A high-priced new hire at the University of Texas System has some worried, both because of budget pressures and what they fear might be a precarious new direction for the system that could threaten its flagship university’s elite status.

A Houston attorney and radio commentator is floating the idea on a Facebook page and a website. No other Democrat can win, he says.

This week's TribCast features Evan, Reeve, Ben and Emily discussing the holdup with abortion sonogram legislation, cuts to public education, and bickering in higher education.

The B-On-Time Loan Program offers sweet savings if you are a student. But if you are an institution of higher education, the program might be costing you anywhere from a few thousand to millions of dollars.

The Association of American Universities, widely considered the gatekeeper to coveted tier-one status, has strongly criticized the Texas A&M University System's new policy of tracking the money spent on and generated by each individual professor.

No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.

Thursday's debate on an abortion sonogram bill began shortly after 2 p.m. It ended shortly after 9 p.m. The bill passed to third reading on a vote of 103-42, which means one easy step remains before it heads to the Senate.

During day two of the Legislature's debate on House Bill 15, state Rep. Sid Miller's abortion sonogram bill, House Democrats made their displeasure known with a parade of amendments.

The Texas State University junior on his new organization, the Former Majority Association for Equality, its college scholarships exclusively for white men and why he contends he's not a racist.

On this week's episode, Evan, Reeve, Ben and Brandi discuss Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter feed, the state's changing demographics and issues of innocence.

In 2009, state Rep. Leo Berman's bills — like the ones restricting illegal immigrants to certain geographical regions and denying them access to higher education — failed to gain traction. But with a Republican supermajority now in control, this could very well be the session of Leo.

Texans know Farouk Shami as a former long-shot candidate for governor, the head of a hair care empire, and the inspiration for perhaps the greatest campaign song of all time. Soon, Shami will add another job to that list: guest judge on Celebrity Apprentice.

No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.

Exiting Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has released a lengthy (as in, more than three minutes) video on YouTube explaining why the Republican is running for U.S. Senate.

It's official. Republican Tom Leppert, who stepped down as mayor of Dallas this week, told a Dallas TV station that he is joining the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2012.