The Midday Brief: Nov. 23, 2011

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio proposed new congressional districts for Texas today. Among the headlines: It looks like U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, won't be running against each other. … The court's proposal includes 13 districts where minorities make up more than half of the population, including eight where Hispanics alone are in the majority. One is a new open seat in Tarrant County; state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said via text message that he'll be a candidate: 'Yes, I'm in and glad that my efforts help make this a reality for Tarrant County residents.'" — Court Releases Congressional Maps

• "My first book came out last week, but there was just one problem: It was about Rick Perry. My co-author and I had to self-publish it, because when his campaign cratered, our publisher dropped us faster than you can say 'oops.'" — Guest Column: Adios, Book Deal

• "This update of our Texas Economy by Region interactive map compares the unemployment rate from 2010 to 2011 in each county to determine whether the economy has improved or declined. We’ve also included a map of Texas cities with pop-ups that show industry changes from 2010 to 2011." — Updated Interactive: Texas Economy by Region

Your afternoon reading:

• "A new Mitt Romney ad is getting a lot of attention for its questionable use of an edited clip of President Obama. In the clip, Obama says, 'If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.' Obama was actually quoting an aide to John McCain in the race four years ago. Both the Romney and Obama camps are in a kerfuffle over it. Getting less notice is something else — why did the Romney campaign included fleeting clips of black people in church?" — Why did Romney's anti-Obama ad include clips of black people in church?, Trail Blazers

• "Hispanic leaders expressed 'disappointment' on Wednesday that North Texas didn't get a Latino opportunity district in the interim Congressional maps just released by a federal judicial panel." — Hispanic leaders 'disappointed' in Dallas-Forth Worth congressional redistricting map, Trail Blazers

• "Readers may or may not be aware that Republican consultant Bryan Eppstein has said that Senate District 10, the Fort Worth district that is represented by Wendy Davis, has a +6 to +7 point Republican advantage, based on the new map drawn by three-judge panel in San Antonio." — Why Wendy can win (maybe)(and maybe not), BurkaBlog