Enlarge photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman / Jay Root

The Tribune loves infographics, including the recent one posted by the Perry campaign called “State of Texas Economy.” But like all claims made by a political campaign, it deserves the scrutiny of a fact-checking exercise.

Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmrich

Gov. Rick Perry listens to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's speech at an event in Waterloo, Iowa, on Aug. 14, 2011.

Rick Perry defended a $5,000 contribution from Merck at Monday night's debate, but according to campaign finance data from the Texas Ethics Commission, the governor's estimate of the drug company's support was on the low side.

Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmrich

The remains of a mobile home lie smoldering in a small subvision east of Bastrop where the wildfire went through earlier in the day on September 6, 2011.

As wildfires continue to sweep across the state, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized seven more grants to help Texas manage the flames. Although the figures for the grants given to Texas after June are not yet available, the Tribune has a look at the $3.8 billion FEMA has given Texas to mitigate disasters.

Enlarge graphic by: Ryan Murphy / Noah Seger / Todd Wiseman

This morning @TribData released a visualization of all executions in the state of Texas since Gov. Rick Perry took office in late 2000. Here's how we made it happen.