SportsDay Insider: Cowboys’ glass ‘half-full,’ Rangers’ new manager and Texas-OU intrigue

Artificial intelligence-powered cameras on Dallas sanitation trucks may hit the streets next year. The City Council approved more than $850,000 to install cameras on the trucks in partnership with the Code Compliance Department. In other news, while federal workers across the country have been furloughed or required to work without pay as a government shutdown approaches its third week, members of Congress are entitled to continue collecting their salaries. But are Texas lawmakers accepting or allowing their pay to be withheld? is Dak Prescott’s Cowboys career destined to go the same wasted way as Tony Romo’s? And in today's 'Ask Curious Texas' “what’s the story of the house with dinosaurs outside and in the yard? Did the homeowners need to go through any kind of city approval to be able to place those outside?” Here's the link to Ask Curious Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two people were killed Sunday afternoon when the small airplane they were on crashed near Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth, igniting a massive blaze that sent a plume of thick black smoke into the air. Several crews were dispatched to North Saginaw Boulevard following the crash. Several first responders from different agencies responded to the scene. In other news, over the past decade — as North Texas’ famous economic boom has taken off in earnest — more than 700 companies have expanded their presence in greater Dallas-Fort Worth. Increasingly those D-FW campuses feature elaborate design elements and amenities — everything from specially commissioned artwork to integrated lighting sensors to restaurant-quality cafeteria offerings — that rival those of Silicon Valley or New York City. And rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald made a 33-yard field goal as time expired and the Carolina Panthers knocked off the Dallas Cowboys, 30-27 Sunday. Former Cowboy Rico Dowdle rolled up 183 rushing yards on 30 carries for the Panthers. He added 56 yards receiving and a touchdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue joint is getting the Hollywood treatment in the new season of “Landman.” There are changes afoot for the Texas Michelin awards. It’s time to say goodbye to a Chili’s classic. That’s all coming up on this episode of Eat Drink D-FW. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One week before his third execution date, the state’s highest criminal court granted Robert Roberson III a stay Thursday, the latest development in an extraordinary case that has redefined the landscape — and limits — of capital punishment. The 58 year old Roberson was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection Oct. 16 in Huntsville. In other news, . Dozens of his neighbors from the South Haven community watched the Dallas City Council approve utility company Oncor’s request to construct a 200-foot communications tower near their homes in Irving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Talmage Boston interviews Mark K. Updegrove, presidential historian for ABC News and former executive director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, about his latest book, Make Your Mark: Lessons in Character from Seven Presidents. This is an independent podcast hosted by The Dallas Morning News opinion team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Both DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field were operating normally Wednesday morning, a day after both were impacted by staffing shortages stemming from the ongoing government shutdown. In other news, Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to withhold funding for roads from Dallas and other Texas cities if they do not remove rainbow crosswalks. On Wednesday, Abbott said he directed the Texas Department of Transportation to ensure cities and counties erase “any and all political ideologies from our streets,” including symbols and flags; the victim in a fatal Tuesday shooting in Dallas was killed following an argument after she allegedly got upset that a woman did not thank her for holding open a door; and the Dallas Cowboys’ reaction to former teammate Rico Dowdle saying they better buckle up for Sunday’s game against the Panthers was met with a relaxed response. In Carolina’s come-from-behind win over Miami, Dowdle rushed for a career-high 206 yards, earning him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt try [00:19] to put the Cowboys’ win over the Jets into perspective. On one hand, it was the Jets, a truly bad team. On the other, Chicago isn’t great, either, and the Bears walked all over the Cowboys. Only a couple weeks after saying they’d be lucky to win five games, Joe now says his glass is “half-full,” if only because the offense is so good and the defense couldn’t be any worse than it was the first three games. Kevin and Evan discuss [25:30] what difference Skip Schumaker can make and rank the biggest needs. (Hint: It’s not pitching). And [51:35] if the Sooners’ John Mateer really is back for Texas-OU, the Longhorns could have a long afternoon at the Cotton Bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jerry Jones has been fined $250,000 for the middle finger he directed at fans during the Cowboys-Jets game over the weekend, a league spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday. In other news, the architect of Texas’ mid-decade redistricting plan said on Tuesday he did not use racial data to design the map that could net Republicans five seats in Congress. Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, said he drew “most” of the 2025 map that targeted five congressional seats held by Democrats in the Dallas, Houston, Central and South Texas regions; singer Leon Bridges stood at the corner of Calhoun Street and Daggett Avenue in Fort Worth Tuesday, tugging on a rope that uncovered a newly-minted sign bearing his name; and Dallas-based Chili’s Bar and Grill removed its longtime Skillet Beef Queso and White Skillet Queso in favor of a new cheese dip called Southwest Queso.  Unlike the Skillet Beef Queso, the Southwest Queso is vegetarian. Chili’s was once a single location on Dallas’ Greenville Avenue that opened 50 years ago, in 1975. It now operates 1,600 restaurants in 29 countries and two territories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was feeling good about his team after a dominant 37-22 victory against the Jets on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. Jones was apparently feeling saucy during the game as well. Jones was caught on video giving the middle finger to Jets fans from his suite at MetLife Stadium. In other news, U.S. bank Fifth Third agreed to buy Dallas-based regional lender Comerica in an all-stock deal valued at $10.9 billion, aiming to expand its presence in key growth markets. The deal will create a lender with combined assets of about $288 billion, making it the ninth-largest U.S. bank. Comerica shares jumped 12% before the bell; Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday that Texas National Guard troops should “stay the hell” out of his state after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott approved President Donald Trump’s request to send troops to other states; and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and television personality Melissa Rycroft Strickland was arrested recently in Southlake on suspicion of drunken driving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intersections podcast hosts Kyle Waldrep and Tom Leppert discuss New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and different generations' views on economic systems and innovation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices