The Brief: July 30, 2012
If the polls, and headlines, are to be believed, Tuesday's runoff looks like Ted Cruz's to lose. Full Story
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![U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz with his daughter at the JW Marriott hotel in Houston on May 29, 2012.]()
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U.S. Senate Runoff Races Are a Study in Opposites
The race between two Republicans vying for an open U.S. Senate seat has drawn intense interest even though the candidates agree on most issues. Meanwhile, the Democratic Senate hopefuls have major disagreements but have struggled to gain traction. Full Story
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Design Flaw Suspected in Standardized State Tests
Researchers believe they have uncovered a glitch in the DNA of the state's standardized exams that suggests, because of the statistical method used to assemble them, they are virtually useless at measuring the effects of instruction in the classroom. Full Story
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Poll: Cruz Leading Dewhurst by 10 Points
A new poll shows former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz with a 10-point lead over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the GOP race to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Full Story
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A Tragic Accident and a Continuing Legal Battle
Michelle Gaines is unlikely to ever live on her own after an auto accident. A jury awarded her $8 million in damages, but the decision was overturned. Her lawyers argue that if her appeal isn't heard, it would set a troubling precedent. Full Story
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![Michelle Gaines, 26, in her bedroom in Palestine, TX, on Sunday, July 22, 2012.]()
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Texas Weekly Newsreel: Runoff Elections Are Here
The runoff election is finally here. Who is ahead in the polls, and who will show up to vote? Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Hamilton (and Watkins of the Bryan-College Station Eagle) on outsourcing worries at Texas A&M, Murphy and Foxhall on how far people would go to meet voter ID requirements, Philpott on the close of a very tough race for Texas Senate, M. Smith on a decision that will cost public schools $300 million, Tan on state funding of HPV vaccinations, Aaronson on health insurance rebates, Aguilar on “restorative justice” on the border and Batheja on Ted Cruz's service in the courts and David Dewhurst's service in the military: The best of our best content from July 23 to 27, 2012. Full Story
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Palin Jabs at Perry While Rallying for Cruz
A rally for Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz in The Woodlands, featuring former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, reinforced the dividing line between high-profile conservatives endorsing Cruz and those backing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Full Story
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![Republican primary candidate Ted Cruz, center, is joined on stage by Sarah Palin, left, and Senator Jim DeMint, right, at a rally in The Woodlands, Texas, on Friday July 27, 2012.]()
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The Evening Brief: July 27, 2012
Your evening reading: new ads, mailers and attacks in U.S. Senate race; permit granted for southern portion of Canada-to-Texas pipeline; audit raises concerns about UT study on gay parents Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
State Tackles Concerns in Medicaid Dental System
State officials, dentists and other providers met Friday on how to treat orthodontic transfer patients, why some corporate clinics are allowed to use gift cards and pizza to lure new patients and other technicalities related to the transition to Medicaid managed care. Full Story
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Yarbrough Pushes for Amnesty in Latest Ad
In the second television ad of his U.S. Senate campaign, Democrat Grady Yarbrough advocates for sealing the border "by whatever means necessary" and granting citizenship to millions of illegal immigrant workers. Full Story
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Medicaid Dental System an Ongoing Challenge
While Texas works to fix a system that allowed dental clinics to charge the state millions in questionable Medicaid bills, dental providers say impoverished Texas children are being left in a lurch. Full Story
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The Brief: July 27, 2012
On the final day of early voting, the contrast in style between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz hasn't been sharper. Full Story
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A&M's Outsourcing Plans Have Workers Concerned
Texas A&M University officials say that a plan to outsource support services would help the university raise $260 million in the next 10 years. But staff members who perform those services are expressing concerns. Full Story
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![Landscaping workers are among the Texas A&M University employees who will have to join an outside company, because A&M is outsourcing its support services.]()
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Competitive Senate Race Draws to a Close
The race for the Republican nomination for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat wasn’t supposed to be a race at all. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, just days before Tuesday’s runoff election, the competition is tight. Full Story
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Plans for Coal Plant Stalled as Permit is Denied
A judge this week reversed the air permit for a proposed coal plant in Corpus Christi called Las Brisas, handing environmental groups a victory and dealing a major blow to one of the few such plants still being planned in Texas. Full Story
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Juvenile Detention Center Envisioned as Model for Reform, Catalyst for Hope
The chief probation officer for three counties near the Texas-Mexico border is taking a "restorative justice" approach to rehabilitating juveniles held in drug-smuggling cases. That philosophy is at the root of a new detention center. Full Story
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![Juvenile detainees work on a new juvenile detention village in Eagle Pass. Maverick County has been taking donations for the new facility, which is being built, in part, by county employees who sacrifice their own time for the project.]()
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Once a Sprint but Now a Slog, Election Nears End
With 37 runoff races on the ballot Tuesday, a political primary season that was originally supposed to wrap up in May is finally coming to an end. Full Story
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The Evening Brief: July 26, 2012
Your evening reading: Combs, Patrick endorse Dewhurst; Gohmert renews Muslim Brotherhood warnings; Yarbrough up with ad in U.S. Senate race Full Story
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Weekend Insider: Drug Runner Rehab, Reversed Verdict
A young woman, who may never be able to live on her own after a traffic accident, was awarded nearly $9 million by a jury — but the verdict was overturned. And a new juvenile facility will focus on teenagers who got involved in drug smuggling. Full Story
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