Latest news with #Texans
CBS News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Texas Senate committee advances new THC ban during special legislative session
Just weeks after the governor vetoed a bill banning products containing THC, state senators revived it in the special session, filing nearly identical legislation and passing it unanimously out of committee with a 10-0 vote on Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott explicitly asked lawmakers to regulate, not ban, hemp products. Senators argued on Tuesday that it's not going to work. "We'll regulate it," said Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood. "We'll regulate it by banning it. Because we already tried regulating it." Allen Police Chief Steve Dye and Kaufman County District Attorney Leigh Wiley were the first of several invited witnesses to argue that most hemp-derived products on the market today are harmful. "When I went into the largest of the three warehouses, it looked like a giant candy store," said Dye. "So many packages marketed to our young people." Dye, who has led raids of hemp stores and warehouses, argues regulation would be too difficult and costly to be effective. "Regulation would likely be seen by the industry as carte blanche legalization," Dye said. Advocates argue a ban would close hundreds of businesses and hurt Texans who use these products. "Hemp-derived consumables are affordable, accessible and effective," said Mitch Fuller, who represents the Texas VFW. Fuller said many of the VFW's 65,000 veterans see the industry as an alternative to alcohol and opioids. But senators dismissed those claims. "We're taking a stance on this," said Fuller. "Again, no one's using us; we are doing this on our own volition because it helps us. It works great." Abbott was quoted by Impact News on Tuesday, saying he does want to ban intoxicating consumable THC products, which he views as those with more than 3 milligrams of THC. That's still more than what the Senate seems to want to allow, but it may be a sign he's willing to compromise. Senate Bill 5 now heads to the full Senate.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texans' C.J. Stroud gets $250 million contract update
C.J. Stroud had a phenomenal rookie season. That set the bar extremely high for the Houston Texans QB in his second season, and he underwhelmed just a bit. The reality, though, is Stroud continued to show he's a franchise quarterback. Soon, he'll be paid like one. Advertisement Stroud can get his fifth-year option picked up after the 2025 season, but The Athletic's Mike Jones thinks the Texans might take a different approach. "If he and the Texans offense can rebound this season, he could follow Brock Purdy as the latest quarterback to land a five-year, $250 million-plus contract." Jones writes. MORE: How good was LeBron at football? NBA legend would have been 'one of the best' in NFL Stroud certainly wouldn't complain about that. In reality, neither would Houston. Quarterbacks like Stroud don't grow on trees. When you have him, you have to keep him and keep him happy. Advertisement The Texans made a heavy investment at the wide receiver position this offseason, which should help Stroud bounce back. And if those WRs make Stroud look even better than he ever has, expect the money to eventually be even greater than what Purdy got in San Francisco. MORE NFL NEWS:
NBC Sports
16 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Mike Vrabel: No limitations on Stefon Diggs in practice
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs was not part of the initial group of players that the Patriots put on the physically unable to perform list and he was not added to the list when the full squad reported to training camp on Tuesday. Diggs tore his ACL while playing for the Texans late in October, but his rehab has gone well enough that he will be on the active roster for the first practices of the summer. Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters at a press conference that it's a testament to how hard Diggs has worked and that he doesn't anticipate holding Diggs back on the field. 'I don't see any limitations right now,' Vrabel said. 'Is he going to take every single rep of every single period? No, and I don't think any player will. But we're off to a good start and encouraged by what we saw here in the last couple days.' Wide receiver Mack Hollins, tight end Austin Hooper, tackle Vederian Lowe, and linebacker Jahlani Tavai did land on the PUP list. Vrabel said that he anticipates Tavai being back sooner than the other players. He also expects cornerback Carlton Davis to come off the non-football injury list in the near future.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chip and Joanna Gaines Step Up to Lead Relief Efforts for Texas Flood Victims
Chip and Joanna Gaines Step Up to Lead Relief Efforts for Texas Flood Victims originally appeared on Parade. Chip and Joanna Gaines are using their platform to send much needed help and support to their fellow Texans experiencing the devastation caused by the recent floods. The HGTV stars teamed up with Salvation Army to collect goods to be donated to those in need in the Texas Hill Country. The mom of five posted an update on her Instagram account on Thursday, sharing a video of a large moving truck being loaded with goods. She also noted that they'll be collecting hygiene items and other necessities through the end of the day at the Magnolia Market at the Silos, the couple's shopping and lifestyle destination in Waco, Texas. According to NBC News, the death toll has reached 120 as of Thursday afternoon, and at least 173 people are still missing in the aftermath of the flash floods that occurred over the Fourth of July Weekend in central Texas' Hill Country region. Fans sent encouraging messages to the Fixer Upper star, commenting on her post, "Tysm. God bless you for this great kindness!" and, "The Kerrville and surrounding areas are being supported by generous, loving people. Amongst the devastation, there is kindness and compassion. Thank you!" 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 In another recent post, Gaines shared that they're helping raise money for Kerr County Flood Relief, and shared the link for those wanting to help financially. She wrote, "For those looking to support from afar, the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country @cftexashillcountry has set up a relief fund to directly aid those impacted. In the midst of tragedy, our hearts are warmed by people like Chip and Joanna who are leveraging their celebrity status to help those affected by the disaster. Chip and Joanna Gaines Step Up to Lead Relief Efforts for Texas Flood Victims first appeared on Parade on Jul 10, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Hill
