Five stories that have North Texas talking: The first of more than 150 bikers involved in the Waco shootout receives a trial date; Mark Cuban banned ESPN journalists from covering the Mavericks; It’s Election Day; and more.
A woman named Carol Campbell found a previously unidentified image of her “great-great-grandmother’s grandfather” — widely known as defender of the Alamo, Davy Crockett — while searching online last month, Texas Monthly reports. The portrait was simply labeled as “Face of a man” in the University of North Texas’ Portal to Texas History, an online archive fed by museums and historical associations across Texas. The black-and-white image is a photograph of a portrait owned by Crockett’s son Robert Patton Crockett. The portrait was later donated to the original Texas Capitol in Austin and hung until 1881, when a fire destroyed the building, Texas Monthly reports. The photograph of the portrait is owned by Log Cabin Village, a museum dedicated to 19th century history in Fort Worth. Read more about the discovery. [Texas Monthly]
- A judge has set the a trial date for a biker involved in the May 2015 shootout in Waco. The gunfight between two motorcycle gangs outside of a Twin Peaks restaurant left nine people dead and more than 150 bikers charged. The Waco Tribune-Herald reports James Rosas of Selma faces trial Jan. 23 on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. He is the first of 154 indicted bikers to receive a trial date over the deadly shootout that also left 20 people hurt. [The Associated Press]
- Mark Cuban revoked Dallas Mavericks media credentials of two ESPN reporters. As of Friday, longtime Dallas-based reporters Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon are no longer welcome at home games as journalists, and the ban extends to all ESPN contributors at the American Airlines Center this season, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. According to the Star-Telegram and Associated Press, Cuban is not giving a reason why, saying it's "between us and ESPN." [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- In case you didn’t know, today’s Election Day. More than 4 million people voted early in Texas’ 15 largest counties. Unlike early voting, you’ll need to cast your ballot at a station in your precinct. And you’ll need to bring one of these forms of voter ID. Last but not least, tell us about your experience by tweeting @keranews with the hashtag #TXdecides. We’ve been tracking voting issues this election as part of our partnership with Electionland. [KERA News]
- A North Texas teenager was told by his doctors he didn’t need his back brace anymore, so he blew it up. Carson Peters, 14, had to wear the brace for several years to manage his battle with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow in the nervous system, KXAS reports. But he recently received the good news that he didn’t need it any longer, so he and his family obliterated the brace. Watch the video below. [KXAS]
