Texas AFT sues TEA over investigations of teachers linked to Kirk assassination comments ... and more news

Want to know the hottest new places to eat in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2026? The Dallas Morning News food team has got you covered. The team also discusses what chefs and other restaurant pros hope to see trending in dining in the new year, along with a bevy of recent closures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux said that Gov. Greg Abbott was off base in blaming AT&T’s planned move from downtown on city leaders’ public safety decisions, saying instead that conditions were improving from stepped-up patrols and renewed focus on the area. In other news, more than 400 people gathered outside Dallas City Hall Thursday night to march and protest the killing of a Minneapolis woman shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer; a man has died after being mauled by a dog in West Dallas Wednesday — a case investigators have now classified as a homicide; nd a new cocktail bar and restaurant named ‘Ritual’ is expected to open later this month in Old East Dallas. The space will continue to be “female-forward” in design, as Alice was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that Dallas leaders were responsible for AT&T’s decision to relocate its headquarters from downtown Dallas to Plano, blaming what he called the city’s failure to fully fund and staff its police department. In other news, a Texas A&M professor has been told not to teach certain writings from Plato, a staple in introductory philosophy courses, because they may violate the university system’s new rules against “advocating” race or gender ideology, or topics concerning sexual orientation, in core classes; a shooting in northwest Dallas last week that left one woman dead and injured her husband stemmed from a dating app meetup; and Salad and Go will close all remaining locations in Texas and Oklahoma, which includes the 25 locations still operating in North Texas and the seven in Oklahoma. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American Federation of Teachers of Texas is suing the Texas Education Agency over a series of investigations the agency launched over teachers’ comments on social media after the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In other news, a police officer and a public service officer with the Dallas Police Department have been terminated from their positions following a January disciplinary hearing; over 40 Dallas police units responded to a bomb threat at North Dallas High School on Tuesday morning. Police initially responded to the school after reports of a bomb threat just before 8 am; and changes in how methamphetamine trafficking is punished under federal law are being proposed this year to bring sentences more in line with other hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talmage Boston interviews historian, recipient of the Lincoln Prize and Oxford University professor Richard Carwardine on his new book Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln’s Union. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AT&T will build its new global headquarters in Plano, leaving questions about the future of its massive real estate holdings in downtown Dallas. Reacting to that news, Dallas leaders said downtown didn’t fit with AT&T headquarter plans, preferring a “horizontal, suburban-style” headquarters campus with “significant acreage.” In other news,  the rainbow-colored steps at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church are safe for the next three years; and Taylor Sheridan, ever the prolific TV creator, will continue filming across North Texas in January. Link to story about Dallas area casting calls: https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/tv/2026/01/05/taylor-sheridan-lioness-yellowstone-spinoff-dutton-ranch-filming-dfw-area/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five years ago, the body of 28-year-old Christopher Whiteley was found near a wooded creek bed in Hood County, about 55 miles outside of Fort Worth.Deputies theorized a cougar had killed him. Texas wildlife experts said that was impossible. So what really happened?From its earliest moments, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found the examination into Whiteley’s death was riddled with false assumptions and errors that forensics and wildlife experts say left too many unanswered questions.Now, the fourth season of The Unforgotten podcast from Free Range Productions in association with The Dallas Morning News examines Whiteley’s story in a six-part series entitled “Kill Site.” The series is hosted by Free Range’s Wes Ferguson, a former Texas Monthly editor based near Austin. The podcast draws from a 2021 investigation by former News staff reporter Charles Scudder, who is a contributor on the show.We’re dropping a new episode each week here in your Dallas Morning News podcast feed.This is episode 4: “Falsehoods and Chaos” — Scandals in the medical examiner's office collide with the search for answers in Christopher Whiteley's death.This series contains mature subject matter and strong language, listener discretion is advised.Read The News’ 2021 report on Whiteley’s case, complete with maps, timelines and visuals: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2021/09/23/authorities-say-a-hood-county-man-was-killed-by-a-cougar-texas-wildlife-experts-say-its-impossible/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dallas’ Landmark Commission is set to decide Monday whether a historic Oak Lawn church can keep its rainbow-painted front steps, a move made after Gov. Greg Abbott directed cities to remove rainbow crosswalks and other painted symbols from public streets. The church has urged neighbors and supporters to attend and speak at the 1 p.m. hearing at Dallas City Hall, saying the steps have become a marker of welcome and belonging. In other news, the CEO of Richardson-based Fossil Franco Fogliato knows what it takes to compete. The stock price recently hit its highest point since March of 2023 after sales declines narrowed and it got some good news on the debt front; with nearly 70 secondhand stores in the city, D-FW has become a thriving secondhand hub for big and small retailers; and the Dallas Cowboys season came to a close yesterday with an embarrassing 34-17 loss to the New York Giants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dallas saw a drop in emergency calls about celebratory gunfire this New Year’s Eve compared to the start of 2025. DPD reported Thursday that they received 759 calls related to celebratory gunfire and another 273 calls about fireworks In other news, Texas is poised to make historic investments in water supplies and infrastructure in the next few decades, but some of the funding won’t be immediate; a woman was fatally shot in Fort Worth on New Year’s Day after a confrontation with a security guard outside a business. Fort Worth police officers responded to a reported shooting Thursday around 5:40 p.m. in the 2600 block of South Riverside Drive; and Texas Tech's football season is over after a 23-0 loss to Oregon in the CFP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tricolor is accused of double-pledging vehicles, meaning one vehicle would have two titles on it from two lenders, instead of the usual one. Prosecutors say this type of fraud deceived investors about the actual value of Tricolor’s inventory and its loans. In other news, several families in North Texas traded holiday celebrations for funeral planning in the wake of recent, high-profile domestic violence cases in Dallas, Kaufman and Tarrant counties; University Park’s city council will consider at its Jan. 6 meeting ordering a special election in May to dissolve its membership with DART; former Dallas Cowboy Trevon Diggs is signing with the Green Bay Packers, reuniting with Micah Parsons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices