Texas Supreme Court hears arguments in case likely to determine control of SMU ... and more news

A Texas jury has ordered a barbecue restaurant to pay $2.8 million to a woman who was badly burned by its barbecue sauce. 19-year-old Genesis Monita sued Bill Miller Bar-B-Q in San Antonio after spilling sauce on her right leg, resulting in second-degree burns; In other news, after being effectively outlawed in the U.S. after a Supreme Court ruling, the viral video platform briefly shut down late Saturday. A head-spinning series of events culminated on Sunday as President Donald Trump vowed to take executive action that allows TikTok to turn its lights back on, at least for the time being; The Blue Fish, a sushi restaurant that eventually grew to one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s biggest homegrown Japanese chains, has closed on Greenville Avenue in Dallas. The restaurant opened at that spot in 1998, then as a sake bar modeled after the cool-kids spots from Los Angeles, The Dallas Morning News’ critic wrote a few months after its debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With frigid temperature once again in the forecast for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, officials are warning residents to not leave their cars running unattended, lest they want to pay a fine for several hundred dollars or have their car stolen. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s office is warning residents to not leave their cars running and unattended to warm during winter weather.; In other news, a U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled against outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden’s effort to protect immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children, siding with Texas just days before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office; The Dallas Cowboys’ NFC East rival Washington Commanders ended one of the NFL’s longest-standing conference championship game appearance droughts with an upset win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night. Division rival Philadelphia also won over the weekend, beating the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 to advance to the NFC Championship game and will play Washington next Sunday; And Dallas-Fort Worth attracts people of all kinds, including celebrities such as Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Keith Lee and Martha Stewart. Movie stars, sports commentators, musicians, politicians and other well-known people travel to the Dallas area for work, whether to film or perform, and sometimes for leisure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mix of sun and clouds today turning breezy this afternoon. The high will be 64. Clear tonight with a low of 38. Get ready for a drop in temperature though. Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high of 48 but then the temp will plummet on Sunday. Sunny skies but a high of only 37. The overnight lows over the weekend will be in the low 20s. Those frigid temperatures will stick around until Wednesday. In today's news: Real estate investor Nate Paul, whose ties to Attorney General Ken Paxton led to impeachment charges in 2023, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of making a false statement to a financial institution; In other news, Keller families lambasted their school board on Thursday night during a heated meeting about a proposal to split the district in two. The idea, which the board discussed but took no action on, has so inflamed the community that Superintendent Tracy Johnson said she was prepared to resign; Nintendo confirmed on Thursday that it will release its hotly anticipated successor to its Switch console this year — and Dallas will be one of the first places to get a preview April 25-27. And many of the authentic flavors of Mexico found in D-F-W have ties to the people who have migrated to the region. Some of these dishes have generations-long traditions, cooking methods and even secret ingredients. The Dallas Morning News is launching a new series documenting and highlighting authentic flavors of Mexico found here in North Texas. Visit dallasnews.com/sabores to read more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Dry January from some, and The Dallas Morning News food team is delving into the topic of drinking in moderation and who is making the best mocktails in town. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could determine whether the United Methodist Church controls Southern Methodist University. SMU changed its governing language in 2019 to declare itself independent from the denomination’s control about nine months after the United Methodist Church voted to strengthen bans on gay weddings and pastors in gay relationships. In other news, federal officials accused a North Texas homeowners association of discrimination for trying to kick out residents who receive government assistance to pay rent; Texas’ use of computers to score written answers on the state standardized test is under scrutiny in Dallas after school officials learned that thousands of students were awarded marks that were too low; And many of the authentic flavors of Mexico found in D-F-W have ties to the people who have migrated to the region. Some of these dishes have generations-long traditions, cooking methods and even secret ingredients. The Dallas Morning News is launching a new series documenting and highlighting authentic flavors of Mexico found here in North Texas. Visit dallasnews.com/sabores to read more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and David Moore discuss [4:28] the split between Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys and how much Jerry Jones’, uh, frugality had to do with it. David says he thinks the call between Jerry and Deion Sanders was a smokescreen designed to give both a little publicity and Deion some leverage in contract talks at Colorado. The guys also offer their favorites for the job. (Hint: David wins with a nomination of Pete Carroll). [35:50] Discussion of Texas’ loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl focuses on Quinn Ewers’ fumble and Steve Sarkisian’s call for a sideways run on the goal line. And Evan tells us why Roki Sasaki won’t be a Ranger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, was elected speaker of the Texas House as the 89th session of the Texas Legislature kicked off Tuesday, defeating the preferred candidate of grassroots Republicans and requiring help from Democrats to prevail; In other news, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh’s job over an alleged violation of the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI; Arlington police are investigating a Monday evening shooting that left one person dead at an apartment complex. At about 5:50 p.m., officers responded to the 2400 block of Laurelwood Drive on reports of a shooting; And many of the authentic flavors of Mexico found in D-F-W have ties to the people who have migrated to the region. Some of these dishes have generations-long traditions, cooking methods and even secret ingredients. The Dallas Morning News is launching a new series documenting and highlighting authentic flavors of Mexico found here in North Texas. Visit dallas news dot com forward slash sabores to read more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike McCarthy’s tenure with the Cowboys has come to an end. The two sides have reached the decision to move on. After a disappointing 7-10 season that came down to a referendum on the job done by McCarthy and his staff and the approach Jerry Jones and his son, Stephen, took in building this team, the club now begins its search for the 10th head coach in franchise history. The Cowboys compiled a 49-35 record in McCarthy’s five seasons. In other news, the Texas Legislature convenes for its 89th regular session at noon today, kicking off 140 days of wrangling over the business of the state; also, a second suspect was arrested Saturday in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred two months ago near a Walmart in Frisco. On the evening of Nov. 13, officers responded to a call reporting gunshots near the Walmart located on the northeast corner of Eldorado Parkway and FM 423. 24-year-old Jada Mansfield, of Dallas, was arrested in connection with the shooting; And Morton’s - The Steakhouse closed in Dallas at the end of the year. The legendary restaurant with nearly 40 years of history opened originally in Dallas’ West End in 1987 and moved 24 years later to Uptown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a freezing winter storm shut schools, cut power and cancelled or delayed flights, Texas and other Deep South states were slowly thawing as weather warmed. Conditions in North Texas were returning to normal after a winter weather blast packing snow, ice and wintry mix disrupted the region Thursday into Friday; In other news, firefighters scrambled Sunday to make further progress against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed 24 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise; work on $370 million high-rises planned in Uptown Dallas is scheduled to begin later this year. Chalk Hill Towers is a mixed-use development set between North Harwood Street and Harry Hines Boulevard; And Klay Thompson added another milestone to his long list of accomplishments in the NBA. The Mavs sharpshooter reached the 16,000-point mark in Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets at American Airlines Center. Thompson was key to a hot start for the Mavericks, going 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range as Dallas raced out to a comfortable first-half lead. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to secure the win. The Mavs led by as many as 19 in the third quarter but Denver rallied in the fourth to beat Dallas 112-101. The teams will meet again on Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drivers in North Texas should be extremely careful Friday morning after the region was blasted with wintry precipitation and below-freezing temperatures overnight, when the region is expected to face the worst travel impacts. Caution should also be maintained throughout the day, as the area could see black ice in the evening and overnight. And any remaining water on roadways could refreeze when overnight temperatures are forecast to drop into the teens. Several counties in the region — including Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman and Tarrant — also remain under the winter storm warning until midday Friday; In other news, Macy’s is pulling back in North Texas. The storied department store is shuttering five sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as part of a broader plan to close more than 60; Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy met for a third consecutive day about the head coach’s fate with the Cowboys, two people with knowledge of the process told The Dallas Morning News. Discussions are expected to continue today. McCarthy’s five-year contract with the club ended in the wake of the team’s 23-19 loss to Washington to end the regular season; The Texas Longhorns will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic tonight at AT&T Stadium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices