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CDC Reports Staggering Drop In Hispanic Teen Birth Rate, TX Lags Behind Trend

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Five stories that have North Texas talking: drop in Hispanic teen birth rate doesn’t completely apply to Texas, solar plane glides to a landing early this morning at DFW, the speech JFK never gave will live on in Dallas and more.

Almost every state in the nation has seen a drop in teen birth rates according to new data. Every demographic saw a decrease, but the most astounding was within the Hispanic population. The Hispanic teen birth rate was 75 per 1,000 five years ago. Now it’s 49 births per 1,000 teens. However, in states like Texas with large Latin American populations, the teen birth rate of Hispanics continues to be much higher than that of whites and blacks.

According to this new CDC report, Texas had the highest number of teen births in the U.S. in 2011, close to 43,000. Nearly two-thirds of those were to Hispanic moms. But the highest teen birth rate belongs to Arkansas and Mississippi. Four New England states tied for lowest. [AP via NPR]

  • Credit Solar Impulse
    Powered by 12,000 solar panels, this plane can fly day or night.
    Here Comes The Sun: Very early this morning, an eerily lightweight plane floated to a landing at DFW airport. The Solar Impulse has the wingspan of a jumbo jet, but only weighs as much as a small car. Its 12,000 solar panels allow it to fly day and night without refueling. Swiss aviation pioneers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg developed the plane. KERA’s Shelley Kofler spoke to Piccard yesterday about his desire to better the planet through sustainable travel. If the Solar Impulse seems too wild to believe, check it out yourself at an open house.

  • JFK Remembered: Part of the speech President John F. Kennedy had written for the people of Dallas will be emblazoned on a memorial in Dealey Plaza in time for the 50th anniversary of his death. The Dallas Morning News reports the final paragraph of a speech Kennedy planned to give at the Trade Mart will be immortalized on a large plaque. “We didn’t think a monument of a man on horseback or something that looked like a tombstone would be appropriate,” said Ruth Altshuler, chairwoman of the 50th Committee. “But we got a copy of the speech and thought it was very moving and ought to be remembered.” The plaque will be placed in the ground on the grassy knoll on the north side of the plaza.

  • Boy Scout Vote Will Happen Today: Just a reminder, the 1,400 delegates of the Boys Scouts of America are slated to vote later today on whether a ban on openly gay members should be lifted. KERA spoke to supporters and opponents of this resolution as they spent yesterday pleading their case one last time. The vote will take place in Grapevine at the BSA Annual Meeting. A simple majority will decide it.

  • Casa Mañana Spotlights Students: Another group of standout thespians takes center stage tonight.  The 13th annual Betty Lynn Buckley Awards ceremony debuts at 7:30 at Casa Mañana. High School students from Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise Counties will be honored for excellence in musical theater. The winners of the Best Male and Best Female Actor title nab a trip to New York City this summer to compete against the best of the best from around the country. The DSM High School Theatre Awards happened earlier this month. See who took home the hardware here.

Courtney Collins has been working as a broadcast journalist since graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2004. Before coming to KERA in 2011, Courtney worked as a reporter for NPR member station WAMU in Washington D.C. While there she covered daily news and reported for the station’s weekly news magazine, Metro Connection.