Mexican officials capture much-wanted drug-trafficking suspect

La Barbie captured. Corchado and Villagran report:

MEXICO CITY – Texas-born suspected drug trafficker Edgar Valdez Villarreal, whose brutality belied his nickname "La Barbie," was captured Monday by Mexican federal authorities, the latest in a series of victories for the government in its fight against drug cartels. Valdez is considered the most wanted and highest-ranking U.S. drug trafficking suspect operating in Mexico. He also faces U.S. charges.
http://dallasne.ws/dC7TTC

At Plano event, Bill White's wife says women will be deciding factor in this fall's elections

The wife of Democratic candidate for governor Bill White says women will be the deciding factor in this year's elections. Andrea White's remarks Saturday morning at Plano's Haggard Park were part of a, n event marking the 90th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.
Mark Norris reports: http://dallasne.ws/cRC2nF

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson says she'll repay scholarship funds by week's end

Gillman follows up:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson awarded eight scholarships last year to her grandsons and a top aide's children – bringing to 23 the number of awards she handed out since 2005 in violation of Congressional Black Caucus Foundation eligibility rules. The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that over the last five years, the Dallas Democrat has awarded up to $20,000 in 15 scholarships to two grandsons, two great-nephews, and aide Rod Givens' children between 2005 and 2008. The 2009 awards – reflected in a previously undisclosed list provided Monday by the foundation – push that above $25,000.
http://dallasne.ws/cXHAXu

Faulty phones hang up efforts to fix Texas' processing of welfare requests

Garrett reports:
AUSTIN – Even as Texas spends hundreds of millions to hire more workers to process welfare applications, it has skimped on replacing obsolete phone systems at more than 300 offices. At some, phones are more than two decades old and prone to "port failures" in which callers hear a ring, but no line actually rings in the office, officials said. Also, many newly hired workers do not have voicemail. Experienced workers and supervisors do, but they complain of occasional malfunctions, which can make entire offices unreachable.
http://dallasne.ws/dfynB3

Vote fraud vs. voter supression debate returns to Texas

Slater:
Six years ago, Attorney General Greg Abbott warned of what he called an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas. He launched a high-profile crackdown. Democrats accused the Republican attorney general of trying to suppress the votes of Democrats. Abbott prosecuted about two dozen people, all Democrats and all but one minorities. In most cases, the voters were eligible and voters weren't changed. http://dallasne.ws/96EUzA

Texas school districts revisiting medication policies face unclear guidelines

School districts have started re-examining their medication policies in the face of shrinking budgets and increased abuse of over-the-counter drugs. For direction, they turn to ambiguous laws and outdated guidelines that leave some schools stocking a pharmacy and others refusing to distribute pills at all. Meyers reports: http://dallasne.ws/chGbXQ

Stutz:
AUSTIN – Texas high school students have a year before they must begin to pass a battery of 12 end-of-course tests to graduate, but results for hundreds of thousands of students already taking some of the exams portend a rocky start for the new testing program. Of the nearly 102,000 students who took the Algebra I test in May, for example, just 57 percent met the passing standard on the 50-question exam. Only 12 percent achieved "commended performance" for correctly answering most of the items.
http://dallasne.ws/9GIE03

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson violated rules, steered scholarships to relatives

Gillman and Hoppe take a close look:
Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers' causes. The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member's district.
http://dallasne.ws/aUidR5

WAAAAAAAY up there!

Workers atop the Capitol:

Newspapers plan gubernatorial debate whether Perry joins or not

Embry at the Austin American-Statesman reports:

The state's largest newspapers plan to host a debate between the major candidates for governor this fall, even if just one candidate shows up. The Dallas Morning News and four other newspapers, along with Austin public television station KLRU, will deliver a letter to Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White today inviting them to a debate Oct. 19 at the KLRU studios at the University of Texas.
http://dallasne.ws/c1b2oW

Texas education chief is in Washington to discuss $830 million in potential school aid

Holloway reports:

More than $830 million in education funding is at stake today in a meeting between Texas and Washington education officials. Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott is meeting with U.S. Department of Education officials this afternoon in Washington, working on a way to allow Texas to get the money despite statutory conditions placed on the grant. Those conditions are at the center of a dispute between Republican Gov. Rick Perry and a leading congressional Democrat from Texas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin.
http://dallasne.ws/9tqWgL

