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North Texas firefighter draws from L.A. experience ahead of fire danger here

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North Texas firefighter draws from L.A. experience ahead of fire danger here


On Friday, all of DFW will be in the zone for critical fire danger. In North Texas, crews that were deployed to help with the historic Los Angeles fires are drawing from their experience there.

The Krum Fire Department in Denton County deployed two firefighters for more than two weeks to assist with the Palisades and Eaton fires in L.A. While the landscape in North Texas is different, officials say one lesson stands out: high winds can change everything in an instant.

Krum Fire Captain Hector Hernandez was on the ground for 18 days. What he witnessed will stay with him for some time.

“Kind of seeing fire behavior coming off the Pacific like that, interesting just seeing the kind of damage it can do in such a short amount of time,” he said.

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Hernandez especially remembers how the Los Angeles fires were fueled by dry conditions and very strong winds.

“The more wind we get, the more favorable it’s going to be for fire conditions. So that little spark you have from your welder can take off into a grass fire in no time,” he said. “Once it finds what it likes in terms of fuel, wind conditions, humidity, there’s not a lot we can do on the ground to stop it.”

Michelle Mendoza knows all too well how quickly life can change from shifting winds. She lived with her husband and eight children in Altadena when the fires broke out.

“I think it took probably about six hours, and then my house was completely destroyed,” she said.

The family of 10 is now in neighboring Pasadena, crammed into a one-bedroom apartment. Mendoza also remembers how powerful the winds were just hours before the fires spread, and she had this message for North Texas.

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“It was very windy. It was some branches all over the place,” Mendoza said. “The winds were traveling really far. So, it’s something not to be played with. So, if you do see the winds, try to be really on alert.”

Hernandez said he’s hoping for the best, but Krum and neighboring departments are prepared.

“You kind of look at the direction that the fire is burning in and try to find any natural barriers, whether it’s a body of water, roadways, major highways, see if that’s a major point to stop it at,” he said.

Hernandez said if natural barriers don’t work, the next step would be getting ahead of the fire and starting to dig dozer lines.

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users


Netflix was sued Monday (May 11) by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive. Ram Nabong reports.



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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data

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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data


The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday, accusing the company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent and designing the platform to be addictive.

Texas claims that Netflix has falsely represented to consumers that it didn’t collect or share user data while it actually tracked and sold viewers’ habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies.

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The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims that “Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetize the data for a handsome profit.”

The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday. (Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watched you,” Texas added in the lawsuit.

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The complaint quotes comments made by former CEO Reed Hastings who said in 2020, while he was still leading the streaming company, that “we don’t collect anything,” amid questions over Big Tech companies’ data collection practices.

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Netflix was also accused of quietly using “dark patterns” to keep users watching on its platform, such as an autoplay feature that starts a new show after a different show ends.

NETFLIX RAISES SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ACROSS ALL PLANS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Paxton said in a press release that Netflix “has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it.”

The attorney general said he’s charging Netflix under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks to require Netflix to stop the unlawful collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on kid’s profiles, and to secure injunctive relief and civil penalties.

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FOX Business reached out to Netflix for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN

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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN


Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar in a Texas city along the southern border on Sunday, officials said.

The bodies were found in a Union Pacific train at a rail yard in Laredo, around 160 miles south of San Antonio, just after 3:30 p.m. local time, said Jose Espinoza, a public information officer with the Laredo Police Department.

The circumstances of their deaths are unknown, said Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza, according to CNN affiliate KGNS, and an investigation is underway.

Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services all access points into Mexico, according to the freight company’s website.

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Temperatures on Sunday afternoon in Laredo were in the low-mid 90s, though it’s unclear whether heat was a factor.

Union Pacific said it was saddened by the incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.

Laredo police said they received a call around 3 p.m. from an employee at the Union Pacific rail yard, KGNS reported. The bodies were discovered during a routine rail car inspection, police said. No survivors were found.

CNN has reached out to Laredo police for more information.

“It’s a very early phase of the investigation. There’s not a lot to reveal right now,” Baeza said, KGNS reported.

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The immigration status and ages of the deceased are not yet known, Espinoza said.

US Customs and Border Protection referred CNN to the Laredo Police Department, saying “The incident remains under investigation by Laredo Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation and Texas Rangers.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Espinoza told CNN. “It was too many lives that were lost.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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