Eyes on Texas: A Loaded Banana Slips Up

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

An 18-year-old Texas man dressed as a banana was detained Feb. 8 after several reports that he was carrying an AK-47 on a Beaumont street, the Huffington Post reports. The banana man, Derek Poe, says his stunt was promoting the grand opening of his business, Golden Triangle Tactical, after the gun store relocated. The teen faces a citation for violating a city ordinance that prohibits soliciting near a road. Poe may also face criminal charges for displaying the weapon.

Maybe he couldn’t wait to go? Police in India say a Texas man injured himself and filed a fake report alleging he had been assaulted so that he could return to the U.S. The man, 51, had come to Mumbai on Jan. 13 as a project manager for a technology contracting company, according to the Mumbai Mirror. The next day he told police he had been attacked while jogging that morning. Hotel security footage showed him carrying a knife to his room and showed he hadn’t left his room that morning. He flew back to the U.S. that night, but Indian police are continuing to investigate.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Girl Scouts in Waco are facing criticism from Pro-Life Waco, a Texas organization that supports restrictions on abortions. The group says the Girl Scouts’ campaign “CookieCott” promotes politicians on social media who support abortion rights for women, including Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. In past boycotts, Pro-Life Waco fought against the Girl Scouts allowing lesbian Scouts.