The Midday Brief: Nov. 9, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Can Rick Perry take advantage of Herman Cain’s very bad two weeks? Much of the Texas governor’s support disappeared after a series of lackluster debate performances, and Cain surged to the top of polls in part because he captured the attention of conservative, tea party voters who had before favored Perry." — Rick Perry gets another chance in Republican debate, The Washington Post

• "The 2012 Republican primary is about to enter the elimination round.  When the GOP presidential candidates meet in Michigan Wednesday for a CNBC debate on the economy, they’ll no longer be looking to make a first impression. With less than two months to go before the Iowa caucuses, there’s a much more urgent objective: survival." — GOP debates enter elimination round, Politico

• "Comptroller Susan Combs said Wednesday that state sales tax receipts last month were $1.87 billion, a 15.9 percent increase over collections in October 2010." — Sales tax receipts grow by nearly 16 percent in October, Trail Blazers

• "Letting it be has become a mantra for Huntsman, Anita Perry and Callista Gingrich, who have bonded amid the heated GOP presidential campaign and animosity that’s part and parcel of high-stakes political battles like this one. The women, they agree, are too busy focusing on motherhood and each other’s well-being to let their husbands’ jousting get in the way." — Politics Aside, Three GOP Candidates’ Wives Bond, ABC News

• "In the latest volley of a years-long skirmish with the federal government over how Texas is handling $3.1 billion in hurricane disaster recovery grants, Gov. Rick Perry's office has again blasted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for delays in getting the money to communities stricken by storms in 2008." — Perry's office blames feds for delays in hurricane recovery program, Austin American-Statesman

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "A suspect whose DNA has been linked to the 1986 murder of Christine Morton and the 1988 murder of Debra Baker is on his way to the Williamson County Jail, according to John Raley, attorney for Michael Morton. Morton was exonerated of his wife's murder last month, based on the DNA evidence that showed someone else committed the crime." — Suspect Arrested in Michael Morton Case

• "'The values I learned served me well as governor of Texas and will continue to guide me as president,' Rick Perry says in a new ad that begins airing today in Iowa, whose first-in-the-nation caucus is less than two months away." — New Perry Ad, "Values," Will Air in Iowa