The author of Drug Lord on rumors of Mexican political corruption, how the drug war is like Prohibition, why drug traffickers aren't like Muslim extremists, whether the U.S. media really understands Mexico and why Hezbollah has set up shop across the border. Full Story
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The defense bill blocked by Republicans in the U.S. Senate could impact Texas. One of the measures that failed to move forward was an amendment that would have given some undocumented immigrants a path to legal status through education. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story
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Senate Republicans voted unanimously against opening debate for the defense authorization bill this afternoon, a move that blocked the so-called DREAM Act, a controversial immigration measure. Full Story
A group of people who typically prefer to stay out of the limelight gathered this morning to urge lawmakers to support the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. Full Story
An array of Houstonians star in the latest television ad endorsing their former mayor, Democrat Bill White, as the next governor of Texas. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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A representative for the Texas Legislative Council, which helps lawmakers research and draft bills, won't speculate on why proposed and passed legislation has risen sharply in the last two decades. But it's one reason the agency has expanded its legal division over the years, she says. Full Story
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There’s a new student paper coming to university campuses in Texas — courtesy of the Republican Party of Texas. Full Story
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If the Larry Taylor-Steve Mostyn battle over windstorm insurance payouts wasn't a proxy war for the tort reformists and the trial lawyers before, it certainly is now. Full Story
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The politically powerful hospital was poised to lose millions in Medicaid reimbursements under a hospital funding shuffle — until it reached out to lawmakers with its concerns. Full Story
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He's back! But a little less on-fire this time. Full Story
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The State Board of Education is getting set to vote later this week on a resolution that would call on textbook publishers to avoid a "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias" in Texas textbooks. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the matter may be more about symbolism than practical change. Full Story
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The author of Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness on the criminalization of mental illness, the need for community-wide solutions and how Texas wastes the money it spends on the problem. Full Story
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Legislative filings increased in the Texas House and Senate by 70 percent from 1991 to 2009, records show, and the number of bills and resolutions passed by both chambers climbed at a higher rate. Resolutions alone numbered about 4,000 last session, or more than half of all legislation. Explore our interactive graphics. Full Story
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You won't be seeing many Rick Perry yard signs this fall — by design. Except for a few that are available for purchase, the governor's campaign is generally eschewing traditional tools like signs and direct mail, preferring a new set of ways to win over voters. Full Story
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Libertarians launch a new political action committee, Texas Libertarios, to show Latinos they have more choices than just Republicans and Democrats. Full Story
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Oprah Winfrey will give the YES Prep charter school network $1 million today. She will present the gift on this afternoon's epsiode of her show, which explores the documentary film Waiting for Superman, according to a YES Prep press release. Full Story
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On Friday, Times Higher Education, a British magazine, released its 2010 rankings of the top 200 universities in the world. Rice University, ranked 49th, began touting the fact that it is “the only university in Texas” to make the cut. So where were the others? Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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The state's finances aren't looking so hot, you might have heard. Full Story
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