Five stories that have North Texas talking: Today is Sept. 11, a lawsuit has been filed by the family of the woman killed at Six Flags Over Texas, swearing on cable TV, and more.
Across the country, Americans are remembering the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This year, school districts across Texas are required to observe a moment of silence on 9/11. In Dallas, the George W. Bush Presidential Library is hosting several events. Follow @gwblibrary on Twitter today and read real-time tweets about what happened on 9/11 as it happened. Videos and documentaries will be shown throughout the day at the library, located on the Southern Methodist University campus. Several artifacts are on display, including a block of granite from the World Trade Center, a book of condolences from around the world, and an American flag that flew over the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on 9/11.
- Lawsuit Filed In Six Flags Ride Death: The family of the woman killed after falling from the Texas Giant roller coaster sued Six Flags Over Texas on Tuesday. The suit says that Rosa Esparza of Dallas was upside down in her seat and holding on for “dear life” before she was thrown to her death in July, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The ride was quickly closed. On Tuesday, Six Flags announced the ride would reopen this weekend. The Texas Giant will come with new seat belts, as well as sample seats at the ride’s entrance so that customers can see if they will fit.
- Grandparents Killed In LBJ Freeway Accident: A dump truck jumped over a median on LBJ Freeway on Tuesday, killing a Trophy Club husband and wife, both of whom were in their 80s. The accident near Marsh Lane in northwest Dallas tied up traffic for hours. A Garland man was trapped in a Toyota Camry, but escaped serious injury. He went home to his eight children with just bumps and bruises, KDFW-TV reports. It’s not clear yet how the accident happened, but the dump truck is connected to a trucking company that’s a subcontractor on the LBJ reconstruction project.
- Fair Park Serial Rapist Suspect Arrested In Louisiana: Van Dralan Dixson, a neighborhood crime watch volunteer, was found in a motel in Baton Rouge. After the arrest, Dallas police are dealing with the aftermath, including why they waited so long to release details about the series of rapes, as well as why another man was named a “person of interest” in the matter. Dallas police plan to discuss the chronology of the case during a press conference this morning. Police believe one attacker sexually assaulted nine women in southern Dallas since June. [KERA and The Dallas Morning News]
- What The Bleep Are You Talking About?: NPR aired a fun story yesterday about the types of swear words that are – and aren’t – used on cable. “They want to be able to say 'bull- - - -,' which is a really hard word to substitute for,” said Linda Holmes, NPR’s pop-culture blogger. “It's hard to find anything else that feels as good.” But certain naughty words that wouldn’t have been on broadcast TV a decade ago are now finding their way on ABC, CBS and the other networks. But don’t just read this story – listen to it. NPR found a creative way to get the point across without using the swear words – it aired two different bleeping tones.
