Beto O'Rourke has tent city updates, Cowboys are NFC East champions: Your Monday morning roundup

 [Morning roundup]( 12/24/2018 By Todd Davis and Dom DiFurio Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌤️Weather: Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High around 60 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup (13) is congratulated by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) after Gallup scored a touchdown during the second half of play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, December 23, 2018. Dallas Cowboys defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20 to capture the NFC East. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) COWBOYS CLINCH NFC EAST [The Cowboys are NFC East champs. Now, fans should ask themselves the tough questions about Dallas' playoff chances]( The Cowboys beat an inferior opponent at home to win their third division title in the last five years. Nothing to apologize about there, especially when you consider Dallas was two games under .500 in early November. Quarterback Dak Prescott is right when he maintains most people outside of the organization "counted us out.'' But in the wake of the team's 27-20 win over Tampa Bay, locked into the No. 4 seed with one insignificant regular season game to play before the playoffs are underway, ask yourself this: How good do you feel about the Cowboys chances based on what you've seen from the offense? Is this group built to travel deep into January or destined for another one-and-out that has become the norm on the sporadic occasions the franchise has made the playoffs over the last 23 years? The weight of these questions is enough for Jerry Jones, the normally effusive and optimistic owner, to concede, "We certainly have some work.'' Meanwhile: The Cowboys' offense [hid a potential positive sign about its future]( in an underwhelming performance vs. Bucs. Also: The Cowboys' rise (or fall) by season's end [will be directly tied to their plagued defender](. ADVERTISEMENT IMMIGRATION [O'Rourke says tent city no longer accepting teen migrants and seems to be closing]( Dozens of protesters sang Christmas carols for migrant teens held in tent facilities Sunday, even as the first signs emerged that the controversial shelter is gradually shutting down. At least one bus packed with detained teens left Tornillo on Sunday morning, according to one of the protesters. [Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, made an unannounced visit]( and joined protesters who traveled as far away from Colorado, California, New Mexico and throughout Texas, including a group of more than a dozen from Dallas. O'Rourke said he spoke to the top private contractor at Tornillo who said that as of last Tuesday "they have no longer been accepting children." Also: Dallas could get a revamped police review board in 2019; [here’s how oversight works in LA, Detroit and Houston](. And: In Dallas County jail, inmates are [turning discarded bicycles into gifts for strangers](. EDITORS' PICKS - Watch (or don't): A North Texas rancher [uncovered dozens of rattlesnakes nestled under a hunting shed](. - $16,950 refrigerator?: How shopping upscale [has outgrown the old good, better and best model](. - Commentary: Kids with disabilities face many challenges, [but church shouldn't be one of them](. This skyline view of Austin shows how the city has grown from "a scruffy college town" to a technology capital. (Jay Janner/AP) FINALLY... [Who’s No. 1? Austin, not Dallas, tops the charts for best places to live and start a business]( From Mitchell Schnurman: Last week, Inc. magazine unveiled the 50 best places to start a business, and Austin led the list of top surge cities. Dallas came in at No. 17. Last spring, U.S. News and World Report ranked the best places to live in America, and Austin was No. 1 for the second year in a row. Dallas was 18th. Just over a year ago, Moody’s Analytics did a deep dive on 65 metros to determine the best location for Amazon’s second headquarters. Austin ranked first, based on several dozen data points, while North Texas was far behind — Dallas-Plano-Irving at 34th, Fort Worth-Arlington at 55th. All this (and there’s more) might be enough to give D-FW an inferiority complex, except that it’s one of the country’s leading economies. This region has added about 100,000 jobs annually for several years and is on a similar pace this year. But Austin is definitely having a moment, and it seems to be lasting for the better part of a decade. And it’s not just about winning beauty contests with the media and economists. 👋 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? 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