Five stories that have North Texas talking: what two leaders with opposite politics have in common, Dallas high school still #1, Arlington tries to outbid Tampa for college championship nod and more.
As North Texas prepares to herald a presidential library in front of an audience that includes Commanders-in-Chief past and present, the policy practices of President George W. Bush are being examined against those of President Barack Obama. While the two leaders sit far across the aisle from each other politically, the Associated Press is examining where they overlap. The piece points out that Obama has stuck with Bush policies or aspirations on fronts including counterterrorism, immigration and the global fight against AIDS. While Obama has put his own spin on No Child Left Behind, it’s still law, and he’s also worked to shore up the Bush Medicare prescription drug plan. Read the extended piece here.
Also in town for the big dedication are presidential spouses and family members. But Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush won’t just be guests at the ceremony; they’re each taking on speaking engagements in Dallas today. Some pundits have theorized that Clinton and Bush are weighing a 2016 presidential run.
Speaking of the Clintons, KERA’s Shelley Kofler spent some time in the Natural State to see how the Clinton Presidential Center has shaped the Little Rock landscape and what that could mean for SMU and Dallas.
- More Bad News For West: It’s been almost a week since the fertilizer plant explosion in West claimed lives and wrecked homes, but new, heartbreaking information has just come out. For several days now, the confirmed number of people killed stood at 14, but yesterday officials adjusted that figure to 15. According to Waco station KXXV, it is now believed all victims have been found. This latest information comes as investigators try to sort out exactly what happened at the West Fertilizer Co. Wednesday Night. It was announced yesterday that the blast left a crater 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep. [NPR]
- TAG In Dallas Still Tops: The anticipated 2013 Best High School Rankings were released by U.S. News and World Report yesterday, and the School for the Talented and Gifted in the DISD is number one in the nation… again. The list takes into consideration things like state assessments, scores on AP tests and IB exams and how well the school educates minorities and low income students. TAG was the only Texas high school to make the top 10. [U.S. News and World Report]
- The Host With The Most?: Sports insiders are calling Cowboys Stadium in Arlington a “virtual lock” to host the first college football championship in the new four team playoff system. Arlington is bidding against Tampa Bay, which is considered the underdog in this fight. But Tampa is a favorite bowl season haunt, has anchored a men’s Final Four and hosted several Super Bowls, so you never know. The deadline to submit a bid is today. If North Texas gets the nod, the game will be held Jan. 12 of 2015. And don’t forget, The Final Four sets up shop in Arlington nine months earlier. [ESPN]
- Instead Of Calorie Counts, Print Exercise Ultimatums: When you see how many grams of fat and how much sodium weighs down your favorite foods, does it change how much you eat? What about this… if you knew how many crunches or how long a hike it would take to make your cheeseburger disappear, would that make an impact? A TCU grad student says, it sure would. Ashlei James tracked consumers ordering off menus with no nutritional info, those printed with calorie counts and special menus featuring how much walking would be required to burn off the item in question. The folks going in blind and those who saw calorie counts ordered the same. But the people with walking times listed ordered less and ate less too. [NPR]
