EoT: Hunt is Off, But Lawsuit is On

A roundup of news, columns and features about the state, from media around the world.

The Dallas Safari Club may cancel the hunt for an endangered black rhino if a federal agency denies a hunter’s request to bring the dead animal back to Texas.

The New York Daily News reported on Sunday that Corey Knowlton won a hunting permit at a club auction in January, bidding $350,000.

Knowlton had said that he wants to hunt the rhinoceros “for the purpose of enhancement of the survival of the species.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the final word on whether he can bring the carcass back to the U.S. as a trophy. If rejected, the Dallas Safari Club would refund his money and give $350,000 to a conservation group.

Fewer than 5,000 black rhinos are left in the wild. Knowlton’s plan has sparked public protests and death threats from people against the hunt and importation into the U.S.

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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has described his job as: “I go to the office, I sue Obama and I go home.” Now governor-elect, Abbott has one last issue to pursue thanks to President Obama’s new executive order on immigration, as reported by The Washington Times.

Abbott said in a tweet: “Pres. Obama has circumvented Congress and bypassed the will of the American people. I am prepared to immediately challenge this in court.”

Thursday Obama announced a plan that would provide as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants temporary protection from deportation and give many authorization to work in the United States.

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The New York Daily News reported that two Texas car thieves got a big surprise when they tried to steal a car on Tuesday morning.

A Haltom City detective was sitting inside the unmarked police car. He was not visible because of the frosted-over windows on a chilly morning. The detective said he saw a Mustang pull up alongside him and immediately became suspicious.

When one of the culprits looked inside, Detective Tony Miller said, “I said, ‘Police! Show me your hands.” When Miller showed his gun, one man bolted. The other drove off in the Mustang and after a chase crashed into a Fort Worth building. The driver was arrested. His accomplice is still at large. Both men are facing charges of attempted theft and evading arrest.