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Top Stories: Record Temperature Recorded In Dallas; Denton Artist Captures Complexity With Charcoal

LM Otero / AP
Children cool off in a water fountain in downtown Dallas during the 2011 heat wave.

The top local stories this evening from KERA News:

Thursday was the hottest July 19th in the history of Dallas, with temperatures reaching 108 degrees. In Wichita Falls, temperatures reached a high of 111 degrees.

The National Weather Service says the last comparable heat wave was in 2011.

“Once every few years we do get into this territory where we're having high temperatures above 105,” said Ted Ryan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. “What's unique about this is we're going to have temperatures above 105 for what looks like maybe four, even five days.

This weekend could get even worse, with temperatures hitting 110 degrees on Saturday in Dallas-Fort Worth. Ryan expects temperatures to return to normal, the mid 90's, by the middle of next week.

He cautioned residents with elderly family and friends to check in on them frequently, particularly if the elderly do not have air conditioning.

Other stories this evening:

  • The Trump administration says it wants to make even bigger cuts to a program that helps people sign up for health insurance — particularly through the Affordable Care Act. KUT's Ashley Lopez reports Texas is getting an 86 percent cut to what are known as navigator grants.

  • You can’t get much simpler than the materials Denton artist Taylor Barnes uses – just black charcoal on white fabric. Or, tree branches and twine. In this week's Art&Seek Artist Spotlight, Jerome Weeks visits the artist to see just how much she can do with so little.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.