Ray Washburne on Intersections Podcast

With the Winter Meetings approaching, John and Evan prepare to break down the Rangers' needs heading to Orlando. There are a lot. But wait, what's this about John and turnips? Yeah, he's a big turnip guy, it turns out. Evan takes a moment to wistfully look back at the contributions of the quartet of Marcus Semien, Adolis García, Jonah Heim and Josh Sborz to the World Championship team. Then Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins joins the guys to talk about his time with the Rangers and owning Reggie Jackson. Fergie is also going to be a coach at the Rangers' upcoming Fantasy Camp and he tells stories of previous camps. Finally, John and Evan reminisce about the good old days, when they'd break into annual screaming matches at the winter meetings. Where has tradition gone in baseball? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two North Texas women are representing the region on a new T.V. show, "Next Level Baker," from Gordon Ramsay. There's also plenty more food news to catch up on: a new location for Kirin Court, a Wagyu omakase restaurant opening in Design District, and more Tex-Mex hitting Lower Greenville. Later in the show, The Dallas Morning News food team gets into the dishes they loved so much at Thanksgiving, they're making them again for the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Painkin, former president of the Allen Firefighters Association, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 months in federal prison for wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced. In other news, Texas can use its newly-drawn congressional map in next year’s elections, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing a lower court ruling and dealing a victory to President Donald Trump’s hopes of keeping control of Congress in the midterm elections; The ramp connecting southbound Dallas North Tollway to southbound Interstate 35E in Dallas, near Oak Lawn, will be closed for routine maintenance, according to a traffic advisory from North Texas Tollway Authority. Nightly closures starting at 10 PM began Monday and will continue through Saturday. Additional closures are planned in the Celina and Prosper areas starting this evening for construction work that’s part of the Dallas North Tollway Phase 4A project. All lanes of east- and westbound Frontier Parkway between north- and southbound Dallas Parkway will be closed overnight Thursday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closures are needed for deck work. An overnight closure is planned for east- and westbound Addison Airport Toll Tunnel for routine maintenance. The advisory said the AATT will be closed to traffic starting tonight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.; And the Dallas Cowboys playoff hopes took a big hit last night after a 44-30 loss on the road at Detroit. According to the Athletic, the Cowboys now have less than a 10% chance of making the playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid budgetary constraints and federal directives to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Dallas officials have developed a plan to help them decide when to take the lead in addressing resident needs and when not to. In other news, DFW International Airport contributes more than $78 billion to the North Texas economy. That’s  according to a new impact study released Wednesday from the Perryman Group; the Academy of Country Music Awards are leaving Frisco for Las Vegas next year. For three consecutive years, country luminaries and rising acts have descended upon the Ford Center at The Star; and the largest online retailer in the U.S. has brought its drone delivery service to North Texas. Amazon has gone live in Richardson for local customers as it makes its first big push into the region. Customers in the area can use the technology for tens of thousands of items in as little as one hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt discuss the improbable rise of the Cowboys and what they have to do to make the playoffs. Hint: Probably ought to win out. Joe says Quinnen Williams has made all the difference on defense, and Kevin says George Pickens is the biggest reason for Dak Prescott’s newfound confidence in the offense. Evan and Kevin salute the departed heroes from the Rangers’ World Series title, then they consider the CFP prospects for Texas Tech, Texas A&M . . . and Texas?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of Texas families filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday to stop all Texas school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The new state law requiring the classroom displays has faced multiple legal challenges, with two federal judges finding it unconstitutional and blocking 25 school districts across the state from implementing it. In other news, Austin authorities said Tuesday that an ongoing investigation into the weekend falling death of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera continues to suggest the 19-year-old did not die by homicide, but also cautioned they have not reached any conclusions; attorneys for a North Texas woman who was shown in a video screaming through contractions while hospital staff appeared to slow-roll her admission are requesting a meeting with the facility to discuss what happened and the possibility of financial compensation; a Dallas Morning News analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau found more North Texas adults with college degrees live in poverty today compared to a decade ago. That mirrors a trend across major metropolitan areas in the state and country. Since 2014, the number of North Texans with college degrees has increased by more than 50%; nd on a new list of the 50 best steakhouses in North America, two Dallas restaurants were recognized. The list, compiled by Robb Report, ranked Al Biernat’s at 43rd and Nuri Steakhouse at 39th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former U.S. Secretary of Education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center Margaret Spellings on the state of American education. She reflects on shaping national education policy under President George W. Bush, the push for No Child Left Behind and how school choice and school voucher programs work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Talmage Boston interviews Bret Baier, author and chief political anchor at Fox News. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Texas Tech University System restricted how professors can discuss race and gender in the classroom Monday, banning content that advocates for one race or sex as “inherently superior to another,” according to a memo sent by Chancellor Brandon Creighton to the system’s presidents. In other news, the Texas attorney general is investigating global retailer Shein for potentially violating Texas law. Ken Paxton is looking into Shein US Services LLC Corp. and its affiliates for possibly breaking statutes related to unethical labor practices and the sale of unsafe consumer products; eight people were arrested Friday after the Collin County Sheriff’s Office busted an alleged cockfighting operation in the Farmersville area, a sting that occurred during the opening week of the illicit cockfighting season; and if you are planning to travel through DFW International Airport or Dallas Love Field without a REAL ID, you could pay a $45 fee. Starting Feb. 1, travelers who do not present acceptable identification and still want to fly will be given an option to pay the fee to use “TSA Confirm.ID”, an alternative identification system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arlington police had help potentially cracking the case. Fifteen students enrolled in a new class offered by the University of Texas at Arlington called Special Topics in Crime and Criminology: Forensic Assessment of Cold Case Files, who brought new eyes to an investigation that had long perplexed the original Arlington homicide detective, who died without ever identifying a suspect. In other news, the next Powerball drawing of $740 million will take place Monday night after no one claimed the hefty jackpot prize Saturday; for all the details about each lawsuit Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been involved in including how each case unfolded and the current status of each suit, check out the Dallas Morning News; Trevon Diggs  is expected to return from injured reserve for Thursday’s game against the Lions, his first since Oct. 12 at Carolina. Diggs opened his 21-day practice window Sunday, and if everything goes right, he’ll play.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices