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Crunching the numbers
- According to the most recent figures, more than 100 Texans died during February’s brutal winter storm. An investigation from The Texas Tribune and ProPublica found that during widespread power outages, members of the Texas Railroad Commission fought to preserve the image of the oil and gas industry, which the commission regulates.
- By the way: The Texas Railroad Commission doesn’t actually deal with trains, and over the years, there have been some efforts to change the name of the regulatory agency to something that, you know, makes sense. Back in 2018, Texas Standard reported that most Texans support changing the commission’s name, but that prospect hasn’t been an easy sell in the state legislature.
- For 2020, about 60 corporations in the S&P or Fortune 500 paid no federal income taxes and received $3.5 billion in tax rebates, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Thirteen of the companies are in the oil, gas and electric utility industries.
In local news
- From Oklahoma City Free Press: According to a lawsuit filed against Oklahoma City, a Black Lives Matter protester lost full use of her right arm after police shot her with a rubber bullet last year. In response to injuries activists received during 2020’s racial justice protests, some cities and states proposed restricting police use of rubber bullets and other “less lethal” weapons officers use to control crowds.
- Dominion Voting Systems has filed defamation lawsuits against Fox News, Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell – each over false claims made about election fraud during the 2020 election. Last week, the company sent a letter threatening legal action to former Michigan state Sen. Patrick Colbeck, who appeared in Lindell’s propaganda film that pushed the election fraud conspiracy theory.
New from Big If True
- On this week’s episode of our podcast, Hard Reset, we spoke with Will Bedwell, housing attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice, about what to do if you get an eviction notice.
- Something cool, Paypal stopped charging us processing fees, so we get every penny of donations made through the platform. If you support Big If True today or are already a monthly donor, your gift will stretch a little further. You can make a one-time gift or become a monthly donor here.
Thank you for reading Hard Reset. Send feedback and all the tacos you have: bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, Big If True