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President Obama handily won re-election, but Congress remains fairly unchanged. Will the status quo prevail during his second term? Or will he follow through on promises that got progressives excited about him in 2008?

The Massachusetts Republican left Congress this week after losing in a contentious race to Democrat Elizabeth Warren. But if John Kerry is confirmed as the next secretary of state, Scott Brown could be back on the campaign trail in weeks.

Humaira Bachal's father thought it was a waste of time for her to go to middle school. For years, she had to sneak out of the house to attend. When he found out, he was furious. Now, at 25, she runs a school serving more than 1,000 kids in a Karachi slum.

More than a thousand protesters turned up in the Ohio River town of Steubenville over the weekend, spurred by a blogging and Twitter campaign that's focused on rape allegations involving high-school football players. Social media has taken the case well beyond the small eastern Ohio town, sparking international tension.

John Brennan is one of the president's top national security aides. A veteran of the CIA, he was the agency's deputy executive director during President George W. Bush's administration. Brennan has said he opposed many of the Bush administration's policies, including the use of waterboarding.

Investigators say the homeowner is a police sergeant in Newton, Mass. He's the superior officer of the guy who was tossing the eggs at the house. The MetroWest Daily News reports that both men were off duty at the time, and both insist it was just a joke between friends.

Also: Bank of America agrees to pay billions to Fannie Mae; oil rig that ran aground off Alaska is refloated; Syrian opposition rejects Assad's "peace plan;" NHL players and owners reach tentative deal, season may start soon; NFL playoffs get underway.

The 83 rd Texas Legislative Session begins Tuesday. Let’s go over a short list of the expected session priorities. It's Always the Budget The recession and Republican opposition to raising taxes ended with about $15 billion cut from the last budget. Now state revenues are up, but Governor Rick Perry and other leading Republicans are calling for a constitutional amendment to restrict how quickly the budget can grow. “As a small government conservative. I believe that government growth – if any – should be kept to the bare minimum," Perry said in a speech last year, "we have to remember there is no such thing as extra money. Not when it’s coming out of the pockets of taxpayers, right?” Even at Perry’s “bare minimum” the budget should grow this session. As the state’s population grows – more people need more roads, schools and water. Planning for the Future Water actually got a pre-session boost from Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. In a December speech Dewhurst said he wants to use the state’s economic stabilization fund – known as the Rainy Day fund – to jumpstart construction of some water management facilities like reservoirs or cross state pipelines. “Bring out about a billion dollars out of the Rainy Day fund – set it up in the Water Infrastructure bank – so that we can start helping," Dewhurst said. But critics say it’s going to take much more than that billion to fund a comprehensive plan that keeps the water flowing for the state’s amid climate change and population growth. Education Funding in the Spotlight Texas public education advocates are also looking for more money this session. The 2011 legislature gave schools about $5 billion less than the state’s own per-student funding formulas would have delivered. Advocates hope some of that money is restored this year. But major changes to how the state pays for public schools will probably wait until we get a verdict in an ongoing school finance lawsuit. That’s expected in late spring or early summer. State Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has already proposed a major finance change: funding private school scholarships for low-income families. “We’re going to allow business to deduct up to 25 percent of what they would pay in the franchise tax. And that money would go to a non-profit," he said in a press conference last year. "By doing this, we are going to give an opportunity to get a scholarship if they so choose, to send their child to that private school.” Supporters say this would not be a school voucher, an idea that has failed in the legislature several times over the last decade. Opponents say whatever you call it - it would divert money away from public schools. What's a Democrat to Do? Most of the 2013 session priorities are Republican items. So what about the other side of the aisle? The Democrats are the minority in Texas, so maybe the question should be…what, if anything, can they do this session? “My mantra last session was: maintain sense of humor and try to minimize the damage. That’s what a lot of us have been focusing on the last couple of sessions, "said Austin Democrat, State Representative Eliot Naishtat. Naishtat admits it’s harder for Democrats to pass bills. But thinks it does depend on the subject. He expects bi-partisan support for bills he’ plans on aging. Power sharing also gives Democrats a chance in Austin. “In Washington, the majority party has all the committee chairs," said the Texas Tribune’s Ross Ramsey. "And in Austin that’s not true. I expect about a third of the committee chairs in the House and something like that in the Senate will be Democrats. So they have some place of power.” Democrats have enough votes in the Senate block legislation if it comes to that. There are enough House Democrats, 55, to break quorum and shut down the chamber. “I would endorse shutting down government, putting pressure on leadership, for a short time in hopes of killing the bad bill or getting leadership to back off of the bill," said Naishtat. House Democrats last used the “nuclear option” in 2003. That year they drove to Ardmore Oklahoma. If there’s a return trip – StateWatch Texas will be there to cover it. And I’ve already checked –Ardmore does have a Starbucks. View Larger Map

