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Mayor Who Killed Self Faced Spending Probe & Midday Roundup

By KERA News & Wire Services

Dallas, TX – A city official says the mayor of an upscale Dallas suburb who investigators believe shot dead her teenage daughter before killing herself had been facing a spending review.

City Manager Clay Phillips has told the Dallas Morning News that he asked the city attorney to investigate Coppell Mayor Jayne Peters' city-issued credit card use. The Friday report says Phillips did not provide details of the questionable charges since October.

Foreclosure Listing Service records show Peters' home was foreclosed on last July.

Police discovered the bodies of Peters and her 19-year-old daughter Corinne at their home Tuesday night. A memorial service was scheduled for Friday.

The mayor's husband died in 2008.

Texas job rate drops to 8.2 percent in June

The unemployment rate in Texas dropped to 8.2 percent in June, a one-tenth point decline from May.

The Texas Workforce Commission says the unemployment rate remained well below the national seasonally adjusted rate of 9.6 percent for June in the report released Friday.

The jobless rate had risen to 8.3 percent in April and May after holding steady at 8.2 percent in the first three months of 2010.

Workforce commission Chairman Tom Pauken says Texas employment has grown every month this year with the highest gains in the education and health services industry.

Dallas state Sen. Carona not running for mayor

GOP State Sen. John Carona says he will seek a sixth term and not run for mayor of Dallas in 2011.

Carona said Thursday that he has always had an interest in returning to Dallas and "serving the city," but for now his focus is the Legislature. Carona had served in the Legislature since being elected to the Texas House in 1990. He has chaired the Senate Transportation Committee since 2006.

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has not said whether he will seek a second term or higher office.

The Dallas Morning News reports a campaign finance report filed Thursday indicated Leppert, from January to July, raised $147,250. He was traveling in Europe this week and not immediately available for comment.