TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

Gov. Rick Perry’s early opposition to the Obama administration’s education policies — whose bipartisan backers include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — make him something of an ideological outlier among Republicans. 

At Friday's TribLive conversation, U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz explained why the presumed front-runner in the GOP primary race, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, is the wrong man for the job.

Gov. Perry took shots from all directions Wednesday in his first nationally televised debate as his opponents unloaded on the presidential front-runner again and again, seeking relevance in a line of questioning that largely centered on Perry.

As Perry adjusts to his front-runner status for the Republican presidential nomination, his opponents are planting seeds of doubt about how tough the border state’s longest-serving governor has been on illegal immigration.

The early results of the latest leg in a key fundraising race for Texas universities seeking tier-one status are in — and the University of Texas at Dallas is in the lead. But there's still more than $1.2 million up for grabs this biennium.

Even as the Obama administration delighted conservatives last week by pulling back on a broad regulation to combat ozone pollution, the controversial "cross-state" rule that would also reduce smog-forming pollutants in Texas remains on track.

The Texas Forensic Science Commission said it would not issue a finding of misconduct against the state fire marshal in the Cameron Todd Willingham arson case. But the commission agreed to implement a review of other arson cases.

Compare Rick Perry to other leading Republican presidential candidates on everything from their personal histories and governing experience to their stances on gay marriage and immigration.