The retailer, which in February filed a second bankruptcy in three years, has been closing stores in recent years, but it still has 59 stores in Texas, including 18 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The closings come as Bed Bath & Beyond is also shutting down operations. That’s a lot of inventory hitting the market, possibly putting a dent in home goods sales at other retailers for the next few months.

The sale of Tuesday Morning, founded in Dallas in 1974 as a closeout retailer of gift and home merchandise, was approved at an afternoon hearing Thursday before Judge Edward L. Morris in the Fort Worth division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Hilco Merchant Resources is paying more than $32 million for the company. The liquidation means a couple thousand employees at Tuesday Morning’s North Dallas headquarters and stores will be terminated as store operations wind down over the next few weeks.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

According to a report by our media partners at The Dallas Morning News, passed away of natural causes in his hotel room after falling ill Friday during the Stars’ playoff loss to the Wild in St. Paul, Minn., said his wife, Amy.

Carlton was pinch-hitting on the hockey beat, his first assignment at The Dallas Morning News, after nearly 15 years covering college sports in general and the Big 12 in particular.

He was at home on nearly any topic in his 23 years at The Dallas Morning News. His bosses made good use of the breadth of his expertise.

Click here to read the full report from on The Dallas Morning News website.

According to a report by our media partners at The Dallas Morning News, web of suspects around the country used the IDs to draw huge sums from victims’ bank accounts, buy luxury cars and open credit cards, the officials told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive briefing. At least 5,000 Texans are victims of the scheme, including some in the Dallas area.

The revelations come as the department had its first arrest in the case earlier this month, and on Friday the suspect, Tony Cao Li, was extradited from New York. More arrests are expected as the investigation continues, DPS officials who provided the briefing said. They asked not to be named because the investigation is still active. The Dallas Morning News also reviewed court documents filed in Travis County.

The scam exposed vulnerabilities in the state’s online systems, and department leaders faced criticism for waiting months to tell Texans their identities may be stolen.

Read the full story from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News.

A Travis County judge unsealed 76 pages of documents as the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles considers an unusual request from Gov. Greg Abbott to pardon Perry, an Army sergeant.

Perry’s posts included messages like “It is official I am a racist because I do not agree with people acting like monkeys.” And in 2019, Perry wrote it was “to [sic] bad we can’t get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe.”

Perry was found guilty by a jury April 7 for killing an armed protester at a Black Lives Matter march in Austin in 2020. Perry, who also worked as an Uber driver, came across demonstrators in his car and fatally shot 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who was attending the protest with his fiancée. Foster was carrying an AK-47, which is legal.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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The bill is the latest challenge from state Republican lawmakers to the academic framework that has become a rallying cry for conservatives in recent years. The proposal would create a process for students and members of the public to file complaints against college professors teaching the framework and have them fired, regardless of tenure.

The proposal from Mineola Republican Bryan Hughes is part of a slate of higher education bills in the Senate that are among Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priorities during this year’s legislative session. Other bills include eliminating tenure at public universities and prohibiting colleges from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices – also known as DEI.

The bill passed on a 19-12 party-line vote.

Click here to read more on the vote from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

The layoffs take effect in May, according to leadership.

“Our organization has made the challenging decision to reduce our workforce to ensure the financial stability and future of the company,” executive director Kevin Moriarty said in a statement shared with The Dallas Morning News. “It is very difficult to lose colleagues whose skill and hard work have contributed mightily to the excellence of Dallas Theater Center.”

News of the impending layoffs began circulating on social media over the weekend. Staff members learned of the cuts on Monday. Moriarty said the theater center, “like most performing arts organizations nationwide, continues to face challenges as audiences have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of participation. These challenges are compounded by the end of extraordinary government support and one-time emergency funding from foundations and individuals during the pandemic.

“As a result, Dallas Theater Center is proactively restructuring and reducing expenses to align its operations to expected income,” he said.

As for crowd sizes in the post-pandemic era, “70,” he said, “is the new 100.”

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The heat was worst at a handful of units. The Stevenson Unit in DeWitt County was the hottest in July, with 12 days in three-figure digits. Inmates at two units in Falls and Taylor counties experienced seven days over 100 degrees last summer.

Inside inmate housing areas at Hutchins State Jail in Dallas County, the temperature exceeded 95 degrees for a total of 21 days in July.

The News obtained the indoor temperature logs, which the state recently required prisons to begin keeping, through a public information request and analyzed them for trends and patterns. The data shows that inmates and staff are exposed, at times, to dangerous levels of heat in the majority of the state’s unairconditioned jails and prisons, experts said.

Click here to read more on the heat in Texas prisons from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

The Dallas Zoo confirmed Hudson died late last week “following a brief but valiant battle with cancer.” He was 64.

Hudson was “a north star for so many,” an emailed statement from the Dallas Zoo said. He was a husband, father, son, and leader in the zoo and aquarium industry.

