The Midday Brief: May 3, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• “Although immigrants account for 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, they make up about 15 percent of the workforce.” — 5 Myths about immigration, The Washington Post

• “It's official: Continental Airlines and United Airlines parent UAL announced they have agreed to merger in a move that will create the world's largest airline, toppling Delta Air Lines from the leadership position it took after acquiring Northwest.” — Continental And United Fly Off Into The Sunset, Forbes

• “The Justice Department's antitrust division is examining United Airlines parent UAL Corp's planned acquisition of Continental Airlines Inc, a department spokeswoman said on Monday.” — Justice Dept eyeing United-Continental deal, Reuters

• “As Tarrant County cities try to deal with budget shortfalls, the impact of generous property tax freezes adopted several years ago for elderly and disabled homeowners is starting to be felt.” — Tax freezes for the elderly and disabled are costing cities”, Fort Wort Star-Telegram

• “The Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a British woman on death row in Texas for killing a young mother.” — Brit on Texas death row loses high court appeal, The Associated Press

New in The Texas Tribune:

• “The Department of Family and Protective Services has launched its "Room to Breathe" TV and radio campaign to prevent the accidental suffocation or strangulation of infants while they sleep.” — TribBlog: DFPS Launches Safe-Sleep Campaign, The Texas Tribune

• “According to Abbott, ‘all forecasts show no immediate or imminent impact to the Texas coastline,’ but he added that it was ‘impossible to say conclusively" whether the state would be spared.’” — TribBlog: AG Takes Action on Oil Spill, The Texas Tribune