Five stories that have North Texas talking: an alligator is pulled out of the Trinity River; Presidents Bush and Clinton talk in Dallas; Mavericks fans aren’t happy with DeAndre Jordan; and more.
It was quite a scene along the Trinity River near downtown Fort Worth Thursday night: Game wardens with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were among the folks who pulled a 10-foot alligator out of the water. The alligator isn’t necessarily a problem – it’s the people, Chris Stevens, a licensed nuisance alligator hunter, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Being in that high profile of a location, people are going to start feeding it, and anytime you have an alligator like this, it’s just a matter of time before people poke it,” he told the newspaper. The alligator was blind and tired and sent to a nature preserve. KXAS (NBC 5) reports: “Game wardens have had an eye on him for several months after reported sightings, and they said while the gator never caused any problems they wanted to remove him from the heavily populated area.” (You might recall the man recently killed by another alligator in southeast Texas.)
Watch alligator reports from KXAS (NBC 5) and KTVT (CBS 11):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGKOgtuRbw
- Bill Clinton and George W. Bush talked about leadership Thursday. They were together at the George W. Bush Presidential Center for the graduation of the inaugural class of Presidential Leadership Scholars. Bush and Clinton spoke with USA Today: “[They] agree on this: Learning leadership skills is crucial in just about every worthwhile endeavor in American life, political and otherwise. That said, they couldn't disagree more on who, exactly, would have the right leadership skills in 2016 to warrant winning the White House job they both have held.” Bush and Clinton also talked about the other Bush and Clinton running for president in 2016. KERA’s Bill Zeeble was at Thursday’s joint appearance and has this report. [USA Today]
- Basketball fans are up in arms. Free agent DeAndre Jordan backed out on his verbal agreement to join the Dallas Mavericks, and instead, will rejoin the Los Angeles Clippers. The decision comes despite Jordan agreeing to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Mavericks last week. Jordan would have become the biggest free-agent acquisition in franchise history. Some Mavs fans near the American Airlines Arena shared their thoughts with KERA on the topic – listen to them sound off here.
- There’s some big news coming out today from UT-Southwestern Medical Center: It’s been named a comprehensive cancer center. The designation comes from the federal government’s main agency for cancer research – it’s the gold standard for places that treat cancer patients. Some might consider this the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for cancer centers. But it’s more than that – for both the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and for patients. The designation means attracting more scientists to North Texas who will study cancer – and they’ll get more funding for their research, says Dr. Daniel Podolsky, UT-Southwestern president. Read more here from KERA News.
- Who is the richest person in Texas? Alice Walton, part of the Wal-Mart empire. She’s worth $36.4 billion. That’s according to Forbes, which is out with a list of the richest person in each state. “It’s a question we were asked often enough that it deserved an answer,” the magazine says. “So for the first time ever, Forbes offers a unique road map to wealth in America with a list of the richest person in each state.” Forbes says about Walton: “With her billions, she has long focused on curating art, culminating in the opening of the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in her hometown of Bentonville, Ark., in 2011. In 2014, she reportedly agreed to purchase a New Jersey home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and have it moved down to the museum’s campus. Other staples of the collection include works from the likes of Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Georgia O’Keeffe.” Bill Gates is No. 1 ($78.8 billion); Warren Buffett is No. 2 ($70.2 billion).
