Trump candidate wins Texas Senate runoff

Why this matters:

• Paxton’s victory in Tuesday’s runoff makes Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection. It followed primaries this month where Trump successfully sought to oust an incumbent he saw as insufficiently loyal, a sign of the president’s enduring influence among primary voters.
  
  

• Candidates that Trump endorsed in other states are expected to easily win against Democratic opponents. However, the president’s decision to boost Paxton, who won with a sliver of the Republican base who shrugged off his past scandals, may be a bigger gamble in the general election. Democrats are hopeful that their nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, has a rare opportunity to win a statewide race in Texas and help the party retake control of the Senate.
  
  

• Near San Antonio, Johnny Garcia won the Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th District against Maureen Galindo, a candidate who has expressed antisemitic views. While Texas lawmakers redrew the district to help Republicans, Democrats view it as within reach and didn’t want Galindo’s past comments to impede them.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• WATCH: Paxton’s victory speech
  
  
• Photos from the runoff
  
  
• Full results from the Texas runoff
  
  
• Cornyn went to great lengths to avoid Trump’s wrath. He lost his seat anyway
  
  
• Trump is getting the Republican Party that he wants. But can he win in the midterms?
  
  
• Millions of people have been placed in new voting districts. Here’s where the redistricting stands
   
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• RFK Jr. snatches snakes in viral video, the latest of his many animal encounters
   
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• Trump administration proposes NDAs for federal employees to stop media leaks 
  
  
• UFC fighting cage rises on White House lawn for bout celebrating America’s 250th anniversary 

US NEWS

ICE detainees are dying by suicide at an ‘alarming’ rate, an AP investigation finds

At least 10 detainees, all men, have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. It is a pace that far exceeds the growth in the detainee population, according to a review of ICE data, autopsy reports, coroner’s rulings, and police records. Read more.

What to know:

• Public health officials and jail experts said the unprecedented number of suicide deaths is an indication thatauthorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy. While Trump has characterized those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” seven of the 10 had no record of violent crimes in the U.S.
  
  

• Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary Lauren Bies said suicide deaths in ICE custody remain “extremely rare.” 

   

• If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• WATCH: Suicide deaths of ICE detainees surge to new high as experts see failures in care
   
• US has deported thousands of Cubans and Venezuelans to danger in Mexico, Human Rights Watch says
   
• Court gives Mahmoud Khalil more time to fight Trump administration’s efforts to deport him 

WORLD NEWS

Israel and Hezbollah clash along a strategic Lebanese river after overnight strikes

Israel’s military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group Tuesday along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The clashes come just days before Lebanese and Israeli delegations are scheduled to meet for talks in Washington. Questions about the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict are complicating efforts at a broader peace in the Iran war as Tehran wants an agreement to include an end to the fighting in Lebanon.