Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday opened the latest front in what's likely to become the biggest abortion battle in Texas next year.

Business leaders and state senators agreed Tuesday that lawmakers should add some accountability mechanisms to the state's network of business incentive programs.

Plans for a coal mine in Eagle Pass took a step forward last month and could get final approval in January. But opponents of the proposal, who say the project raises serious health concerns, say they haven't given up the fight.

It's a common occurrence: A tree or branch falls on a power line, cutting off electricity to nearby residents. On Thursday, though, the state's Public Utility Commission will vote on rules aiming to make that a little less likely in the future. 

On Nov. 8, the Tribune and the University of Texas at Austin's Texas Politics Project asked four veteran members of the Capitol press corps to forecast the coming controversies in the 83rd session.

Business leaders said Wednesday that they would support modifications to the new student assessment system implemented this spring — and put forth a plan that provides multiple pathways to high school graduation.

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, praised some of her fellow senators Wednesday in an emotional speech on the Senate floor. See video of the senior Texas senator's remarks.

The Texas Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday that it has now found suspects in 10,000 open crime investigations using a federal DNA database.

Evan, Reeve, Kate and Becca discuss a range of topics including David Simpson's challenge to Joe Straus, CPRIT, fetal pain legislation, the state's water plan, and a proposed new University of Texas System institution in South Texas.

Despite organized efforts to unseat him, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said Wednesday he is confident his colleagues will re-elect him to the post so he can focus the 2013 legislative session on “serious issues” for a fast-growing state.

The rates of elective surgery for Medicare patients vary dramatically depending on which part of the state Texans live in, according to new research from the Dartmouth Atlas Project, which analyzes medical referrals, procedures and health care costs across the nation.

Mirroring a national trend, death sentences in Texas have declined over the last decade. Death sentences have fallen 75 percent since 2002, according to a new report. And the Texas death row population is the lowest in more than 20 years. 

Your evening reading: Straus says he's confident of re-election as speaker; business leaders favor changes to testing system; state posts more strong sales tax growth

Mark Norwood's capital murder trial has been set for March in San Angelo. His lawyers sought the delay so they could find experts to review DNA evidence the state says links him to Christine Morton's 1986 murder.