FAA approves drone change for D-FW; Meta met a match to tune of $1.4B; Kroger promo a gas.

Deadpool and Wolverine earned $205 million at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, marking the highest debut of 2024 and the best ever opening by an R-rated movie. The Disney comic book film now boasts the sixth-highest opening weekend of all time.

Texas has secured a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta to stop the company’s practice of capturing and using the personal biometric data of millions of Texans without the authorization required by law. The settlement is the largest ever obtained from an action brought by a single state, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, and the largest privacy settlement, dwarfing the $390 million a group of 40 states obtained from Google in 2022.

The FAA has authorized commercial drone flights without visual observers in the D-FW air space. Typically, when operating drones, the drone pilot must be able to see the aircraft at all times. The authorizations for Zipline International and Wing Aviation allow them to deliver packages while keeping their drones safely separated using UAS traffic management technology, which includes FAA oversight.

American Airlines continues its cutback on flights in Austin, joining other airlines. What is going on?

Southlake-based RobotLAB begins expansion plan with entry into Houston. Dallas Innovates has the details. 

Kroger is giving away free gas (up to 20 gallons) to the first 100 customers Friday at its new fuel center at 2061 Rufe Snow Dr. in Keller. The giveaway starts at 8 a.m. and cars (or motorcycles) can begin lining up at 7 a.m. All customers will get 20 cents off per gallon Friday through Sunday.

Fort Worth-born Leon Bridges is teasing a new album and Fort Worth is on his mind. WFAA scoped out his social media posts.

Imagine this 20 years ago? The Iraqi Army Aviation Command announced it has received seven Bell 505 helicopters from the United States.

FDA approves blood test for colon cancer, but it's not as effective as a colonoscopy. 

The U.S. national debt broke $35 trillion for the first time Monday, and spending projections show the debt totaling $56 trillion by 2034.

The Paris Olympics opening ceremony was watched by 29 million people. For NBC, it was the most-watched start to the Summer Games since London in 2012.

New data from the Department of Education from Q2 2024 revealed that 2.4 million borrowers have a federal student loan balance between $100-200k. Another 1 million people have a balance of more than $200,000. Time to cut back on the caramel macchiatos.  

Well, duh! Congress passed a proposal requiring all federally purchased American flags be 100% made in the U.S.; current law only requires half a flag's materials be domestically produced. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation.

Significant stat: The podcast industry in the U.S. has nearly 450,000 active shows with recent episodes. But the industry is dominated by the top 25 podcasts - who make all the money, and reach nearly half of all weekly listeners, according to Edison Research. (WSJ)

Daily digit: $762,090 - Annual income needed in Texas in 2024 to be considered part of the top one percent, according to a SmartAsset study.  

Announcements: 

• Tarleton State University: Names Keldon Bauer Interim Dean of Dr. Sam Pack College of Business. 

• Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge: Hires Chris Smith as Executive Director.

• Cushman & Wakefield: Hires Hayden Littlefield as Executive Director for Valuation and Advisory-Southwest. 

• Cooksey: Hires Regan Welch as account executive.

• Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones LLP: Hires Tiffany Self as Of Counsel and Cash Barker as associate attorney.

• Bank of Texas: Hires Greg Irwin as SVP-Senior Private Wealth Banker