“For all of his professional accomplishments, Gregg was a genuine, caring, wonderful person who built relationships easily, and held those relationships close to his heart,” the statement said. “He was a friend and a mentor to so many, not only here in Dallas, but across the country and around the world. To say he will be greatly missed is an understatement.”

Click here to read more on Gregg Hudson from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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A Dallas County jury decided in a three-day civil trial on Sept. 23 that Brenda Kelly, Crews’ former girlfriend, was responsible for his death and awarded the Crews family $206 million in damages.

At the time of the civil trial, Kelly was not charged with a crime in connection with Crews’ death.

A lawyer for the Crews family asked jurors to award the family more than $129 million. The jury increased the final award, Crews’ lawyers told The Dallas Morning News.

The two-hour episode of Dateline, “Behind Door 813,″ airs at 8 p.m. Friday on NBC 5.

Click here to read more on the Crews case from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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The student, who has not been identified, was unresponsive in class. Staff administered the opioid-reversal medication, and the student was taken to a local hospital, the letter to Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD families says.

“We want to commend our students and staff for their quick action in assisting in this incident,” the message reads. “It takes our entire community to keep children safe. We need your help, if you see something, if you hear something, say something.”

Other students who were in the classroom received support from district crisis counselors, the message said. No additional information about Tuesday’s incident was available.

While the letter didn’t specify whether fentanyl was to blame, it did point families to a district resource page educating both parents and students about the dangers of fentanyl.

Over the last six months, the district has seen a string of fentanyl overdoses and poisonings that have killed three teenagers.

The district has responded with multiple informational meetings for parents and students, signs plastered in school bathrooms warning of the dangers of fentanyl and by stocking campuses with Narcan.

Carlos Quintanilla, an activist who’s organized vigils and rallies alongside families in the district, said he received several calls from parents Wednesday who were terrified to see another student found unresponsive.

“They’re very concerned. Their daughter goes to that school. They saw a student overdosing in a classroom. So it’s not like they’re overdosing at home. They’re overdosing at school with fentanyl in their bodies. So something’s wrong because it’s not ending,” said Quintanilla.

He said parents want to see more done like drug testing, counseling in the neighborhood, and funding for the establishment of a rehabilitation program.

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

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The ultrasound of his heart wouldn’t hurt, Eapen promised. Connor, 8, wasn’t so sure. After his diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease, in June of last year, doctors’ offices became places for needle pokes and anxiety.

Connor looked at his mom, Kathryn Cagle, with panic in his eyes.

“It’s just jelly,” Kathryn said.

“Oh, jelly,” Connor said. “Can I touch it?”

Eapen placed the probe in front of Connor so he could feel the cool gel on his finger. Both the pediatric cardiologist and Connor’s parents needed him to trust the procedure so they could see if he developed fibrosis, or scarring, around his heart.

The cardiology appointment is one of several Connor had on Thursday as part of the newly-opened CureDuchenne clinic. Funded by the nonprofit CureDuchenne and housed in Dr. Diana Castro’s neuromuscular practice, the clinic is one of the first in Texas to give patients a one-stop shop to see a cast of specialists, regardless of insurance status.

Duchenne is cruel and has no cure. Most of Castro’s patients will die in their late twenties or early thirties, and the fight to access a better quality of life through medications and specialized equipment is a difficult and expensive one.

“The problem is the lack of understanding. It’s almost like people don’t want to see it,” Castro said.

Castro knows the disease progression better than most. Boys – the genetic disease typically affects boys, although girls can be carriers and have minor symptoms – start showing signs of Duchenne in early childhood. Occasional leg weakness turns to difficulty walking, then difficulty moving at all. It affects every muscle, including the heart and muscles around the lungs, eventually making even coughing and breathing difficult.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The best week to list a home in Dallas-Fort Worth this year will be the week of March 26, Realtor.com researchers determined in a new report based on a study of historic market conditions that favor sellers.

The company measured weekly listing data over the last five years — excluding the unusual year of 2020 — and found that homes sold during the last week of March typically see 35.9% more views and 27.7% fewer price reductions than during the average week.

Homes also sell after eight fewer days on the market than average during that week and inventory is typically 23.3% lower.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Planning documents submitted to the state for the resort describes renovations to public areas and additions that include a grand staircase, arcade relocation, restaurant expansion and an outdoor bar.

The filing lists the estimated cost as $17 million and gives a start date of May 1, 2023 and a completion date of July 31, 2024. Architectural Design Consultants Inc. of Lake Delton, Wis., is listed as the design firm.

“We are currently exploring possible renovations to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, and to gain insights required as part of the planning and evaluation process, we needed to complete this filing with the state,” Great Wolf Lodge spokesperson Jason Lasecki said in a statement.

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

But there was a time when Texans lived without the regular time changes, and one of our readers wanted to know why daylight saving time was introduced.

