The commissioner of the agency that oversees Texas foster children told lawmakers she regrets not telling them about a 2008 “fight club” involving developmentally disabled girls. She said the agency is moving quickly to address abuse and neglect inside Daystar Residential Inc. Full Story
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Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples’ camp calls a recent attack by Hank Gilbert’s campaign “the lowest a political campaign has ever stooped in Texas politics." Full Story
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San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro pays Stephen Colbert a visit with a hilarious result. Full Story
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Tension — as if it wasn't already thick — is mounting between Gov. Rick Perry and Bill White. Full Story
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The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t think Texas is doing enough to keep its air clean, so today the agency is expected to tell the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that the feds will take over air quality permitting for about 39 plants. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
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The National Weather Service is expected to upgrade Tropical Storm Alex by the end of the day, kicking off an Atlantic hurricane season that will be different from previous ones in the Gulf of Mexico because of — you guessed it — that pesky leaking oil off the Louisiana coast. Ben Freed of KUT News Radio reports. Full Story
Tonight is the legally imposed reporting deadline for the next round of campaign finance reports, which is big deal for two reasons: Candidates want to show momentum and credibility at mid-year, and they love having an excuse to ask supporters to pony up before the clock strikes midnight. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Full Story
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Last week State Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, was indicted on charges she engaged in Medicaid fraud — the second House member from South Texas to be indicted in less than a year. But their colleagues insist that such corruption isn't a regional thing, no matter what the stereotype suggests. Full Story
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Criminal records don't always exclude job applicants from working with the most vulnerable foster care children, according to a Texas Tribune/Houston Chronicle investigation. At Daystar Residential Inc., where workers forced developmentally disabled girls to fight each other, dozens made it through the state's background check process in the last three years despite records of arrests. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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With the parties over, it's back to business for the squabblers. Full Story
The Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate talked to the Tribune on Friday about why more Texans should be armed, why same-sex unions should be allowed and her admittedly slim chances of dethroning Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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The fallout over the BP oil leak has Texas Democrats at odds over deep sea drilling: Environmentalists have called for a permanent ban, but the party’s candidate for governor, Bill White, opposes the idea. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story
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Ted Bundy’s fried hair. Sperm from college campus shooter Wayne Lo. Dirt from the crawl space where John Wayne Gacy stored 26 bodies. All are collectors’ items in the macabre world of murderabilia. The more infamous the killer, the bigger the price tag — at least for now. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and a Houston city official are working to exterminate the industry they say allows murderers and rapists to make money from their crimes. Murderabilia peddlers insist they operate in good taste. “We don't push this into anyone's face,” says the owner of murderauction.com. Full Story
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The latest twist in the ag commissioner race: Democratic Challenger Hank Gilbert is accusing incumbent Todd Staples of killing nine people. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, isn't the only Texas congressman making headlines in Washington. Citing a "retired F.B.I. agent" as his source, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, said on the floor of Congress last week that terror cells are plotting to breed future terrorists inside the United States. Full Story
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Texas Democrats made a stand this weekend — with tongues planted firmly in cheek. Full Story
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Seventeen years ago, Texas turned on its last nuclear reactor, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. In another decade, several more reactors could get built here — if events in Washington go the power companies' way. Full Story
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The Texas Democrats wrapped up their convention in Corpus Christi on Saturday, and the party's grass roots activists headed home newly energized to elect their candidates — including Bill White as governor. But as Ben Philpott of KUT and the Tribune reports, excitement may only be able to carry them so far. Full Story
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