Fireworks Mystery

Security concerns at Final Four: Stolen explosive device prompts extra police to be called in

A number of pyrotechnics were apparently stolen from the March Madness Music Festival on Friday night, prompting raised security levels at all the Final Four venues.

Dogs capable of sniffing out explosives are conducting sweeps of the various venues, though it was hard to tell the difference at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, with a number of canines having been busy working at the stadium all week. Security procedures also have been changed at Bracket Town, the interactive fan festival at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, due to the missing pyrotechnics.

The clear bag policy adopted by NFL teams (to much controversy) is now being enforced at Bracket Town. That means only clutch purses, clear tote bags, plastic re-sealable storage bags or NCAA-provided clear bags are allowed. The policy was already in effect for the games at AT&T Stadium.

Additionally, dozens of extra off-duty police officers were suddenly called in because of missing pyrotechnics that were planned for the March Madness Music Festival. To make matters more complicated, all of this comes during what could be the most massive crowd in Final Four history.

North Texas Final Four officials are hoping to break the Final Four attendance record set at Houston's Reliant Stadium in 2011 (75,421) by packing more than 80,000 people into Jerry's World.

"As a precaution, authorities have taken steps to increase security at all NCAA venues and other scheduled event locations in the area where large numbers of people are expected,” Dallas police spokesman Lt. Max Geron said in a statement.

The missing pyrotechnics were discovered when contractors at the music festival did an inventory. A package of pyrotechnics — 11 inches wide by 17 inches long and 12 inches deep — was no longer there.

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salary news

This is the salary it takes to be a top 1 percent earner in Texas

Wealth, top 1 percent earners in Texas, income threshold

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

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To be one of the highest earners in Texas has become a little easier in 2025: According to a new financial analysis from SmartAsset, Texans have to make $743,955 to qualify as a top 1 percent earner in the state.

If that sounds like a lot, it's still $18,000 less than 2024, when you had to pull in $762,090 a year.

To determine the income needed to be in the top 1 percent of earners, SmartAsset analyzed 2022 IRS data for individual tax filers (the most recent year where data was available), and income was adjusted to May 2025 dollars.

The national average income it takes to be considered a part of this exclusive group comes out to $731,492. The income needed to be in the top 1 percent decreased in nearly every state except for North Dakota, Florida, and Oklahoma.

Connecticut leads the nation with the highest income threshold needed to be in the top 1 percent, with residents needing to make nearly $1.06 million annually to qualify. Connecticut is the only state where residents need to make $1 million to be considered a top 1 percent earner. Only 16,917 Connecticuters currently fit the bill for the designation.

A total of 128,130 Texans currently make enough money to be considered one of the highest earners statewide. That's 2,002 more people than in 2024. Though the report doesn't provide information as to where these top earners live, it's entirely possible some are living in Dallas-Fort Worth. After all, the metro's population has now surpassed 8.44 million residents.

For aspiring Texans who want to make it among the top 5 percent of earners in the state, they would have to make $284,661 a year to qualify. There are 640,648 Texans who currently make enough money to be considered top 5 percent earners, the report said.

"Nearly 1.5 million households across the United States now rank among the top 1 percent of earners, according to the latest tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)," the report said. "Economic conditions, tax policies and cost of living vary significantly from state to state, resulting in wide disparities between what it takes to become a top 1 percent earner across the nation."

For Dallasites who want to make enough money to be considered "middle class," the yearly salary ranges between $49,478 and $71,359, according to a separate 2025 SmartAsset report.

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Connecticut ($1,056,996)
No. 2 – Massachusetts ($965,170)
No. 3 – California ($905,396)
No. 4– New Jersey ($901,082)
No. 5 – New York ($891,640)
No. 6 – Florida ($859,381)
No. 7 – Washington ($819,101)
No. 8 – Colorado ($772,989)
No. 9 – Wyoming ($771,369)
No. 10 – Texas ($743,955)

texas income salaries smartasset reports wealthiest people