Quick Picks focuses on a select few of the day's stories from "Breaking on the Web."

• Texas' costly new virtual surveillance program on the Mexico border aimed to snag 1,200 arrests in its first year; after six months, it's made all of three, reports the El Paso Times. Gov. Rick Perry allotted $2 million to line the border with Web cameras, which were meant to be monitored by regular Texans (apparently a lazier version of a mob with pitchforks). But only 13 cameras have been set up so far. A Perry spokeswoman told the paper that while the original objectives were flawed, the problem was with the expectations, not the program itself.
• Last October, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) saw his re-election campaign foundering after calling some of his constituents "racists" and "rednecks," so he called in some favors. Many of the donors who responded to his call for cash were also the lucky beneficiaries of millions of dollars in federal earmarks steered their way by Murtha.

Check out more of our roundup of the best investigative stories around the Web.

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