The Midday Brief: June 13, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Rick Perry’s Day of Prayer at Houston’s Reliant Stadium has drawn sharp criticism from supporters of the separation of church and state. But the stadium’s manager strongly defends his decision to allow the meeting organized by a group that has been denounced as a 'hate group' by some liberals." — Reliant manager brushes aside criticism of prayer event sponsor but says stadium ‘wouldn’t want to rent to al-Qaeda,' Texas on the Potomac

• "It might be harder for Ron Paul to beat his fellow Republicans for the opportunity to face Barack Obama than defeating the president himself, the Texas Republican said today." — Ron Paul says appeal to independent voters gives him an edge, Des Moines Register

• "Texas is close to enacting a law that would provide teachers with detailed information about the criminal histories of their students, opening juvenile files that have always been confidential and are unavailable in most states." — Texas teachers may get student criminal histories, The Associated Press

• "The Texas Senate cleared two education bills off its desk without dissent, finishing its business for the day in mere minutes." — Two education bills fly through Senate, Postcards

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The Center for Reproductive Rights, a national abortion-rights advocacy group, has filed suit over Texas' newly signed abortion sonogram law, alleging it violates the First Amendment rights of the doctor and the patient." — Abortion-Rights Group Files Lawsuit Over Sonogram Bill

• "The Chronicle of Higher Education has released a data interactive showing the education levels of lawmakers nationally. The study shows most Texas legislators are well educated — 48 percent have attained more than a bachelor’s degree." — Texas Lawmakers Well Educated, Chronicle of Higher Ed Reports