Perry declines to talk about rising insurance rates

Gov. Rick Perry -- who says he's too busy to debate or meet with newspaper editorial boards because he's out among Texans answering questions -- refused to answer questions Thursday. Perry was in Killeen campaigning for reelection. His Democratic opponent, Bill White, said Thursday if he's elected governor, he'll tackle the state's soaring insurance rates. Texas has the second-highest homeowner insurance rates in the country. White wants to rewrite insurance laws to make companies get state approval before raising rates. He says Perry has just stood by while rates rise. Slater: http://dallasne.ws/b947Rj

New Texas Heat Index item on the "coward" ad

Rusak:
This ad declaring Gov. Rick Perry a "COWARD" has gotten a lot of attention, but our Bob Garrett finds there's a lot more to the ad's claims about unemployment that voters need to now. Check out his findings in the latest entry in our Texas Heat Index, our fact-checking venture.
http://dallasne.ws/c9f5NA

GOP handout cites state's Confederate charter

An image of Texas' Confederate-era state constitution appeared -- by mistake, the Republican Party of Texas says -- in a handout for reporters at a Waco press conference Thursday. At the event, party chairman Steve Munisteri charged that House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam doesn't live in his district and should step down. Garrett has the story:
http://dallasne.ws/bCOl7r

See for yourself:
Confederate Constitution

Karl Rove says he didn't engineer anti-gay marriage amendments. He did.

For years, Karl Rove has denied that he helped engineer anti-gay marriage amendments in states to help George W. Bush win reelection in 2004. Rove's position was that the marriage amendments arose organically within eleven states, including political crucial Ohio , and that the Bush campaign wasn't involved in any way. Not true, a former Republican National Committee chairman now says.

Slater reports: http://dallasne.ws/9x03Nj

The Atlantic interview: http://dallasne.ws/9MYM1T

Texas approves sale of new vanity license plates

Mason and Mulvaney:
Texas drivers got the go ahead Wednesday to spruce up their bumpers with a new batch of commercialized plates, stamped with Ford’s Built Tough logo, NASCAR race colors and even a loaded cheeseburger.
http://dallasne.ws/aGnaN4

Tom DeLay: I'll win my case, then go after the prosecutor

Tom DeLay says once his money-laundering trial is over - and he expects to win - he intends to go after the public integrity unit that brought his indictment in the first place. Under state law, the Travis County district attorney is authorized to prosecute corruption cases against Texas politicians. It's been doing it for years - prosecuting Attorney General Jim Mattox and House Speaker Gib Lewis (both Democrats) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (a Republican). But DeLay said Tuesday that when the unit targeted him, it went too far.
Slater reports: http://dallasne.ws/cRXQyQ

Tom DeLay still defiant as his day in court nears

Slater:
AUSTIN — Tom DeLay was back in court Tuesday in a case that’s had more turns than a season of Dancing With the Stars. It has been five years since his indictment on charges of political money laundering. DeLay wanted a quick trial in 2005, but he didn’t get it.
http://dallasne.ws/bvrUoN

School districts drop fight over Texas' truth-in-grading law

Stutz:

AUSTIN – A group of school districts that sued the state over its truth-in-grading law has decided not appeal a court ruling in June that upheld the law and barred Texas districts from requiring teachers to give minimum grades on student report cards. Representatives for the Texas AFT and other parties in the case said Tuesday they were informed by attorneys for the 11 school districts that they would not appeal a decision by State District Judge Gisela Triana-Doyle of Austin that rejected their arguments against the law.
http://dallasne.ws/bTfmJ5

Advocacy groups: TYC should be investigated

Hoppe has it:
Four groups are calling upon the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Texas Youth Commission because of a lack of mental health treatment, improper use of restraints and poor security conditions. The youth commission, where about 2,000 young offenders are confined, was overhauled by the state four years ago prompted by reports of abuse, sexual attacks and poor conditions. The number of detained youths has been reduced, new managers put in place and legislators have increased their oversight.
http://dallasne.ws/bpZjL9

Proposed cuts would slash services for poor, mentally ill, other Texans in dire need

AUSTIN — Some of Texas’ most vulnerable residents – very poor, mentally ill, suffering from birth defects, children from troubled families – would lose state supports and services under several new budget cutting proposals. In one of the harshest, made public Tuesday by the Health and Human Services Commission, Texas’ monthly welfare payments to extremely poor households with children would be slashed by about one-quarter, to an average of about $55 a month. In two-parent families, the average payment would decline by half, to about $33. Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/bypKzt

State proposes 6-month deadline to agree on use of 'The Alamo'

Benning in our DC bureau reports:

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas probably will have six more months to hash out an agreement with state officials over the group's attempt to trademark the phrase "The Alamo." That timetable, which the state proposed Friday to pursue "settlement negotiations," comes less than a month after it officially opposed the Daughters' application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the grounds that the state owns the San Antonio icon.
http://dallasne.ws/c00z2o

Gov. Rick Perry lacks proof of claim that he works hard for Texas

Elise Hu of the Texas Tribune reports:
"Gov. Rick Perry, who considers himself one of Texas' hardest workers, has few official records to back up that claim – especially compared with the detailed schedules kept by his fellow big-state governors. "
http://dallasne.ws/dmxD0M

Puppy mills dodge regulations in Texas

Mulvaney:

AUSTIN – The Better Business Bureau said Monday that more than half of the complaints it received against Texas dog breeders in the last three years couldn't be resolved, probably because they were linked to shady breeders who operate with little or no regulation. The BBB also reported that Internet sales have become one of the main ways for breeders to avoid federal inspections, which are infrequent. Most of the 123 complaints involved smaller, unregulated and unlicensed breeders.
http://dallasne.ws/bTqbPY

Vanity license plate contractor My Plates moves touted auction to January

Melanie Mason reports:

The state's specialty license plate vendor has pushed back its high-profile auction at Cowboys Stadium to January. After weeks touting the first auction, the company, My Plates, announced Monday that it was moving the event from its original Sept. 22 date to accommodate a larger slate of available designs.
http://dallasne.ws/aDrQ4d

Combs aide: Franchise tax take off half a bil

The state will collect about a half billion dollars less from the revised business franchise tax this year than Comptroller Susan Combs estimated last November, a top aide to Combs testified today. Garrett reports:
http://dallasne.ws/aDGTPl

New ad: Rick Perry a "Coward" for refusing to debate

Slater previews it:
Allies of Democrat Bill White are stepping up the rhetoric against Rick Perry for refusing to debate in full-page ads that will appear in Tuesday's newspapers.
http://dallasne.ws/d2zw2m

Perry Coward Ad

John Cullar withdraws from Senate race against Birdwell

The Democratic nominee running against newly minted incumbent Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell pulled out of the race on Friday, the last day before the November ballot is set. His withdrawl leaves an easy romp from Birdwell to retain the seat. Hoppe reports: http://dallasne.ws/bn3ie1

Dallas billionaire biggest donor to Rove political committee

Slater:
Swiftboat Veterans moneyman Harold Simmons has emerged as the biggest donor to a political committee linked to Karl Rove that is targeting top Democrats.
http://dallasne.ws/cgcT0Y

Texas employers add 4,600 jobs; jobless rate steady

Brendan Case has the story:
Texas employers added 4,600 jobs in July, the smallest monthly gain since February, while the state unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2 percent, according to data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission. The small net job gain was the result of continued growth in private sector payrolls combined with a 23,300-job reduction in government payrolls.
http://dallasne.ws/cqZdHT

Texas research universities celebrate passage of bill that will help them compete for tier-one status

Mulvaney:
AUSTIN — The presidents of the seven emerging research universities in Texas touted a surge of enthusiasm from faculty and community members after a bill passed to help push their schools to compete for a coveted tier-one status.
http://dallasne.ws/cHAWHs

Rep. Joe Barton calls offshore drilling moratorium 'stupid'

Jeffers:
Rep. Joe Barton called the country's moratorium on offshore oil drilling "stupid" Thursday, urging a renewed focus on domestic sources of energy. Barton, R-Arlington, warned that not drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the country's domestic energy is produced, would increase America's dependency on foreign oil and cause prices to rise. http://dallasne.ws/dn77V6

Slater: Case of Perry aide and wife show how things work in Austin

AUSTIN — Rick Perry says as governor, his job is to make life better for Texas families. One family that’s done well is the Sullivans of Austin, Ray and Leslie, whose political ties to Perry over the past decade have paid big dividends. http://dallasne.ws/azh7Nt

Garland Rep. Driver says he welcomes Travis County review of expenses

(AP) A North Texas legislator accused of taking taxpayer reimbursements for travel that had been paid for by his campaign welcomes a review by prosecutors into what he says were unintentional errors.
http://dallasne.ws/arzFCa

Restoration work aims to keep the Texas Capitol in capital shape

AUSTIN – Construction workers can be seen on the Texas Capitol building's iconic dome, trying to finish restoration work before lawmakers return in January.
Mulvaney walks the scaffolding: http://dallasne.ws/diakaO

