Kamis, 27 Agustus 2026

Meta Settlement, Name a Troll, and Bear Burgles Fire Station

Meta agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety features to Facebook and Instagram to settle claims brought by 47 states, attorneys general announced Wednesday.                
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Top Stories

Article Icon 1Colorado Gets $615M in Meta Settlement

Meta agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety features to Facebook and Instagram to settle claims brought by 47 states, attorneys general announced Wednesday.

Colorado will receive nearly $615 million over nine years, Attorney General Phil Weiser said, plus $11.4 million resolving separate claims over how Meta shared Facebook user data.

The agreement requires a combined two-hour daily limit for teen accounts, mandatory pauses during long sessions, nighttime blocks, age-verification tools, and stronger parental controls.

The deal, which still needs court approval, cut short a federal trial in Oakland, California, before CEO Mark Zuckerberg was scheduled to testify. Colorado sued Meta in 2023.

Article Icon 1Denver to Ban Lawn Watering Early

The Denver Board of Water Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to end the lawn watering season a month early, ordering sprinklers off starting Oct. 1 with no set date to resume.

Trees, shrubs, gardens, and vegetables can still be watered by hand or drip line. Spray irrigation is barred, and no new grass may be planted after Sept. 30.

Denver Water pointed to the driest April-through-July stretch in 110 years of record-keeping, with natural streamflow into its reservoirs measuring just 22% of normal.

Storage sits in the low 70% range against a historic median of 94%, and staff project it could drop to 60% before spring runoff. Violations can bring fines of up to $2,000.

Article Icon 1Parton Legacy Lives on in Colorado

Dolly Parton died Tuesday at 80, and flags across Colorado will fly at half-staff until sunset on Sept. 1 under orders from Gov. Jared Polis and President Trump.

Parton's Imagination Library has mailed 3.5 million free books to Colorado children since the statewide program began in 2021, funded by the state and nonprofits at about $1.6 million a year.

More than 6,600 Aurora kids are enrolled, and local affiliates pay roughly $2.40 per book. Organizers say a quarter of surveyed families own no other books at home.

Two of Parton's stage costumes will appear in DIVA, a Denver Art Museum show opening Oct. 4 and running through January. It's the exhibition's only stop in the United States.

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Around Colorado

Statewide: Secretary of State Jena Griswold says nothing changes for now after the U.S. Supreme Court unblocked President Trump's mail-voting order, and more litigation is expected. (More)

Also Statewide: Most Colorado universities have not decided whether to answer a federal questionnaire on speech, research, and admissions. Colorado Mesa University said it will not respond. (More)

Boulder County: Boulder Valley School District proposed a consolidation plan involving 16 schools and cutting 1,906 seats. The board takes public comment Sept. 8 and votes Sept. 22. (More)

Mesa County: Two men were arrested across the border in Vernal, Utah, in connection to a hit-and-run that killed a 35-year-old man south of Loma. (More)

Denver: City Attorney Miko Brown faces a second ethics complaint in two days, this one alleging she pushed to steer airport legal work to her former firm. Her office denies it. (More)

Florence: George Hall, 55, was found unresponsive at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence on Monday and later died. The FBI was notified, and no staff or other inmates were hurt. (More)


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Colorado Sports

Air Force football unveiled its 2026 Air Power Legacy Series uniform honoring the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. The Falcons will wear the special uniform Oct. 3 against Navy at Falcon Stadium. (More)

Colorado Rockies pitcher Mason Adams struck out five batters in his major league debut Tuesday, beating the Nationals 3-1. Adams came over from the White Sox in the Brenton Doyle trade. (More)

Denver will build a pedestrian bridge connecting the Broadway light rail station to the planned 14,500-seat stadium for its new women's soccer team, Summit FC. The city has set aside up to $25 million for the project. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | U.S. Open | Soccer | Little League World Series

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Colorado Business

Grand Junction broke ground on Liberty Apartments, a 72-unit workforce housing project funded partly by $8 million from Proposition 123. (More)

In Aurora, meanwhile, leaders broke ground on Wagoner on the Creek, a 60-unit development offering on-site behavioral health care and job support for people leaving the justice system. (More)

The Rockies are adding a Buffalo Chicken Donut to the Coors Field menu for their final home games of the season. (More)

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Et Cetera

➤ The name of a metal troll installed underneath Palmer Lake's pedestrian bridge in June will be decided by a public vote open through August. The winning name will be announced Sept. 1. (More)

