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He hired him as a translator during the Iraq war. Now, a Dallas attorney’s years-long fight to get him to America safely is over

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He hired him as a translator during the Iraq war. Now, a Dallas attorney’s years-long fight to get him to America safely is over


On Friday, lawyer and Military veteran Allen Vaught will reunite with an Iraqi translator he hasn’t seen since 2004. The translator has dodged execution for years.

DALLAS, Texas — In 2011, the Iraq Warfare reached a bookend. The final of lots of of hundreds of troops began to withdraw from the realm, and the mission within the area was seemingly over. 

However for Dallas lawyer Allen Vaught, his mission hadn’t ended. 

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Actually, it was simply getting began. 

Vaught served within the warfare and was among the many first troops to invade in 2003. 

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As a captain within the Military, his job was to assist arrange localized and U.S.-supported governments as Saddam Hussein’s regime fell. 

He wanted assist from Iraqi translators to do it, and for the previous 15 years, he is labored tirelessly alongside different immigration attorneys to deliver all of the linguists he labored with who’re nonetheless alive to America safely. 

On Friday, Vaught will reunite on Texas soil along with his final translator, who’s been on the run for years. 

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The translator, who we’ll solely identify “Sam” for his and his household’s safety, has lived the previous decade dodging militias, terrorist teams and anybody keen to execute somebody within the Center East who helped Individuals. 

“I have been engaged on this since 2011,” Vaught mentioned. “It has been lots of of hours simply, the battles in Iraq with Sam, we had folks capturing at us. This battle, it has been a battle of purple tape.” 

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Vaught employed 5 translators in complete to assist obtain his targets laid out by the U.S. Military. 

To at the present time, he feels guilt over it. Many translators who helped America are wished males. And quite a few them, if captured, had been executed and tortured. 

Vaught instructed WFAA that two of his translators had been executed since they had been employed — one was burned alive. 

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“They’d costs placed on their heads, and Sam is the final one alive,” Vaught mentioned. 

In 2007 and 2008, Vaught was in a position to struggle to get two of his translators dwelling. 

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They’re now U.S. residents. However on the time, the method was extra simple. The U.S. allowed them to come back to America by way of the Particular Immigrant Visa (SIV) program to reward linguists for his or her providers. 

However Sam stayed alongside U.S. troops till 2011, and as soon as the warfare had wrapped up, Vaught mentioned Sam needed to apply to enter the U.S. as a refugee. 

The final time Vaught had spoken to Sam? 2004. 

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Vaught and different troopers had been ambushed, and he broke his again in 5 locations. 

He acquired a medical discharge, however not earlier than Sam drove miles by way of hostile territory to examine on Vaught to verify he was alright. 

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“I used to be dumbfounded,” Vaught mentioned. “He did not have to do this.” 

“He ended up sending me a Fb message, and we reconnected. Sadly, the refugee course of is fairly difficult, and it has been that manner for a few years.” 

Vaught was in a position to get Sam accredited to come back to the U.S., however issues hit a snag after President Donald Trump was elected. His government orders laid out journey bans for residents of sure Center Japanese international locations, together with Iraq. 

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Vaught filed swimsuit in opposition to the bans and ended up successful, however inside two weeks of a fly-out date, COVID-19 hit the world. 

“Increase. Covid occurs, and every thing shuts down,” Vaught mentioned. “It added one other delay.” 

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Vaught mentioned Sam was caught in Egypt for the final two years till he may journey to america. 

He lastly received right here a number of weeks in the past and has been staying in California, ready to come back to Texas, the place Vaught might be his sponsor. 

His flight arrives at Dallas Love Subject on Friday. Vaught says he’ll stick with him till he can get Sam a job and a brand new life. 

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“We have not seen one another since he got here to examine on me in 2004, very excited to see him,” Vaught mentioned. 

For Vaught, it is going to be the top of the mission he started so way back. 

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“I actually really feel just like the warfare might be over for me at that time,” Vaught mentioned. “I’ve all the time felt responsible about what occurred to the translators we employed as a result of I used to be the one who employed them.” 

“I owe Sam. I in all probability would not be giving this effort for anybody else.” 

If you would like to assist Sam–a GoFundMe has been created to assist him get located in America. 

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Snowfall Totals: How much snow fell on Thursday and Friday?

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Dallas Snowfall Totals: How much snow fell on Thursday and Friday?


North Texas got less snow than expected overnight.

FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Evan Andrews said it was one of those crazy forecasts where some people got exactly what they expected, and others got the opposite.

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“Some of you got that heavier precipitation [on Thursday]. Others were waiting for some overnight, and the precip overnight really never got going. We got a little bit of light snow on the backend but not a ton,” he said.

For snow lovers, the snow that was on the ground from Thursday is still there. However, the total accumulation did not increase much overnight. 

Snowfall Totals (as of 4 a.m. Friday)

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Overall, the areas of highest accumulation were north of Highway 182 in Cooke and Grayson counties. Areas like Gainesville, Sherman, and Bonham got more than 6 inches of snow.

