“I was taught evolution, and it didn’t shake my faith in the Almighty whatsoever,” says George Clayton, who pulled off a stunning upset of incumbent Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, R-Dallas, in the GOP primary to win a seat on the State Board of Education. “Should creationism be taught as a counter to evolution? ... No, I don’t think so. I think evolution is in the science book. It should be taught as a science.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/cards_georgemcclayton.jpg)
Hank Skinner was set to die Wednesday for the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two mentally disabled adult sons — a crime he insists he did not commit. About an hour before he was to have poison pushed through his veins, the U.S. Supreme Court spared his life. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CSC_8079_resized.JPG)
Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's highest-profile primary supporters, says he now supports Gov. Rick Perry's re-election bid. And, as it happens, much of Barack Obama's foreign policy. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/jimbaker.jpg)
Residency requirements tripped up Brian Birdwell's previous effort to enter the Texas Legislature, and it looks like they will again. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/brian_birdwell.jpg)
He's back, y'all. Former state Rep. Borris Miles will be returning to the Texas House after a recount finished today shows Miles prevailing over longtime state Rep. Al Edwards by just eight votes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BorrisMiles.jpg)
The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay this evening of the execution of death row inmate Hank Skinner, who was scheduled to die today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HankSkinner002_CBM.jpg)
A federal judge declared on Wednesday that a Farmers Branch ordinance that banned apartment rentals to undocumented immigrants was unconstitutional. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/scalesofjustice.jpg)
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/103109_education001_jv.png)
Senior leaders from the United States and Mexico agreed the two countries will begin swapping intelligence on suspected terrorists and Mexican felons following discussions in Mexico City on Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/border2.jpg)
Census results released yesterday reconfirm that the state Sarah Palin likes to call Alaska’s little sister is anything but little. Texas cities continue to break population records, according to the last population estimates from the Census Bureau. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CensusBureau.jpg)
In 2011, political mapmakers will take the latest census numbers (Texas is expected to have a population of more than 25 million) and use them to draw new congressional and legislative districts. The last time this was done, in 2003, Republican mappers took control of the U.S. House by peeling away seats from the Democrats. This time, Texas is poised to add up to four seats to its congressional delegation — and early numbers indicate bad news ahead for West Texas and other areas that haven't kept up with the state's phenomenal growth. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/population_growth.jpg)
Primary night was humming along swimmingly for Humble school board president Dan Huberty, and after the early vote he seemed headed to victory. Then the numbers dipped and his fortunes changed, and now he's in a heated GOP run-off with Dr. Susan Curling. As another Election Day draws closer, the contest is getting personal. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/curlinghubertysplit.jpg)
The Texan at the top of the American Medical Association explains why Texas has so much to gain from the health care overhaul, what effect tort reform has had on the state’s medical costs, and what the political ramifications are for his organization's support of the reform bill. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/rohack.jpg)
A year ago, staff at the Corpus Christi State School were forcing mentally disabled wards to fight each other, and state lawmakers raced to enact new accountability measures. How are they working out? Ben Philpott, who covers politics and public policy for KUT News and the Tribune, has this report. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/patrick-m-rose.jpg)
Attorney General Greg Abbott is suing the feds for mandating that individuals buy health insurance. Some Texas political observers say Abbott did exactly that in 2009. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/449ec7d6dea11eec4a202c1caeb90913/BD%20INC%20Greg%20Abbott%20Archival%202010)
State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and state Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, wrote Gov. Rick Perry letters today urging him to grant a 30-day reprieve for death-row inmate Hank Skinner, who is scheduled for execution tomorrow. Full Story
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn wants to join the Mexico discussion and is urging fellow U.S. senators to lend him an ear. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/mexicanflag.jpg)
A 2008 federal court decision that ordered the state to restructure its bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs was overturned by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans today. Full Story
Where are their friends? Bill White wants Rick Perry to reject the State Board of Education's social studies amendments, while a state senator pushes to do away with the board altogether. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, produced an upbeat video mea culpa after he yelled "baby killer" on the floor of the U.S. House Sunday night. Check it out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Screen_shot_2010-03-23_at_1.59.36_PM.png)