The Midday Brief: May 24, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

“Students pursuing advanced degrees such as Rice University doctoral candidate Laurie Carrillo served as the vanguard of a massive lobbying effort on Capitol Hill designed to win congressional support for continuation of NASA's back-to-the-moon program.” — Rice doctoral candidate helps lobby Congress for manned space exploration, Texas on the Potomac

“Abbott's bravado and praise of BP is matched only by BP following the April 20 spill. Examine the misconduct arising before Mr. Abbott's May 3 absolution of BP, absolution by the chief law enforcement officer of Texas who should be representing the interests of Texas, not foreign oil companies.”— Outrageous Comments by Texas AG Absolving BP in the Weeks After the Oil Spill, Huffington Post

“The Texas Rangers baseball team on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to ease the sale of the team to a group led by team president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan for about $575 million.” — Texas Rangers file bankruptcy, Ryan group to buy, Reuters

“On the morning of May 19, 2009, a maintenance worker in a north Austin apartment complex knocked on the door to apartment 1226. The door swung open, and before him stood a 4-year-old girl with dark brown hair and big eyes. When she told the worker she was at home by herself, he reported his finding to the complex’s manager, who called 911.” — The Parent Trap, Texas Observer

“The federal agency responsible for regulating offshore oil drilling repeatedly ignored warnings from government scientists about environmental risks in its push to approve energy exploration activities quickly, according to numerous documents and interviews.” — U.S. agency overseeing oil drilling ignored warnings of risks, Washington Post

New in the Texas Tribune:

The question before the court in Skinner's case is not whether DNA testing should be allowed. The court will decide whether Skinner's case can proceed as a federal civil rights claim. If the court agrees with Skinner, it will allow him to seek DNA testing in federal court. — TribBlog: Supremes Will Hear Hank Skinner DNA Case

The latest employment numbers show that more Texans than ever before have jobs, but the state is still struggling with its highest unemployment rate since 1987. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the good and bad news in the latest stats. — Work in Progress