The Evening Brief: April 26, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Perry Slams EPA Official's "Crucify" Comment: "A video going viral shows Al Armendariz, who heads the EPA regional office that includes Texas, likening his job in 2010 to the crucifixion actions of the Romans — comments Gov. Rick Perry says are 'unacceptable and offensive.'"

• Data App: Government Employee Salary Database: This afternoon we pushed the first update of 2012 to our government employee salary database, bringing new data to nearly half of the 140 entities currently found in our records.

• ATF: Two-Thirds of Guns Recovered in Mexico Come From the U.S.: "An estimated 68,000 of the more than 99,000 guns submitted to U.S. authorities by Mexican law enforcement for tracing had origins here, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."

• Wentworth, Rivals Turn Up Heat in Senate Race: "State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, is battling former Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and emergency room doctor Donna Campbell in the GOP primary for Senate District 25. Both challengers are mounting campaigns — one with the help of Texans for Lawsuit Reform — by attacking him from the right."

Culled:

• Poll: Perry’s 2014 run in jeopardy (Houston Chronicle): "A recent poll suggests Gov. Rick Perry’s failed presidential run, peppered with numerous missteps magnified under a national microscope, could have a lasting effect if he decides to run as an incumbent in 2014. According to numbers from Public Policy Polling, 64 percent of respondents said Perry should not run for governor again while 29 percent said he should. A fewer amount of Texans showed support for another Perry presidential run in 2016 – only 19 percent in favor."

• Study: Federal stimulus bill saved or created 264,000 Texas jobs (The Dallas Morning News): "President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus bill saved or generated at least 264,000 Texas jobs in the first year and a half after federal dollars started flowing to states, according to a new study."