Five stories that have North Texas talking: a police officer saves a boy at the State Fair; Ahmed Mohamed heads to Qatar; presidential candidates are heading to a North Texas megachurch; and more.
Dallas police say a veteran officer has saved a 2-year-old boy who stopped breathing as his family arrived at the State Fair of Texas. Police say Senior Cpl. Matt Gnagi visited the boy Monday at a hospital. A police statement says a woman and her three children were parking Sunday at the fairgrounds and were near a gate when the toddler stopped breathing. The mother started screaming for help. Gnagi, who was stationed near the gate, did CPR on the boy until the child could breathe on his own. Emergency personnel transported the boy to a hospital. Gnagi has been a Dallas police officer for 33 years. The toddler's name and further details on his medical condition weren't immediately released. [Associated Press]
- Ahmed Mohamed, the Irving teen who earned international attention after being arrested for making a clock mistaken for a bomb, is visiting Qatar. The Dallas Morning News reports: “'The last few weeks have been truly life-changing for my son Ahmed and for our family,' Mohamed Elhassan Mohamad said in a prepared statement announcing the trip. After Ahmed met the prime minister of Turkey at the United Nations last week, a foundation offered the boy a tour of 'Education City'—a 5-square-mile cluster of universities and think tanks in the Qatari capital, Doha. The family say they were invited by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, which was founded by a former ruler of the country. It’s not clear exactly how long Ahmed will stay abroad.” [The Dallas Morning News]
- Prestonwood Baptist Church is holding a forum for presidential candidates. The Texas Tribune reports: “At least four presidential candidates are coming to Texas next month to participate in a forum at one of the state's largest megachurches. The North Texas Presidential Forum is scheduled for Oct. 18 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. The event is being hosted by the nearly 40,000-member church and the Faith & Freedom Coalition, an influential group representing religious conservatives across the country. All of the major Democratic and Republican candidates have been invited to address the forum. On Monday, confirmed speakers included four GOP candidates: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.” [Texas Tribune]
- Maxwell Anderson, who’s been director of the Dallas Museum of Art since 2012, is leaving to join the New Cities Foundation. The Dallas Museum of Art announced the news in a press release late Monday morning. Anderson will become the director of grant programs at the New Cities Foundation in New York City. The museum says Anderson will act as a consultant to the DMA during the transition. “I have decided to accept a compelling new opportunity at the New Cities Foundation, among the most innovative urban-focused enterprises in the world,” Anderson said in a statement. “It has been a great privilege to work alongside the Board and staff of the DMA, and to play a role in helping shape the Dallas Arts District Foundation as its chairman since 2013.” Learn more here.
- A rapper showed up for school in Dallas Monday. WFAA-TV reports: “Hip hop recording artist and actor Clifford Harris, Jr., better known as T.I.P. and formerly as T.I., made a surprise appearance at a local school Monday during a visit to Dallas. The 35-year-old Grammy Award winner asked to go directly to the community that reflects his roots, preferably a school where the students face challenges that are all too familiar to Harris. DISD directed him to James Madison High School in Southeast Dallas. With a little more than 450 students enrolled, Madison is the smallest high school in the district. While talking with students, TIP didn't shy away from his mistakes. He's served two times in county jail for violating parole. In 2009, he was sentenced to one year in a federal prison on weapons charges.” [WFAA-TV]
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