That’s why Rene Fletcher asked Curious Texas: When did daylight saving time return to Texas?

“I had completely forgotten daylight saving time came to Texas, was discontinued and then came back,” she said. “I think I was 11 years old [and] in the fifth grade when it came back.”

Origins

President Woodrow Wilson signed the daylight saving bill, known as the Standard Time Bill, into law on March 19, 1918. The law established federally mandated time zones across the country. It also mandated that all clocks be set forward the last Sunday of March and back again the last Sunday in October.

The U.S. followed suit after a dozen European countries had “effectively demonstrated” the “practicality and efficiency” of their own daylight saving plans, The News reported at the time.

The American law promised to help conserve resources like oil, gas and electric power used to light homes and businesses. It would also result in “general benefits to the national health because of the additional hours of daylight, which may be devoted to recreation, reduction in the cost of living to some, who can raise garden truck for domestic consumption, and improvement of the training conditions for the fighting forces,” The News reported.

The law was so unpopular that Congress repealed it seven months later.

Daylight saving time returned to the national conversation after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill into law that established “War Time” — year-round daylight saving — in January 1942. The new law mandated that certain clocks be set one hour ahead at 2 a.m. on Feb. 2.

The change moved up Dallas’ official sunrise by an hour to 8:16 a.m.

Details on how the new law would work seemed unclear at the time. Many in Dallas voiced opposition to the time change.

“Washington dispatches have never quite clarified just who must abide by the new time,” The News reported. “The Federal Reserve Bank here (whose time will probably control the times of other banks) may or may not adopt the measure … decision would be reached after the city’s trend became clear.

War time switched to standard time on Sept. 30, 1945, following the end of World War II, allowing everyone to have an extra hour of sleep.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Forty-one churches received approval from the North Texas Conference to leave the United Methodist Church during a special session Saturday morning. The move comes as congregations across the country seek to disaffiliate from the denomination before the end of 2023 over disagreements on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy.

“Some disaffiliating churches will become independent and others will unite with other denominations,” Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said during his homily before the vote of approval. “This is a difficult day.”

CONGREGATIONS APPROVED TO LEAVE THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

The North Texas Conference approved the departure of 41 regional churches.

After a stance against same-sex marriages and LGBTQ clergy members was upheld by a slim majority in 2019, many conservative congregations across the country believe that decision is not being enforced, and many are seeking to disaffiliate from the denomination.

Some, however, deny leaving over LGBTQ inclusion and point to a variety of conflicts with the broader denomination, from finances to theology.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

In October 2020, Corner Bakery was purchased by Philadelphia restaurant company Pandya Restaurant Growth Brands, which also owns Boston Market. At the time, there were 175 locations in the Corner Bakery portfolio. The company’s website shows there are currently 140 locations throughout 20 states.

Frank Paci, Corner Bakery’s CEO at the time it was sold, said the acquisition gave the company “access to resources that we need to continue to operate our business in this challenging environment.” He said the company “is now well-positioned to achieve future success during a period of unprecedented disruption for our industry.”

According to Restaurant Business, Corner Bakery defaulted on its loans last year after struggling with weakening sales and declining unit volumes, which started before the pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated those issues since in-office workers made up a significant portion of its customer base.

Click here to read more on Corner Bakery’s filing from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges that trustee Tammy Nakamura defamed former principal James Whitfield by calling educators like him “poison” and making other public comments, violating the terms of a settlement agreement reached when he left the district last school year.

The lawsuit alleges that Nakamura — a conservative trustee — made public comments in June in which she referred to Whitfield as a “total activist” and said a letter in which he denounced discrimination was “the straw that broke the camel’s back … that got him fired.”

“It’s why we entered into this agreement to put it to rest. I won’t talk about you negatively; you won’t talk about me negatively,” Whitfield told NBC 5. “We’re going to part ways. Like I say, I’ve done that.”

Whitfield says he just wants to move forward and focus on education.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD declined to discuss the lawsuit. Nakamura has not yet responded to NBC 5’s request for comment.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

What is Critical Race Theory?

Critical race theory is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society. The architects of the theory argue that the United States was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race. Proponents also believe race is culturally invented, not biological. Read more about CRT here.

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Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced Wednesday in an email to the mayor, City Council and other top city officials that Council told him he was leaving Dallas and the director “will be transitioning out of his current role.” Broadnax also said he was appointing sanitation assistant director Cliff Gillespie as the interim head of the department and that it was effective immediately. Gillespie has been an assistant director since October 2019.

No reason for the departure was given in the email nor any timeline on a search for a new permanent director. Council didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Click here to read more of this story from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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Some families save for years and pay up to $25,000 for this celebration of a girl transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

The tradition seems to be going stronger out of the pandemic, quinceañera shops and planners said. All related businesses, from photography to dance halls and limousines services, are barely keeping up with demand.