New Texas law mandates meningitis shot for college students living on campus

The law, which went into effect for this school year, requires a meningitis vaccination for new college students living in an on-campus dorm or apartment. Mark Norris reports: http://dallasne.ws/bum4xG

State budget could be 'ugly' if Medicaid funding goes down

Garrett:
AUSTIN – The Senate's chief budget writer says that Texas' next two-year budget will be "ugly" if Congress doesn't continue paying states artificially high rates of Medicaid matching money. A return to the federal government's traditional match rate on Medicaid, the country's main health care program for the poor, would bring $4.4 billion less to Texas in the next budget cycle, Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said Wednesday.
http://dallasne.ws/cwiiJj

Rep. Chet Edwards slams opponent's plan to let veterans use health benefits in private sector

Benning reports:
WASHINGTON – Rep. Chet Edwards slammed his Republican opponent's plan to allow use of veterans' health benefits in the private sector, saying Wednesday that it would "destroy the VA health care system as we know it." With the backing of several national veterans groups, the Waco Democrat said that rival Bill Flores' plan would drastically dilute the patient base at Veterans Affairs hospitals, increase costs and threaten the livelihood of the VA hospital in Waco and others across the country. 
http://dallasne.ws/9obU8L

Inmate advocates support standards against sexual assault in prisons

Benning:
The standards, recommended by a national commission more than a year ago, are the result of a decades-long struggle to change prison culture. And Texas – with its state prison population of more than 155,000 – often has been at the center of that effort. National reports and surveys have tagged Texas prisons with among the highest rates of sexual abuse.
http://dallasne.ws/aaDh0m

Texas high school seniors score about the same this year on ACT exam

Stutz: AUSTIN – Texas high school students were in a holding pattern on the ACT this year as the state's average score on the college entrance exam was unchanged from a year ago, although a greater percentage of students met college readiness benchmarks. White students from the Class of 2010 showed gains over last year, while black students scored the same and Hispanics had a slight drop in their overall – or "composite" – ACT scores, according to a report released Wednesday. As in every previous year, minorities trailed whites on the exam.
http://dallasne.ws/cIVUrY

Administration ranks grow faster than faculty at Texas, U.S. colleges

Hoppe reports: AUSTIN – The glass offices at the nation's leading universities have filled faster than the classrooms, with new layers of administrators added at twice the rate of faculty and instructors, according to a study being released today. Researchers who looked at employee categories at the top 196 universities from 1993 to 2007, a period in which college costs skyrocketed, said they found "administrative bloat."
http://dallasne.ws/a70lIP

Texas will rebid troubled data center contract with IBM

Garrett:
AUSTIN – Texas' Department of Information Resources will rebid all the work IBM now does in a big data center outsourcing – about four years early. The department hasn't formally terminated the $863 million contract, but officials said Tuesday that IBM's recent proposals to salvage the deal were inadequate.
http://dallasne.ws/dwO5rS

Food stamps agency requests staffing boost

Garrett:
AUSTIN – Texas' system for handling requests for food stamps and other aid will require more than 1,900 additional state workers over the next few years to keep up with heavy demand, a top official has told state leaders. However, Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs asked for slightly more than 1,500 new eligibility workers in a recent preview of how much money his agency will request in the next two-year budget cycle.
http://dallasne.ws/brdQUL

Dallas-area homeowners insurance rates vary widely, analysis finds

AUSTIN – Just because Texas has the second-highest average home insurance rates in the nation doesn't mean that a Dallas-area homeowner has to pay such high premiums. A new comparison of rates in the area by The Dallas Morning News found that premiums vary widely, and that the five largest companies don't necessarily offer the best prices, despite their dominance of the market.
Stutz reports: http://dallasne.ws/cNxsJX

State finances kept afloat by dedicated taxes

"Truth in taxation? Hah!" says Garrett:
Texas' general revenue fund would be several billion in the red over the next year if it weren't for state leaders' well-practiced refusal to spend revenues collected from dedicated taxes on the things that were used to justify those taxes.
http://dallasne.ws/amusHF

State Rep. Joe Driver of Garland double-billed for travel

AUSTIN – State Rep. Joe Driver of Garland, who rails against the evils of runaway government spending, admitted Monday that he has pocketed thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for travel expenses that his campaign had already funded. AP reports: http://dallasne.ws/9Bnpe4

Travis County DA's office investigates: http://dallasne.ws/9EXCn1

Pelosi pulled strings to let dying Dallas lawyer Baron try experimental cancer drug

Gillman:

WASHINGTON – Dallas' top Democratic donors will cut big checks to share dinner later this month with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Most will be motivated by a desire to protect the party's congressional majority. Lisa Blue will have an extra reason: to say thanks for Pelosi's efforts when her husband, Fred Baron, was dying of bone marrow cancer. His only option was an experimental drug whose manufacturer refused to give permission to use it for Baron's condition.
http://dallasne.ws/90K3zi

Candidates for Texas governor getting personal on social sites

Mulvaney:
AUSTIN – The candidates for governor are getting their messages out – sometimes in 140 characters or less. Taking a lesson from the Obama presidential campaign's use of social media tools, Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White are embracing Facebook and Twitter to personally engage their supporters.
http://dallasne.ws/9Q9BTY

Texas ag commissioner hopeful Gilbert resists court's order that he pay consultant $40,000

A court has ordered Democratic Agriculture Commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert to reimburse a Washington political consultant more than $40,000 for her services last year, but his spokesman says he has no plans to pay. Meyers reports: http://dallasne.ws/ajNQ7q

East Texan Louie Gohmert lacks evidence of "terror babies" so he just yells at Anderson Cooper

Slatewr: The debate over the existence of terror babies continues to generate more heat than light.
http://dallasne.ws/afy4UZ

Air passengers, crews are flying the testy skies

Jessica Meyers:
Virtual strip searches. Extra fees. Smelly passengers. Scowling attendants. The handful of peanuts that winds up as dinner. The attentive service and effortless transport that once made air travel an anticipated pleasure have deteriorated into a necessary and nerve-racking haul, something to be endured rather than enjoyed. That shift took tangible form this week when JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater reacted to a misbehaving passenger by cursing her on the public address system, snagging a beer and sliding down an emergency chute onto the tarmac at New York's Kennedy Airport.
http://dallasne.ws/bIjEL8

2 quick Lotto Texas winners put state in bind

Hoppe:
AUSTIN – The luck of lottery winners is picking up. For the state, not so much: It has taken a $3.4 million hit in just the past 10 days. Since July 31, someone has correctly picked the six Lotto Texas numbers twice, but the state sold an insufficient number of tickets to fully cover the advertised prize.
http://dallasne.ws/93bS3o

University of Texas regents approve $800M UT Southwestern hospital for Dallas

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved plans Thursday for an $800 million hospital on the campus of UT Southwestern Medical Center to replace the St. Paul hospital.
Jason Roberson reports: http://dallasne.ws/cRBX9W

Relationship with Wyly brothers helped launch Jeb Hensarling; could it now hinder him?

Fine, in-depth reporting from Dave Michaels in our DC bureau:

Political analysts say Hensarling's relationship with the Wylys could become a handicap because many recession-weary voters are angry at Washington incumbents and big business benefactors. Hensarling, a fiscal conservative who doesn't seek earmarks, has largely been viewed as a lawmaker above the fray of special interests.
http://dallasne.ws/bCxt9r

Leon Breeden, ex-director of University of North Texas jazz program, dies at 88

DENTON — Leon Breeden, legendary director of the University of North Texas Jazz Studies program who helped make the school’s One O’Clock Lab Band internationally famous, died Wednesday. He was 88.
http://dallasne.ws/c4UE7H

RTC likely to push lawmakers to restore TxDOT's authority to do private toll deals

Lindendberger:
When lawmakers return to Austin in January, they can count on a fight over whether to give TxDOT authority to partner with private toll firms to build roads and paid HOV lanes. The authority, which became controversial, has expired in the wake of a decision by the Legislature during the 2009 session to purposely not renew it.
http://dallasne.ws/8Zm9zZ

Perry and White accuse each other of racial politics

Rick Perry called on Bill White today to apologize for telling an African-American audience that he would be a "servant" as governor while Perry wants to be a "master." "Injecting that type of language into the race is not appropriate," Perry said. White fired back, saying Perry "is just trying to play racial politics." White said that if anybody was offended, he apologizes. But he added that his remarks stand: "I do think the government should be the servant and not the master. It's a deeply conservative philosophy." Our servant Slater reports:
http://dallasne.ws/acP9Zi

'American Idol' hopefuls crowd into UT center in Austin with a message: 'It's my turn'

Mulvaney was there:
AUSTIN – Dallas-area sisters Danielle and Jessica Sons took their place among 7,500 aspiring singers Wednesday, determined not to let 100-degree temperatures wilt their ambitions to become the next American Idol.


