• Obama to Texas students: 'We're poised for progress'

    By Jessica Taylor, NBC News

    Kicking off his latest jobs tour at a high school in Texas, President Barack Obama told students that making quality education affordable and accessible was a key ingredient to jump-starting the U.S. economy.

    Speaking at Manor New Technology High School in Austin to 400 students and teachers, Obama praised the school’s innovative education approaches, saying that both superior education and more policies to help the middle class were key to creating good jobs and attracting skilled workers.

    “Thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, we’ve cleared away the rubble of the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes,” said Obama, “We’re poised for progress.”

    Speaking at a high school in Austin, President Obama says, "our economy can't succeed unless our young people have the skills that they need to succeed and that's what's happening here."

    To “reignite the true engine of middle-class growth,” the president said, the country has to become a magnet for good jobs, help people develop the education and skills for the jobs, and ensure workers can “achieve a decent living.”

    With a veiled jab at inaction in Congress, Obama said where he could, he was “just going to go ahead and take actions on my own” and later today would be issuing executive orders “that I'm convinced will spur innovation and help businesses create more jobs.”

    Those two executive orders, first laid out in the president’s State of the Union address, will focus on strengthening manufacturing and ensuring government data is available in machine-readable formats.

    Obama praised Manor Tech for the way it is working to equip its students. The school, focused on preparing students for STEM careers in science and mathematics, selects students each year through a blind lottery, and has won plaudits for its academic success since its opening in 2007.

    The president pointed out how students had been putting their knowledge to work, pointing out projects he saw on his tour of the school, including building musical instruments from mathematics equations and the use of robots and other technology.

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    President Barack Obama greets students after speaking on the economy and job creation after touring Manor New Technology High School in Manor, Texas, May 9, 2013.

    And, according to the president, too much public speaking can never be a bad thing. “While most high school students in America give a handful of speeches by the time they graduate,” he noted, “a student at this school might give as many as 200.”

    Obama joked, “That’s a lot of speeches. I can relate.”

    But, the president pointed out, one reason the school has been a success is that it has been available to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

     “The majority of students in Manor don’t come from wealth or privilege,” Obama said, noting the success the school had not only in keeping its students in school but helping them attend college.

    “Folks around here are doing something right,” Obama added, “and I think the rest of the country can learn from what you’re doing -- because I’ve always believed that the best ideas usually don't start in Washington, they trickle up to Washington.  So I’ve come to listen and learn and highlight some of the good work that's being done.”

    “There are too many kids in America who are not getting the same kinds of opportunity through no fault of their own,” said Obama. “We can do better than that. Every young person in America deserves a world class education. We’ve got an obligation to give it to them.”

    “We’re not just a collection of individuals, we’re one American family,” said the president. “If we follow Manor's example, if we give every child the chance to climb new ladders of opportunity, if we equip every American with the skills and education they need to succeed in the jobs of the future, if we make sure that hard work pays off and responsibility's rewarded, if we fight to keep America a place where you can make it if you try, then you're not just going to be the ones that prosper, we'll all prosper, and together we'll write the next chapter in America's great history.”

    This story was originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 5:37 PM EDT

  • GOP mega-donor Bob Perry, who helped finance 'Swift Boat' ads, dead at 80

    Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle via AP, file

    Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, seen here posing at the sales center at one of his Houston developments in 2002, died on Saturday. He was 80.

    By Paul J. Weber and Will Weissert, The Associated Press

    AUSTIN, Texas -- Republican mega-donor Bob Perry never cared for the spotlight. But writing big checks and financing one of the most famous television ads ever in a presidential campaign made the Texas millionaire famous nonetheless.

    A wealthy Houston homebuilder who shunned publicity while generously bankrolling GOP candidates — and becoming a force in a new era of lavish spending in American politics — Perry died over the weekend, said former Texas state Rep. Neal Jones, a close family friend.

    Jones said late Sunday that Perry died "peacefully in his sleep" Saturday night. He did not offer further details.

    "Mr. Perry was a wonderful friend to many all around the United States," Jones said. "With his passing we've lost a great patriot who has made a great difference in the lives of people all across the land. He will be sorely missed."

    Perry was a fixture of GOP fundraising in Texas — and nationally — dating back to former President George W. Bush's Texas gubernatorial races in the mid-1990s. His largesse included giving $4.4 million in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans campaign that sought to discredit then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

    Perry spent prolifically on politics but did so from a distance. He rarely gave interviews, skipped fancy fundraisers and was a mystery to even many of his benefactors.