César Alejandro Olmos, the owner of Something Different Events, a Fort Worth-based event planning business, said he’s almost fully booked for the year.

“With everything being expensive, [inflation] impacts us in the sense that we have to adapt to [limited] budgets and look for somewhat cheaper things so that we stay within the price range families are willing to pay,” Olmos said.

“But families do want to spend. They want fiesta!”

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The company, which filed for a bankruptcy reorganization in Fort Worth on Tuesday, has already asked the court to reject 265 store leases and plans to close those stores.

Fort Worth has four stores closing. Other North Texas stores on the list are in Bedford, Burleson, Garland, Granbury, Lewisville, Plano and Hurst.

Gordon Brothers, a store liquidator, has been hired to carry out the closings.

Click here to see the list of stores closing, compiled by our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

But not this year.

With its Dallas-Fort Worth expansion underway, the San Antonio grocer is airing two 30-second spots locally, one in each half of Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The ads produced by Plot Twist, a creative ad agency started by former Richards Group creatives, feature popular H-E-B items with LeAnn Rimes’ “How do I Live” playing in the background.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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City officials anticipate federal, state and local grants to kick in on the remaining $100.7 million.

The bond committee presented their recommendations to McKinney City Council on Jan. 17. The council will vote Tuesday on the package to be sent to voters on May 6.

Proposed is a 144,000-square-foot terminal with four gates, a 15-acre tarmac and 2,000 parking spaces. Construction could begin in 2024 with the terminal opening in 2026. The potential economic effect could bring more than 3,000 jobs to the region and millions in wages and economic impact, according to information the bond committee presented to the council.

McKinney National is just 32 miles from DFW International Airport, a fortress hub for Fort Worth-based American Airlines and one of the world’s largest airports with more nonstop destinations than any other airport in the country. And McKinney National is even closer to Dallas Love Field, one of the nation’s 30 largest airports and home airport to Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.

Brian Loughmiller, a bond committee member who serves as board chair for McKinney Economic Development Corp., said it is not unusual to have multiple commercial airports in large metropolitan areas.

“One of the questions you will get and we have constantly have talked about, is what are we really going to attract if we do have some type of commercial service in McKinney, Texas?” he told the City Council during the Jan. 17 meeting.

Loughmiller did not say what airlines would potentially have service at the airport if the project moves forward, but said there have been discussions with multiple carriers.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Federal investigators say each of these tragedies traces back to a single Carrollton house, located just blocks from R.L. Turner High School, where juvenile dealers as young as 14 picked up the drugs and sold them to classmates.

The grim narrative was laid out in a criminal complaint filed against Luis Eduardo Navarrete and Magaly Mejia Cano as the couple will make their initial appearance Monday afternoon in federal court in Dallas on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.

NBC 5’s partners at The Dallas Morning News first broke the story just as the document was unsealed in federal court. Click here to read the full story.

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The newly insured pushed Texas over the 2.4 million mark for residents seeking coverage on HealthCare.gov during the open enrollment period that ended Jan. 15, according to federal data.

That’s a record high for the Lone Star State and more than double the total from three years ago. Texans’ enrollment grew 31% compared with 12.4% nationwide.

Why are so many Texans embracing the Affordable Care Act plans once dubbed Obamacare?

Give much of the credit to more generous federal subsidies, which began with the pandemic and have been extended through 2025. They made health coverage more affordable for more people, and extended subsidies to those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level, which was just over $92,000 for a family of three last year.

A rule change enabled family members — for the first time — to add separate subsidized coverage when the breadwinner’s company insurance isn’t affordable for everyone.

Even state Republican lawmakers, who’ve opposed ACA since the law’s passage in 2010, made the exchange plans more compelling for Texans.

In 2021, they passed a “focused rate review” bill, authored by state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, that requires insurers to align premiums across different tiers of coverage.

As a result, many residents had the chance to buy 2023 plans with little or no premiums and much lower deductibles.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Woods replaces senior vice president and chief information officer Kathleen Merrill, who decided to retire in December and move into an executive adviser role. Merrill had been in the job since 2017 and with the carrier since 2004.

CEO Bob Jordan had previously introduced Woods as the incoming chief information officer, but the company had not officially announced the leadership change.

“Lauren’s vast experience has prepared her well for this important role, as she’s built a stellar reputation for being an innovative and transformational leader in our technology department and throughout the company,” Jordan said in a statement.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

His successor is already in place.

The club and Moore came to what is described as a mutual decision to part ways, and teams around the NFL searching for a coordinator are aware of Moore’s status, multiple people acquainted with the outcome told The Dallas Morning News. Head coach Mike McCarthy will assume play-calling duties in the wake of Moore’s departure, a person with knowledge of the shakeup said.

Moore’s position on the staff dominated conversations between McCarthy, owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones at The Star over the last 48 hours. Replacing Moore as the play caller was only part of the equation. The goal was to determine if the Cowboys could upgrade the spot.

