By BJ Austin, KERA News & Wire Services
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-919428.mp3
Dallas, TX – An hour-long chase of a carjacking suspect that began in North Dallas ended beside a Love Field runway.
Police say the man driving a stolen pickup crashed through a chain link fence at Love Field and headed onto a taxiway - with police cars in pursuit.
Southwest Airlines' Paul Flaningan says flight operations stopped for a short time until police could corral the stolen pickup and arrest the shirtless driver.
He says the next step will be to look at "how" the man was able to get on the tarmac in the first place.
Flaningan: You know this definitely a very unique situation that doesn't happen very often. But I think the proper authorities will investigate and ensure that something like this doesn't happen again.
Flaningan says flight delays ran about 20 minutes.
3 weeks of gas price increases ends
Three weeks of gasoline price increases ended this week with a drop in retail gasoline prices across Texas and the nation.
The weekly AAA Texas gasoline price survey released Thursday shows the retail price of a gallon of unleaded regular fell this week by 4 cents to $2.59 in Texas and 5 cents to $2.73 nationwide.
The cheapest gasoline is found in San Antonio and Houston at $2.54 per gallon, down 4 cents this week in San Antonio and a nickel in Houston. The most expensive gasoline is still in El Paso, where it averaged $2.75 per gallon despite a 3-cent decrease this week.
The auto club statement cites a decrease in crude oil prices to $75 per barrel, their lowest point in a month, and less favorable news about the economic recovery that showed an expanded trade deficit and a slump in housing demand.
Perry calls more penalties for human traffickers
Gov. Rick Perry is proposing new laws to stiffen penalties for human trafficking in the state.
Texas enacted a human trafficking law in 2003, and a statewide human trafficking task force attached to the Texas Attorney General's Office activated in January.
During an appearance Thursday in Houston, Perry says human trafficking preys on hopes and dreams of victims promised better lives for themselves and families. Instead, he says what awaits victims is a life of confinement, prostitution, abuse and early death.
The governor wants the Legislature, when it convenes in January, to make "the worst of these traffickers" subject to first-degree felony charges that could carry penalties of up to 99 years or life in prison.
Federal statistics show 25 percent of all human trafficking victims, as of 2006, were in Texas.