    Yet Perry couldn't avoid attention following his financing of the Swift Boat ads, which challenged Kerry's wartime service in Vietnam for which he received five medals. Some Democrats blamed Kerry's slow response to the criticism for sinking his candidacy.

    Perry donated money to help start the veterans group at the urging of his friend John O'Neill, a Houston attorney who co-wrote "Unfit for Command," a book that questions Kerry's military service.

    Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist who Perry hired as a spokesman when scrutiny surrounding the ads erupted, said in 2004 that Perry's donation to the Swift Boat Veterans reflected his belief in the group's message.

    "In my conversations with Bob, he just said, 'John contacted me, told me what he was trying to do, and it sounded good to me.' That's really the way he does it," Miller said in 2004. "People call him and pitch him, and if he likes what he hears, he'll write a check."

    Perry was also a prominent financial supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but was not related. He was the founder of Houston-based Perry Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Texas.

    Last year alone, Bob Perry gave more than $18 million to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and organizations that backed his candidacy. That ranked him third among all Romney donors, behind only Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons.

    Perry was also involved in state politics. Late last year, he gave $45,000 to George P. Bush, the 36-year-old nephew of former President George W. Bush who is now running for Texas Land Commissioner in his first bid for public office.

    Perry's generosity extended to other statehouses, included in Wisconsin last year as Republican Gov. Scott Walker fought efforts for a recall. Perry donated at least $250,000 to help Walker keep his job, making Perry among the largest out-of-state donors.

    Raised by a father who was a teacher and later became dean of students at Baylor University, Perry started his career as a high school teacher after college. But he switched professions in 1968 and established Perry Homes, where he made his fortune.

    Related:

    Money can't buy happiness, or an election

    Builder who helped air 'Swift Boat' ads gives $3 million to pro-Romney super PAC

     

    This story was originally published on Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:21 AM EDT

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ballot ...

    Matt York / AP

    Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks to supporters during an election night party Tuesday, Nov. 6, in Phoenix. At right is his wife, Eva.

    By NBC News

    Other results that might have flown under your radar on Election Night:

    • Republican Joe Arpaio, 80, nationally famous for his fierce enforcement of laws against illegal immigration, won his sixth straight term as sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz. Arpaio — who is the defendant in federal and civil lawsuits accusing him of violating the rights of undocumented immigrants — defeated Democrat Paul Penzone, a former Phoenix police officer, Telemundo Arizona reported.

    • Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., beat Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson to become the nation's first openly gay senator, NBC News projected. Thompson — who served as secretary of Health and Human Services in the administration of former President George W. Bush, announced his retirement from politics in his concession speech.

    • The latest effort to abolish the death penalty in California was headed for defeat, NBC 4 in Los Angeles reported. Proposition 34 would have applied retroactively to nearly 725 people on California's Death Row and would also have diverted $100 million from the state's general fund to help solve more homicide and rape cases.

    • Republican Kerry Bentivolio — a reindeer farmer and Santa Claus impersonator — defeated Democrat Syed Taj, a physician, in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, NBC News projected. The race became wide open after Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a five-term Republican, resigned in July after failing to produce enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

    • "Joe the Plumber" — real name Samuel Wurzelbacher — lost his House race to Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, winning only 24 percent of the vote, NBC station WNWO of Toledo reported. Wurzelbacher, who came to prominence as a politicized symbol of the economy's toll on the middle class in during the 2008 campaign, had said he would advocate for veterans and use his "notoriety" to help others — no matter their party affiliation.

    • Republicans lost their 102-member supermajority in the Texas House, opening the door for Democrats to slow or block the majority's conservative agenda, The Associated Press reported. That means Republicans can no longer suspend the rules to push through legislation over the objections of minority Democrats. Last year, Republicans had enough lawmakers to form a quorum without any Democrat showing up for work.

    • But Republicans won enough seats in the Tennessee Senate to earn their first supermajority since Reconstruction.

    • Voters in Wichita, Kan., defeated a measure to put fluoride in their water, NBC station KSN reported. "I'll be in my office tomorrow morning at 7:30 like most every dentist in Wichita," said Dr. Lucynda Raben of Wichitans for Healthy Teeth.

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  • Romney taps the fundraising well in Texas oil country

    By NBC's Garrett Haake

     

     

    ODESSA, TX – Mitt Romney returned to Texas oil country Tuesday to fuel his campaign coffers with nearly $7 million raised in just one day, largely with money from top energy industry executives.

