Gov. Rick Perry talked with the Tribune's Jay Root in his first extended interview with a Texas news outlet since leaving the presidential race.

In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign treasurer is asking for permission to use donated funds to create a new PAC, possibly even a Super PAC.

Aguilar on an environmental battle in South Texas, Galbraith on the impact of the drought, Grissom on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton and Theobald on plans for greater scrutiny of faculty performance, Murphy on Rick Perry's campaign donors and expenditures, Ramsey on where we stand on redistricting, Ramshaw on the intense interest in stem cell rules, Root on a congressman's controversial pipeline holdings, M. Smith on the backlash against student testing and Tan on the fight for a new medical school in Austin: The best of our best content from February 6-10, 2012. 

After months of deliberation — and input from Gov. Rick Perry — the Texas Medical Board on Friday gave preliminary approval to a set of rules on adult stem cells in Texas that are less stringent than those originally proposed. 

The Texas Medical Board, this week considering rules governing adult stem cell treatments, has had no shortage of input — from Gov. Rick Perry and the doctor who injected him with his own stem cells last summer, among others.

On this week's TribCast, Ben, Ross, Emily and Morgan discuss redistricting, public school accountability testing and the controversy involving Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood.

In his first public appearance since pulling out of the presidential race Jan. 19, Gov. Rick Perry said Monday he would keep fighting for the conservative ideals he championed on the campaign trail.

Rick Perry told a Fox News correspondent that he regrets not getting into the race "substantially sooner."

Gov. Rick Perry has filed his year-end campaign finance totals with the Federal Election Commission — and his fourth-quarter figures aren't pretty.

Tan and Dehn talk to some of Gov. Rick Perry's allies about his return to Texas, Aaronson maps (interactively!) the insured and the uninsured among us, E. Smith's TribLive interview with state Rep. David Simpson on Perry's race and TSA pat-downs, M. Smith on a Texas school so broke it's shutting down sports, Whitney on a split in the legal community over divorce forms, KUT's Philpott on abuse in state hospitals, Ramshaw reports on the governor's decision not to repay taxpayers for protection during his presidential campaign and Aguilar on the state's attempts to put its voter ID law in force: The best of our best content from January 23-27, 2012.

Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. He controls the executive branch, maintains strong ties with business, has relatively weak opponents, and has run circles around the media.

When the Legislature decamped from Austin in July, there was a sense of order in Texas politics. And yet, as Rick Perry returns a mere seven months later, conditions on the ground in Texas border on the chaotic.

Lame duck or not, Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. In Texas, he controls the levers of government, muzzles the news media and has no meaningful political opposition.

A new poll confirms it: In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry's approval numbers have taken a beating since his tailspin of a presidential run.

Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben take the TribCast on the road with a special live edition recorded at The Cactus Cafe as part of KUT’s Views and Brews series. The topic? Rick Perry, of course.

The race to scoop up Rick Perry's erstwhile big-dollar donors is on.

The longtime George W. Bush loyalist is being privately blamed for the widely reported civil war between veteran Rick Perry staffers and Washington, D.C., hands brought in to revive the Texas governor's flagging presidential campaign.

In this week's nonscientific survey of political and government insiders, we asked what Gov. Rick Perry's re-entry into state politics will be like, and whether they think he'll remain in office or quit early.