A lot of people in Wise, Denton, and Collin counties got between 3 and 6 inches.

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Fort Worth and North Dallas saw between 1 and 3 inches.

People south of Dallas got less than an inch of snow.

Thursday Snowfall (as of 9 p.m.)

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Future Snowfall

No additional accumulation is expected on Friday, with the exception of maybe a few light flakes early Friday morning.

The Source: The information in this story comes from the FOX 4 Weather team.

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Addison's WaterTower Theatre finds new stage for its summer musicals

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Addison's WaterTower Theatre finds new stage for its summer musicals


For its 2025 season, Second Thought Theatre is going all-in on world premieres written by Dallas-Fort Worth playwrights.

While exploring the question of “What space does STT provide in DFW?” executive director Parker Davis Gray says, “STT is a place where audiences intentionally attend to be challenged by and wrestle with sharp new stories and an electric take on reimagined classics.”

The company likens this perspective to the work produced by the independent TV and film production company A24, and says that has inspired this upcoming season.

Opening Second Thought’s 21st season is Blake Hackler’s Healed, which follows Gail, who has been sick for 25 years.

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Every doctor, every test, every treatment — none of it has worked. Now, with nothing left to lose, she sells everything and heads to a radical health center in the Texas Hill Country, run by the enigmatic and controversial Dr. T. Will this be her cure, her salvation, or something else entirely? It runs April 25-May 10, 2025.

Hackler’s previous work at STT includes the premieres of What We Were, The Necessities, and the 2018 Ibsen adaptation Enemies/ People.

Ringing in the summer is the sci-fi experiment Your Wife’s Dead Body, written by STT artistic associate Jenny Ledel in her playwriting premiere.

While Ledel is remembered for her performances in Belleville, Grounded, and What We Were, this shift to the other side of the table has been years in the making.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been reading Jenny’s plays and attending readings of her work,” says Gray, “she has such an accessible, inviting, and exciting voice that will resonate with Dallas as we begin to navigate the unknown landscape the next few years will bring us.”

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Your Wife’s Dead Body takes place in the near future, as Jane takes advantage of a new AI technology that would extend her lifespan … even if she’s not around to see it for herself. A play about relationships, the nature of self, and what may or may not remain of us when we leave this life behind, this story asks us to consider the new and difficult questions humans may face as new technologies emerge.

Ledel’s world premiere will be directed by former STT artistic director (and Ledel’s husband) Alex Organ. It runs July 11-26, 2025.

To close out the 2025 season, STT will dive into a new genre with INCARNATE by STT’s own Parker Davis Gray.

Trapped in her cell, Rosamund is hellbent on escaping her fate while the Man who kidnapped her struggles with the consequences of what grief can do, and how far he will go to escape it. Can they live with themselves? Or more importantly, who else is living with them?

A horror/thriller that follows two artists over the course of a year in their seemingly pointless pursuit of creation while suffering under great grief. Directed by Jenna Burnett, who also directed the original reading at Undermain Theatre, it runs October 17-November 1, 2025.

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In addition to a world premiere-packed season, STT will continue its year-long playwriting incubator program, Thought Process, andadd another development program to the docket.

2025 will be the inaugural year of Second Thought Theatre’s Associate Director Program, a year-long cohort aimed at providing professional development through education, exposure, and opportunity. Three early-career professionals will have the opportunity to assist on one production of the 2025 season, gain training and receive feedback from professional directors, spend the year working on scene study with STT artistic director Carson McCain, and then end their year with each director taking the lead on one to three readings.

“The purpose of this cohort is to fill a gap we currently see in the DFW arts community,” says McCain. “We want to offer early career directors a safe place to develop their craft and seek feedback from their peers and other professionals. We want this to be a group that allows directors to grow without the pressures of impressing a professional theater in order to be hired again. STT will serve as facilitators and educators, giving feedback, training, and a place to ask questions.”

Season subscriptions and individual tickets are now on sale at SecondThoughtTheatre.com. All productions will take place at Bryant Hall.

Second Thought Theatre Announces their new season centered around cost and consequence as they showcase the sharp and bold voices of local DFW playwrights.

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Dallas Mavericks game moved up due to weather

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Dallas Mavericks game moved up due to weather


The game between the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers has been moved up due to today’s weather.

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Weather changes Mavs-Blazers tip-off time

What we know:

The Mavericks announced on Thursday that the game will start at 6:30 p.m., an hour earlier than their scheduled 7:30 start.

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Doors to the American Airlines Center will open at 5 p.m.

The shift comes with the heaviest snow of the day expected on Thursday night.

The Mavericks are encouraging fans to check the latest weather conditions and consider riding the DART rail to Victory Station.

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Dallas Weather Forecast

The heaviest snowfall is expected to begin after dark and continue past midnight. Moderate snow is expected for several hours in the early evening, starting around 8 p.m. Snowfall should mostly be over by sunrise Friday morning.

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The Source: Information in this article comes from the Dallas Mavericks and the FOX 4 Weather team.

 

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