TEXAS: WARNING OF LEGAL ACTION AGAINST EXILES Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst warned 11 Democratic state senators in temporary exile in New Mexico that he might use legal action to force them to return to deal with a Republican redistricting plan that they are trying to thwart. "There are a number of things we can do to compel the attendance of the absent members," Mr. Dewhurst said. The absence has brought the Senate, which has a Republican majority, to a standstill for more than week because of a lack of a quorum.   (AP)

NEW MEXICO: UTILITY DROPS MINE PLAN An Arizona utility has decided not to pursue plans for a strip coal mine near Gallup after opposition by Indian tribes and environmentalists. The utility, the Salt River Project, said it dropped the mine after 22 years of planning because it found coal in Wyoming and it was more effective to buy coal than operate a mine. The Zuni Pueblos had opposed the mine because it would be close to the sacred Zuni Salt Lake.    Mindy Sink (NYT)