McCarthy is the only coach on the current staff who meets that expectation. McCarthy won a Super Bowl calling plays in Green Bay, but he was reluctant to do so when taking the job in Dallas three years ago, saying he wanted to keep the same system and mechanics in place to make it as comfortable as possible for quarterback Dak Prescott.

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

In a Friday letter to families, chief of school leadership Tiffany Huitt said the move is in response to cybersecurity concerns.

“Experts believe the cybersecurity risk stems from the belief that TikTok’s parent company tracks data from users — including when, where and how a person uses the internet — that could be used to share sensitive information and ultimately harm our IT infrastructure,” she wrote.

Earlier this month, several Texas universities also announced the popular app was banned on their campus Wi-Fi networks. Late last year, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to ban employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government-issued devices, joining a growing number of states.

Several federal agencies also prohibit the use of TikTok on their devices, including the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown responded to the universities’ moves saying app officials worry about the impact these policies could have, such as limiting schools’ ability to share information, recruit students and build communities.

“We’re disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok,” Brown said at the time.

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

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In a series of posts on her Instagram account Saturday, Richardson said the argument started when a flight attendant asked her to end a phone call, which she did before telling him she didn’t like the tone he was using. It is unclear where she was flying to, but Richardson said the trip was a vacation.

According to Richardson, the flight attendant then continued to lean over and look at her phone while going through the safety protocol demonstrations and “demanded” she show him her phone was on airplane mode, which she says she did.

Richardson started recording a video of herself after the exchange as the flight attendant backs away in the background. He tells her she can’t record, to which she says, “You’re harassing me at this point so I think you should stop, I think you should stop.”

To read the full story, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The Grapevine Police Department thanked a local company for gifting its staff a pizza party, adding that it was “blessed to have their support and encouragement.”

But the gift, made by the Christian conservative Patriot Mobile cellphone company, caused an outcry on social media, where people urged the department to return it.

On Saturday, Grapevine police said it would not accept the gift certificate to Cane Rosso and would instead donate it to an organization in need. The amount of the certificate was not immediately clear.

“We do not question a donor’s beliefs, we simply express our gratitude,” the department wrote in a follow-up post. “In this case, however, the donation brought out deep emotion.”

Patriot Mobile — which describes itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider” — has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote like-minded candidates in recent Tarrant County suburban school board races.

Last spring, the company’s political action committee sent thousands of political mailers accusing sitting school board members of endangering students with critical race theory and other “woke” ideas regarding gender and race.

All 11 candidates backed by Patriot Mobile won their races across four school districts: Grapevine-Colleyville, Southlake, Keller and Mansfield.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

In a brief interview with reporters on Thursday, the Beaumont Republican said he believes voters would approve the constitutional amendment needed to expand gambling in the state.

“What I don’t want to see is to walk into every convenience store and see 15 slot machines,” Phelan said. “I want to see destination-style casinos that are high quality and that create jobs and that improve the lifestyle of those communities.”

He described resorts equipped with golf courses, hotels and concert venues that are “major economic providers.”

Attempts to expand gambling in Texas have gone nowhere in past sessions, but the industry is gearing up for yet another strong push to bring gaming of some kind to one of the last major markets without it.

Phelan’s words of support signal the issue may be gaining ground, though other state leaders are more lukewarm.

Read more from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News

That finally ended in the spring, largely due to a steep climb in mortgage rates engineered by the Federal Reserve. The average rate for a 30-year home loan soared from 3% to a high of more than 7% in just a year, boosting buyers’ monthly payments and stalling home searches.

Existing home sales in November saw a 30% year-over-year decline, a drop not seen since immediately after the Great Recession, according to the latest data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University.

Longtime A&M economist Jim Gaines expects the number of existing home sales to continue to fall. Gaines and other experts wouldn’t say the market is headed toward a crash, but rather that it’s returning to pre-pandemic inventory levels and sales numbers.

“There’s no doubt about it, the market is slowing down from a very high peak,” Gaines said.

Homebuilders also saw a dramatic decline in sales that led them to slow construction of new homes and opt out of buying more land. In the third quarter, D-FW saw the largest year-over-year decline in home starts in almost a decade, according to Dallas-based housing analyst Residential Strategies.

“I think that it’s going through a swoon right now,” Residential Strategies principal Ted Wilson said. “But there are a lot of forces that are going to keep it buoyed so that it doesn’t crash.”

The region’s median sale price has dropped almost 9% since its peak of $435,000 in June, but it would take a much bigger blow to get it back to March 2020′s median price of $283,000. Gaines said prices could see a slight year-over-year decline in 2023 but will likely stay close to where they are.

