According to a list released Friday of more than 240 volunteer fundraisers, the Obama campaign has raised at least $2 million from 14 Texas "bundlers" — people who fundraise on behalf of a candidate. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: SBOE gearing up for a fight; what job growth in Texas under Perry means; a Spanish-speaking TEA party group in Texas. Full Story
Former New York City Mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani appeared on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday to discuss the current 2012 GOP presidential field. He said he thinks Texas Gov. Rick Perry will enter the race with "a great record." Full Story
Convicted cattle rustler Roddy Dean Pippin wants a Texas court to string him up in the Hardeman County square and let him hang for his crimes rather than remain in prison until the state says he will be released. Full Story
It is unclear exactly how much taxpayers spend on Gov. Rick Perry's extensive travel costs. Private dollars pay for most of Perry's expenses, but taxpayers pick up the tab for his round-the-clock security detail. Full Story
For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked what state issues will get national play if Gov. Rick Perry runs for president, how his record will be used for and against him and whether all the attention might affect races here. Full Story
The Trib captured every debate, tirade and joke uttered into the mikes in the House and Senate during the 82nd legislative session in our online transcripts. Our latest data apps help you identify when important debates occurred by visualizing the frequency of keywords. Full Story
A favorite plot device on television and in movies, jailbreaks, at least in Texas, are pretty rare. But that doesn't stop inmates from trying. And trying. Full Story
The U.S. Consulate is warning U.S. citizens that new information suggests cartels may be targeting ports of entry, consulate employees and “the public in general” in response to a crackdown on criminal gangs in Ciudad Juárez by the Mexican military. An emergency alert was issued Friday. Full Story
Check our new Perrypedia — a home for stories and data about you-know-who, Ramshaw on health care in the colonias, Root's look back at Rick Perry's years as a Democrat, M. Smith on the pressures facing the TEA, yours truly on David Dewhurst's impact on the U.S. Senate race, E. Smith's panel discussion on the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Hamilton on Perry and higher ed, Murphy on who's paying the pole tax, Grissom on Alto's decision to close its police department, Aguilar on labor and security worries over trucking on the border and Galbraith on what government can't do during a drought: The best of our best content from July 11 to 15, 2011. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry, who is considering a run for the White House, has spent nearly $1 million in state campaign funds since January, shelling out thousands of dollars for out-of-state travel, hotels and meetings, records released Friday show. Full Story
The three declared Republican candidates for Kay Bailey Hutchison's U.S. Senate seat released mid-year campaign finance totals today. Tom Leppert got to the end of June with more money in the bank than either Ted Cruz or Elizabeth Ames Jones. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Perry for president predictions percolate, Ratliff racing to replace a representative, and districts dealing with drought. Full Story
Bennett Ratliff, son of the former lieutenant governor and brother of the State Board of Education member, is jumping into the race to replace Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Carrollton, in the Texas House. Full Story
Rick Perry's political past is no secret in Texas. But tracing the governor's beginnings reveals a history that would strike even his strongest supporters as a little surreal. Full Story
Four years and one seemingly endless lawsuit after Texas lawmakers passed a $5-per-patron strip club fee, just 111 of the state’s 176 strip clubs have paid any money. (View our interactive here.) Full Story