Enlarge credit: Callie Richmond, Caleb Bryant MIller

BIll White, Rick Perry at their Primary 2010 reception speeches.

For Gov. Rick Perry, the fight between the state of Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency — a textbook example of states' rights versus federal authority — may be heating up at just the right time.

The state's tax on corporations could end up half a billion dollars shy of Comptroller Susan Combs' predictions, officials with her office say.

Gov. Rick Perry's having knee surgery on Friday. In an e-mail sent out this afternoon, Dana Parish, deputy finance director for Texans for Rick Perry, notified supporters that a campaign event had been rescheduled because of the impending surgery.

Your afternoon reading.

Most Americans can access broadband internet services where they live, but in rural Texas, some still lack the kind of connectivity that allows them to get online without the hassles of dial-up. On June 14, the Texas Department of Agriculture will release information on the state of connectivity in Texas, including maps of where Texans have the best — and worst — internet access.

The Fort Hood shooter made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but a trial, the military court decided, won't happen until October.

The Hutto immigration detention center is under scrutiny again after a guard at the private facility was accused of sexual assault.

Gov. Rick Perry wasn't interested in federal "Race to the Top" money before — and he isn't now, either.

Debra Medina may have been shut out of the Republican Party of Texas' 2010 Convention in Dallas, but her new advocacy group will still celebrate in the city next weekend.

Your afternoon reading.

Still months away from a BP solution that works, Dallas' Parkland Hospital under investigation ... again, Fort Hood shooter headed to a courtroom and Texas' textbooks don't hold the clout most thought they did.

Effective today, the Trib has a dedicated energy reporter on staff: Kate Galbraith, formerly of The Economist and The New York Times.