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Fort Worth Doctor Working In Africa Tests Positive For Ebola Virus

Samaritan's Purse
Earlier this year, Dr. Kent Brantly, left, treated a patient with the Ebola virus at the agency's Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Liberia.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Fort Worth prays for Kent Brantly, who has Ebola; immigrant children won’t arrive in Dallas County by the end of July; Eric Nadel is honored for his Texas Rangers announcing; and more:

A Fort Worth doctor working in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus. Dr. Kent Brantly has been working with Ebola patients with Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center. The relief agency says he’s undergoing treatment at an isolation center. On Sunday, he was stable and in very serious condition, The Associated Press reported. Brantly “quickly recognized the symptoms and sought speedy treatment,” the AP said. Brantly is married with two kids. “The deadly virus kills up to 90 percent of those infected and is considered the most contagious virus in the world,” The Dallas Morning News reports. WFAA-TV reports that Brantly and his family moved to Liberia last fall for missionary work and a two-year fellowship with Samaritan's Purse. A sign outside Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, where he and his family have attended, said: “Pray for Kent.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has more. Learn more about the Ebola virus from the World Health Organization

  • Immigrant children won’t be arriving in Dallas County by the end of July. Federal site assessment teams sent a report to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., for review, The Dallas Morning News reports. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says he’s confident everything will work out. Earlier this month, he announced that the county would welcome 2,000 immigrant children from Central America who have been held in facilities in McAllen. Three sites in the county have been identified to shelter the immigrants, but the Grand Prairie mayor told The News he was concerned about the condition of Lamar Alternative Education Center, which is empty.

  • Eric Nadel, the longtime Texas Rangers announcer, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Friday. Nadel was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to broadcasting. Nadel has been the Rangers’ announcer for 35 years. He told ESPN: “Going into the Hall of Fame and seeing my picture up there next to all of the guys who I idolized, it's mind-blowing. I'm on cloud nine. That's the best way to put it." Nadel spoke with KERA back in February about the power of radio and the musician he’d most like to meet.

  • The Lifetime Network has canceled a reality TV show that was to feature a Fort Worth funeral home. The show, titled Good Grief, was to focus on the Johnson Family Mortuary. But then came news this month that “eight bodies – seven of them decomposing – had been found inside the mortuary, which was followed by a flurry of accusations, denials and arrests,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. “On July 15, Fort Worth police were called to the mortuary after the building’s owner showed up to evict the tenants, but instead found the rotting bodies.” Lifetime said in a statement that the allegations are “deeply troubling.”

  • Alumni are donating nearly $1 million to build a bar at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Tom and Leti Contreras met at St. Mary’s University in the 1980s at The Pub. It closed soon after. Tom Contreras told the San Antonio Express-News that he wants St. Mary's to "go another level" and attract quality students. He says the college needs to bring back a community atmosphere. Construction is set to begin this fall. The bar is scheduled to open next year. [The Associated Press/San Antonio Express-News]
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.