Texas Democrats met in Dallas for their state convention where speeches were dominated by attacks on their GOP counterparts and by calls for unity in support of the party's standard bearers in November — Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins made some news at the Democratic convention when he announced his county could house up to 2,000 immigrant children now being held by the Department of Homeland Security on the Texas-Mexico border.

Appearing before a U.S. House field hearing in McAllen on Thursday, Gov. Rick Perry called again for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children to be returned to their respective countries without delay.

A Monday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding Hobby Lobby's right not to include contraceptive coverage for its employees drew cheers from conservatives as a victory for religious freedom. Critics of the decision called it anti-woman and said it could open the door to more exemptions from requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, introduced proposed legislation in an interim hearing that would introduce new regulations for the storage of ammonium nitrate, the substance that caused the devastating explosion in West a year ago. The proposed bill drew quick criticism from Republican lawmakers who viewed it as intrusive on businesses and a "power grab."

State and local water planning agencies in Texas were handed a narrow victory by federal judges on Monday, vindicating decisions to supply more water to cities and industries at potential expense of wildlife. At issue was who would be held responsible for the deaths of 23 whooping cranes near San Antonio Bay.

Sen. Robert Duncan officially resigned his seat representing SD-28 on Thursday. He takes over as chancellor of the Texas Tech Unversity System on Monday.