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.
- A Dallas boy got a birthday bike thanks to KERA listeners. Courtney Collins reports: “KERA’s series One Crisis Away, Inside a Neighborhood, wrapped up with the story of Tricia Oliver, a hard-working single mom who couldn’t afford to buy a birthday bike for her 5-year-old, Jayden. KERA’s listeners weren’t OK with that. More than a dozen called or wrote in, offering to buy Jayden that bike.” He got the bike on Wednesday. Read all about it right here.
