Walmart's new firearms policy, Amber Guyger jury selection, Zeke's negotiations: Your Tuesday evening roundup

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, will discontinue sales of handgun ammunition and also publicly request that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it.  [Evening roundup]( 09/03/2019 By Wayne Carter Good Evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( Police vehicles block access to the El Paso Walmart where a gunman killed 22 people and wounded dozens more on Aug. 3. The retailer on Tuesday said it would halt sales of handgun ammunition and publicly requested that customers not openly carry firearms in its stores. (Andres Leighton/The Associated Press) GUNS AND CULTURE [Walmart asks customers not to 'open carry' guns into stores, stops handgun ammunition sales]( Walmart, the world's largest retailer, will discontinue sales of handgun ammunition and also publicly request [that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it.]( The announcement comes just days after a mass shooting claimed seven lives in Odessa, and follows two other back-to-back shootings last month, one of them at a Walmart store in El Paso. The Bentonville, Ark.-based discounter said Tuesday that it will stop selling short-barrel and handgun ammunition, including .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber used in military-style weapons, after it runs out of its current inventory. It will also discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, marking its complete exit from handguns and allowing it to focus on hunting rifles and related ammunition only. Walmart is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its stores unless they are law enforcement officers. Commentary: [We keep getting something wrong about mass shootings]( writes Rudolph Bush. Odessa shooting: The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained [his AR-style rifle through a private sale,]( allowing him to evade a federal background check that blocked him from getting a gun in 2014 due to a "mental health issue." ADVERTISEMENT CRIME & COURTS [Potential jurors who are pro-police or pro-BLM likely won’t be picked for Amber Guyger’s murder trial]( As jury selection begins Friday in the murder trial of fired Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger, prosecutors and the defense [will focus first on eliminating people from the pool who show signs of biases.]( No one disputes that Guyger, now 31, shot and killed 26-year-old Botham Jean the night of Sept. 6, 2018, in his apartment at the South Side Flats near downtown Dallas. But the case involving a white officer and an unarmed black man has become a racially charged debate over Guyger's actions and motives. Attorneys are likely to weed out people who seem extremely pro-police or highly sympathetic to the causes of groups such as Black Lives Matter. They’ll be on the lookout for anyone who seems to have made up their minds already about Guyger's guilt or innocence. They'll also be wary of anyone who has been the victim of a home invasion and might sympathize with Guyger's explanation that she mistook the accountant from St. Lucia for an intruder.   Hard evidence: A gang member's Glock ["tells a story" linking him to four drive-by shootings]( Dallas, authorities say.   Child death: A Houston woman is in custody Tuesday after [the body of her 5-year-old daughter was found in a closet]( apparently hidden there for almost a week.  COWBOYS [Ezekiel Elliott has landed in Dallas as RB continues contract negotiations with Cowboys]( -- Ezekiel Elliott is officially back in Texas. The Cowboys running back's flight from Mexico landed at D-FW International Airport shortly before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to position himself to sign a contract extension that [he and the club both hope is completed by Wednesday morning, sources said.]( One person close to the situation said there is a "strong sense of urgency" for a long-term deal to be reached shortly. Another source said that, if Elliott is to participate in the Cowboys' season opener Sunday against the New York Giants, "he needs to be" at the facility Wednesday when the game plan is installed.  Money line: Owner Jerry Jones on Tuesday confirmed that the Cowboys have agreed to [a $50 million contract extension with starting right tackle La'el Collins.](   ADVERTISEMENT (Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor) PHOTO OF THE DAY Turkish Coffee at Pax & Beneficia is served on plates sourced from Turkey. [The shop is the passion project of two best friends:]( Dr. Mamdouh Khayat, an interventional radiologist at an Ohio State University facility, and Mouyyad Abdulhadi, a marketing executive for a healthcare startup in Dallas. Despite their jobs outside of the food and beverage industry, they're coffee geeks — the kind who travel with hand grinders so they can make the perfect cup of coffee on-the-go. EDITORS' PICKS - Editorial: Texas’ youngest students aren’t getting suspended like they used to — [thanks to smart laws.]( - Hot housing: Austin is leading the major Texas markets in home price gains, beating the national average, [and Dallas is close behind.]( - All the rage: An angry customer pulled a gun on employees at a Houston Popeyes [over sold-out chicken sandwiches.]( FINALLY ... [‘It’s inspiring’: Increases to officer pay bring optimism to Dallas Police Department after years of exodus]( In his 12 years with the Dallas Police Department, Sr. Cpl. Larry Moody watched dozens of officers leave for jobs at nearby departments. Moody chose to stay in Dallas because his dream was to one day be a chief in a big city police department. But that dream cost him over the years as other departments offered more money and as new officers got higher starting pay earlier this year. The pay issue has hurt the department in morale and officer retention, with more than 200 officers leaving last fiscal year. But over the last several months, city officials negotiated an agreement — commonly known as meet-and-confer — with police associations to increase the pay of officers. The new contract also reduces the time it takes for officers to get promotions and raises. Veterans like Moody said it helps them finally see a sustainable future at the department. And department officials and police associations say that [it should help slow the bleed of blue.]( 👋 That's all for this afternoon! 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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