"I want to be on Broadway, or have my own show in Vegas, like Celine Dion . Or maybe I want to be the next Lady Gaga," said Danielle Sons, 25, who sang "Annie's Song" by John Denver for her audition.
http://dallasne.ws/cqQNUX

UT medical school presidents warn of fewer new doctors under U.S. planned cuts

Garrett's got it:

AUSTIN – The federal health overhaul could dry up funds that the state's academic medical centers use to produce doctors in Texas, leaders of the University of Texas' six health science centers warned Wednesday.

The medical school presidents said they're not necessarily opposed to the sweeping legislation signed by President Barack Obama last spring, but they worry that their centers may absorb deep financial hits if they don't adapt to a changed marketplace and cut costs.


http://dallasne.ws/9z3S5k

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk says he'll never run for office again

Gillman:

WASHINGTON – Don’t count on seeing Ron Kirk’s name on a ballot ever again. The former Dallas mayor and Senate candidate – and the senior Texan in the Obama cabinet – says that phase of his career is over.
http://dallasne.ws/97Rc1y

Gov. Rick Perry calls on Bill White to apologize for racial comments

Jeffers:
Rick Perry is calling on Bill White to apologize for telling a black audience in Dallas that he wanted to be a “servant” leader, while the incumbent governor wanted to be “treated as master.”

Perry campaign aides contend the remarks, made Tuesday and reported by The Dallas Morning News, were racially motivated and designed to fire-up black voters who are sensitive to terms that hark back to slavery.
Jeffers reports: http://dallasne.ws/ciaeBW

White outlines how he'd be more ethical than Perry

Democrat Bill White today stepped up his claim that Rick Perry is an ethics-challenged governor, saying his administration would follow stricter policies to avoid the influence of big money and pledging to be more transparent about his personal finances. Slater reports: http://dallasne.ws/bP0SU8

Riddle warns 'little terrorists' born in U.S.

Garrett:
Pregnant women are coming to the U.S. to have their babies so their children later can more easily re-enter this country and perform terrorist acts, according to Rep. Debbie Riddle.


Riddle, R-Tomball, told a producer for CNN's Anderson Cooper that pregnant women are coming as tourists to have a baby and then returning to their native country, "with the nefarious purpose of turning them into little terrorists who will then come back to the U.S. and do us harm."
http://dallasne.ws/9EOx8R

Plead for openness at Forensic Science Commission

The former chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission urged the current membership to engage experts, delve further and have open discussions about the case of Todd Willingham.


Attorney Samuel E. Bassett sent his thoughts in a letter to the commission, citing the importance and potential ramifications of the Willingham case, which could potentially prompt the state to re-examine dozens of other arson cases.
http://dallasne.ws/bM0CjD

Driver Responsibility Program under fire in Texas Legislature

AUSTIN – Critics of the Texas Driver Responsibility Program urged a House committee Tuesday to overhaul or scrap the program because so many drivers can't or won't pay the hefty surcharges assessed for certain driving violations.
http://dallasne.ws/cnCTxW

Fraley: Cowboys staff manages heavy travel, change in sites

I love big logistics stories. http://dallasne.ws/dhhHif
In the span of nine days through Saturday, the Cowboys will have practiced in four cities (San Antonio, Irving, Arlington and Oxnard), played games in two cities (Canton, Ohio, and Arlington) and made three airplane flights totaling 3,327 miles.

Try packing for that trip.

Roundup of DMN coverage of Obama's Texas visit

Let's start with Slater:
Obama's popularity lags, but Austin event provides perfect photos
AUSTIN — What better place for Barack Obama to appear in public in Texas these days than here — a college campus in intrepidly blue Travis County.

The president is not particularly popular in the state, but he’s always been a hit in Austin. In February 2007, he’d barely announced his candidacy when 20,000 Austinites showed up on the banks of Lady Bird Lake to see him, a prelude to huge crowds to come in his bid for the White House. http://dallasne.ws/9fPm6F

When he landed at Austin Bergstrom for the first leg of his visit, Governor Perry was on the tarmac with a letter for him. Hoppe:
Rick Perry's border letter to the president
In his brief tarmac encounter with President Obama, Gov. Rick Perry welcomed him to Texas and took the opportunity to hand a letter to the president's aide, Valerie Jarrett. http://dallasne.ws/9CcYWO

Holly Hacker was at Gregory Gym on the UT campus:
At UT, Obama calls for more college graduates
President Barack Obama visited the University of Texas at Austin Monday to deliver a common-sense message: Higher education is important, and this country needs more of it. http://dallasne.ws/bAl9rJ

