The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Dallasite Mark Cuban has subtly teased a run for president ever since fellow billionaire and reality TV star Donald Trump made it into the Oval Office.
But Tuesday on an episode of the podcast ViewPoint, Cuban was a bit more direct when host Bakari Sellers asked if he was considering a 2020 run:
“Yes. Considering. Yes. Ready to say, ready to commit to it, No,” Cuban said.
The Mavericks owner and “Shark Tank” star has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, at times publicly beefing with him on Twitter.
During the interview, he laid out some of the issues he says are important to him.
“Economic inequality, healthcare, entrepreneurship,” Cuban said.
He also mentioned competitiveness on a global stage when it comes to technological innovation – like artificial intelligence.
But a run is far from decided. Cuban still says theres a good chance he won’t. He said he has no desire to be a politician, and if he does run, it wont be just to win a popularity contest.
“If I can come up with solutions that I think people can get behind and truly solve problems then it makes perfect sense for me to run,” he said. “If it comes to do I think I can win because I can convince more people to vote for me? Then no.”
Cuban supported Hillary Clinton in the runup to the 2016 election, but iterated in the interview that he considers himself “an independent all the way through.
The Houston area chemical plant that exploded after being damaged by Harvey floodwaters is being hit with another lawsuit. Residents who live near the Arkema plant in Crosby say that the explosion contaminated their property with toxins.
Houston Public Media’s Travis Bubenik reports:
It’s the second lawsuit against the plant from nearby residents. Plaintiffs claim smoke from the fires led to “mysterious black ash” raining down on their land. One resident claims to have recovered jars full of it after the fires. The people suing, which include a state trooper and a sheriff’s deputy, say they suffered a variety of medical problems.
“One gentleman has some very disturbing scaling and rashes that he got after he mowed his yard. It’s limited primarily at this point to respiratory difficulties and skin rashes,” says Kevin Thompson, an attorney handling the case.
The suit claims the problems weren’t just from the chemical fires. The lawyers plan to argue that toxins that spilled out of tanks at the plant during the flooding flowed onto surrounding properties.
An Arkema spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the case, saying he doesn’t know the “state of our legal review of such a lawsuit.”
A new judge has been named to preside over a pending trial in the Twin Peaks biker shooting. Doug Shaver was named late yesterday as the replacement judge in the case.
On Monday, Judge Matt Johnson of Waco’s 54th State District Court recused himself from the trial of Matthew Clendennen.
That came after Clendennan’s attorney filed a motion seeking to recuse Johnson from the case. That’s because Johnson was formerly law partners with McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna.
The trial is set for November sixth.