ICYMI: Here Are Dallas' Top Stories From May 16-22, 2021

DALLAS, TX — It's been another wild ride of a week in Dallas news, as the legislative session draws to a close, Texas sees more vaccinations and variants, and an eerie murder mystery has police wondering how a four-year old boy ends up dead in the middle of a suburban street in broad daylight.

Plus: John Wayne rides again, and a legendary sportscaster hangs up his spurs. Here are the week's top headlines:

It's all a race against time, say health experts. Scientists and physicians theorize that the best chance of ending the pandemic is to reach herd immunity before the weather cools. But here's the catch: only one in three Texans is vaccinated, and new mutations, like the one from India detected in Dallas this week, continue to materialize.

There seems no end to the questions surrounding the death last weekend of four-year old Cash Gernon. His father is missing. He left Cash and his twin brother with his ex-girlfriend, but didn't tell their mom where her boys were. And the latest development: the same video that caught the alleged kidnapper snatching Cash shows him returning for the dead boy's brother.

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Who's ready for "the new normal?" Got your shots? Parents, family and friends, too? Then what are you waiting for? A lot of Texans, like a lot of Americans, are having trouble adjusting to life out and about.

Enough about Prince Harry. Let's talk about the Duke. There's a new exhibit at the Fort Worth Stockyards dedicated to the life and career of movie star John Wayne. Maybe he wasn't the world's greatest actor, but he did play an important role in reflecting American ideals to his legions of fans.

No one wants to watch an execution, right? But it's the duty of the press to ensure that the state, when it puts people do death, is doing so according to the law. That didn't happen in Huntsville this week, and no one knows why.

If you're a Dallas sports fan, you know that things won't be quite the same once sportscaster Dale Hansen steps away from the cameras Sept. 2. His announcement sparked a wave of reminiscence and applause across the metroplex.

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