The Midday Brief: June 30, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

“Rick Perry has displayed some polling prowess among socially conservative Iowa Republicans — but a new poll finds the potential candidate lagging among voters in New Hampshire, the state that hosts the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.”— Perry wins just 2 percent in latest New Hampshire presidential poll, Texas on the Potomac

“Students and families can compare colleges’ tuitions, the pace at which they are rising and the net cost of attending each college on a new Web site the Department of Education made public on Thursday, fulfilling a legislative mandate.”—  What’s the Most Expensive College? The Least? Education Dept. Puts It All Online, The New York Times

“Brown pelicans, long-necked egrets, flamingo-like roseate spoonbills and squawking seagulls fly lazily around a Texas Gulf Coast island. Nearby, a toddler-aged wetland seeded with marsh grass completes the ecosystem, its thousands of inhabitants unaware their home is a manmade creation dredged from the Houston Ship Channel.” — Federal officials see Texas wetland restoration work as possible model for other Gulf areas, Associated Press

"Not long after Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., invited President Obama to the Hill Thursday to meet with Senate Republicans, Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, took to the Senate floor to blast President Obama for attending a fundraiser this afternoon in Philadelphia, Penn., when the debt ceiling negotiations are still ongoing." — GOP Blasts Obama for Attending Fundraisers While Debt Talks Continue, ABC News

 New in the Texas Tribune:

“Jay Kimbrough, a former chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry, this morning was named deputy chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. He will also serve as interim chancellor until a replacement can be found for outgoing chancellor Mike McKinney, whose term ends today” — Jay Kimbrough Named A&M System Interim Chancellor

“Highway signs along many Texas roads flash the same dire warning: extreme wildfire danger. Burn bans and local disaster declarations are spreading across the state in an attempt to keep scorching temperatures, high winds and low precipitation from erupting into wildfires. Use our interactive map to see which parts of the state have been hardest hit.” — Wildfires, Burn Bans Rage Across Texas