This Week's Hot Headlines

Acclaimed Dallas patisserie debuts sweet new shop and more top stories

Le Reve has opened its new Mockingbird Station location.

Le Reve/Facebook

Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week includes several sweet openings and one dramatic World Cup match. Read on for our five hottest headlines, then plan your weekend via this guide.

1. Dreamy patisserie debut sweetens this Dallas restaurant news roundup. This early-July restaurant news roundup is filled with sweet surprises, including the opening of an acclaimed dessert shop's new location.

2. H-E-B unveils opening date for long-awaited store in Murphy. The wait is nearly over in Murphy. H-E-B has revealed the July opening date of its forthcoming store at at FM 544 and McCreary Road.

3. Egypt wins dramatic World Cup shootout over Australia in Dallas. Hossam Abdelmaguid scored the clinching goal in a shootout, and Egypt won its debut in the World Cup knockout round by beating Australia 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw Friday, July 3 in Dallas Stadium.

4. Texas bottoms out on new list of most patriotic states in U.S. Texas has surprisingly fizzled out for the second year as one of the least patriotic places in the U.S.

The new HQ is called Home for Hugs. Photo courtesy of Hugs Cafe

5. Nonprofit Hugs Café expands with $10M McKinney headquarters and eatery. A culinary-centric charity that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities build careers in hospitality has a snazzy new home in downtown McKinney.

better than last year

Texas struggles on new ranking of best states to live in 2026

Photo by Stuart Seeger Wikipedia

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After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 spot in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

But the very worst states to live prove that life could be much worse. New Mexico ranks 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom of the list.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

wallethub texas reports

This Week's Hot Headlines

Acclaimed Dallas patisserie debuts sweet new shop and more top stories

better than last year

Texas struggles on new ranking of best states to live in 2026

Dallas civic leader Calvert Collins-Bratton named Klyde Warren Park CEO

North Texas Irish Festival leaves Dallas' Fair Park and heads north

Dallas Mexican favorite El Molino to debut new location at Preston Royal