San Antonio state Rep. Mike Villarreal said on Sunday that he would not serve his new term in the Legislature in order to run full time for mayor of his hometown. The announcement set off a flurry of activity among Alamo City politicos. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte said that she was considering a run for mayor, and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said he would be interested in running for Van de Putte's Senate seat should she run for a different office.

The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to rehear a challenge to the state's top 10 percent admissions law, preserving for now a previous ruling siding with the University of Texas. The next step could be the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was selected majority whip for the next Congress. He would be the first Texan to fill that leadership role since Lyndon B. Johnson in the early 1950s.

Scott Turner, the freshman state representative challenging incumbent House Speaker Joe Straus, said this week that he would insist on a vote the first day of the new Legislature.

A new website aimed at giving low-income Texans information on health services available to them was announced on Wednesday. Funding for the site was raised at a charity event during Texas-OU weekend in 2013.

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