to expand offshore wind energy by deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes with clean energy, the company said. "JSW Steel USA, Inc plans to invest USD 110 million in steel plate mill modernization projects with sustainable technology and state of the art equipment within its manufacturing facilities in Baytown, Texas," JSW Steel said in a statement. Steel products made through this investment are aligned with "Buy America" requirements for niche grades and sophisticated applications such as hydrocarbon pipelines, offshore wind towers and platforms, high-density pressure vessels and monopile steel slabs, JSW Steel said. Parth

Two killed, 6 wounded in shooting during a Juneteenth celebration in Texas

A weekend shooting in a Texas park left two people dead and six wounded, including two children, authorities said. The victims were shot shortly before 11 pm Saturday during a Juneteenth celebration at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, about 19 miles (30 kilometers) north of Austin. An altercation began between two groups during a concert at the event and someone started shooting, Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said during a news conference at the scene. The two victims who were pronounced dead at the scene were not involved in the argument, Allen said. The shooting occurred near a vendor area away from the stage set up for the concert, Allen said. Police officers and fire department personnel present at the event immediately began providing emergency medical care to the wounded, who were then taken to hospitals, Allen said. Six people four adults and two children were taken to local trauma facilities, all with potentially serious injuries, according to a post on X by ...

Trump dares Biden to cognitive test but confuses doc's name who tested him

Donald Trump on Saturday night suggested President Joe Biden should have to take a cognitive test," only to confuse who administered the test to him in the next sentence. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee referred to Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was the White House physician for part of his presidency, as "Ronny Johnson. The moment came as Trump was questioning Biden's mental acuity, something he often does on the campaign trail and social media. He doesn't even know what the word inflation' means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did," the former president said of Biden during a speech at a convention of Turning Point Action in Detroit. Seconds later, he continued, Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately." Jackson was elected to Congress in 2021 and is one of

BlackRock, Citadel Sec-backed group to start new stock exchange in Texas

The Texas Stock Exchange, which has raised about $120 million, plans to file registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later this year

Texas SC rejects challenge to state's abortion law over medical exceptions

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected a closely watched challenge to the state's restrictive abortion ban, ruling against a group of women who had serious pregnancy complications and became the first in the US to testify in court about being denied abortions since Roe v. Wade was overturned. In a unanimous ruling, the all-Republican court upheld the Texas law that opponents say is too vague when it comes to when medically necessary exceptions are allowed. The same issue was at the centre of a separate lawsuit brought last year by Kate Cox, a mother of two from Dallas, who sought court permission to obtain an abortion after her fetus developed a fatal condition during a pregnancy that resulted in multiple trips to an emergency room. Abortion rights activists have struggled to stem the tide of restrictions that have taken effect in most Republican-led states since the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe vs Wade, which for nearly 50 years had affirmed the constitutional right t

Power outages could linger for days after storms batter Texas again, 1 dead

Power outages scattered across storm-weary Texas on Wednesday could linger into the weekend after storms flooded streets in Houston for the second time this month and ripped off roofs in Dallas, leaving a teenager dead and injuring others. The teen was killed Tuesday at a construction site while working on a home that collapsed, and three people at a campground were shocked by a downed power line. The severe weather left more than 1 million homes and businesses without electricity at one point. Electric utility Oncor said power in the Dallas area should be restored by Friday for most customers, but some outages will continue into the weekend. More than 1 million homes and businesses were without electricity across Texas at one point, but by Wednesday night, the lights had come back on for more than 75% of those customers. Houston was flooded and damaged just weeks after a storm walloped the area, killing eight people. The 16-year-old worker was killed northeast of the city, in the .

Power outages could linger for days after storms batter Texas again

Power outages scattered across storm-weary Texas on Wednesday could linger into the weekend after storms flooded streets in Houston for the second time this month and ripped off roofs in Dallas, leaving a teenager dead and injuring others. The teen was killed on Tuesday at a construction site while working on a home that collapsed, and three people at a campground were shocked by a downed power line. The severe weather left more than 1 million homes and businesses without electricity at one point. Electric utility Oncor said power in the Dallas area should be restored by Friday for most customers, but some outages will continue into the weekend. More than 1 million homes and businesses were without electricity across Texas at one point, but by Wednesday afternoon, the lights had come back on for about 70 per cent of those customers. Houston was flooded and damaged just weeks after a storm walloped the area, killing eight people. The 16-year-old worker was killed northeast of the c