Tight budget threatens pre-K funding, family seeks answers 7 months after fatal shooting, $2B community planned in Collin County: Your Wednesday evening roundup

And: Federal appeals court agrees that Dallas County’s bail system denied poor defendants equal rights  [Morning roundup] [NEWS]( | [BUSINESS]( | [SPORTS]( | [HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS]( | [ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT]( | [FOOD]( | [THINGS TO DO]( | [OPINION]( 12/30/2020 By Ashley M. Slayton Good evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. ADVERTISEMENT [Surge in online gift shopping makes returns and exchanges a bigger deal this year]( [In good times, guacamole! In troubled times, more guac!]( [Developer buys Collin County land for new $2 billion community with thousands of new homes]( [If aliens arrive and study our consumer culture, they’d see a troubled society swamped in scams]( [Trump’s $2,000 checks all but dead as Republican Senate refuses aid]( [After 40 years, the Kliff Klub says goodbye]( [National Weather Service confirms tornado hit Corsicana early Wednesday]( [Family still waiting for answers nearly 7 months after 22-year-old fatally shot at Red Bird bar]( [Federal appeals court agrees that Dallas County’s bail system denied poor defendants equal rights]( [Robert Tanner, who was among the last Pearl Harbor survivors in North Texas, dies at 99]( Lawmakers gave school districts millions for early childhood education in the 2019 legislative session.(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer) EDUCATION [Texas invested big in pre-K. Now a tight state budget could threaten that funding]( After a massive expansion of pre-K across Texas, [the future of early education funding could be at risk]( because of the pandemic-induced financial crisis. Lawmakers face a tough 2021 legislative session with necessary budget cuts likely. School districts that benefited from the early education investment hope elected officials will protect that funding. TEXT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS [Readers often tell us they want to stay informed but that they're short on time. That's why we're launching a new way for you to stay connected, with texts from The Dallas Morning News.]( [Want to get a quick hit of the biggest headlines of the day? Sign up for The Roundup. It's a Monday-Friday, daily briefing of the latest news impacting D-FW residents. Text us back with your questions or thoughts and we'll respond.]( 📱 Get connected. [Sign up here](. ❓ Got questions? We've got [answers](. *The Roundup is free to receive. Standard text messaging and data rates may apply. LOOKING FOR MORE? Regular season, offseason, draft season... be the smartest Cowboys fan for it all. Get the latest Cowboys news, analysis and insights delivered straight to your inbox. Read the latest Cowboys stories below and [click here to subscribe to the newsletter for free](. [How special teams ace C.J. Goodwin became the catalyst that helped the Cowboys contain Jalen Hurts]( [4 key reasons for the Cowboys defense’s improvement during Dallas’ current win streak]( [Jerry Jones not against Cowboys OC Kellen Moore accepting opportunities to become a head coach]( The Dallas Morning News has even more newsletters to keep you informed and inspired. [View the complete list of newsletters](. ADVERTISEMENT  👋 That's all for this afternoon! 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? Submit your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to[the newsroom.]( ADVERTISEMENT STAY CONNECTED WITH US [Unsubscribe]( | [Free newsletters]( | [Dallasnews.com]( | [Subscriber login]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact us]( Copyright 2020 - [The Dallas Morning News, 1954 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75201, United States](