News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

U.S. Government Approves Dallas Club's Black Rhino Import Permit

Lawrence OP
/
Flickr
A black rhino.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: a black rhino carcass could be headed to the U.S.; an accident on Interstate 35 kills a driver and snarls traffic; Amazon offers one-hour deliveries; and more.

There’s a big development in the controversial black rhino story. The U.S. government will allow a Texas man to import the carcass of an endangered black rhinoceros he hopes to kill in Africa as part of a conservation fundraiser. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday that importing the carcass from Namibia meets criteria of benefiting the conservation of the species. The hunter, Corey Knowlton, bid $350,000 at an auction last year that the Dallas Safari Club billed as a fundraising effort to save the black rhino. But the agency also is allowing Michael Luzich, a Las Vegas investment manager, to import his sport-hunted black rhino trophy to the U.S. Namibia directly sold him a hunting permit. Human Society chief executive Wayne Pacelle says the federal agency is sending a "mixed message," noting rhino poaching is on the rise. [Associated Press]

  • Investigators say the driver of a pickup truck was killed in an accident involving a tractor-trailer that slammed into construction beams along Interstate 35 in Central Texas. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the 32-year-old Arlington man died when a beam fell onto his truck during the Thursday accident.Investigators say the oversized 18-wheeler hit beams being used to build an overpass along Interstate 35 in Salado, about 40 miles north of Austin. DPS Trooper D.L. Wilson says three other people were injured. A crane was brought in to help clear the wreckage. Early Friday, all lanes on I-35 reopened. [Associated Press]

  • A potential presidential contender is heading to Texas today. The Texas Tribune reports: “Likely 2016 presidential candidate Scott Walker is headed to the Texas-Mexico border on Friday, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will be there to show him the ropes. Walker's trip is part of a swing through Texas that will take the Wisconsin governor to Houston on Saturday. He is the keynote speaker at the Harris County GOP's Lincoln-Reagan Dinner, which Abbott is also slated to attend. ‘Gov. Walker looks forward to taking a close look at U.S. border security with Gov. Abbott,’ AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Walker's Our American Revival PAC, said in a statement.” [Texas Tribune]

  • For online shoppers who can’t wait even a few days for their purchase – now comes this: A delivery to your doorstep in one hour or less. That’s what Amazon is promising -- at least for some zip codes in North Texas. The e-commerce giant is offering the one-hour deliveries of all sorts of items to 24 zip codes in or near Dallas. But it’s only available to Amazon Prime members who pay an annual fee of $99. If you want the one-hour service, there’s a $7.95 shipping fee. Here’s more from The Dallas Morning News. KERA's Doualy Xaykaothao has more details.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.