After his Austin events, President Obama flew to Dallas for another fundraiser. Stahl introduces us to his host, lawyer Russell Budd:
Obama's Dallas host is prolific Democratic donor
The host for President Barack Obama's Dallas fundraiser is a well-known trial lawyer who has been a prolific donor to the Democratic Party.
http://dallasne.ws/a7Ktgi

One of the motorcycle cops riding escort on the Presidential cavalcade took a spill, but he's ok. Back in '08, Officer Lozado died in a motorcycle crash as he escorted then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Erinn Connor has the story:
Dallas motorcycle officer released from hospital after Obama motorcade crash
A Dallas motorcycle officer injured while escorting President Barack Obama's motorcade was released from the hospital this morning. Senior Cpl. Michael Manis, 50, flipped his motorcycle Monday afternoon while exiting the Dallas North Tollway onto Wycliff Avenue in Oak Lawn. http://dallasne.ws/9IrxYd

Lots of Dallas-area Democrats were there to greet him. Gromer Jeffers was there, too:
Local Dems meet, greet Obama
As President Obama strode through the Highland Park home of civil lawyer Russell Budd, he encountered several of the county's most important Democrats. They included District Attorney Craig Watkins, former Dallas Mayor Pro tem Elba Garcia and state Sen. Royce West. http://dallasne.ws/aivaFo


Lori Stahl reported on the protest in Dallas, while our own Mulvaney covered the anti-Obama rally at the Capitol:
Republicans rally in Dallas to show disdain for Obama
Hundreds of North Texas Republicans rallied for hours Monday in blazing heat to show their disdain for President Barack Obama on the day he made a swing through the state. http://dallasne.ws/cPrgCJ

Gillman from our DC Bureau flew down to Texas with the president. His report:
Obama hauls in checks during short visit to Dallas and Austin
Over the course of six hours Monday in Dallas and Austin, President Barack Obama managed to rake in $1.6 million for Democrats , kick up some dust in the governor’s race, and issue a stern warning to voters: Beware the ideas of Texas-style Republicans. http://dallasne.ws/aKmSMN

Is the Tea Party movement taking religion out of conservative politics?

The rise of the Tea Party movement raises an interesting question about the place of religious faith in our political debate. For a long time, the Christian right has been in the driver's seat in advancing conservatism. But the Tea Party is more Ayn Rand than the Bible. As one writer recently put it, the Christian side has taken a backseat to the movement's libertarian impulses. Slater offers analysis: http://dallasne.ws/a34ibc

Rick Perry draws a border line

Gov. Rick Perry issued an urgent warning on Monday in both a letter to Barack Obama and a speech before a conservative think tank, saying he predicted a grim, deadly future if the border is not secured. Hoppe reports: http://dallasne.ws/9CcYWO

Texas' open U.S. attorney posts languish under President Barack Obama

Gillman:
WASHINGTON – With more than a third of his term elapsed, President Barack Obama has left four of the biggest plums in Texas unfilled – U.S. attorney jobs that have launched countless political careers.


Justice goes on, but Obama could have used those prosecutor jobs to build a farm team that helps Texas Democrats rebuild, instead of leaving them filled by unknown career lawyers. That suggests he may get an earful about botched opportunities when he arrives Monday in Austin and Dallas to raise campaign cash.
http://dallasne.ws/9eq78m

Rick Perry kicks Bill White in the (yes we) can

Hoppe:
In honor of Bill White avoiding an appearance with Barack Obama when the president's in Texas, the Rick Perry campaign has put out a mocking tidbit that splices and dices on the famous 2009 will.i.am "Yes We Can" song and video.
http://dallasne.ws/aOsles

Acclaimed addiction program for Texas felons is vulnerable to cuts

Garrett:
AUSTIN – A nationally acclaimed program that has helped even the hardest-core addicts to sober up and stop committing crimes is vulnerable to state budget cuts.
http://dallasne.ws/9V4YYz

Obama will stress boosting U.S. college graduation rates at UT speech

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will use today's speech to college students in Austin to highlight a relatively overlooked part of his economic agenda: boosting college graduation rates. Gillman reports:
http://dallasne.ws/c36YEo

Making a Supreme Court Case for Gay Marriage

Our own Michael Lindenberger with a piece in TIME:

Attorney David Boies knows what it's like to argue a historic case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and he knows what it's like to lose. A decade ago, he squared off against Republican stalwart Theodore Olson before the Justices in Bush v. Gore, the case that narrowly decided the 2000 presidential election in Bush's favor and quickly earned a place in the minds of some legal scholars as one of the high court's most nakedly partisan decisions of all time.

