Good morning. Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day.
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‘Show me a place that does it better’: How Texas’ playoff system compares to other states across the country
As thousands gather at the UIL state championships, inevitably someone will say, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Those people may be more right than they realize, not just about these state championship games — which started Wednesday and conclude Saturday — but also about the process for getting there.
The Dallas Morning News compared Texas' system with those in each of the other 49 states. While Texas is on the outer edges in terms of the length of the playoffs and how many teams win championships, coaches say the current system is as good as any in the country.
"Show me a place that does it better," Arlington Martin coach Bob Wager said. "I don't think you can."
Texas' six-week 11-man football playoffs are tied for the longest in the country with Pennsylvania, Missouri and Indiana. They feature 640 teams, or about 60 percent of 11-man teams, making Texas the 15th-easiest state for making the playoffs.
But just 10 teams win 11-man football state championships each season, or 0.9 percent of total teams. That's tied for the lowest percentage in the country with New York.
Championship central: Predictions, previews and everything you need to know about Allen, Highland Park, Kennedale and more.
Less is more: Districts with only one high school are dominating Texas football — will the trend ever change?
Farenthold ethics probe expands as panel asks if he diverted staff to campaign and lied
Problems mounted Thursday for Rep. Blake Farenthold, as the House Ethics Committee expanded its investigation well beyond allegations that he or aides engaged in sexual harassment.
The panel voted to add more lines of inquiry, announcing that it will now also look at whether the Corpus Christi Republican diverted congressional staff and resources to his campaign, required aides to work on his campaign, or lied to the committee.
Farenthold is not seeking re-election. Last week, he apologized for running an unprofessional office and telling "off color" jokes to staff.
Meanwhile: Congress passed a temporary spending bill Thursday to avert a government shutdown.
And: The House passed an $81 billion disaster aid package, the largest single infusion of federal relief dollars yet for areas ravaged by hurricanes and wildfires this year.
Also: The federal government has extended for nearly five years a vital source of extra Medicaid money for safety-net hospitals such as Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital.
2017 investigations: Where we looked, what we found — and what happened as a result
When the investigative team at The Dallas Morning News decides to tackle a story, we have one big goal: to make our community a better place. We aim to shine a light on problems, keep tabs on taxpayers' dollars and expose injustice at every level.
We also seek stories that have real-world impact — and that resonate with readers.
As we come to the end of 2017, we wanted to share some of our best work and let you know what happened after we started investigating.
Local readers' choice: When the worst elementary school in Dallas closes, what happens to the kids?
Overall readers' choice: Our most popular investigation was "Overlooked" by Cary Aspinwall, which found that no one in the criminal justice system is responsible for the safety of children whose mothers go to jail.
Photo of the morning
Two years after taking a direct hit from the most violent and deadly December tornado in North Texas history, Rowlett is celebrating its resilience through artwork.
A tornado with EF4 force winds of 166-200 mph hit the city in eastern Dallas County on Dec. 26, 2015. It was the strongest among 12 twisters in a storm that killed 13 people in North Texas, nine of them in neighboring Garland.
But the rate of recovery has been just as remarkable, says Troy Connatser of Rowlett, the artist behind "Phoenix," a representation of the mythical bird that is rising from tornado-formed metalworks in Schrade Bluebonnet Park in east Rowlett.
"There's no reason to concentrate any more on the idea that we are not going to be able to overcome this," Connatser said. "That is the concept and what we're seeing in Rowlett. Rise above the tornado."
Around the site
Health care: The number of people signing up for insurance on the federal healthcare.gov marketplace decreased to about 8.8 million in an abbreviated enrollment window.
Cowboys: There are multiple scenarios, but the only way for the Cowboys to have a playoff shot is to do one thing: win.
Restaurants: The Papa John's founder will step down as CEO next month, about two months after he publicly criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by football players.
Texas: A man who poached a white-tailed buck on private property will have to spend every weekend of the deer hunting season in jail for the next five years.
Music: Music critic Kelly Dearmore gives us the five best New Year's Eve concerts in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Finally,
It's New Year's resolution time, and a team of Dallas scientists hopes about 160 seniors interested in getting fit will consider being part of a $50 million study that may also lead to healthier brain function.
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Resources are recruiting volunteers for a national clinical trial that aims to map out a prevention for Alzheimer’s disease by exploring the role that better heart health plays in staving off the progressive, irreversible and costly condition.
Some study participants will be treated with current medications that lower high blood pressure and cholesterol, conditions that are risk factors for Alzheimer’s and stroke-related brain damage. But it’s not just drug therapy that North Texans who make the two-year commitment could get prescribed.
“We give exercise as a medicine,” said Rong Zhang, neurology professor at UT Southwestern's O'Donnell Brain Institute and lead researcher of an interventional trial that includes six U.S. sites.
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