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Celebrities help Texas weather storm aftermath in this Dallas news roundup

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Matthew McConaughey donated funds to help feed families in Dallas.

There was really only one thing that happened this week in Dallas: the epically awful winter weather storm. Now we wade through the aftermath, with generous donations from celebrities, politicians, and chefs.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

AOC raises a million for TX
While Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was scuttling back from his aborted Cancun getaway, N.Y. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was raising $1 million for Texans. On February 18, she launched a fund-raiser for five Texas organizations including The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Ending Community Homeless Coalition (ECHO), Family Eldercare, Houston Food Bank, and Feeding Texas, all of whom have been working around the clock to assist houseless, hungry, and senior Texans in Travis and Dallas County, and beyond. She managed to raise the money in four hours. UPDATE 2-20-2021: AOC has now raised more than $3.2 million and is volunteering on Saturday at the Houston Food Bank.

Dak & McConaughey donate
While Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was making reservations for $309 per night at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun, Dak Prescott and Matthew McConaughey were teaming up with Dallas charity OurCalling, who oversaw the opening of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as a warming center for those displaced from their homes. McConaughey and Prescott both donated money to purchase meals for individuals and families.

Trash collection is back
The winter storm delayed trash collection and other basic city services across DFW, but those are all back online or will return by next week. That includes the U.S. mail, which suspended delivery for three days because of the weather and power outages, as well as garbage and recycling.

In Dallas, full operations will restart on Monday on the normal collection schedule.

In Fort Worth, garbage and recycling resumed on February 19. The city has suspended its usual policy requiring that garage cart lids be closed through February 27. Extra garbage can be placed in the cart even if the lid does not close, and up to two additional bags of garbage can be placed next to or behind the cart.

Soup's On! later
The 13th annual Stewpot Alliance Soup's On! Luncheon and Art Sale goes virtual Thursday, March 4 at 12 pm featuring award-winning chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian José Andrés. This is a new date; the event was originally February 25. Robert Wilonsky, Communications Director for Heritage Auctions and op-ed columnist for the Dallas Morning News joins Chef Andrés for a conversation about how his efforts ensure people worldwide are fed in the wake of catastrophe.

Proceeds from the luncheon benefit The Stewpot which now, in its 46th year serves our neighbors who are experiencing and at risk of homelessness by providing meals (over 8,000,000 to date), counseling and case management, medical and dental services via onsite partners, youth and family stabilization programs, as well as therapeutic and vocational activities.

This year, the art sale, featuring original pieces of art from the artists at The Stewpot will take place online in conjunction with the virtual luncheon. Single tickets begin at $250, which includes a gift box with sponsorships opportunities available. Since the 2021 event is virtual, a $35 view-only option will be offered. For more information, sponsorship and tickets, visit estewpot.org/soups-on.

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

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