http://dallasne.ws/bSKkLR

Bill White passes on appearing with President Barack Obama and doesn't want to talk about it

Neena Satija:
FORT WORTH – Bill White, the Democratic candidate for governor, said pundits shouldn't make too much of his decision not to appear with President Barack Obama when the president visits Texas next Monday.
http://dallasne.ws/d91XjM

IBM defends performance, wants to salvage Texas data center contract

Garrett:
AUSTIN – IBM has told Texas it wants to salvage a troubled data center contract, but the company does not accept responsibility for a litany of problems outlined by the state.
http://dallasne.ws/9qFX06

Governor Rick Perry to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss border security

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry will meet with President Barack Obama on Monday to discuss border security issues, the governor’s office confirmed Friday. Hoppe reports:
http://dallasne.ws/9JKBSL

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Democratic challenger Bill White don't oppose Ground Zero mosque in New York

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White agree that while plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero have stirred controversy, they don't object to a local decision affirming the Islamic group's right to build it. Slaster reports:
http://dallasne.ws/8YOUmj

Rick Perry against fundraising in La-La Land before he was for it

Slater studies the Jane Fonda Proximity Effect: http://dallasne.ws/aagp8x

Brian Birdwell faces suit to prove Senate eligibility

Hoppe:
Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, who won a special election this spring to replace the retiring Kip Averitt, will have to defend his freshly-minted victory. Birdwell had been living in Virginia and working for the Pentagon and moved to Texas in May 2007.
http://dallasne.ws/cLe344

Rick Perry, David Dewhurst vow to challenge education-spending rule if Congress passes bill

Stutz:
AUSTIN – State leaders vowed Thursday to go to court if Congress gives final approval to a bill that would force Texas to preserve current education spending levels through 2013 to qualify for additional federal aid.
http://dallasne.ws/c3LX34

Perry on El Paso violence

Mulvaney gives it 4 peppers...

The claim...


In a TV interview last week about border security, Gov., Rick Perry said: "It’s becoming really frustrating when we’re seeing a Mexican governor assassinated across the border from Texas, you’ve got bullets hitting the City Hall in El Paso, you’ve got bombs exploding in El Paso."

The facts...


There has not been a car bombing, or other drug-related bombings, in El Paso. Asked what the governor was referring to, aides said that he meant to cite a July 15 car bombing across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
http://dallasne.ws/dwIbLZ

Texas needs more minority teachers, experts say

AUSTIN – Texas' minority student enrollment continues to surge, but the state's teacher corps isn't keeping pace.


That has left large numbers of black and Hispanic children without the role models experts believe would help them achieve more.
Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/bncr5f

White's new spot: Part of a one-two punch against Perry

Slater takes a look: http://dallasne.ws/aNRIJz

Perry tries raffle to locate supporters

Hoppe:
AUSTIN – In the world of political come-ons, Rick Perry is running and gunning. And roping.


The Perry campaign is offering supporters who submit 11 names of registered voters for the campaign to contact a chance to win prizes in a raffle. The gifts include a jogging lesson from RunTex founder Paul Carrozza and a shooting lesson from the paramilitary outfit LaRue Tactical.
http://dallasne.ws/blYHmy

Texas' child support collection data presents varied picture

Texas lags in the percentage of overdue support it collects, according to an analysis of federal data by The Dallas Morning News. Delinquent cases and amounts owed are rising faster here than in many other states. Kim reports: http://dallasne.ws/ax0DfV

DMN's 2-part series about Parkland Hospital

UT Southwestern faculty let unsupervised resident doctors operate at Parkland
"...a system that has allowed trainee doctors, known as residents, to operate with little or no faculty supervision at Parkland Memorial Hospital, according to medical center and hospital records and testimony from doctors concerned about patient safety. "
By REESE DUNKLIN, SUE GOETINCK AMBROSE and BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News

Miles Moffeit and Ryan McNeill and editorial assistant Marina Trahan Martinez contributed to this report. http://dallasne.ws/bqJuDG

Doctors: Double standard for residents at Parkland, UT Southwestern
"Procedures were different at the two hospitals owned by UT Southwestern, where faculty physicians see their privately insured patients, said Nirula and other former doctors who shared his concerns."
By REESE DUNKLIN and SUE GOETINCK AMBROSE / The Dallas Morning News

Ryan McNeill
http://dallasne.ws/bZaDIx