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No, The United Nations Isn’t Taking Over The Alamo

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Don't worry -- the Alamo is safe and will remain in American hands.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: The U.N. isn't taking over the Alamo, Denton invites Sriaracha to town, the Texas photo ID law continues to generate controversy, and more:

Rumors have circulated over the past few weeks on social media that the United Nations would manage the Alamo if it is granted World Heritage status. Texas Land Commissioner, whose office oversees the Alamo, calls that “horse hockey,” the San Antonio Express-News reported. How did this story get started? The former president of the San Antonio tea party, George Rodriguez, sent out an email called “The New Battle of the Alamo.” He said he had lost faith in local elected leaders and warned that the Alamo “may fall under U.N. influence.” Rodriguez says he’s done nothing wrong. The Texas General Land Office called the rumors “spectacular and erroneous.” The Land Office has supported the effort to be named a heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The World Heritage List includes nearly 1,000 sites around the world that the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value.”

  • Sriracha, C’mon over to Denton: Councilman Kevin Roden has a grand idea: He’s invited Huy Fong Foods, the California-based hot sauce company that makes the popular Sriracha (ser-AH-chah) sauce, to relocate to Denton to avoid litigation. WFAA-TV reports that Roden posted his invitation on Twitter on Wednesday. Huy Fong Foods is facing complaints at its new facility in California – people are concerned about the strong odor coming from the plant. There are lots of Sriracha customers in Denton, Roden said. Here's a report from CBS about the California controversy:

http://youtu.be/TtQny4CU1o8

  • Women and the new Texas voter ID law:  NPR explored Texas’ new voter ID law and how it’s creating a problem for some women. Some, like gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, have had to sign affidavits since the name on their voter ID doesn’t match the name on the voter registration list. A 2011 state legislative decision requires Texans to show valid photo IDs at the polls for the first time – the ID has to include the voter’s name exactly as it appears on the elections department’s registration list. Texas Republicans say this brouhaha is just Democrats making a mountain out of a molehill – they say the new law helps protect against voter fraud. Texas Democrats point out that over the past 13 years there's been just one case of in-person voter fraud in the state. The Dallas Morning News reported this week that one out of seven early voters in the Nov. 5 election have had to sign affidavits to verify their identities.

  • “Neat” at the Jubilee Theatre: The Fort Worth Weekly profiles Ebony Marshall-Oliver, the actress who stars in “Neat,” which is being performed at the Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth through Nov. 10. “Neat” is the follow-up companion piece to “Pretty Fire.” Writer Charlayne Woodard “shares her memories of growing up black in America in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Through the magic of storytelling, music and movement, Charlayne takes us on a journey from Savannah, Georgia to Albany, New York with engaging humor and sharp insight.” Marshall-Oliver also starred in Pretty Fire. The Weekly reported: “Even more than Pretty Fire, Neat is bold in its assertion that racism has been a stain on the entire country, not just the South, where so many of the battles for equality played out in such ugly public episodes.”

  • Video Days to debut at SMU: The Pollock Gallery of the Division of Art at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts will present the exhibition Video Days. It starts on Friday and runs through Dec. 13. Video Days features film and video by six artists: Larry Clark, Florian Drexel, Spike Jonze, Nicolas Provost, Christopher Samuels and Ryan Wolfe. “The works address issues such as social stereotypes, dogma, human conditioning, risk, chance, and what it means to live the ‘American Dream,’” SMU says. The exhibit’s centerpiece is the 24-minute film “Video Days,” the directorial debut of American filmmaker Spike Jonze. It’s considered one of the most influential skateboard videos of all time, SMU says.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.