By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
Dallas is one of 18 cities chosen to be part of the U.S. bid to host soccer's biggest event, the World Cup, in 2018 or 2022.
Dallas hosted the World Cup in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl. Mayor Tom Leppert says the new Cowboys stadium and the renovated Cotton Bowl with 90 thousand seats are perfect for the large number of games and fans. And much of the infrastructure of the 1994 International Media Center at Fair Park is still in tact.
Other possible host cities include: Houston, Atlanta, Boston, and San Diego.
A decision will be made in December.
Former worker who shot 2 at Texas ranch executed
Convicted killer Gary Johnson has been executed in Texas for fatally shooting a ranch foreman and another man during a ranch burglary almost 24 years ago.
The 59-year-old Johnson's lethal injection Tuesday evening came about 2 1/2 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the punishment. It's the second execution this year in the nation's most active death penalty state.
Johnson was condemned for the April 1986 slayings of 28-year-old James Hazelton and Hazelton's 23-year-old brother-in-law, Peter Sparagana.
The two were killed while investigating a call from a neighbor who reported intruders had driven through a chained gate at a ranch outside Huntsville in southeastern Texas.
Sen. Hutchison unveils border security plan
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has unveiled a plan for security along the Texas-Mexico border.
It includes expanded state participation in Homeland Security programs so local law enforcement can enforce some federal immigration laws and verify if a person can legally work in the country.
Hutchison unveiled her plan during a news conference at her Houston campaign headquarters on Tuesday. She's battling Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, set to be decided during the March 2 primary.
Perry's campaign criticized Hutchison's plan, saying she has failed to uphold the federal government's responsibility to secure the border.
The two candidates, as well as GOP activist Debra Medina, are taking part in the governor's race debate Thursday in Denton.
2 wardens, 2 officers ousted over Texas escape
Two top wardens at a Texas prison have retired rather than face discipline after a convicted sex offender armed with a smuggled gun escaped while being transferred six weeks ago.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice also announced Tuesday that a corrections officer major and an officer have been recommended for dismissal.
Alfonso Castillo, the senior warden at the Estelle Unit, and assistant warden Thomas Hunt will retire at the end of January.
The four prison officials join at least five others who lost their jobs after Arcade Joseph Comeaux Jr. broke free during a prison transfer on Nov. 30 and remained a fugitive for a week.