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New Dallas news channel launches with anchors Brett Shipp, Charles Divins

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Charles Divins.

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Dallas is getting a new news outlet from Spectrum Networks, starring two broadcast veterans. Spectrum News 1 will represent a new platform servicing Dallas-Fort Worth, anchored by Dallas reporter Brett Shipp and Dallas native Charles Divins.

The channel will feature hyperlocal news, politics, weather, and original local content, and will launch across Texas October 16.

In addition to Dallas-Fort Worth, the programming will extend to Wichita Falls and the Southern and Western regions in Texas, adding to Spectrum's existing coverage of Austin and San Antonio.

Shipp and Divins will serve as weekday anchors.

Cater Lee, Spectrum News 1's VP of News and Content, says in a statement that they're excited to bring hyperlocal news and content to customers across the state.

"Spectrum News has been covering the Austin and San Antonio regions since 1999," Lee says. "Our journalists do more than report on the news; they live, work and are actively engaged in the communities they serve. This deeper understanding allows us to better cover the stories that take place every day in Texas neighborhoods."

Spectrum News 1 is available exclusively to Spectrum customers. Their policy is to invest in more boots on the ground local reporting and that includes more than three dozen journalists embedded in communities in San Antonio, Austin/Waco, Dallas-Ft. Worth/Wichita Falls, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley.

That coverage includes political anchor Karina Kling and political reporter Reena Diamante, who cover the state capitol in Austin; and D.C. Bureau Reporter Margaret Chadbourn, who will cover the congressional delegation and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Coverage includes local news, politics and public affairs, community news, general-interest content, weather, and sports.

Political programming includes a nightly political show, "Capital Tonight," with Anchor Karina Kling, at 7 pm; and a weekly public affairs program, “In Focus,” hosted by Dr. Nicole Cross, on Sundays at 9:30 am.

The schedule will be:

Mondays-Fridays at 5 am, "Your Morning on Spectrum News 1" covers the top stories of the day with Divins and anchor Alex Stockwell, plus weather from meteorologists Ricky Cody and Dan Robertson.
Weekdays at 12 pm, Dr. Nicole Cross will anchor "Your Afternoon on Spectrum News 1," with meteorologists Mary Wasson and Adrienne Vonn.
Weekdays at 5 pm, Shipp will join Nicole Cross as co-anchor of "Your Evening on Spectrum News 1." Shipp will also anchor the 9 pm newscast. Weather reports at 5 pm and 9 pm will be from Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons and meteorologist Emily Borchard.
Local high school, college, and professional sports will be covered by sports anchor Travis Recek.
Weekends at 7 am, Todd Boatwright will recap the top news of the week on Saturdays and Sundays on "Your Weekend on Spectrum News 1."
Weekend evening news will be covered by Stef Manisero on Saturdays at 5 pm, and Agustin Garfias on Sundays at 5 pm. Meteorologist Lauren Due will cover weather on Saturdays and Sundays.

Shipp has more than 30 years of experience in local news, including 22 years as an investigative reporter with WFAA-TV. He left WFAA in 2017 to run for Congress before starting his own media company, Brett Shipp Media.

Divins, a Dallas native, returns to his Texas roots and joins Spectrum News 1 after six years as morning anchor at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. Prior to WDSU, he was the host of NBC’s LXTV "1st Look" and KNBC’s "YourLA" in Los Angeles, and he also served as a co-host of the nationally syndicated morning show, "Daily Buzz."

Spectrum News 1 will be available exclusively to Spectrum video customers on channel 1. Spectrum’s award-winning local news and original content also is available on the recently launched Spectrum News App, available to all Spectrum residential customers including internet-only.

Spectrum Networks is a series of 24/7 news and sports networks owned and operated by Charter Communications, Inc., a broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 30 million customers in 41 states.

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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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