The Midday Brief: Sept. 2, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the White House is remaining in close contact with the Coast Guard and other federal agencies in place along the Gulf of Mexico following this morning's rig explosion off the Louisiana coast." — Gibbs says White House closely monitoring rig explosion, Texas on the Potomac

• "Bill White says Gov. Rick Perry talks a good game on illegal immigration but hasn't done much to fix it. The Democrat today announced a plan he says would make the border more secure." — Bill White outlines border-security plan, Trail Blazers

• "The Dallas Democrat told radio station KRLD-AM (1080) this morning that she had never heard the rules on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation aid discussed and that written rules delivered to her office last year were very ambiguous.'" — Eddie Bernice Johnson: 'I never heard the rules' on scholarships, The Dallas Morning News

• "More than 5,000 energy sector workers flocked to three Texas rallies Wednesday to protest what they view as an onslaught of punitive measures from Washington that threaten oil and gas jobs and domestic energy supplies." — Oil industry buses in backers for pro-drilling rallies, Texas on the Potomac

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "According to early reports, the rig exploded 80 miles off the Louisiana coast. WAFB in Baton Rouge reports that the 13 workers are accounted for, after the rig exploded between 9:30 and 10:30am this morning. A Coast Guard rescue is underway." — Another Oil Rig Has Exploded in the Gulf of Mexico

• "Nothing has helped Texas "close the gaps" of higher education achievement more than financial aid for low-income students. But with coming budget cuts, tens of thousands of students could lose out on the state's largest and most generous financial aid program." — TEXAS Grants Face Big Cuts Next Session

• The Public Utility Commission is poised to pass new rules that could prohibit some Texans from switching from one electric company to another. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, advocates for the elderly and infirm are concerned about the impact of the proposal on some of the state's most vulnerable ratepayers. — State Deciding When Customers Can Switch Power

• Today marks the first official day of the next phase of U.S. military operations in Iraq — but as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, Central Texas anti-war groups regard the conflict as far from over. — For Texas Troops, the War in Iraq Isn't Over