The Evening Brief: June 19, 2012

Culled:

• Mitt Romney heading to Houston for NAACP convention (The Dallas Morning News): "Mitt Romney is heading to Texas again next month. He will address the NAACP national convention in Houston on July 11, April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, reported moments ago."

• Ron Paul raised $1.78M in May (Politico): "Although Ron Paul effectively ended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination weeks ago, you wouldn’t know by his fundraising. During May, Paul raised $1.78 million and ended the month with nearly $3.3 million in the bank — more than he had at the end of April — with no debt, according to newly filed federal campaign finance reports."

• Texas lawmakers push for annual national commemoration of Juneteenth (Houston Chronicle): "Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas on this date in 1865, may be going national. Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Dallas Republican, and Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin have co-authored a bipartisan proposal to designate June 19th as a National Day of Observance."

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Texplainer: Who is Funding the Dewhurst and Cruz Campaigns?: "Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz are attacking each other over the sources of their campaign money. Which campaign is drawing more donations from Texas voters? Which campaign is dominated by money from out-of-state groups? The answers aren't clear-cut."

• State's Readiness for Hurricane Season Touted: "The 2012 hurricane season is here. TxDOT officials point to recent drills and expanded social media efforts as evidence that they are better-prepared to help Texans with potential mass evacuations."