Priebus Out, Special Session Scorecard, Cartel Hostage: Your Friday Evening Roundup

Good evening. Here are some stories you may have missed today.Do you want to get this roundup via email? Sign up for our newsletters here.White House chief of staff Reince Priebus ousted, replaced by Homeland Security Secretary John F. KellyWhite House chief of staff Reince Priebus was pushed out on Friday in the latest convulsion in a chaos-wracked West Wing to which he had repeatedly failed to bring some semblance of order.Convinced that Priebus was not strong enough, Mr. Trump has been talking about bringing in "a general" as chief of staff and chose John F. Kelly, the retired Marine four-star general serving as secretary of homeland security. But some of his advisers oppose that idea, arguing that Trump needs someone more in tune with the nationalist political movement that helped propel him to the White House.Priebus, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, lost his job just hours after the president's signature drive to repeal his predecessor's health care program collapsed on the Senate floor and a day after an ugly feud with the new communications director erupted in a public airing of the deep animosities plaguing the White House.July 21: White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned his position, ending a rocky six-month tenure.Scorecard: Where Gov. Abbott's special session agenda standsThe Senate and its president, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have been working at top speed to pass the 20 items on Gov. Greg Abbott's agenda for the special legislative session.The chamber approved 18 bills in just the first week by working late into the nights and through the weekend. Much of the agenda Abbott laid out in June aligns with conservative proposals Patrick pushed during the regular session.The House, on the other hand, is moving at a slower pace, a strategy House Speaker Joe Straus has called "deliberate."We've compiled a scorecard of how the items are faring in the House and the Senate.In Dallas: City leaders are on the hunt for a top dog to lead the long-beleaguered Dallas Animal Services department. Six candidates will interview next week.Affordable housing: Nearly 60 low-income families hoping to buy homes with help from Dallas City Hall are in limbo after federal inspectors found widespread problems with how the city has run the program.  Continue reading...