This Week's Hot Headlines

Jerry Jones' new world title tops this week's 5 most-read Dallas stories

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.

1. Jerry Jones now owns second most valuable sports empire in the world, says Forbes. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed disappointment about the team's 17-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on December 22. But he could hardly be disappointed about a title he did win recently. On December 18, four days before Dallas’ dismal performance in Philly, Forbes magazine crowned Jones the head of the world’s second most valuable sports conglomerate.

2. Glamorous Dallas weddings take the cake in our hottest society stories of 2019. This year, readers fell hard for our stories about fun and fabulous Dallas weddings, including the nuptials of a Real Housewives star. And if you want to know where Dallas’ busiest social butterflies were this year — and what organizations benefited most from their partying, er, charitable ways — then look no further than these most-read society stories.

3. Dallas suburb gets big lump of coal on list of best Christmas cities. With a made-for-the-holidays name, you’d think Garland would be one of the country’s best cities for Christmas. But by one measure, that’s not so. Garland sinks to a Grinch-level No. 93 in a new ranking of the 100 largest U.S. cities for celebrating a festive and affordable Christmas.

4. The 11 best ways to party on New Year's Eve in Dallas-Fort Worth. New Year's Eve always includes some fantastic events around Dallas-Fort Worth, at which revelers can dance, count down to midnight, and take in some spectacular fireworks. Here are some of your best options to finish out the decade and bring in 2020 in style. Still looking for dinner reservations? Check out our list of restaurants that will open their doors for New Year's Eve dining, too. And then celebrate the new year with brunch the next morning.

5. New North Dallas taqueria preaches fresh food and community spirit. A new taqueria opening in North Dallas promises to be something pretty special. Called Public Taco, it will open at the northwest corner of Preston Royal Village, specifically 5959 Royal Ln., in the space next to Spec's that was previously occupied by Papa John's.

LeeAnne Locken and Rich Emberlin were married April 27, 2019.

LeeAnne Locken, Rich Emberlin, Real Housewives wedding

Photo by Jennefer Wilson

LeeAnne Locken and Rich Emberlin were married April 27, 2019.

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Easter Eggs galore

The Simpsons to feature couch gag by Meow Wolf artists in special episode

The Simpsons couch with Meow Wolf collaborative elements.

Photo courtesy of Disney+

The famous couch gag on The Simpsons is getting a Meow Wolf makeover in new episode.

Acclaimed art space Meow Wolf is headed to Springfield. The company has collaborated on a double-episode of The Simpsons to be released this week as part of the famous couch gag that opens each show. Easter eggs from the various locations appear.

Meow Wolf is the Santa Fe-based, immersive art experience that opened its first Texas location in Grapevine in 2023. A location in Houston followed a year later.

“Getting the opportunity to be part of the show that has warped our minds since we were kids is a huge honor and an experience we will never forget,” Meow Wolf co-founder Emily Montoya said in a statement. “Working with Matt Selman and his team was fantastic. From the beginning, they supported and encouraged all our crazy ideas and helped us hone the piece into its final form. We’re especially grateful for their help encapsulating Matt King’s rainbow wizard essence into cameo form.”

The double episode, "Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition," premieres on Wednesday, June 17 on Disney+. In it, Marge dreams how life with her husband, Homer, could have turned out differently, including an homage to Joker: Folie à Deux and a world where Homer is an extreme sports enthusiast. The all new, streaming exclusive episodes following the animated show's record-breaking 37th Season.

The iconic couch gag has long been a venue for guest artists. Everyone from horror master Guillermo Del Toro to street artist Banksy to indie animation innovator Don Hertzfeldt have collaborated on the pop culture institution, putting Meow Wolf in very good company.

Even in just the preview, several famous Meow Wolf installations can be briefly seen, like references to Omega Mart in Las Vegas. Houston gets a shout out as Barney shares a drink with Meow Wolf co-founder Matt King in Cowboix Hevvven, the venue's on site bar. As the couch gag goes on, the fourth wall breaks and a team of Meow Wolf artists craft a recycled art installation of the Simpsons in their living room (see picture above).

Matt Selman, showrunner and executive producer of The Simpsons, is a huge fan of Meow Wolf, and decided to work with the organization after visiting several of their installations.

“This has been a dream collaboration, in that I had to do almost nothing, other than a few Zoom meetings,” he said. “The brilliant minds at Meow Wolf reimagined the ‘couch gag’ in a way that only they could — delivering the silliness and surreality and homemade outsider sensibility that has blown so many minds. Thank you to all the artists and artisans (not sure of the difference, but maybe there is one) at Meow Wolf for crafting this superbly joyful couch gag!”

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