The Midday Brief: Sept. 23, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "Texas went to federal court today to pry loose $830 million in federal aid intended to help avert teacher layoffs. " — Texas files suit to free up $830 million in school funds stuck in political stalemate, The Dallas Morning News

• "Members of Texas' Senate and House delegation to Congress are lining up behind the 'Pledge to America,' a campaign agenda that the GOP hopes will help win political control of the House and the Senate on Nov. 2." — Texas Republicans backing GOP's campaing "Pledge to America", Texas on the Potomac

• "The leader of a Houston tea party group said volunteers trained by her organization will not have a particular strategy to challenge votes during the November elections, but they will be prepared to address fraud if questions arise." — Houston tea party-trained poll volunteers not expecting voter fraud, are prepared to address it, group leader says, The Texas Independent

• "Texas high school students might not get updated classroom materials for science courses in time to prepare for new exams that will soon count toward graduation." — Texas budget might test if students need materials to study for new exams, Austin American-Statesman

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Come January, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions around the country for the first time — but not if Texas can help it. Attorney General Greg Abbott last week lodged legal challenges in a federal court against EPA actions on multiple fronts, including a reiteration of the state's long-standing argument against the agency's scientific foundation for determining the dangers of greenhouse gas pollution. EPA regulation, Abbott's document said, 'is the most draconian of its kind of any advanced economy in the world' and would damage the Texas economy." — Texas Leads Resistance to EPA Climate Action