Texas Dems debate, exercise linked to reversing heart damage: Your Tuesday morning roundup

Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. [Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day.] January 09,  2018 By Tara Bryant Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌤️ Weather: [Morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun](. High: 60 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. [Gubernatorial candidates Lupe Valdez (left) and Andrew White (right) greet each other before a democratic gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by Tom Green County Democratic Club on Monday at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer)]( Gubernatorial candidates Lupe Valdez (left) and Andrew White (right) greet each other before a Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by Tom Green County Democratic Club on Monday at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer) 2018 Elections Lupe Valdez, Andrew White pitch change in West Texas Democratic Party debate Deep in the heart of Republican country, the two leading Democratic contenders for governor on Monday [cast themselves as the antidote to incumbent Greg Abbott and his policies](. The primary is likely to be a two-person battle between Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Houston businessman Andrew White, who are running distinctive campaigns that will test the mood of Texas Democrats in 2018. The forum featured the 10 Democratic candidates on the March 6 primary ballot. It's the first of several debates before early voting begins next month. Politics: President Donald Trump [has renominated Kathleen Hartnett White, an ex-Texas regulator and climate change skeptic]( he had picked last year to lead the Council on Environmental Quality. Energy: An independent federal agency [has rejected Energy Secretary Rick Perry's plan to boost coal and nuclear power](, handing the former Texas governor a surprise loss on what's emerged as a signature issue of his tenure so far. SPECIAL OFFER [special offer unlimited digital access]( South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas started moving into Village Fair on Monday, as its old campus gets gutted for a major renovation. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) Dallas ISD South Oak Cliff students are getting an almost new school, but their temporary home is a source of tension Markell Hall remembers when he was sent to Dallas ISD alternative school Village Fair as a freshman after getting in trouble for being a class clown. It wasn’t an appealing place. “It felt like a jail,” he said. When DISD starts classes back up from its winter break on Tuesday, [South Oak Cliff High School students will be temporarily relocated to Village Fair]( while its campus undergoes a $52 million renovation. But some of the same persistent kids and tight community that tenaciously wrangled an almost new school out of DISD officials is in an uproar over their temporary home. The scope of the renovations, and the move to Village Fair itself comes after fierce debate between SOC’s alumni and parent groups and the school district. Education: The complicated winding down of the embattled Dallas schools bus-service provider moved forward Monday [with the layoff of 17 police officers](. Arlington: The Arlington branch of the NAACP and the pastor of a Dallas megachurch are [condemning the appointment of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as honorary grand marshal of the North Texas Martin Luther King Jr. Parade](. Dallas: Can police really [crack down on panhandling](? Mae Onsry, 66, of Dallas walks near Flag Pole Hill on Monday. Onsry had never followed a workout routine before volunteering to be part of a study, but is now an avid walker. The study was conducted by the Dallas-based Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Healthy Living Want to reduce effects of an aging heart? Start exercising before you're 65 If you're under 65 and have never exercised, start now. It'll reverse damage to an aging or sedentary heart, plus [set the stage for a reduced chance of heart failure in the future](. Such are the findings of a two-year study conducted by the Dallas-based Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Study results were published Monday in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. There are two caveats: To get the most benefit, people need to start before age 65. They must also work out four to five times a week, varying intensity and duration. Editorial: It's impossible to solve [Texas' maternal mortality problem]( with faulty state data. Digital life: Here are [four things you need to know about doing a digital detox]( to overcome your addiction to your phone. Advertisement (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Morning Mike Pappy demonstrates how to surf during a media day at the new Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie on Monday. The city-owned waterpark, which is set to open Jan. 12, is the largest in North America under a single retractable roof. Around The Site - Missing person: The [search has ended for an Oklahoma pilot]( who went off-course Wednesday while flying a small aircraft to pick up a rescue dog in Texas. - Dallas: DART's plan to add security to every train has [earned rare praise from City Hall](. - Celebrities:[Selena Gomez visited her childhood home in Grand Prairie](, but when she knocked on the door, "no one was home ... lol." - Crime: A second [Irving man was arrested on suspicion of capital murder]( in the fatal shooting of a Plano West student. - Opinion:[Oprah cannot save us from this political mess](, writes Dallas comedian Katy Evans. - The 411 on IPOs: See [which Texas companies went public in 2017]( and why more may be coming. Finally... Predicting the outcome of all 16 Dallas Cowboys games for the 2018 season It doesn't appear the Cowboys will be making significant offseason changes. Without knowing who the Cowboys or their opponents will add or subtract during the offseason, SportsDay staff writer Jon Machota is still going to make an educated guess regarding the upcoming season. Dallas already knows its 13 opponents for the 2018 season, just not the order of when they will play. [Here's a way-way-way-too-early projection.]( And you can [vote with your predictions](, too. AdVERTISEMENT 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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