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On Tuesday, Aug. 31, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Van Zandt County dispatch was notified of a black SUV traveling on westbound Interstate 20 with reports that a man inside the vehicle was displaying a semi-automatic handgun to another commuter traveling down Interstate 20. Texas Department of Public Safety officers intercepted and stopped the vehicle at mile marker 524 in the Myrtle Springs area. Canton Police Department along with Van Zandt County Sheriff’s officers arrived on the scene. After questioning and further investigation, the suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Van Zandt County Jail where he was booked in at approximately 3:49 p.m. The suspect was charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful carrying of a weapon. Photo by Nick Gibbons

On Wednesday, Sept. 1, the State of Texas rolled out new state laws impacting the right to carry a handgun without training or permits, along with laws on alcohol sales, medical marijuana, vaccine passports, critical race theory and the Heartbeat Bill.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, United States President George W. Bush addressed a nation that earlier that day witnessed the deadliest terrorist attacks in world history. That morning, hijackers took control of four airplanes, ultimately crashing two into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field near the town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane from the hijackers. All passengers and crew on board all four flights died on September 11, and thousands of others on the ground lost their lives that day as well. It was under those conditions that President Bush delivered the following speech to a shaken nation.