    So far this presidential campaign, Romney has extracted $13.9 million dollars in contributions from Texas, making it the second best fundraising state for the GOP nominee after cash-cow California. New York, with its massive financial sector, comes in a close third.

    Unlike previous fundraising swings through the nation's largest oil-producing state, which have netted millions for Romney's campaign and the GOP Victory fund, Romney's two-step through Houston and Midland this time is geared at the oil and gas industry, and comes as the candidate is preparing to further outline his energy policy at a campaign event in New Mexico later this week.

    Romney started his day with a luncheon at the Houstonian Hotel that was hosted by energy industry titans including Rex Tillerson, CEO of oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, and L.E. Simmons, a fellow member of the LDS church and Romney's Texas finance chairman, who made his millions investing in the booming energy sector here. 

    Harold Hamm, a billionaire pioneer in modern drilling techniques who spearheaded oil and gas development in North Dakota, now America's second largest oil producing state, was also in attendance at the $50,000 per person event, where Romney relayed his story as an example of bold economic risk taking.

    Romney told this audience he planned to roll out more detail on his energy policy but said he would offer them a first look behind closed doors. 

    "I know that we have members of the media here right now, so I'm not going to go through that in great detail so I can save a bit of that until a little later in the week. But your input is something I wanted to retain before we actually cross the ‘t’s and dot the ‘i’s on those policies," Romney said, telling some 125 top donors that his energy plan, centered on fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal would do a better job taking advantage of America's natural resources than that of President Barack Obama, echoing a common stump speech theme.

    The presumptive GOP nominee has long focused on developing America's natural resources, particularly oil, gas, and coal as a key to unlocking the stagnant economy. He lists it first on his five-point plan to restore the economy at nearly every campaign event, and just last week accused Obama of waging a "war on coal," which he claims stifles job creation, particularly in coal-rich (and electoral-vote-rich) Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

    Romney has come out against extending tax breaks for wind energy development, joking that you can't put a windmill on your car, and arguing for the economic necessity of expanding fossil fuel development in the near term.

    Democrats have subsequently accused Romney of being in the pocket of oil companies, and of ignoring alternative energy, questioning how his energy plan, which thus far lacks specifics beyond a pledge to reach North American energy independence by 2021, is any different from the much-derided "Drill baby, drill" mantra of Republican candidates in 2008.

    The final stop on Romney's energy pilgrimage comes Tuesday night at the Petroleum Club of Midland, where an invitation obtained by NBC News listed exploration and drilling company Concho Resources executives Timothy Leach and Jack Harper as event hosts, alongside Statewide Minerals owner Miles Boldrick, whose company website claims over 25,000 oil and gas wells nationwide.

    For Romney, while the details of his energy policy remain to be seen, the cash well still runs deep.

  • Affirmative action in college admissions? Supreme Court to hear case

    The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case involving the University of Texas at Austin, a school that said it based its admissions policy on an earlier ruling about racial diversity in higher education. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

    By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

    Updated at 1:04 p.m. ET: WASHINGTON -- In a potentially momentous case, the Supreme Court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions in an appeal brought by a white student denied a spot at the flagship campus of the University of Texas.

    The court said Tuesday it will return to the issue of affirmative action in higher education for the first time since its 2003 decision endorsing the use of race as a factor in freshmen admissions. This time around, a more conservative court is being asked to jettison that ruling and outlaw affirmative action in the university setting.

    A broad ruling in favor of the student, Abigail Fisher, could threaten affirmative action programs at many of the nation's public and private universities, said Vanderbilt University law professor Brian Fitzpatrick.

    The high court agreed to hear an appeal by Fisher, who was a high school senior when she applied but was rejected for admission in 2008 to the University of Texas at Austin.

    Fisher filed a lawsuit with another woman who was also denied admission. They contended the university's race-conscious policy violated their civil and constitutional rights. By then, the two had enrolled elsewhere.

    The other woman has since dropped out of the case and the state has said that Fisher is a senior at Louisiana State University whose impending graduation should bring an end to the lawsuit. But the Supreme Court appeared not to buy that argument Tuesday.

    Most entering freshmen at Texas are admitted because they are among the top 10 percent in their high school class. The Texas policy applies to the remaining spots and allows for the consideration of race along with other factors.

    Texas had dropped affirmative action policies after a 1996 appeals court ruling. But following the high court ruling in 2003, the university resumed considering race starting with its 2005 entering class.

    Texas said its updated policy does not use quotas, which the high court has previously rejected. Instead, it said it takes a Supreme Court-endorsed holistic approach to enrollment, with an eye toward increasing the diversity of the student body.