Some sellers are having to make compromises in contracts and reduce prices, said Tiffany Todd, a real estate agent with TDRealty in Mansfield.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Kaufman County is growing faster than any other county in the nation, according to 1-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

While newly released census data showed positive growth across North Texas, Kaufman County, saw an 18% population boost between 2019 and 2021, the most of seven Dallas-Forth Worth area counties. Not only has the county grown by over 21,000 residents in those two years according to Census estimates, but it has also seen its diversity soar.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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For this season.

The courtship between the Dallas Cowboys and the veteran receiver has gone on for weeks. The Cowboys owner even refused to throw cold water on the idea after Beckham left his visit to The Star weeks ago with an understanding he wouldn’t be ready to contribute during the regular season and his return for the postseason was sketchy.

Jones has said on occasion the longer this went on, the less likely it was that Beckham would be added this season. With two weeks left in the regular season – and veteran receiver T.Y. Hilton pulling in a key 52-yard reception in the Cowboys comeback against Philadelphia – Jones finally shut the door.

“It’s not realistic to think about having him in a meaningful way for the playoffs,” Jones told reporters after the game.

“Now, that’s not dismissing the future.”

Beckham’s two-day visit in Dallas included a trip to the Mavericks-Suns game with Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs, but it didn’t include a workout for the Dallas franchise. After tearing his ACL during this year’s Super Bowl, several people with knowledge of Beckham’s status told The Dallas Morning News it appears his rehabilitation would extend into the postseason.

After the visit concluded, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons said Beckham told him he’d be ready to play in five weeks.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

So here’s one option: Outsource dinner on Christmas Day or for Hanukkah. North Texas has you covered with elegant dine-in options or casual takeout, traditional Italian feasts or Texas barbecue.

Reservations are recommended or required at most places.

Al Biernat’s

The Dallas institution will serve Christmas Eve lunch and dinner with prime aged steaks, seafood, sides and desserts. Reservations are limited. Call Oak Lawn at 214-219-2201 or North Dallas at 972-239-3400. The restaurant will be closed Christmas Day and for lunch the following day. 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. and 5251 Spring Valley Road, both in Dallas. albiernats.com.

À Table

Menu features locally sourced and organic options like garlic and herb roasted prime rib, crispy smashed potatoes, creamed spinach, truffle mac and cheese, and wild mushrooms with thyme and sherry. Order online by Dec. 18 for delivery Dec. 23. atable.kitchen.

Blue Goose Cantina

Get the restaurant’s Box O Tamales, with pork, chicken, jalapeño and cheese options. Each $30 box comes with three sauces: salsa verde, chili con carne and queso. Order online at least one day in advance. Locations across Dallas-Fort Worth. bluegoosecantina.com.

Bread Winners Cafe

A family-style dinner for $25 a person comes with sliced oven roasted turkey or sliced cider-glazed ham, cornbread stuffing, leek mashed potatoes, sage turkey gravy, cranberry orange sauce and rolls. Family-style sides are also available a la carte. Order by noon Dec. 22 for pickup on Dec. 24. Locations in Dallas and Plano. breadwinnerscafe.com.

Cafe Momentum

Christmas brunch takeout offerings include quiche, a smoked salmon spread, assorted meats and cheeses, biscuits with sausage gravy, sausage balls, yogurt parfaits, muffins and bread. Pre-order for pickup from noon to 2 p.m. Christmas Eve. 1510 Pacific Ave., Dallas. cafemomentum.org.

Carte Blanche

Diners can enjoy a French tasting menu on Christmas Eve, and guests will receive complimentary bubbles and a small gift. Seatings are available from 4 to 6 p.m. Make reservations online. 2114 Greenville Ave., Dallas. carteblanchedallas.com.

City Hall Bistro

The restaurant inside the Adolphus Hotel is offering a prix fixe Christmas Day menu with roasted fall squash and kale salad, honey baked ham, cornbread dressing, candied yams, pumpkin pie and Texas praline crunch brownie for $70. Additional items, including smoked prime rib and pan-seared salmon, are available for an extra cost. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Call 214-651-3686 for reservations. 1321 Commerce St., Dallas. adolphus.com/restaurants-bars/city-hall-bistro.

rossbuck BBQ and Smokehouse

Pitmasters are smoking whole hams, prime rib, briskets and turkeys. Sides are creamed corn, green bean casserole, cheesy potato casserole, mac and cheese and creamy hominy. Order online by Dec. 13 for pickup Dec. 22-23. 4400 Spring Valley Road, Farmers Branch. crossbuckbbq.com.

Dakota’s Steakhouse

Diners can enjoy a Christmas Eve dinner with whole roasted lamb crown and sourdough bread stuffing with apple and mint compote. Cost is $175, and it serves three to four people. The regular menu is also available. Make reservations online. 600 N. Akard St., Dallas. dakotasrestaurant.com.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

The barbecue chain has two takeout options. The $120 complete feast, which serves 10 to 12, comes with a choice of spiral-cut ham, smoked turkey or prime rib, as well as cornbread dressing, gravy, baked potato casserole, green beans with bacon and a dozen rolls. The $99 Dinner Feast, which serves eight to 10, comes with the same choice of meat and cornbread dressing, gravy and rolls. Order online. Locations across Dallas-Fort Worth. dickeys.com.