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
The Great State Government Return-to-Office U-Turn
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banned remote work for state employees in March. By June, he was signing a bill that allowed it again. This stunning reversal in just three months tells you everything you need to know about the new reality of government work. The Texas about-face isn't an isolated incident. It's part of a fascinating pattern playing out in state capitals across America, where rigid return-to-office mandates are collapsing under the weight of economic reality and employee resistance. What started as executive orders demanding compliance has evolved into nuanced negotiations that treat office attendance as currency. California's Gavin Newsom escalated from two-day to four-day office requirements, only to watch unions trade away salary increases to keep their flexibility. Indiana's new governor included 'limited exceptions' in his return-to-office order from Day 1, signaling that negotiation had always been the endgame. The numbers driving these reversals are impossible to ignore. When California saved $700 million by downsizing office space and Texas discovered that remote work actually boosted productivity while slashing turnover, the economic argument for forcing everyone back to their desks evaporated. This transformation reveals a new playbook in which location has become as negotiable as salary. The speed of Texas's reversal deserves closer examination. When Abbott issued his executive order in March banning telework for state agencies, he positioned it as a matter of principle. State workers needed to be in state buildings, he said, serving Texans directly. The rhetoric was forceful, the timeline immediate. Yet within weeks, the facade began cracking under operational strain. State agencies that had already downsized their physical footprints suddenly faced the prospect of scrambling for office space. Parking lots that had been decommissioned would need resurrection. And employees who had restructured their lives around remote work began polishing their resumes for private-sector opportunities. The bipartisan rebellion that followed wasn't driven by ideology but by data. Texas's own productivity study showed that remote work hadn't just maintained service levels — it had actually improved them while dramatically reducing employee turnover. When Republican Rep. Giovanni Capriglione introduced House Bill 5196 to let agencies set their own remote policies, he wasn't making a statement about worker rights. He was acknowledging mathematical reality. Abbott's signature on the bill in June represents more than a policy reversal. It's an admission that top-down mandates can't override bottom-up economics. But while Texas stumbled into reversal through legislative intervention, California's governor appears to be playing a more sophisticated game. His journey from two-day office requirements to a four-day mandate might look like escalation, but the emerging pattern suggests something more strategic. When the Professional Engineers in California Government secured their one-year reprieve from the four-day requirement, they paid for it with salary concessions. Days later, the attorneys' union struck a remarkably similar deal. Newsom's mandate created leverage where none had existed before. SEIU Local 1000's lawsuit challenging the order cites the state's savings of 'at least $700 million' from office downsizing — money that would evaporate if 95,000 hybrid workers actually showed up four days a week. The California Department of General Services has shed 1.2 million square feet of Sacramento office space, a 14 percent reduction that represents real taxpayer savings. Reversing that efficiency would require a real estate shopping spree at precisely the moment California faces a $12 billion budget deficit. The genius lies in how the mandate functions as a negotiating tool. Unions that might have held firm on salary increases suddenly found themselves trading compensation for commute time. The Professional Engineers accepted mandatory unpaid time off that effectively negates their 3 percent raise for two years. In both cases, the unions prioritized flexibility over pay, revealing just how valuable remote work has become to their members. These reversals illuminate a broader transformation in how governments value physical presence versus actual productivity. When Gallup research indicates that flexible work arrangements can cut attrition by 50 percent, and when replacing skilled professionals costs between half and twice their annual salary, the mathematics of mandatory office attendance stop adding up. Indiana's new governor, Mike Braun, seems to be taking notes from both states with his executive order requiring state workers back by July 2025 but leaving 'limited exceptions' for ongoing negotiations. For public-sector unions, this new reality requires strategy. The California engineers and attorneys who accepted pay concessions to maintain remote work flexibility made a calculated bet that their members value time and autonomy over marginal salary increases. They are establishing that workplace flexibility has become a fundamental term of employment that can't be altered by executive fiat. The return-to-office reversals sweeping through state governments represent acknowledgments that the fundamental nature of work has changed. We are witnessing the emergence of a new employment paradigm where location flexibility has become as negotiable as wages and benefits. The smart leaders are those who recognized that physical presence has become a bargaining chip, valuable precisely because employees prize flexibility so highly. Rather than squander political capital on unenforceable mandates, they are trading flexibility for concessions that actually improve their states' fiscal positions. The organizations that thrive will be those that recognize flexibility not as a perk to be revoked, but as a strategic asset to be thoughtfully deployed. Disaster Avoidance Experts and authored the best-seller' Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams.'