    Before adding race back into the mix, Texas' student body was 21 percent African-American and Hispanic, according to court papers.

    By 2007, the year before Fisher filed her lawsuit, African-Americans and Hispanics accounted for more than a quarter of the entering freshman class.

    Fisher contends the university's admissions policies discriminated against her on the basis of race in violation of her constitutional rights and the federal civil rights laws. She says many minority students who were admitted had lower grades and test scores than she did.

    Her attorney urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its last ruling on the issue in 2003, when it reaffirmed that a diverse student population can justify use of race as one factor to help minorities gain admission to public universities and colleges.

    But the makeup of the high court has changed since then. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who approved of the concept, has been replaced by the generally more conservative Samuel Alito.

    Also, Justice Elena Kagan has taken herself off this case, because she worked on the issue while still at the Justice Department as a solicitor general. That takes a potential vote in favor of affirmative action off the court.

    In its 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a University of Michigan Law School's use of race to favor minority applicants in the admissions process. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the government has a compelling interest in diversity in public universities. That case was Grutter v. Bollinger.

    At issue in both cases is whether and to what extent the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of “equal protection of the laws” permits race to be used as a factor in efforts to achieve greater diversity in higher education. For more than three decades, the Supreme Court has said that although race may be one of numerous factors taken into account, it cannot be the predominant consideration in an admissions process.

    Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law scholar and dean of the University of California Irvine's law school, has called the Fisher case "potentially momentous." He says there are almost surely four votes -- John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Alito -- to overrule Grutter. That means the outcome could rest with Justice Anthony Kennedy's vote.

    Fitzpatrick said two other states, California and Florida, use "top 10" plans similar to Texas' plan, although California law explicitly prohibits the consideration of race.

    "But the vast majority of schools that are selective are using affirmative action, though they don't like to advertise it for fear of being sued," he said.

    A three-judge federal appeals panel of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit upheld the Texas program at issue in a January 2011 decision, saying it did not violate the 14th Amendment's equal-protection clause.

    The Supreme Court could hear the case in October or the first week of November, in the final days of the presidential campaign.

    Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative law group that filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to take the case, applauded Tuesday’s announcement as "good news for everyone who believes in equal rights and equal opportunities.”

    “Using race in admissions decisions, to achieve diversity, amounts to stereotyping people by their race,” PLF attorney Joshua P. Thompson said in a statement. “In the real world, shared skin color does not automatically translate into shared backgrounds or beliefs.  Racial diversity in a student body does not guarantee a diversity of experience and perspectives.  It is unrealistic and wrong to try to pigeon-hole people by their race."

    The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 11-345.

    The Associated Press, Reuters and NBC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pete Williams contributed to this report.

     

  • ESPN football analyst Craig James runs for Senate

    By The Associated Press

    AUSTIN, Texas -- ESPN college football analyst Craig James, who starred as a tailback at Southern Methodist University and with the New England Patriots in the 1980s, announced Monday he was running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican from Texas, a GOP fundraiser said.

    James, who appears on the cable network's weekly game broadcasts, has been flirting with entering politics for more than year. Republican fundraiser and close friend Roy Bailey told The Associated Press on Monday that James was running for the Senate seat and was in the process of dropping off his official candidate papers in Austin.

    "I think it's great for Texas. Anytime you have someone with Craig's street smarts and business sense and willingness to serve the public, it's a great thing," said Bailey, who added that he would help raise money for James.

    Though James' name recognition could be an advantage in the race, it also could hurt him.

    James is a polarizing figure who was embroiled in Texas Tech University's 2009 decision to fire popular football coach Mike Leach over allegations the coach mistreated James' son, a Red Raiders player, after he sustained a concussion. He also was a member of the record-setting SMU football team in the early 1980s when the program entered a series of scandals that ultimately forced the NCAA to shut it down.

    James' late entry into the Senate race puts him a in a primary field already crowded with well-known and wealthy candidates who are vying for the seat vacated by retiring Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert and former Texas solicitor general Ted Cruz have spent months raising money and collecting endorsements from prominent Republicans. The deadline to enter the race is Feb. 1.

    James, 50, who lives in Celina north of Dallas, has been a board member of the influential conservative think tank the Texas Policy Foundation in Austin and recently founded Texans for a Better America to promote conservative policies. He is likely banking on name recognition from his work for ESPN and his ties to big-time college football to overcome his late start.

    But that name recognition could prove to be a double-edged sword.

