The Midday Brief: Dec. 8, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "With the Senate poised to vote on whether to offer eventual citizenship to some children of illegal immigrants, Texas Sen. John Cornyn denounced a hunger strike intended to pressure wavering lawmakers." — Texas Sen. John Cornyn denounces hunger strike aimed at pressuring lawmakers over DREAM act, The Dallas Morning News

• "With a divisive immigration proposal nearing a showdown in the Senate, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is caught in a political tug of war between highly vocal immigration supporters and hard-line conservatives who vow political retribution if she votes with the Democratic majority." — Texas' senior senator facing a hard call, Houston Chronicle

• "College students seeking to persuade U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to support the DREAM Act staged a demonstration Tuesday outside the building in which her Dallas office is located." — Students in Dallas press Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to back DREAM Act, The Dallas Morning News

• "Joe Straus has made it clear where he stands. He has support in the pro-life community. Having staked out his position, he was wise not to venture into angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin issues." — Texas Alliance for Life notes Straus’s non-response, BurkaBlog

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Even as Texas schools face budget cuts, their spending per student is on the rise, according to a new report from Comptroller Susan Combs that rates district expenditures against student achievement." — Comptroller Releases School Efficiency Report

• "One in 10 Asian-Americans has hepatitis B, a rate that is 20 times higher than the rest of the population — and is surely pronounced in Houston, which has the fourth-largest Asian population of any U.S. metropolitan area. But state public health officials struggle to get funding for vaccinations and outreach." — Asian-Americans See More Hepatitis B