Latino voters spurn Lupe Valdez, Henderson Avenue heats up, Stormy does Dallas: Your Monday morning roundup

April 30,  2018 By Tommy Cummings and Wayne Carter Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. ☁️ Weather: Cloudy and windy, but still warm. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. President Donald Trump sits next to Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association, during a February White House meeting on Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. (Michael Reynolds/Getty Images) politics Trump to address NRA convention Friday in Dallas President Donald Trump will speak Friday at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas, [a senior White House aide confirmed Sunday night.]( Vice President Mike Pence had already agreed to appear at the annual gathering of the gun rights group. This will be Trump's third consecutive appearance at the NRA's annual gathering, but he alarmed gun rights advocates two months ago during a White House meeting on school safety when he called for confiscating guns from people with mental illness without waiting for a court order. Is that a gun in your pocket? Attendees at Vice President Mike Pence's NRA convention keynote speech this week in Dallas [will not be allowed to carry weapons.]( Texas politics: A young Latino voters' group endorsed Andrew White in the Democratic primary for governor [after Lupe Valdez struggled to answer questions about her record on immigration.]( White House invitation: Trump [will meet with the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380]( this week. A car passes two buildings on Hederson Avenue in East Dallas that are slated to be torn down to make way for a mixed-use development. (Ron Baselice/Staff Photographer) Business Big changes coming to Henderson Avenue are creating fear, loathing — and excitement — in East Dallas In recent years, these East Dallas streets have formed one of the city’s coolest places to live. Its residents see the area as a quaint, safe and less-dense urban alternative to Uptown Dallas’ crowded apartments. But there are still pockets of the neighborhood that look run down, and there are long, dark gaps at night in front of vacant spaces. Developer Mark Masinter wants to fix that. He believes Henderson should be a place where residents can walk to work, shop and eat, and less a place for late-night bar-hopping. What longtime neighbors are worried about, though, is that Henderson can’t handle this big step in the street’s evolution that a growing Dallas demands. [They’re split about what their neighborhood needs.]( Second opinions: Blue Cross is facing skepticism on the way it's [changing billing practices for patients who visit out-of-network ERs.]( Strong signal: Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to merge in a $26.5 billion deal [to take on Dallas-based AT&T and Verizon.]( Yellow Fever: Whole Foods and a Texas-raised chef [are facing backlash]( over a California restaurant's name. Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas flags down Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett outside the Dallas locker room following the Seahawks' Christmas Eve win at AT&T; Stadium in Arlington. (John Machota/Staff) Cowboys Earl Thomas is still a Seahawk, but that doesn't mean Dallas is done pursuing him SportsDay's David Moore assesses the situation after a much-anticipated draft-day deal to make the six-time Pro Bowl safety a Cowboy didn't materialize. Now that the draft is done and Earl Thomas remains in Seattle, there's an assumption this dance between the Seahawks and Cowboys will end. [Seems to me it's about to get really interesting.]( The Cowboys' attraction to Thomas is real. Is this an obsession for the organization? Are the Cowboys on a quest that will end in crushing defeat if Thomas isn't their starting free safety when the season kicks off? NFC East draft grades: Without having added a safety, [do the Cowboys top the Giants, Redskins and Eagles?](  Future is now: Why you should want Cowboys' rookies [to rack up starts in 2018.]( Smart move: One draft decision [showed the Cowboys' intelligence](, says longtime NFL observer Rick Gosselin. Advertisement (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Morning Mark Portier and Maresa Volante sit in the shade of the Tree of Life, or Etienne de Bore Oak, which was planted in 1740 in Audubon Park in New Orleans. The park is part of what DMN investigations editor Leslie Eaton and husband Mark Vamos, an SMU journalism professor and food writer, call "[the real New Orleans ... filled with distinct neighborhoods, each with its own traditions and attractions.](" Around The Site - Travel: This storied Aspen hotel is a [Dallas favorite, and now it's expanding]( with a swanky makeover. - Funeral for police officer: Dallas police advised commuters there will be[traffic delays Tuesday during the funeral procession]( for the officer who was killed last week. - Pleasant Grove: Police said a [driver likely experienced a medical emergency before running off the road]( Saturday night and crashing into an apartment complex. - Crime: A former [Austin firefighter is being investigated after police were alerted to a Facebook video]( in which he says he paid $700 for child pornography, police say. - Opera review: There's some [fine singing in Fort Worth Opera Festival's Hollywood-ized]( Don Pasquale, but way too much slapstick. - South Dallas: [Police are looking for the suspect]( in a fatal stabbing Saturday night. Adult film star Stormy Daniels poses for a photo with DMN columnist Robert Wilonsky following her performance Saturday at a northwest Dallas strip club. (Robert Wilonsky) Finally... Stormy Daniels danced at a Dallas nudie bar, and all I got was this lousy picture Columnist Robert Wilonsky was on hand for a Dallas appearance by the porn star who is suing Donald Trump to void a nondisclosure agreement over an alleged affair with him 12 years ago. Robert swears he was only there for the article. These three things happened this weekend: President Donald Trump was campaign-rallying in Michigan, pot-shooting, again, James Comey and the Democrats and the media. Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti was chatting up Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway at a White House Correspondents' Association party. And Daniels [was dancing for dollars at an all-nude joint off Royal Lane and Stemmons Freeway.]( Daniels, née Stephanie Clifford, didn't have to go far to make this date on her Legal Expenses Tour ... pardon, "Make America Horny Again" tour. It's just a half-hour drive from Forney, where she lives, to Bucks Wild in northwest Dallas, depending on traffic. The bosses chose me for this assignment because I live eight minutes away. Or maybe I volunteered. Who can remember? AdVERTISEMENT 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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