The Evening Brief: May 14, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Paul to Stop Actively Campaigning for Presidential Bid: "Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul announced in a statement released Monday announced that he would stop campaigning in states that have not yet voted. 'Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have,' he said."

• Perry Defends Dewhurst's Record in New Radio Ad: "On the first day of early voting, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst launched a new radio ad featuring Gov. Rick Perry. In the ad, Perry accuses Washington D.C.-based conservative groups of smearing Dewhurst's record."

• Jones Accuses Wentworth of Ethical Lapses in New Ad: "Former Railroad Commissioner and Senate District 25 hopeful Elizabeth Ames Jones on Monday released a television ad accusing incumbent state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, of ethical lapses."

• Increase in Natural Gas "Flaring" Tied to Pipeline Shortages: "With oil production on the rise in Texas, drilling companies are increasingly burning off the natural gas that surfaces with the oil, because they can't get pipelines in place fast enough to transport it."

Culled:

• Vegas casino owners who got teacher fund investment are Perry donors (The Dallas Morning News): "When Gov. Rick Perry wanted to hold a fundraiser in Las Vegas last fall for his nascent presidential campaign, he reached out to Frank Fertitta III. Fertitta was chairman and chief executive officer of Station Casinos, the largest operator of gaming halls that cater to Las Vegas residents. He and his younger brother, Lorenzo, had met Perry a few times and donated $5,000 apiece to him in 2007."

• What Ron Paul meant (Politico): "Ron Paul’s statement this afternoon about his future plans is so suitably vague that it’s open to interpretation. While it's been reported that he's now out of the race, there’s no mention in the announcement of ending his campaign or even suspending it -- the preferred language of candidates who are dropping out but want to retain their delegates at the convention.  But by choosing not to campaign anymore “in primaries in states that have not yet voted” – a list that includes the biggest prizes on the election calendar, Texas and California – it looks like Paul is moving to preserve the gains of his movement before they begin to erode."