To see the full list, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The Eagles can secure a first-round bye with a win in one of their final three games, while the Cowboys need to win out and hope the Eagles lose out to keep their hopes of winning a division crown alive. Philadelphia will also enter the matchup at AT&T Stadium without a key piece, as QB Jalen Hurts will be sidelined after suffering a shoulder sprain in a 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears. Gardner Minshew is expected to step in as the Eagles’ starting signal caller.

Can the Cowboys avenge their earlier loss to their heated rival? Will Philadelphia cruise toward the NFC’s top seed?

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

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Texas forbids package stores from selling liquor on Christmas Day. When Christmas falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, the package stores must close on the following Monday as well.

While groceries and convenience stores can sell beer and wine from 10 a.m. to midnight on Christmas Day, and bars and restaurants may sell mixed drinks on their premises that day, Texans who like a hot toddy — or simply a cocktail — while they celebrate the holiday at home should stock up before Christmas Day.

Read more in The Dallas Morning News

The Texas secretary of state’s office released the final report from a sprawling audit of the 2020 election Monday, publishing its findings for the four counties selected for the probe: Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant.

The audit also found major issues with Harris County, few issues with Tarrant County and indicated that Collin County should be held up as the standard for how to conduct an election in Texas.

“Texas has some of the strongest and most effective transparency measures in the country when it comes to administering and auditing elections,” Texas Secretary of State John Scott stated in a news release. “The Texas forensic election audit – which is, by far, the largest undertaken in the nation to date – demonstrates how these measures can and should be used to make sure Texas voters can have confidence in the outcome of any given election, as well as which areas counties need to address to restore confidence going forward.”

Click here to read the 360-page audit and here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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Photos shared on Facebook showed a gray coffin with red paint dripping down its sides and “ATATIANA” painted on top. Jefferson, who was Black, was killed in 2019 by then-Officer Aaron Dean, who is currently on trial for murder.

A red target was painted on the casket’s side. Other names on it included David Collie, who was paralyzed after being shot in the back by an off-duty officer in 2016 and died this year, and Dacion Steptoe, who died in an exchange of gunfire between police and robbery suspects in 2018 that also killed Fort Worth Officer Garrett Hull. Both Collie and Steptoe were Black.

According to a police report, officers responded to the mayor’s residence in the Ridglea North neighborhood near Interstate 30 and Camp Bowie Boulevard at about 8:30 a.m. The report says the incident is being investigated as a terroristic threat.

Fort Worth police confirmed officers responded to a disturbance call at the home but said no additional information could be released because of the ongoing investigation.

The mayor’s office referred a request for comment to the police department.

To read the full story, visit our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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Closures for the marathon began outside City Hall on Wednesday. Most of the closures around City Hall — on Akard, Ervay, Field, Marilla and Young streets — are expected to last until 6 a.m. Monday, according to the city’s schedule.

Additional streets will close along race routes in downtown Dallas starting at 7:55 a.m. Saturday and will open as the last runner passes through — about 11 a.m.

On Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m., more streets across the city will close along race routes and will open as the last runner passes through.

Read more from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News

There is a special Waze map can help you stay up to date on road closures during the multi-day event.

Opened in 2001, Mockingbird Station is next door to a Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail station and is just east of Southern Methodist University.

The development on Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway has received multiple real estate industry awards for its combination of shops, restaurants, apartments and office space.

Since 2015, the high-profile property has been owned by an investment fund headed by California-based CBRE Global Investors. Now the property has hit the market for sale.

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News

The chief fired Sr. Cpl. Daniel Jamieson, Sr. Cpl. Leonard Anderson and 911 call-taker Zyana Hubbard, Dallas police confirmed. He also suspended Officer Darrien Robertson for 30 days.

“These days are brutal,” García said in a text message about the decisions. “The discipline speaks for itself.”

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The new restaurant, which opened on Dec. 1 in White Settlement, is designed around mobile orders and has a drive-through lane for customers who place their orders through the McDonald’s app. Mobile orders come out on a conveyor belt for quick grab-and-go service.

The inside of the restaurant is smaller than typical McDonald’s restaurants because it, too, is designed for grab-and-go service, not dining in. There are kiosks where customers can place to-go orders, as well as a delivery pick-up room for third-party delivery drivers to pick up orders.

To read the full article, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Citing health, noise and environmental concerns, Dallas officials are developing plans to phase out the use of gas-powered tools for city departments, contractors, businesses and residents by 2027 or 2030. The ban would mandate use of alternative devices, like ones powered by electricity.

