This week in the Newsreel we look at the Texas redistricting court case still pending in D.C., and the Texas Weekly 2012 election brackets.

Redistricting has cost Texas taxpayers nearly $1.5 million in legal expenses so far — a total that could rise as more invoices are filed. Use our interactive to compare spending by category or to see the number of hours billed for legal work.

Texas has scored a 68 out of 100, placing 27th in a national state integrity study. The state got high marks for auditing and for monitoring pension funds, but not as high for accountability of the governor and legislators.

Texas Republicans are stuck, having won as many seats as it is possible to win by elections or by creative political mapping. But the solution for them is simple.

Texas Republicans grabbed just about every seat that wasn't protected by the Voting Rights Act. Democrats either have to find more voters or be forced to continue relying on ethnicity to protect the seats they still have.

The federal judges in San Antonio unveiled their maps this week, and the analysis started right away. Here's the starter kit.

Greg Abbott's decision to go to the U.S. Supreme Court provided fuel for his supporters and his critics.

The new maps issued this week by federal judges in San Antonio bear strong resemblance to the maps drawn last year by the Republican supermajority in the Legislature. On paper, they maintain the GOP advantage in the House, the Senate, and especially in the state's congressional delegation.

Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben talk about the legacy of Ron Paul, the ramifications of the state's new political maps, and a Texas lawmaker's contingency plans for an asteroid attack.

UPDATED: Federal judges in San Antonio unveiled maps for the state's congressional delegation and for the state House this afternoon, and did it in time to allow the state to hold its delayed political primaries on May 29. The court also signed off on Senate plans agreed to earlier this month.

In the land of redistricting, May 29 is only a week away.

At the national level, voters are concerned about pocketbook issues, while at home immigration is the top problem.

Texas' state Senate maps were finalized this week, but the protracted court battle has left state House and congressional districts without boundaries. And as Andy Uhler of KUT News reports, the district-line confusion is costing some candidates time and money.

There is a date for primary elections, but it's uncertain. And there is one redistricting map done, with two to go. And for what it's worth, the judges seem to be in a hurry.

UPDATED: April primaries are all but impossible for the state's election administrators, a Bexar County elections official said today, as an agreement on political maps remains elusive.

The state's political mapmakers will be back in court this morning, trying to produce maps in time for April primaries.

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. 

Federal judges told redistricting lawyers Friday afternoon to redouble their efforts to reach a quick settlement — by next week — on interim political maps for the state's congressional and legislative elections.