EL PASO TIMES: The last time a Democrat won a statewide election in Texas was in 1994. State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, who is running for U.S. senator, hopes to change that this November when he faces Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

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SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS: Dan Cook, a San Antonio legend whose career as a sports columnist and broadcaster spanned more than a half-century, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 81. Insightful, humorous, colorful and brutally honest, Cook spent 57 years in the newspaper business — 51 of those at the San Antonio Express-News — interviewing sports’ greatest legends, from Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey to Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Tom Landry.

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SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS: On the eve of today's Independence Day celebrations, community leaders gathered Thursday at Elmendorf Lake Park to unveil plans for a 130-foot-tall monument honoring Hispanic veterans. “I could not think of a better location for this monument as we stand here today in the heart of the West Side, where many of our brave soldiers were born and raised,” said District 5 Councilwoman Lourdes Galvan in announcing what's billed as the state's first Hispanic Veterans Memorial.

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DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Just 57 school districts, charter schools and nonprofit groups – including several from the Dallas area – have applied for one of the state's new dropout recovery grants. The Texas Education Agency said Thursday that 36 school districts – out of 1,031 in the state – are among the applicants for grants under the $6 million program aimed at helping dropouts complete their coursework so they can earn a high school diploma.

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DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Well, put down the cellphone and listen up: The number of traffic fatalities dropped in Texas for the fifth straight year, despite the record number of cars and drivers on state roadways, according to a report released Thursday. The 3,422 traffic deaths in 2007 reflect a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous year. More than 20 million cars are registered in the state – up from 14.2 million in 2000.

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HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Another apparent e-mail scam has gotten the attention of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. That's because it claims to be from him.

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HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Mexico's war on drug cartels might not change how much cocaine flows into the United States, but U.S. officials say Houston, long a major transshipment point for the underworld, could get a break as smugglers evade soldiers and police near the border. A recent analysis by the National Drug Intelligence Center contends pressure by Mexican President Felipe Calderon on areas across the Rio Grande from South Texas may force drug traffickers to reroute smuggling pipelines, at least for the short term.

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HOUSTON CHRONICLE: To the sheriff's deputies detaining her sons, April Jill Walker was the worst kind of parent — meddlesome, confrontational and uncooperative. To Walker, a part-time Houston municipal court judge, the deputies were cut from the same belligerent cloth as the ones who showed up at her door in the earliest hours of New Year's Day and ended up arresting her — even though she was the one who had called them for help.

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FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: Over Dublin Dr Pepper, two Granbury civic clubs celebrated America’s independence Thursday alongside a potential vice president of the United States. Maybe it was the pure-cane sugar buzz. But excitement stirred around congressman Chet Edwards of Waco, now more than a rumor on the list of possible running mates for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

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FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: Four months before Election Day, Fort Worth state Sen. Kim Brimer filed a lawsuit Thursday in an effort to get his opponent kicked off the ballot. Brimer, a Republican, sued Democrat Wendy Davis, charging that the court should disqualify her from the November general election because she filed to run for the state Senate seat while serving as a member of the Fort Worth City Council.

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FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: Brandon Turner was closing in on the finish line of a 500-yard run when his legs turned to rubber and he hit the track. "He woke up in the ambulance and said 'Aw, this is cool,’ " Darla Turner said of her 14-year-old son. "I thought to myself, 'He’s going to be all right.’ But when he got to the hospital, he was convulsing and had lapsed into unconsciousness."

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FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: In a rare special report, a Travis County grand jury has rebuked Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, for failing to enforce rules designed to ensure that members are actually casting their own votes in the Legislature. The panel issued the report after a citizen complained about the controversial but long-standing practice known as "ghost voting," in which members vote for their colleagues in flagrant violation of the House rules.

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FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: Fewer Texans are expected to head out on trips this holiday weekend, and those who do will find record-high gas prices. According to AAA Texas, regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.96 a gallon statewide Thursday and $4.10 nationally. Both are all-time highs. A year ago, gas sold for $2.85 a gallon in Texas and $2.95 nationwide.

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AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, an Austin Democrat, is recovering from surgery she had on Monday morning, her office said. Dukes had uterine fibroids removed in a procedure that is an alternative to a hysterectomy, the removal of the uterus.

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AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: The State Board of Education is set to adopt new ethics rules for management of the $24 billion Permanent School Fund(http://www.tea.state.tx.us/psf/), which helps pay for public education in Texas. Among the new rules expected to be approved at the board’s July 17-18 meeting is a requirement that providers of investment services disclose campaign contributions made to state board members. The same disclosure would apply to people or firms that respond to investment requests for proposals.

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AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: As the debate over e-voting continues around the country, more Americans will be returning to paper ballots in the fall as several states, including California, Colorado, Ohio and Florida, shift away from electronic voting machines. Texas, however, remains wedded to the technology because of its large investment in the machines (at least $93 million, mostly with federal dollars) and the solid track record of e-voting during the March 4 primaries despite record turnouts.

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