A near-total lunar eclipse will be visible across much of Colorado tonight into early Friday, with the best viewing around 10 p.m. and almost 100% totality expected in the state's northeast corner. (More)

A black bear was caught on camera strolling into a Colorado Springs fire station and leaving with a bag of firefighting gear. (See Video)

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The Flyover Podcast

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

Is a joint bank account the key to a happy relationship, or a trap? (Hear Debate)

➤ One of Wall Street's best-known investors admits his headline-grabbing op-ed attacking the Treasury secretary was written with AI. (Hear Details)

Hackers tied to China's military allegedly spent years hiding inside some of America's most sensitive government networks. (Listen Now)

  

The Poll

Will you try to watch the lunar eclipse tonight?

  1. Yes
  2. No
 

Yesterday's Results:

What's your favorite Dolly Parton hit song?

  1. I Will Always Love You: 32%
  2. Jolene: 18%
  3. Coat of Many Colors: 13%
  4. 9 to 5: 11%
  5. Islands in the Stream: 11%
  6. Here You Come Again: 9%
  7. Other: 6%
Colorado Trivia

In what year did a total solar eclipse, dubbed the “Great Eclipse,” run down the spine of the Rocky Mountains, drawing several astronomy expeditions to Colorado?

Show me the answer

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Meta to Pay Texas $1B, 3-Year Bachelor's Degrees, and a New Kangaroo

Meta will pay Texas more than $1 billion and cap teen users at two hours a day on Facebook and Instagram under a settlement Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.
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The Roundup

Article Icon 1Meta to Pay Texas $1 Billion

Meta will pay Texas more than $1 billion and cap teen users at two hours a day on Facebook and Instagram under a settlement Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.

The deal requires muting notifications during school hours unless a parent changes the setting, hiding likes and reactions, and restricting nighttime access. Meta also agreed to tighter age checks.

The funds will pay for youth mental health services, digital literacy, after-school programs, and school grants. "This is a historic settlement and a major win for the safety of Texas children," Paxton said. 

The Texas deal is separate from a roughly $18 billion agreement Meta reached the same day with 33 other states over claims its platforms harmed teens. It's Paxton's third settlement above $1 billion with a tech company. He goes to trial against TikTok this fall.

Article Icon 1Ross Fire Knocks Out Power

Hundreds of homes and businesses near Possum Kingdom Lake lost power on Wednesday after the Ross Fire burned 300 power poles in Palo Pinto County.

The fire broke out Monday afternoon about 60 miles west of Fort Worth and has since blackened 80,000 acres with 12% containment as of Wednesday morning. Crews rebuilt lines along Highway 254 overnight, only to watch flames flare back up and take them out again.

About 100 line workers are on the ground, and bulldozers are clearing burned debris to open a path into areas crews still can't safely reach. 

The fire ran toward the town of Bryson in Jack County overnight before crews stopped it outside the town limits. Roughly 350 people were evacuated, and those orders have since been lifted.

Article Icon 1Judge Again Blocks Drag Show Law

A federal judge again struck down Texas' 2023 limits on sexually oriented performances on Tuesday, blocking the state from enforcing them. Senate Bill 12, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, fined businesses up to $10,000 for hosting such shows and made performing in one punishable by a fine.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, first blocked it in 2023. An appeals court revived the law in March and sent the case back to him.

Hittner called the law too vague to tell performers what's off limits, writing that it could reach convention cosplay, swimmers, and Dolly Parton impersonators. Drag performer Brigitte Bandit, a plaintiff, said the state is trying to "censor art."

"Finally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple … just don’t go," the judge wrote.

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Around Texas

Statewide: Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to build a statewide framework for three-year bachelor's degrees, with recommendations due to his office by Dec. 31. He wants the Legislature to write the pathway into law next session. (See Details)

➤ Fort Worth: The city council unanimously approved an $11.25 million settlement with the family of Atatiana Jefferson, shot through her own window by officer Aaron Dean in 2019. Dean was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to more than 11 years. (More)

➤ Harris County: Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth turned down a raise to $305,000 approved by Commissioners Court, saying it came with no new money to fund it and would have to come out of her office's own budget. She made around $180,000 last year. (See Details)

➤ Midland: A tip led U.S. marshals and Midland officers to Ronnie Velarde, 37, a West Texas Tango gang member on the state's 10 Most Wanted list, at a Midland home Aug. 18. The tipster is due up to $5,000. (More)