As the state legislature prepares to open its session Tuesday, lawmakers are hearing a word not spoken in the capitol for a long time. It’s ‘surplus.’ Unlike two years ago, when they faced a massive deficit and cut $15 billion from the budget, there’s talk of an increase in money for state programs and a growing Rainy Day fund. The state comptroller will release the official budget estimate this morning, but the debate over whether and how to spend the Rainy Day money has already begun. For Texas lawmakers the clanking of an oil derrick pumping crude is the sound of money pouring into the state’s savings account, what’s called the Rainy Day Fund. It’s an emergency fund the state can tap if financial clouds gather putting important state services at risk. The Rainy Day Fund was established in 1988 and receives most of its money from a tax on oil and gas produced in the state. Until six years ago the fund had less than $1 billion. But this session it's at more than $8 billion and is expected to grow. Last session Governor Rick Perry, who wields a veto pen, resisted dipping into the fund when it was even bigger. “I believe the Rainy Day Fund must be used as an absolute last resort not just as a quick fix,” Perry admonished, in 2011 when the deficit was so big many argued the rainy day had become a full-fledged monsoon. Perry eventually signed off on spending just over $3 billion -about a third of the fund. So what will the Governor agree to this session? Lawmakers are already shopping their wish lists. That includes some Republicans who’ve been cautious about raiding the piggy bank. “One of the things I want to look at is that we take $1 billion out of the Rainy Day Fund to create a water infrastructure development bank,” said Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst during a recent stop in Dallas. Dewhurst carries a big stick because he runs the Senate. His development bank would loan $1 billion in startup money to utilities building new reservoirs at a time when drought and growth are threatening water supplies. Republican Senator David Deuell of Greenville wants to commit twice as much Rainy Day money- $2 billion –to the water development fund. Deuell and Dewhurst agree another $1 billion should go into a similar fund to build roads. But Deuell, unlike many Republicans, is openly calling for the use of Rainy Day dollars to pay for some public school programs cut last session. “I am embarrassed as a state legislator that there are school districts that are making some very Draconian cuts while we were sitting with almost $9 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. I advocated spending more of it,” said Deuell. “We’re going to spend the money anyway. The kids don’t go away. We’re going to build schools and hire teachers or build prisons and hire prison guards,” Deuell reasoned. Representative Dan Branch of Dallas is another influential Republican who says it’s time to open the purse strings a little. He says the state has ignored its infrastructure for years and it’s crumbling. “It’s raining because we have under invested to a point we are now going to cause our economy to stumble,” said Branch “People are going to say your taxes are low and your regulations are light but it’s really hot without air conditioning or it’s really bad without water and it’s really bad without educated workers in a knowledge-based economy so we’re going to go elsewhere. “I am into making sure we have solid basic infrastructure and I think we are at risk on the education water power road front,” Branch said. It’s a good bet Democrats will want to spend more of the Rainy Day money than Republicans are willing to touch. Senator Wendy Davis, for one, wants to restore all of the $5.4 billion cut from schools. The Fort Worth Democrat proposes leaving a healthy balance in the account, but during the next two years, as oil and gas production pumps new revenue into the fund, she wants to earmark those dollars for education. “If we don’t capture that surplus now and direct it into public education we will never get back to where we were,” said Davis. Davis believes it’s a plan some of her Republican colleagues might just buy when the expected budget surplus is spent and the legislative forecast calls for rain. Shelley Kofler will be reporting from Austin this week as begin the legislative session. History Of Rainy Day Fund Balances

Where else can you find six hardback volumes of Moliere's plays?Cheever Books has it, along with thousands of other titles lining the shelves of the old…