This week's hot headlines

Asian grocery giant coming to Fort Worth tops week's most-read stories

H Mart is coming to Haltom City.

H Mart

Editor's note: Readers couldn't get enough of the news that Asian grocery market H Mart is headed to the area. Also popular? Not one but two stories about barbecue. Chef Tim Love has a unique new restaurant concept in the works, too. Here are the most-read stories from the week - plus the best things to do around Fort Worth this weekend.

1. Asian grocery giant H Mart to open first Fort Worth-area location. An Asian grocery giant is opening its first location in the Fort Worth area: H Mart, the largest Asian-owned grocery chain in the U.S., will open a store at 820 N. Beach St., at the intersection of NE Loop 820, with a planned-for debut in December 2025.

2. Fort Worth chef Tim Love strikes up a novel restaurant-croquet club. Fort Worth chef Tim Love has a new concept that combines dining with … croquet. Called Stewart’s Croquet & Cocktails, it's a cocktail bar and croquet club set to open in Fort Worth’s River District at 4424 White Settlement Rd.

Goldees BBQ Goldee's BBQ is among the best. Courtesy photo

3. YouTube star crowns Fort Worth BBQ joint best in Texas. Fort Worth has arguably the best barbecue restaurants in the state of Texas right now, and now the scene has earned another accolade, this time from YouTube star and Austinite Joshua Weissman.

4. Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo lets everyone in for free on final day. The 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo said "Thanks, y'all" with a gift for visitors on its last day, February 8: Free admission.

5. 3 Fort Worth BBQ joints to headline new BBQ-music fest in Arlington. There's a new BBQ-fest coming to town: Called the Lone Star Smokeout, it's a 3-day event combining BBQ and country music that'll debut outside of the AT&T Stadium in Arlington in May as an offshoot of the Windy City Smokeout, an award-winning annual festival in Chicago from Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants.

hot-headlines barbecue chefs fort worth stock show & rodeo

Campus News

Univ of Texas bans drag shows after letter from Tarrant County judge

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The University of Texas has taken a hard stance against drag shows.

Drag performances will no longer be permitted at the University of Texas at Austin's campuses and independent institutions.

The decision was shared by UT's System Board of Regents chairman Kevin P. Eltife, who told KVUE that "university facilities, supported by taxpayers, will not serve as venues for drag shows."

The decision comes less than a week after a Tarrant County judge sent a letter to UT's System Board of Regents pushing for the ban.

"Rather than promoting anything to do with education, drag shows and related events denigrate women," Tarrant County judge Tim O'Hare wrote to the university. He wrote that these performances "highlight men reducing the perception of women to stereotypes and body parts."

In his letter, O'Hare cited an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on the first day of his second inauguration. The order states that federal funding is paused for programs that promote "gender ideology," among other changes impacting gender identity.

O'Hare stated that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also sent a letter to the university instructing it to follow the executive order.

Changes to drag performances, DEI initiatives at Texas universities
UT isn't the first Texas university system to ban drag shows from its institutions. This year, Texas A&M also halted drag performances from all 11 of its campuses statewide.

Back in 2023, Senate Bill 12 was passed by Texas lawmakers banning drag shows, especially around children. That same year, it was considered unconstitutional by a U.S. judge.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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