TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

A coalition of Texas law enforcement officers filed a brief in federal court Tuesday in support of gay marriage, saying the state has failed to give gay and lesbian first responders “the equal dignity and respect they deserve.”

Texas continues to rank as the state with the highest rate of residents without health insurance, with 22.1 percent of the population lacking coverage, according to early U.S. Census Bureau figures released Tuesday.

Use this interactive, which contains the latest census figures, to compare the rates of uninsured Texans in each of the state's metropolitan statistical areas. You can also see the rate of Texans living below the poverty level in each of the statistical areas.

Several academics on Tuesday pointed to flaws — including inaccurate descriptions of world religions and out-of-date racial terminology — in proposed social studies textbooks up for adoption by the Texas State Board of Education. 

In their first debate, Wendy Davis on Friday slammed Republican Greg Abbott on everything from his position on abortion to his opposition to Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Abbott portrayed himself as a warrior against President Obama.

Midland school officials and area businesses are excited about a planned high school program that will focus on preparing high schoolers to work in the region's booming oil industry. 

Oil and gas activities – but not hydraulic fracturing – tainted drinking water wells atop North Texas’ Barnett Shale and Pennsylvania’s Marcellus formation, according to a new study.

When Gov. Rick Perry was indicted last month for allegedly overstepping his authority, the charges came from a type of grand jury that is not the norm in Austin’s criminal courts: one whose members were chosen at random.

In response to an open records request, the University of Texas at Austin on Thursday released dozens of recommendation letters written by lawmakers and other individuals that were initially sent to University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa.

Gov. Rick Perry spoke about the need to embrace every possible way to finance road construction — outside of raising taxes — in a speech to a toll road industry conference in Austin.

Texas played host to the toll road industry's annual conference this week, and local and state leaders made clear to the more than 900 people in attendance that the state expected to pursue more toll projects.

Four years after fleeing Somalia, Dekha Hassan-Mohamed is living in El Paso after winning an asylum claim and bucking a national trend. Her lawyer is seeking the same protection for another client who fled Nigeria. Both women are grateful for the new chapters of their lives in El Paso.