This Week's Hot Headlines

Lost novel about Fort Worth elite finds spotlight and more top stories

The Inheritors by Phillip Atlee, TCU Press

The Inheritors will be published by TCU Press.

Courtesy of TCU Press

Editor's note: The top Fort Worth news of the week includes a long-lost local novel and something big blooming at the Botanic Garden. Read on for our most popular stories, then find the best weekend events here.

1. Lost novel about Fort Worth's 'hedonistic' elite revived by TCU Press. A Fort Worth author's scathing debut novel dissecting entitled heirs of the city's oil tycoons and cattle barons — which was subsequently suppressed by the same wealthy society — is returning to the spotlight in 2026, over 85 years after its initial publication.

2. Lionel Messi makes heartfelt appeal before World Cup match in Arlington. Soccer superstar Lionel Messi's father is undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, and his family has asked the media for “humanity” while his son competes at the FIFA World Cup.

3. Fort Worth Botanic Garden cultivates new cafe with Westland Hospitality. A restaurant redo is unfurling at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Fort Worth-based Westland Hospitality is taking over the garden's longtime cafe and transforming it into a new concept called Flora House, set to open this fall.

Flora House, Fort Worth Botanic Garden Rendering of the interior of Flora House. Rendering courtesy of Fort Worth Botanic Garden

4. Sunrise Scones rises with new bakery in Fort Worth's Near Southside. Fort Worth's bustling South Main Village has a sweet new addition. Sunrise Scones, a bakeshop dedicated to the triangular-shaped golden baked quick bread, is now open at 309 W. Daggett Ave.

5. Peach fest leads the 6 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week. The season's first peach festival arrives this week, and it comes with peach beer and even a special appearance by Princess Peach.

tcu world cup botanic garden openings peaches hot-headlines

4th of July Fun

Fort Worth shines as No. 2 best city in Texas to celebrate 4th of July

The Sound

Happy birthday, America.

Fort Worth is looking pretty patriotic this summer. Cowtown has just been named the second-best city in Texas for celebrating the Fourth of July, and it lands among the top 50 in the nation for its Independence Day festivities in 2026.

Fort Worth ranks No. 2 statewide and No. 42 nationally in WalletHub's annual report comparing the "Best & Worst Places for 4th of July Celebrations." WalletHub's experts annually ranks the 100 biggest U.S. cities across 18 metrics like affordability, the variety of celebrations on July 4th, weather favorability, safety, and more. Last year, Fort Worth ranked 49th nationwide.

The three best cities in the U.S. for celebrating the Fourth of July in 2026 — marking the nation's monumental 250th birthday — are Las Vegas (No. 1), New York City (No. 2), and Orlando (No. 3).

Among individual categories, Fort Worth is the 18th most affordable U.S. city to visit over the Fourth of July holiday, and it ranks 17th overall for its abundance of July 4th celebrations. Festivities in honor of America's 250th birthday will start as early as June 27 in some Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs. In the "attractions and activities" subcategory, which was based on a separate survey of the best and worst cities for recreation, Fort Worth ranks 61st nationally.

Fort Worth's predictably hot weather forecast for the holiday earns it a middling ranking at No. 59 overall, and the city's safety and accessibility comes in 79th place

Elsewhere in North Texas, Dallas ranks as the No. 1 best Texas city for celebrating America's founding, but four other suburbs fall toward the bottom of the list: Arlington (No. 80), Plano (No. 81), Irving (No. 93), and Garland (No. 100).

This year's festivities are expected to be meteoric compared to previous years to commemorate the milestone anniversary, according to the report.

"This year, the National Retail Federation projects that U.S. households will spend a collective $9.4 billion on food for Fourth of July festivities alone," the report's author wrote.

Here's how the rest of Texas stacks up in the report:

No. 57 – El Paso
No. 63 – Lubbock
No. 74 – San Antonio
No. 80 – Arlington
No. 81 – Plano
No. 84 – Austin
No. 91 – Corpus Christi
No. 93 – Irving
No. 99 – Laredo
No. 100 – Garland

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