The city is hiring a consultant group to help flesh out a transition plan and evaluate its impact on the public. Dallas officials, for example, don’t know how feasible it is for the average resident to switch to non-gasoline equipment or how many lawn care and landscaping businesses operate in the city.

Read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

The participants were drug traffickers, the feds say, who took part in occult rituals to protect themselves and their illicit operations from law enforcement. They even paid for a “hex” to be placed on a local DEA agent investigating them, court records show. The agent’s name was found on an altar.

Their alleged cult leader, a Mexican-American known as “Padrino” or godfather, could not, however, foresee the fate that awaited them. Agents arrested more than 40 men and one woman across North Texas since 2021 on federal drug trafficking charges.

The defendants hotly disputed the government’s claims about a cult and argued the bloody rites were a valid religious exercise. Most pleaded not guilty, and many remain locked up awaiting trial.

Agents found multiple blood-soaked altars at the house near Paul Quinn College in southeast Oak Cliff as well as a “blessing book” in the home of the “godfather,” Daniel Vallejo, the accused cult leader and one of the charged defendants.

They also found cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in his house and others, court records show. A DEA agent in the case, Marcus West, said at a detention hearing last year that the cult’s purpose was “to bless the success of the ongoing drug-trafficking enterprise.”

To read the full story, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

Elliott has stated all week that he has felt “optimistic about this week” despite being listed as questionable on the injury report. The running back hasn’t played since the Cowboys’ win over the Lions on Oct. 23 where he hyper-extended and bruised his knee in the second quarter.

Nevertheless, Elliott will be wearing a knee brace similar to the one he wore after suffering a different injury to the same knee a year prior.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

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“It is like a city,” said Jonathan Scott, one-half of the brother renovators known for their reality TV shows. “They have everything you could possibly imagine.”

So it was only natural for them to choose the Warren Buffett-backed retailer for their first furniture collection.

During a stop Wednesday at NFM’s location in Grandscape in The Colony, Drew and Jonathan Scott made an afternoon appearance at a VIP meet-and-greet event where attendees paid $50, with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity Dallas. They also stayed for a free event open to the public later in the evening that drew over 1,000 fans.

The Drew & Jonathan Home collection, also available online, includes furniture, rugs, mattresses, décor and home accessories. It’s all on display in the store’s pop-up shop that’s just left of the main entrance. The merchandise is not exclusive to NFM, but the Nebraska-based furniture retailer is the only store that carries the entire collection.

The furniture, the two brothers said, is inspired by family and designed to be affordable. They wanted to create durable furniture for families to enjoy. Drew recently welcomed an addition to his family, his son Parker.

“For us, it’s all about families,” Drew said. “It’s all about finding a whole home solution, finding a way for people to be inspired and give them a happy, healthy home.”

To read the full story, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

The Dallas Morning News reports Sr. Cpl. Anthony Heims, 39, was booked Friday into the Dallas County jail on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. His bail was set at $25,000, and he no longer appeared in jail records Saturday.

Heims’ attorney, Robert Rogers, said in a written statement that “a rush to judgment and a hurried investigation do not serve the best interests of justice. My client will appeal.”

García decided on the discipline during a hearing Saturday after he ordered that police expedite the internal investigation into Heims, who had been placed on administrative leave. The chief declined to comment on his decision.

Heims has been a member of the Dallas Police Department since September 2013 and was most recently assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

Starting Tuesday, customers can pay for their groceries at Whole Foods in Irving and Highland Village with a wave of their hands.

The checkout technology, called Amazon One, will be added to all 16 North Texas locations in the coming weeks, Amazon said.

To find out how Amazon One works, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News.

She remembers the days when Cresson was a “real ranch community.” After feeding their cattle in the morning, the ranchers went to the grocery store to pick up their mail, drink coffee and tell stories. The tight-knit residents worked together each year to make sure everyone got their cattle loaded on railcars to be shipped to feedlots.

Most of the ranches have disappeared, one by one, over the years. Today, the city has no major industry, and many residents work elsewhere, Mayor Teena Putteet Conway said. Cresson remains a small city, with about 1,400 residents and few housing developments.

That’s about to change. Fast. In a little over a year, four subdivisions have been approved in Cresson, and the city could see thousands of new residents within the next eight years.

Read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News to learn how communities across Dallas and Fort Worth are growing.

A few months later, the new and improved Big Tex was being built. I drove to the top-secret location to talk with the engineers and artists who rebuilt him.

“Birthin’ a 55-foot cowboy in nine months could only happen in Texas,” Sue Gooding, retired VP of public relations for the State Fair of Texas told me.

“Big Tex has sported a barrel chest since his debut — but he never quite filled out his jeans,” she said. “The request to enhance his posterior was made by Mitchell Glieber, the State Fair of Texas president. Staff calls it ‘The Mitch’ in homage to its namesake.”

To read more, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News for this member-exclusive story.