The Short List: Texas flooding; a cable deal; more fast-food places ditching fake ingredients
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Images of Houston flooding are hard to believe
The nation’s fourth-largest city is barely recognizable. Severe storms moved through Texas over the last few days bringing some of the worst flooding in years to Houston. Homes were crushed and families were swept away. The floodwaters kept rising today across much of Texas. At least three people have died in Houston and another died in Central Texas. Meanwhile, rescue crews are searching for at least 13 people, including a group that disappeared after a vacation home in Wimberley, between Austin and San Antonio, was swept down a river and slammed into a bridge. Aerial views of the incredible flooding show Houston and its freeways under water — a traffic nightmare with miles of stuck cars. Houston Mayor Annise Parker says there may be as many as 4,000 properties with “significant damage.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared disasters in 37 counties.
New deal could create another giant cable company
We keep hearing about cable companies trying to shake things up as more and more consumers ditch paid-TV for streaming services such as Netflix. The latest two companies to dance are Charter and Time Warner Cable. Charter Communications said today it’s buying Time Warner Cable for $ 55.3 billion The move comes after Comcast and Time Warner Cable’s planned marriage fell through last month. What this means for the industry: Charter is also buying Bright House Networks, a smaller cable company, and with the three companies integrated, Charter would become the second-largest TV-and-Internet provider in the U.S., trailing only Comcast. Why Charter and Time Warner Cable are merging: A bigger company would theoretically be in a stronger position to negotiate for better pricing from content providers and have a customer base large enough to offer streaming services and other tech. What it means for you: It’s not known if any potential “better pricing” would be passed along as cost-savings for subscribers. The combined company probably wouldn’t have any immediate effect on the way you watch TV. But it will have a lot more resources to innovate and push the boundaries of new products and services that could spread in the industry. Cutting the cord: If you’re tired of waiting for pay-TV to figure its industry out, here are five alternatives to cable that might be right for you.
USA TODAYS Roger Yu talks about Charter Communications deal to purchase Time Warner Cable. USA TODAY
Supreme Court agrees to hear important case on how we vote
This one is a little complicated, but it’s a big deal. The Supreme Court said today that it will hear a case about whether state legislative districts must have an equal number of people or an equal number of voters. What that means: Voting districts have to be the same size, but it hasn’t been clear if that means all the residents in a district or just the eligible voters. Why this matters: In states that have a large number of illegal immigrants, such as Texas, Arizona and California, drawing districts based on total population means voters in one district could have less clout than those in the next district that has few illegal immigrants. One more time: Say there is a rural, white district with no Hispanics and an urban district with 50% Hispanics, including 25% who can’t vote (non-citizens). They each have 500,000 residents. In the latter district, fewer voters are choosing their elected officials, and each of those votes carries more weight than in the first district. Who filed the case: The case originated in Texas. The Project on Fair Representation, which is funding the lawsuit, opposes racial and ethnic classifications and has been behind Supreme Court challenges to affirmative action and the federal Voting Rights Act. What a ruling for the challengers would mean: Allowing districts based on the number of legal voters could shift power away from urban districts to more rural areas. “And because urban areas are more Democratic, the ruling could help Republicans,” said Richard Hasen, an expert on election law at the University of California-Irvine law school.
Voters in Texas wait in line to cast their ballots in November 2014. (Photo: Tamir Kalifa, AP)
Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are ditching fake ingredients
More and more people care about what they eat. They care about how their food is made and where it comes from. Fast-food chains are getting that. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are the latest brands to commit to a menu redo as they phase out artificial ingredients this year. Example: Instead of “black pepper flavor,” Taco Bell will start using actual black pepper (yea, we didn’t know that was happening either). Fast-food and fast-casual chains have been moving away from artificial ingredients. They want to attract consumers who want to eat natural, and they don’t want to lose business to smaller rivals with more wholesome alternatives. More food companies are likely to follow, says Michelle Greenwald, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School. “These other places don’t want to be losing out to the Paneras and the Chipotles,” she says. Mmmm. Chipotle.
Taco Bell has committed to removing artificial colors and flavors from its food by the end of 2015. (Photo: Gene J. Puskar, AP)
Small conference schools face huge money pressure
The rich are different from you and me, F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed, to which Ernest Hemingway famously added: Yes, they have more money. The so-called Power Five conferences are different from the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences. They have lots more money. The annual USA TODAY Sports series on athletics department finances for Division I public schools illustrates the growing gap between major conferences and smaller conferences. Schools not considered part of the Power Five leagues are facing increased pressure to compete with those that spend more, while also facing a limit on subsides they receive from university sources. In addition, new NCAA legislation will allow schools to pay the full cost of attendance for scholarship athletes which creates another burden for the have-nots. How big was the gap during the 2013-14 school year? Oregon was No. 1 in generating more than $ 196 million in revenue, while Coppin State was last with just more than $ 3 million. You can review financial data for all the public schools in our interactive database.
An overall view of the Constant Convocation Center before the game between the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Virginia Commonwealth Rams. (Photo: Peter Casey, USA TODAY Sports)
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We’re not sure whether this pic of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hilarious or horrible. Probably both. Swipe through more great shots from the Day in Pictures.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel eats a salted herring during the christening ceremony of ROS 777 fishing trawler Mark in Sassnitz, Germany, on May 26, 2015. The trawler is the first newly built ship of the deep-sea fishery based in Warnemuende since 1996. (Photo: Jens Buettner, dpa, European Pressphoto Agency)
This elephant just took the world’s first “elphie.”
Christian LeBlanc got the selfie of a lifetime when an elephant grabbed his GoPro and snapped a pic of the two of them together. Mara Montalbano (@maramontalbano) shows us the world’s first ‘elfie’. Buzz60
Check out Rumer Willis and mom Demi Moore seriously #twinning.
This senior prank cost 72,000 adorable ladybug lives. It also landed some Maryland students in some serious legal trouble.
Don’t have home insurance? You may want to read this.
What else is on our reading list:
Federal court blocks Obama’s immigration plan
Justice and Cleveland reach deal to monitor police
Amtrak to monitor train operators with video cameras
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: Richard Wolf, Roger Yu, Hadley Malcolm, USA TODAY; Erik Brady, Steve Berkowitz and Christopher Schnaars, USA TODAY Sports; USA TODAY Network; KHOU-TV, Houston; Associated Press
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