1) Titular Headline – The Texas legislature is going to have a fresh look at “eminent domain” policies, which give railways and oil pipelines the ability to seize private property in order to complete their works. The most notable of these is the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline. Dallas Morning News
2) The Black Vote – New census and demographic data says that black minority voting rates surpassed all other minority rates in the 2012 election… and surpassed the white voting rate. Estimates show that had the rates been the same as they’d been in 2004, Mitt Romney would have won the 2012 election by a narrow margin. NECN/Associated Press
3) The Buddy Cup – In a new spin on technology, Budweiser has created a set of special cups that have chips integrated with Facebook built into them, so that when two cups are touched together, Facebook friend invitations are automatically sent. Gadget Review
4) Prairie Home Companion – Garrison Keillor’s 4 million listener-strong radio program broadcast live from Lubbock on Saturday. The show can be heard Saturday evenings at 5 p.m. on KTTZ 89.1-FM. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
5) Stand Your Ground – George Zimmermann, to be put on trial for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida last year, is under a deadline by prosecutors to state whether or not he will claim immunity via the state’s self-defense “stand your ground” laws or not. Reuters
6) Waterlogged – Enormous storms ripped across the southern states this weekend, causing flooding from Houston to Chattanooga. Over 150 motorists were stranded and needed rescuing in the Houston area. Skipped right south of us, of course. NBC News
7) Grounded Angels, Cancelled Shows – With the federal sequestration in full force, the United States Armed Forces’ stunt groups such as the Navy’s “Blue Angels” and the Air Force’s “Thunderbirds” have been grounded, and with them dozens of air shows across the nation have cancelled. ABC News
8) He Shortage – The United States Congress is taking a deeper look into the world shortage of helium, which is important to many more things than clowns and balloons… like MRI machines, computer chips, and fiber optics. Washington Times
9) Glow in the Dark … Sheep? – A laboratory in Uruguay has created this special type of night-time sheep that, well … glow, thanks to phosphorous. Nature World News
10) Wrasslin’ – The World Wrestling Entertainment star “The Undertaker” has starred in a locally-produced commercial for an Austin church he and his wife appear in. “Mark the Motorcyclist” apparently doesn’t like fondue. Bleacher Report
About Anthony Hall
