*** We will be taking the next two Fridays off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Our sincerest thanks from all of us at Texas Weekly to you for reading us this year and our sincerest wishes for a pleasant holiday season with family and friends. We'll be back Jan. 8 for what promises to be a political year that will be nothing short of fascinating. ***

A new report from the American Tort Reform Association singles out the Rio Grande Valley and East Texas for the shame-inducing designation of Judicial Hellhole. The tort reform group cites as support for its action the high number of patent lawsuits in East Texas and hailstorm-related litigation in the Valley.

Former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis started a two-day trip to Iowa on Thursday to stump for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The main goal of Davis' tour is to motivate women, party activists and those who care strongly about abortion rights.

Included in the deal struck this week on a trillion-dollar congressional spending bill is language lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports onto the international market. Three Texas congressmen — Joe Barton, R-Ennis; Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; and Michael McCaul, R-Austin — have played key roles in the yearlong effort in getting the ban repealed.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters on Thursday he thinks it’s time to consider changing an immigration policy that allows Cubans to quickly establish legal status in the United States. “I think it is unfair and I think it does need to be reconsidered,” he said. “I think we out to have an immigration policy that treats all countries the same.”

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the state has violated the constitutional rights of foster children by exposing them to an unreasonable risk of harm in a system where children "often age out of care more damaged than when they entered." The state is expected to appeal the ruling, which if it stands could lead to costly reforms at the state's Child Protective Services division. At any given time, about 28,000 children are wards of the state.

A new federal geological study finds that North Texas' Barnett Shale holds nearly twice as much natural gas as was estimated in 2003. The revised estimate was greeted warmly by oil and gas industry supporters.

State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, announced Wednesday that he’s asking the Department of Justice to look into whether state officials have run afoul of federal law when they warned a resettlement organization to not place Syrian refugees in Texas. "Our nation's highest laws directly protect all people from discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, religion, and many other factors. This order to assistance groups may have violated federal law," he said.

Texas juries imposed only two new death sentences in 2015, the fewest since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide almost 40 years ago. Nationally, 49 death sentences were handed down this year, a 33 percent drop from last year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Executions, meanwhile, declined to a 24-year low, with 28 conducted in six states – Texas, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma and Virginia.

The town of Orange found itself in the middle of a dustup over public displays of Christmas scenes when town leaders chose to remove a nativity scene from in front of city hall after a local atheist group asked to hang a "Happy Holidays" sign. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton all chose to weigh in, encouraging the town to reinstall the nativity scene.

Because of a recent spike in minors crossing the border illegally in the Rio Grande Valley, Abbott announced Tuesday that he is ordering the Texas National Guard to stay in the area through December.

During a tense meeting, the Texas Racing Commission declined Tuesday to repeal its authorization of historical racing — a move that state leaders warn could mean the shutdown of racetracks across Texas. The commission has one more opportunity to address the issue before the agency's funding is scheduled to dry up in February.

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio tangled on immigration during Tuesday's GOP presidential debate, setting the stage for a back-and-forth on the hot-button issue for the rest of the week between the two candidates. On Thursday, Cruz sent a definitive message about his stance, saying "I oppose amnesty. I oppose citizenship. I oppose legalization. I always have and I always will."

Abilene state Rep. Susan King ended the suspense over her political future when she announced Monday morning that she would enter the GOP nominating contest for the open SD-24 seat. She announced last month that she had temporarily suspended her campaign in order to receive in-patient treatment for chronic depression. Five other candidates have already filed to run for the Central Texas seat being vacated by Horseshoe Bay Republican Troy Fraser.

The period to apply for a place on the March primary ballot ended Monday evening. One of the biggest surprises of the day was the decision by former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia to challenge Gene Green for his Houston congressional seat in the Democratic primary. Also, two Republican presidential candidates — Jim Gilmore and George Pataki — missed the deadline to get on the presidential ballot.

Abbott on Monday appointed Dallas Independent School District Trustee Mike Morath as the state's next education commissioner, describing him as "a proven education reformer." Morath has served on the Dallas school board since 2011. A vocal school-choice proponent, he pushed for a controversial — and, for now, scrapped — “home rule” policy that would have allowed the Dallas school district to escape state control.