➤ Statewide: Democrat James Talarico asked a court to unseal depositions involving Senate opponent Ken Paxton from a fraud suit in which Paxton wasn't a defendant. Paxton, who beat Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary, calls the request politically motivated. (More)

➤ Laredo: A driver scooped a 2-year-old boy out of an intersection Tuesday afternoon after he wandered out of his daycare. Police charged the 41-year-old sitter, Norma Martinez, with endangering a child, saying the front door hadn't been properly secured. (See Details)

➤ Harris County: Gov. Abbott appointed former state Rep. Shawn Thierry to the new 515th District Court. Thierry, a four-term Democrat, lost her 2024 primary after backing bills barring sex-change procedures for minors, then switched to the Republican Party. (More)


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Texas Sports

H-E-B became the Dallas Cowboys' exclusive grocery partner in a multiyear deal that includes game-day tailgate sponsorships, player commercials, and $500,000 in donations to Dallas-Fort Worth nonprofits. (More)

➤ Texas Tech football landed four-star offensive tackle Austin Attalah, a 6-foot-7, 270-pound junior who chose the Red Raiders over the Longhorns and USC. He is Tech's first commitment in the 2028 class. (More)

➤ The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders paid tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80. Parton famously dressed as a Cowboys cheerleader during the 2023 Thanksgiving halftime show at AT&T Stadium. (More)

➤ The Dallas Wings clinched the final WNBA playoff spot Tuesday night with a 96-78 win over Portland. A year after going 10-34, the league's worst record, Dallas has already set a franchise record with 23 wins. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | U.S. Open | Soccer | Little League World Series

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The Business Of Texas

SpaceX's next Starbase will rise in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, a $100 billion site that will become the main launch pad for SpaceX Starship. The rocket now flies from Boca Chica. Elon Musk says the project will bring about 10,000 jobs. (See Details)

➤ Corpus Christi is spending $35 million on parks. The $30 million for four parks and a six-lane pool in Hillcrest and Washington-Coles is the city's largest single investment in parks. (More)

➤ An industrial gas plant will open in Bryan in late 2027, where Messer will separate air into gases from carbon dioxide to xenon for food, health care, and manufacturing customers. (See Details)

➤ A free alert system from the Harris County Clerk's office will notify property owners whenever a document is recorded under their name, a check against deed fraud. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ The IRS loves when you pass down cash to your kids or grandkids. Bank accounts and brokerage statements are easy to track and tax. But certain gold coins are classified as non-reportable under IRS rules. You can even buy them using your retirement account, tax-deferred and penalty-free. The Quiet Wealth Playbook reveals which coins qualify and how to get started.

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Et Cetera

A tree kangaroo joey has started poking its head out of mom's pouch at the San Antonio Zoo. Fewer than 2,500 Matschie's tree kangaroos remain in the wild, all on Papua New Guinea's Huon Peninsula. (See Photos)

➤ The Baylor Line won best walk-out tradition in college football in USA Today Sports' fan-voted 2026 awards, finishing ahead of Auburn's Tiger Walk. First-year students rush McLane Stadium's field to form a human tunnel for the team. (See List)

➤ Ector County's library landed a $1 million gift from the Permian Basin Area Foundation toward a bigger building in Odessa. The library opened in 1938 and holds about 200,000 printed books. (More)

➤ A bomb-sniffing dog at DFW won TSA's 2026 Cutest Canine Contest, beating out 84 other dogs nationwide. Bolt, a 3-year-old German shorthaired pointer, is "always 1,000% excited to go to work," handler Daphne Wang said. (See Photos)

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The Flyover Podcast

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

Is a joint bank account the key to a happy relationship, or a trap? (Hear Debate)

One of Wall Street's best-known investors admits his headline-grabbing op-ed attacking the Treasury secretary was written with AI. (Hear Details)

Hackers tied to China's military allegedly spent years hiding inside some of America's most sensitive government networks. (Listen Now)

The Polling Station

What's the best number of people to go out to eat with for a nice meal?

  1. One
  2. Two
  3. Three or Four
  4. Five to Eight
  5. More than that
  6. None
 

Yesterday's Results:

What's your favorite Dolly Parton song?

  1. I Will Always Love You: 40%
  2. Coat of Many Colors: 13% 
  3. Islands in the Stream: 13%
  4. Jolene: 12%
  5. Here You Come Again: 10%
  6. 9 to 5: 9%
  7. Other: 3%
Texas Trivia

What popular governor did LBJ defeat in the 1948 primary for the U.S. Senate?

Show me the answer

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