By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
Prison officials are investigating whether a Texas death row inmate accused of threatening a state lawmaker by phone is behind an Internet posting that threatens the lawmaker and his family.
State Sen. John Whitmire said Friday he's convinced Richard Lee Tabler is behind a rambling May 29 posting on a site dedicated to death row inmates and their cases. The posting is under Tabler's name and warns Whitmire that just because Tabler's on death row, the senator and his family "can be gotten to."
Tabler, who faces execution for the 2004 slaying of two men in Bell County, was caught last year with a smuggled phone in his cell and was charged with retaliation. That case is pending.
Prison officials declined to make Tabler available for questions on Friday.
FAA investigating American's MD-80 repairs
Federal regulators are investigating American Airlines over structural repairs to its aging fleet of MD-80 series aircraft.
A Federal Aviation Administration official said today that the investigation centers on 16 planes. The Wall Street Journal reports FAA officials suspect American rushed to retire one of the planes to keep it away from inspectors.
A spokesman for Fort Worth-based American denies the accusation and says mothballing the aircraft wouldn't let it escape FAA scrutiny.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford declined to say whether inspectors believed the airline had tried to hide the plane or whether they had examined it in the New Mexico desert, where it's now parked. He says inspectors examined "a number of planes."
Lunsford said the investigation centered on repairs to the rear bulkhead of the MD-80 series aircraft. As of May, American had 270 MD-80 series jets, or 44 percent of its fleet, according to the company's Web site.
American is slowly replacing the MD-80s with new, more fuel-efficient planes while it reduces the number of flights to deal with a decline in air travel.
Tech regent: Perry ally pressured him to resign
Texas Tech regent Mark Griffin says he was pressured to resign his seat that Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to after he endorsed Perry's campaign rival, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in the governor's race.
Griffin says Perry's former chief of staff, Brian Newby, called him shortly after a recent public appearance Griffin made with Hutchison. Griffin says he asked Newby if the governor wanted him to resign and Newby said yes. Griffin says Newby told him, "The governor's not going to ask you himself" but Griffin says he got the impression that his resignation was in the best interest of the university.
Griffin says Newby told him: "The governor expects loyalty out of his appointees."
Newby, Perry's campaign and the governor's office did not immediately respond to phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Children found in Dallas hotel bathroom improving
Court officials agreed that the maternal grandmother of the children found starving inside a hotel bathroom in Dallas is the best person to take custody.
At a hearing Friday in juvenile district court, Judge Cheryl Lee Shannon ordered Child Protective Services to conduct a home study on Ruth Leon, the children's grandmother.
Leon, who lives in Tampa, Fla., declined comment after the hearing.
The four children, three of whom were found filthy and emaciated in July, remain together in foster care. The fourth child was found healthy in a crib.
A court-appointed attorney for the children said they have started school, gained weight and are receiving counseling. Their mother and her boyfriend face felony abuse charges and remain in the Dallas County Jail.
Ex-State Department official to run Bush Institute
A former State Department official under George W. Bush will lead the ex-president's think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
James K. Glassman, an undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in 2008, was named the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute on Thursday.
In a statement, Bush said he was "delighted to have Jim Glassman join us to develop a world-class institute." Glassman held top editing and management positions at Roll Call, Atlantic Monthly, U.S. News & World Report and New Republic.
The independent institute will be part of Bush's presidential center at SMU, along with a library and museum run by the National Archives.