The Midday Brief: July 20, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

"Halliburton warned that the well design BP was employing on its ill-fated Macondo well came with risks of natural gas escaping the formation and traveling up the well, according to an internal report referenced in a public hearing today." — Coast Guard investigation: Deepwater Horizon should have stopped operations weeks before blast, Houston Chronicle

"The Back to Basics PAC is using a 2007 vaccine mandate to take a shot at Gov. Rick Perry." — Rick Perry and HPV mandate in new TV ad, Trail Blazers

"A new ad released by the Democratic National Committee Tuesday uses Texas Rep. Pete Sessions' remarks on Sunday's Meet the Press to suggest the Republican Party will reinstate Bush-era policies if they regain control of the House." — DNC target ad features Texas Republican, Texas on the Potomac

"Austin may be the state's capital and Houston its largest city, but Midland is the epicenter of political contributions." — Houston is biggest city but Midland is Texas' most generous when it comes to political dollars, Texas on the Potomac

New in The Texas Tribune:

"Private, for-profit colleges, which offer professional certificates at a steep cost, have come under fire for peddling big student loans to vulnerable Texans in exchange for credentials of dubious value." — Private, For-Profit Colleges Under the Microscope

"After a sluggish 2009, Texas' top trade districts — Houston, Laredo and El Paso — are rebounding well from the national recession and witnessing huge increases in the value of trade passing through their ports this year." — Texas' Trade Ports Are Rebounding from the Recession

"Bill V. Flores, president of the University of Houston-Downtown, is joining calls for the passage of the DREAM Act, which clears a path to permanent-residency status for undocumented students." — William V. Flores Joins Call for DREAM Act

"This month, parts of Central Texas will decide how much water will be in the aquifers below the land for the next 50 years. The decisions will affect Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Wimberley and other towns south and west of Austin that rely on groundwater supplies." — Central Texas Water Districts Work on Water Plans