Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign has produced an online attack ad aimed at Mitt Romney, accusing him of providing a blueprint for President Barack Obama's federal health care reform plan with the program he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts. Full Story
In this week's nonscientific survey of government and political insiders, we asked about the news about Gov. Rick Perry, and which stories will fade and which will linger. Full Story
Researchers in Dallas hope their clinical tests will improve care for soldiers in the Middle East and even for construction workers, firefighters and other outdoor workers who sustain bleeding injuries in the Texas summer heat. Full Story
The redrawing of political district lines — which ideally happens just once a decade after a federal census — could create a series of crazy election cycles for Texas voters and candidates. It happened in the 1990s, and it could happen again now. Full Story
In the wake of Michael Morton's release from prison last week based on DNA testing that shows someone else killed his wife 25 years ago, defense lawyers are calling for reforms to ensure prosecutors must turn over exculpatory evidence. Full Story
Rick Perry brought his A-game to Iowa on Saturday, promising a jobs plan next week and giving much-improved answers to questions on immigration and Social Security. But his audiences weren’t always sold. Full Story
Murphy, Ramshaw and Root on Rick Perry and race, Philpott on Perry's vague economic plans, Tan and Wiseman on Barack Obama's foray into Texas to defend his jobs plan, Aguilar on Perry's proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico, Ramshaw on efforts to leash rising health care costs, M. Smith on upcoming legal challenges to the state's school finance system, Aaronson interactively explores Medicare spending proposals, Galbraith on efforts to pass — and to oppose — a $6 billion water program, Grissom on the release of a man wrongly convicted of murder and Hamilton on efforts to let the public write some legislation: The best of our best content from October 3 to 7, 2011. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's proposal came ahead of the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit on Friday, a chance for the candidates to showcase their social-conservative credentials. Full Story
Rick Perry made an appeal to social conservatives at the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit on Friday, vowing his faith-guided principles and history of job creation in Texas would get a troubled nation back on track. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Perry courting conservatives at Values Voter Summit; forecaster says Perry still has an edge over Romney; Texas Republicans blast unemployment numbers Full Story
Texas’s congressional Republicans seized on new unemployment numbers to decry President Obama’s economic policies days after he stopped in Mesquite to sell his jobs plan. Full Story
Hey, Texplainer: With several states racing to move up their primaries, will my vote even matter when Texas holds its primary? Yes, at least for every candidate other than the ones running for president — and maybe for them, too. Full Story
Full video of the keynote speech by former Obama health reform adviser Neera Tanden in the Health and Human Services track at the 2011 Texas Tribune Festival. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry's campaign is reenergized by fundraising numbers that seem to assure a two-man race with Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination. But Perry has a dark cloud on the horizon: two high-stakes presidential debates. Full Story
The concept of crowdsourcing — soliciting information from a wide range of people responding to an open call over the internet — could play a significant role in the way Texas lawmakers handle a key issue next session. Full Story
Credit:
Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Jeff Heimsath
The construction of a coal-fired plant near Bay City, already delayed by concerns over the historic drought, has raised questions about Texas' dwindling groundwater supply. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story
Why do Texas colleges hire former lawmakers to run the show? It's because the key trait for a new chancellor is the ability to attract money, both from donors and from the Legislature. Full Story
As the U.S. grapples with rising health care costs and a system that rewards doctors and hospitals for how sick their patients get, not how healthy they become, Texas providers are experimenting with new payment and care delivery models. Full Story