News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jury Selection Begins For Chris Kyle Murder Trial

Templar1307 (cc)
/
Flickr
Former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was killed two years ago at a shooting range.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: The national spotlight will be on Stephenville for the murder trial of retired Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, RadioShack inches closer to a bankruptcy deal, health insurance enrollment has been strong in Texas, and more.

Jury selection begins in the murder trial of famed Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. Doualy Xaykaothao reports 800 people have been summoned in Stephenville, more than an hour southwest of Fort Worth. Jury selection will begin at 8 a.m. and the trial is expected to start next week.

Eddie Ray Routh is charged with killing Kyle and neighbor Chad Littlefield. Kyle reported took Routh to a shooting range to help the veteran, who was previously diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

  • Fort Worth-based RadioShack could finalize a bankruptcy deal as early as today. Bloomberg also reported earlier this week that the chain could sell off half of its stores to Sprint, and Amazon could be part of the deal as well.  The New York Stock Exchange also plans to de-list the shares of the electronics retailer. Bill Zeeble spoke to a Boston analyst, who has been following RadioShack’s decline for years. 

  • Families are rallying behind two bills that would ban texting-while-driving in Texas. The Texas Tribune reports families who have lost loved ones to distracted driving went to the state Capitol to meet with lawmakers. Similar legislation passed through the legislature in 2011, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Perry. Gov. Greg Abbot has indicated that he would not support a statewide ban.

  • So far, North Texas has had the most enrollees for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. More than 277,000 people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area have enrolled for health insurance this year. In Texas, nearly a million people have signed up for coverage so far. Forty-four percent of those who signed up were first-time enrollees. This year’s enrollment period ends Feb. 15. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • For the last few weeks, KERA's Art & Seek team has been looking at the making of a homegrown Broadway-style musical. In the final installment of "Stagger Lee: Making A Musical," Jerome Weeks reports on another thing that sets this show apart: its black cast and creative team.
Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.