    Texas Tech fired Leach, who had the most wins in school history, after James complained to school administrators that Leach mistreated his son, Adam James, by twice ordering him to stand for hours confined in a dark place after he got a concussion.

    Leach denies mistreating the younger James and has said Craig James had called coaches trying to get his son more playing time. Leach also said he suspects an $800,000 bonus he was due on Dec. 31, 2009, was the reason he was fired.

    Leach sued the university and named Craig James as a defendant. The case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court. Leach also has sued ESPN Inc. and a Dallas public relations firm, accusing them of libel and slander after he was fired.

    From 1979-1982, James was a star player at SMU and was part of the record-setting "Pony Express" backfield with Eric Dickerson. Though the Mustangs won Southwest Conference championships in 1981 and 1982, the team was also embroiled in several NCAA investigations.

    In 1987, the NCAA hit SMU with the so-called "death penalty" for repeated infractions, shutting down the program for a year after finding SMU had continued to pay players after promising in 1985 it would stop. SMU also chose not to play in 1988 because the NCAA would have limited the Mustangs to only seven games, none at home.

    The scandal is generally considered among the worst in college sports history. The sanctions leveled by the NCAA decimated the Mustangs program and SMU remains the only school to be given the "death penalty."

    James was never directly implicated in the NCAA transgressions and he has consistently denied any involvement.

    But James also has had a close relationship with Dallas real estate developer Sherwood Blount, one of the key boosters involved in the pay-for-play scandal. Blount, who reportedly insisted SMU had a "payroll to meet" even after the school promised the payments would stop, was James' agent when he played in the NFL.

    In his book "Gameday," James wrote: "I'm not going to sit here and tell you I never received a nickel during my playing days. But I can say with certainty that no benefits were ever extended to me from anyone associated with the SMU administration."

    After college, James was drafted by the Washington Federals in the USFL and signed with the Patriots before the 1985 season. He retired from football in 1989.

    As a businessman, James has been involved in ventures providing video content for the Internet as well as real estate holdings and development, according to the Texans for a Better America website.

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Supreme Court throws Texas elections into disarray over district maps dispute

    By msnbc.com staff and wire reports

    Updated at 11 p.m. EST

    The Supreme Court late Friday blocked the use of Texas state legislative and congressional district maps that were drawn by federal judges to boost minorities' voting power, throwing election filings into limbo and likely causing a delay in spring voting.

    The court issued a brief order Friday that applies to electoral maps drawn by federal judges in San Antonio for the Texas Legislature and Congress. The justices said they will hear arguments in the case on Jan. 9.

    "This thrusts the Supreme Court right into the partisan thicket," Richard L. Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine, told The New York Times. "It is no exaggeration to say that with three or four additional Democratic seats at issue under the original court-drawn plan, the decision could help decide control of the House."

    Reactions in Texas:

    • Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, whose office appealed the case to the Supreme Court: "We understand the need for speed for Texas voters as well as those who wish to run for office and will work to resolve this matter as quickly as possible."
    • Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst: The court's decision shows the federal judges in San Antonio "overreached and displayed judicial activism inconsistent with federal law and contrary to the intent of the Legislature."
    • State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, the leader of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, which participated in the San Antonio lawsuit: "Our resolve remains stronger than ever and our commitment to minority voting rights unwavering. If there ever was a textbook case of Voting Rights Act violations, this is it. We look forward to making our case before the United States Supreme Court." 

    Guidance from top court
    A Supreme Court decision likely also will provide guidance on the role of the federal courts under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Times said. Section 5 of the law requires Texas and other jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to seek federal permission to make even minor changes to voting procedures.

    In the redistricting case, Texas says the federal judges overstepped their authority and should have taken into account the electoral maps that were drawn by the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature.

    The order brings to a halt filing for legislative and congressional primary elections that began Nov. 28.

    The primaries had been scheduled to take place in March but with the Supreme Court's intervention, those elections almost certainly will be delayed.

    The maps issued by the judges appeared to give Democrats a greater chance of winning seats in the state House and Senate than did the plans approved by those bodies and signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry.

    In addition, the court-drawn congressional map ensured minorities made up the majority in three additional Texas congressional districts, an outcome the judges said better reflected the growth in the state's Hispanic population.

    Redistricting was necessary because Texas is adding four U.S. House seats based on population gains in the 2010 census.

    Minorities currently are the majority in 10 of Texas' 32 congressional districts. The new court-drawn map would have raised that to 13 out of 36 districts, an outcome the judges said better reflected the growth in the state's Hispanic population.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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