The Brief: Clinton Accepts Democratic Nomination in Philadelphia

The Big Conversation

The Democratic National Convention concluded on Thursday with Hillary Clinton accepting its nomination for president — making her the first woman to serve as a major party’s standard-bearer — and after some Texans took the convention stage.

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz writes that Clinton’s speech “described a country on edge, torn by division, threatened from terrorism and economically insecure and the choice ahead as this: 'We have to decide whether we’re going to work together, so we can all rise together.'”

“We changed history. There will never be another time in this country when a woman can’t interview for the top job,” Genevieve Van Cleve, a Clinton delegate from Austin, told the Tribune.

As the Tribune’s Abby Livingston reported from Philadelphia, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, addressed the convention earlier in the day, taking “aim at Republican nominee Donald Trump's controversial statements on immigration, telling the crowd of his grandmother's immigration to Texas from Mexico.”

The days leading up to Clinton’s Thursday night speech were marked by some high-profile discord between her supporters and those of her more liberal primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Patrick Svitek writes in the Tribune that Texan Leticia Van de Putte, a former state senator from San Antonio, played a big part in efforts to unify the party up through this week.

Trib Must Reads

At UT, Debut of Texas Gun Law Intersects with Tower Shooting Anniversary, by Matthew Watkins — Aug. 1 is an important day on the University of Texas at Austin campus for two reasons: It’s the first day people will be allowed to carry guns into Texas university buildings, and it’s the 50th anniversary of the UT Tower shooting.

Paxton Sues to Get Guns Into Austin City Hall, by Johnathan Silver — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the city of Austin in Travis County district court, trying to force the city to comply with his reading of the state's open carry law and let license holders openly carry handguns in city hall.

Analysis: A Costly Unforced Error for Texas’ Attorney General, by Ross Ramsey — The Texas attorney general’s latest pratfall was both an ethical lapse and the sort of mistake that your average statewide politician is — or ought to be — too paranoid to make.

In Search of Votes, State Rep Wants to Catch ’Em All, by Madeline Conway — The craze over the smartphone game “Pokémon Go” is coaxing Texans out of their homes and into the summer heat — and now at least one state lawmaker is looking to the game to bolster voter engagement efforts.

At DNC, Castro Twins Talk Political Futures (Video), by Alana Rocha and Justin Dehn — In the Roundup: A potential 2018 challenger emerges for Senator Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton passes on Housing Secretary Julián Castro for vice president and Texans take the stage at the Democratic National Convention.

News From Home

•    Will Texans vote in November? Join us in August for a civic social weekend. The Texas Tribune is teaming up with the Society of News Design — and collaborators like you — to examine Texas’s low voter turnout rates, and what can be done to better engage and inform voters. Registration is free, but space is limited. See our event listing now to apply.

•    We're hiring. After nearly seven years of successful storytelling we’re considered the gold standard in nonprofit news, and we need you on our engineering team to help us refine and perfect our story-building process. For more details and requirements, click here.

Elsewhere

(Links below lead to outside websites; content might be behind paywall)

For two Texas Democrats, tears of joy over Clinton’s milestone, Austin American-Statesman

Joaquin Castro wants to trade away top Texas Republicans, but there aren't many takers at the DNC, The Dallas Morning News

Ken Paxton: Is his legal trouble motivated by politics?, Austin American-Statesman

Senator Brian Birdwell Finally Gets Chance to Thank Man who Helped Him on 9/11, The Washington Post

GOP group launches new attack on Gallego, Houston Chronicle

Silent march planned Friday in downtown Dallas, despite concerns it's too soon for one, The Dallas Morning News

Is Zika virus treatment already on the market?, Houston Chronicle

Quote to Note

“Standing here as my mother’s daughter, and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come. Happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. Happy for boys and men, too – because when any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone.” 

— Hillary Clinton, accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

Today in TribTalk

Better testing could mean brighter future for schools, by Charles Moody — It's pleasant to imagine a day when learning gains are constantly monitored by teachers and school leaders using a process that does not displace so much of the adults' anxiety onto the students. 

Trib Events for the Calendar

•   Life on the Border: Rhetoric or Reality? on Aug. 4 at The Centennial Club in McAllen

•   A Conversation with state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa and state Reps. Terry Canales and Bobby Guerra on Aug. 26 at UT Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg

•   The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23-25 at the University of Texas at Austin

•   TribFeast: A Dinner To Support Nonprofit Journalism on Sept. 24 at the University of Texas at Austin's Etter-Harbin Alumni Center

•   A Conversation with state Reps. Four Price and John Smithee on Oct. 4 at Amarillo College in Amarillo