🏷️FTC 'Primes' Amazon's pump for $2.5B; Will Schwab sell stakes in private companies? 'Mahomes' looks good as a Southlake Dragon.

Six Flags revealed details of Tormenta, the world’s fastest and tallest dive rollercoaster that is coming to Arlington in 2026. The ride is themed after Spain's Running of the Bulls Festival, with Tormenta meant to represent the most dangerous bull.

Mirion, based in Atlanta and a provider of radiation detection, measurement, analysis, and monitoring solutions to the nuclear, medical, defense, and research end markets, has an agreement to acquire Fort Worth-based Paragon Energy Solutions from Windjammer Capital Investors for approximately $585 million in cash. Paragon, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Doug VanTassell, offers a portfolio of application-specific critical nuclear systems that support the operating nuclear fleet and the next generation of SMR projects. 

J. Ping Liu, University of Texas at Arlington professor of physics, explains the impact to north Texas of Apple's $500-million spend with Fort Worth's MP Materials for its rare earth magnet manufacturing. 

Westlake-based Charles Schwab Corp. would like to give retail investors more opportunities to take stakes in private companies as a growing number of firms become industry giants before going public, Chief Executive Officer Rick Wurster said.

Fort Worth-based Element3 closed its Series A funding round led by TO VC, with a co-lead syndicate including EIC Rose Rock and Cubit Capital. Element3, pioneering lithium recovery from oil and gas wastewater, said it would deploy its first extraction plants by the end of this year, positioning it as “the first new lithium extraction player to reach commercialization in the United States.” The founder and CEO is Hood Whitson.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $610 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive. The upgrade is for procuring materials, parts and components in support of F-35 production for program partners. Fifty-nine percent of the work will be performed in Fort Worth. 

Amazon will pay $1 billion in civil penalties and will refund $1.5 billion to customers to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled millions into signing up for Prime and then made it intentionally difficult to cancel.

Fort Worth-based PoobahAI, the AI-powered, no-code platform for Web3 development, said it surpassed 4,000 developers and creators on its waitlist. Using drag-and-drop components, users can assemble complete decentralized apps and deploy them across multiple blockchains in weeks. The company says it reduces development costs by up to 90%. Dana Love is President and Chairman of PoobahAI.

D-FW International Airport is looking for artists or artists teams to create commissioned immersive digital video experiences for two corridors within the forthcoming new Terminal F. 

The University of Texas at Arlington is launching a grant-funded initiative to guide students into aerospace careers. Shiyao Lin, an assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, was awarded an ExLent grant from the National Science Foundation to create cohorts of students, veterans, researchers and industry engineers aimed at strengthening the aerospace engineering community.

The 175-room Elmore Hotel, Southlake’s first boutique property, has been opened by Coury Hospitality as part of Marriott Bonvoy’s Tribute Portfolio.

Carroll ISD approved a $2,000 stipend for full-time employees if the district’s voter-approval tax rate election in November passes. If so, officials project a $3.8 million addition for operations.

Ascend Staffing acquired four Darby Day Staffing locations, including one at 2516 NE 28th Street. Darby Day specializes in light industrial.

Southlake Carroll is one of 15 high schools nationwide chosen to partner with Adidas and its Patrick Mahomes Gladiator brand. 

The family of one of the 67 people who were killed in January when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., is suing the Federal Aviation Administration, Army and American Airlines. It is the first lawsuit related to the incident. 

For those of you watching the 2025 Ryder Cup this weekend, be on the lookout for the record-setting display of LED video boards provided by Argyle-based GoVision. The company will feature nearly 25,000 square feet of video power, with almost 153 million pixels — more than all the video boards in Times Square.

UNT Health Fort Worth will usher in its Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition program with an event featuring Fort Worth City Councilwoman Macy Hill as the guest speaker, a panel discussion, refreshments and a tour of the university’s Regional Simulation Center. The public celebration will begin at 3 p.m. next Thursday.

Jim Davis, Fort Worth Fire Chief since October 2018, is on paid administrative leave. It is a "personal matter" and city officials said they could not share details. Assistant Chief Raymond Hill, a 31-year veteran at the Fort Worth Fire Department, is serving as interim chief. 

Snippets:

• Alleviate loneliness: 99% of workers would welcome an AI 'friend' at work, KPMG finds.

• Good oral hygiene could help prevent pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer, per new research; the disease was linked to specific combinations of microbes living in the mouth.

• Michelob Ultra is America's top beer brand, overtaking Bud Light and Modelo Especial in U.S. retail sales by volume this year.

Significant stat: Meta's popular photo-sharing app Instagram has hit a milestone of three billion monthly active users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. It joins the ranks of the Facebook and WhatsApp platforms, both of which crossed the three billion user mark earlier this year.

Daily digit: Texas added more jobs than any state the past year, gaining 195,600 positions and setting new employment records. The state also led the nation in August job creation with 17,600 positions, pushing total non-farm employment to a record 14,347,700.

Announcements: 

• Worth Commercial Real Estate: Promotes Slater Howe to Senior Brokerage Advisor.

• Lone Star Film Festival: Selects Western icon Sam Elliott for the Bill Paxton Achievement in Film Award. He will be honored Nov. 7 during an event at Bowie House. 

• Great Plains Bank: Appoints Sean Shope, Texas Regional President; Ryan Wall, Texas Division President for Fort Worth, Southlake and Irving; Travis Parker, Fort Worth Market President; and Doug Heck, Southlake Market President.

• TCU: Adds alumnus and former NFL player Marshall Newhouse to its football broadcast booth with Brian Estridge. He replaces Justin Fuente, who joined the College Football Playoff team.

• Walter Camp Football Foundation: Names TCU wide receiver Eric McAlister its National Offensive Player of the Week after his 254-yard, three-touchdown performance.

• Conner Industries: Names Kevin Kenjarski Chief Revenue Officer - Industrial Packaging Growth.

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