The Midday Brief: January 29, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

“An obscure candidate with backing from the "tea party" movement threatens to deny a decisive victory to either Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas.” — Old Guard Caught Off Guard — The Wall Street Journal

“If you think that the debate over higher gas taxes or tolls is stormy in Austin, you ought to think about how much raucous it's going to be in Washington, where the country's enormous public debt will hang like an angry rain cloud over the coming debate over how big the next federal transportation bill should be.” — Brown election to Senate could freeze highway spending, top highway advocate says — The Dallas Morning News

“President Barack Obama wrapped up an hour or so of grilling by the loyal opposition, finishing up with a pretty snarky exchange with Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling. The emcee, Rep. Mike Pence, called on Hensarling for the last question and Obama just did not get off on the right foot. Misheard the intro and kept calling him by the wrong name, even after being corrected.” —Obama vs. Dallas Rep. “Jim” (er, Jeb) Hensarling — The Dallas Morning News

“A Bexar County District Court jury awarded more than $56 million in damages to a Texas man paralyzed by an accident involving an earth-moving tractor made by Caterpillar Inc.” — Bexar jury socks Caterpillar — San Antonio Express-News

New in the Texas Tribune:

“It makes sense to Greg Jonsson that police in Pampa set their sights on Hank Skinner when they found Skinner's girlfriend and her two sons violently murdered on New Year’s Eve in 1993.” — Case Open: The Investigation

“Texas State University in San Marcos and the University of Texas at Austin are partnering with the University of Texas School of Health Information in Houston to apply for a new federal grant in health information that could bring in $6 million across the three campuses.” — Paperless Medicine: Training the eWorkforce

Tonight's the second and likely final debate with GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and late surger Debra Medina. The debate - sponsored by media company Belo - will take place in a television studio in Dallas, starting at 7pm. But you can watch on television and follow along with reporters Emily Ramshaw (who will be sitting right outside the studio in Dallas), Ross Ramsey (who's providing some additional play-by-play from his living room) and Elise Hu. — 2010: Livebloggin' the GOP Debate Tonight