The Evening Brief: July 31, 2013
Your evening reading: Cruz steps up effort to defund Affordable Care Act; Branch releases first campaign video; Zimmerman pulled over in Texas for speeding Full Story
Your evening reading: Cruz steps up effort to defund Affordable Care Act; Branch releases first campaign video; Zimmerman pulled over in Texas for speeding Full Story
State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, has released his first web video in his campaign to become the next attorney general. Titled "Come and Take It," it highlights his desire to challenge what he calls "an overreaching federal government." Full Story
Emily, Evan, Reeve and Ross discuss the beginning of yet another special session, the ongoing confusion about the existence of excrement at the Capitol and the effort to impeach a University of Texas System regent. Full Story
Despite resistance from congressional Republican leadership, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is calling on grass-roots organizers to help in his fight to defund the federal Affordable Care Act. Full Story
The Edwards Aquifer is the subject of new pumping restrictions that are being announced Wednesday. San Antonio's water utility, which relies significantly on the aquifer, says that the city can avoid further restrictions of its own if it follows the authority's guidelines. Full Story
First we brought you Perrypedia, the go-to source for all things Rick Perry. Today, we're rolling out the Abbott Archives, your home for original news, multimedia and aggregated content on Attorney General Greg Abbott. Full Story
Priscilla Barbour, the president of Prairie View A&M University's student government association, is seeking something her predecessors were unable to get: a polling place on the historically black university's campus. Full Story
The Affordable Care Act's new rules for determining Medicaid eligibility has officials at the Health and Human Services Commission worried about an increased burden in processing applications. Full Story
Pleas from lawmakers failed to ward off an immediate third special session on transportation. Full Story
Despite broad bipartisan support, lawmakers have been unsuccessful this year in their efforts to pass a bill issuing tuition revenue bonds to fund campus construction. Another special session may provide them with an opportunity to try again. Full Story
Your evening reading: Perry calls third special session; debate over Capitol confiscations continues; Abbott calls White House's voting rights push a scheme to turn Texas blue. Full Story
The number of claims filed for medical and family planning services in the new state-run Texas Women's Health Program has dropped since the state ousted Planned Parenthood from it, according to state figures. Full Story
UPDATED: Just over an hour after lawmakers ended their second 30-day special session of the year, Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called lawmakers back for a third one, with transportation funding the only issue on the agenda. Full Story
Debate continues over whether visitors to the Capitol on July 12 attempted to sneak in containers of human feces. The Department of Public Safety is seeking to withhold information about the alleged incident. Full Story
Today, we relaunch one of our most popular news applications: our database of all Texas state prison inmates, which we had pulled down to address inconsistencies in the state's record-keeping. Full Story
Bars and restaurants are going to be paying half of the taxes they pay now on cocktails. But Texas consumers aren't likely to see that savings. Instead, your margaritas and bloody marys could get a little pricier next year. Full Story
A new study of water quality in the Barnett Shale region has found high levels of arsenic in wells that are closer to natural gas extraction sites. It's sure to fuel an already fierce debate over the impacts of hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
With fracking proliferating nationwide, drillers across the country have cited a Texas Supreme Court case to support their right to drain oil and gas from under residents' property. But even in Texas, residents haven't stopped fighting for the rights to that oil. Full Story
A major blow to a transportation plan has left the Legislature teetering on the edge of a third special session. Full Story
Your evening reading: Transportation bill fails in House; Cruz says Republicans "scared" of defunding Affordable Care Act; Martinez Fischer attends White House meeting on voting rights. Full Story