Five stories that have North Texas talking: A 1992 law mandated all information related to JFK’s death be released by Thursday; Trump Jr.’s speaking in Arlington; all about Texas music; and more.
Thousands of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are scheduled to be released this week.
The National Archives has until Thursday to disclose the remaining files from the fateful day in November 1963, The Associated Press reports. The collection is expected to include more than 3,000 documents that have never been seen by the public and more than 30,000 that have been previously released but with redactions.
Congress mandated in 1992 that all assassination documents be released within 25 years. President Trump has the power to block the release on the grounds that their publication would harm intelligence or military operations, law enforcement or foreign relations.
But in a Saturday morning tweet, he said he would not.
Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2017
It’s unlikely that any big revelations will come out of the release, but scholars and others are still excited, The Associated Press reports. Some believe the trove of files may provide insight into Lee Harvey Oswald’s trip to Mexico City before the assassination, during which he visited the Soviet and Cuban embassies.
The National Archives in July published online more than 440 never-before-seen assassination documents and thousands of others that had been released previously with redactions. [The Associated Press]
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- Trump in town: Donald Trump Jr.’s speaking at the AT&T Stadium today as part of the University of North Texas’ Kuehne Speaker Series. He’s getting paid $100,000 for the appearance. Dozens of UNT faculty members aren’t happy. [Denton Record-Chronicle]
- ‘Faith. Family. Football.’ It’s been just almost six months since Jordan Edwards was killed. The 15-year-old was leaving a party in a car with his friends and brothers when Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver fatally shot him. [Los Angeles Times]
- Not a ghost story: A part of Dallas can be considered a ghost town, a shadow of a failed dream rather. Back in the mid-1800s, French socialists set out to create a utopian colony just across the Trinity River called La Réunion. It failed miserably. [KERA News]
- Do you know Texas music? Probably not to this extent. [Texas Monthly]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.