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. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. How the new Texas car inspection law affects end-of-year stickers. Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer be required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, abolishes the vehicle safety inspection program for regular cars and trucks. Here's what it means for stickers expiring at the end of this year.

2. Dallas' SMU anointed No. 1 Christian college in new national ranking. Amen and Pony up! Dallas' Southern Methodist University has been named the best Christian college in the U.S. in a new national ranking of universities. Niche, an education review and ranking website, has rated SMU No. 1 among Best Christian Colleges in America for 2025, two places ahead of cross-town rival TCU.

3. East Texas man gets 6 years in penitentiary for cruelty to animals. A Wills Point man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty is headed for the penitentiary: James Henry Eubanks, who was arrested in January after leaving dogs out in the cold to die, was sentenced to six years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison on September 6 after pleading guilty to Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

4. 9 mega-restaurants from out of town coming to Dallas in fall 2024. Dallas has always been an appealing place to open a restaurant, both to locals and out-of-towners alike. But with so many forecasts about Dallas' growing population and economic prosperity, the out-of-town interest has escalated, with many high-profile and high-roller openings now on the books.

5. State Fair of Texas adds 13 buzzy new food concessions to 2024 lineup. The State Fair of Texas will introduce a lucky 13 new food concessions for the 2024 event: According to a release, the 13 will include six new food vendors and seven new food stands.