Five stories that have North Texas talking: The calf seen ‘round the World Wide Web; retired teachers could get an insurance break; Exxon Mobil is being sued by its employees; and more.
In case you haven't had access to the internet the past couple days, there's a newborn calf in Texas that bears a striking resemblance to Gene Simmons, the singer and bassist for the rock band KISS.
The calf born Friday has similar black-and-white markings to the face paint the rocker wears on stage as his alter ego, The Demon. The calf's aptly named Genie, and Simmons couldn't be more thrilled, tweeting his admiration for the calf on Sunday, saying, "This is real, folks!!!"
Heather Taccetta, who lives at the ranch near Kerrville, Texas where the calf was born, said Tuesday that Genie belongs to her grandmother, according to the Associated Press reports.
Taccetta said the calf and its mother are doing fine. And, Genie is a family favorite and won't be sold for slaughter — rock on. [The Associated Press]
KISS frontman Gene Simmons udderly thrilled by newborn calf named Genie. (Video clip courtesy of Drew Taylor) https://t.co/LHzttGK7Wo pic.twitter.com/dNNvsZZ52i
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) August 1, 2017
- The Texas House voted to use $212 million from the Rainy Day Fund to decrease premiums and deductibles for retired teachers in the state-run health insurance program. [The Texas Tribune]
- Even on issues where Republicans and Democrats agree on a problem, they differ on solutions. Case in point: mail-in ballot fraud. [KERA News]
- Seeing parallels with how big tobacco handled the link between cigarettes and cancer, current and former employees of Irving-based Exxon Mobil are suing the oil giant over climate change. [KUT]
- As a child, Edyka Chilomé recited poetry to prove to class bullies she could speak English as well as they. Now, the Dallas spoken-word artist draws on the tradition of “flor y canto” (flowers and song) to make herself heard. [Art&Seek]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state.Explore our archives here. And sign up forour weekly emailfor the North Texas news you need to know.
