News Ticker: June 3

Matt Krause scores big, House Dems dream the impossible dream, and Ted Cruz dodges tomatoes. Popularity is on the News Ticker.

• A judge has ruled that Nidal Hasan can represent himself in the trial for the Fort Hood mass shooting.

• Austin has received a perfect online transparency score from a Show Us the Local Subsidies report. As the name implies, the report is a little like the "Girls Gone Wild Series," but much more tailored for bureaucrats.

• Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council Members Bill Spelman and Mike Martinez have proposed adding 30 days of paid parental leave for City of Austin employees.

• Circuit of the Americas leads the pack in April Austin alcohol sales. Luckily, only a small portion of those sales appear to be from drivers.

• United Airlines has announced new non-stop flights between Austin and Cleveland. Yay?

• Sack suit enthusiast Rep. Matt Krause tops the list of Equality Texas' worst legislators.

• The end of CSCOPE lesson plans has some school districts scrambling for curricula. Faced with few options and little time, some schools will now be using old issues of Highlights magazine. All renderings of Goofus will be replaced with photos of Sen. Dan Patrick.

• 11 of the 12 House Democrats have asked Gov. Rick Perry to add Medicaid expansion to the special session agenda. In response, Perry texted them a bizarre string of emoticons that roughly translates to "no."

• U.T.'s Mark Regnerus, whose goatee once played bass for 90's alt stalwarts the Gin Blossoms, will be speaking at a National Organization for Marriage anti-LGBT student conference.

• Much like Kim Kardashian's performance in Tyler Perry's Temptation, Ted Cruz's visit to New York City was widely protested.

• According to a new College Republican National Committee report, the GOP has big problems with younger voters. Apparently those Steve Hotze dubstep jams just didn't resonate with Millennials.