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Trump’s primary scorecard for May: From the Politics Desk. Subscribe to this story to enjoy it ad free
Enjoy unlimited access to exclusive content and ad free articles. From the Politics Desk We take a look at President Donald Trump’s retribution strategy this month. Ken Paxton, James Talarico and others are looking ahead to the Texas general elections. Andrea Mitchell explores a change in the Russia/Ukraine War that is not widely known. Adam Wollner’s
scorecard for the May primaries of Donald Trump
Donald Trump endorsed ten challengers in the Republican primaries held this month to tighten up his grip on his party, as his poll ratings with the general electorate continue to fall. The nearly-final results,
: Trump has ousted all but 2 of the GOP legislators who have crossed him. One of the races is still too close to predict.
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In a run-off, the state attorney general
Ken Paxton won by 64%-36% over longtime senator
John Cornyn. Trump endorsed Paxton only a week ago, despite Cornyn finishing first but just short of a majority in the March primary. George Seay, a Cornyn donor and friend for many years, said that he thought the outcome was a win by Paxton, even though Cornyn’s lifelong supporters had hoped for a different result. Seay continued, “Clearly, the president has a profound impact on the base, something we have never seen before.” It was not enough. Cornyn was a conservative with an institutionalist streak, and there were a lot of concerns about Trump’s controversial decisions. Cornyn was defeated after two Republican incumbents who lost reelection to Trump-backed candidates, Sen. Cassidy was the one who voted for Trump to be convicted in his 2021 impeachment trial. Massie, on the other hand, had been a persistent pain in Trump’s backside over many issues. In the GOP primaries, Trump had unseated five of seven Indiana state Senators he targeted for voting against the redistricting effort. State Sen. Greg Goode survived his challenge. Meanwhile, the race between state senator Spencer Deery, and Fountain County GOP Chairman
Paula Copenhaver, is courtesy of Bridget Bowman. The two candidates are separated by only 3 votes. The bottom-line
is came last night in Texas that it’s still Trump’s Party, and he’s able to take you down, if he chooses. Now we’re looking at November. Paxton faces Democratic state Rep. Democrats — and some Republicans – think Paxton’s long list controversies can put the seat on the table in the traditionally’red state. Paxton has already tried to portray Talarico’s liberal views as out of touch. Paxton, in his speech of victory last night, called his new opponent “Tofu Talarico,” the “six gender Jimmy,” “James Talafreako,” or “low-T Talarico,” while criticizing his positions on gender affirming care, immigration and energy. Talarico, in an , said that he “missed” the mark with some of his previous statements on sensitive cultural matters. Talarico added, “I will be the first one to admit that I did miss the mark, but Ken Paxton’s clipping of my cringey remarks is to distract from the career of corruption of Ken Paxton.” Scott Bland provides an analysis of the reasons why incumbents are losing primaries in both parties. The number of renominations for members of Congress this year is already higher than the total during the 2024 cycle. It’s possible that the situation could worsen for incumbents. While the United States is focused on the latest developments in the war against Iran and trying to find an exit strategy, there has been a shift in momentum taking place across the continent. In its fifth-year of trying to repel the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s innovative military led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
has transformed modern warfare through new autonomous drone interception technologies. Ukraine now manufactures thousands of these drones per day in factories throughout Europe. These weons are hitting Vladimir Putin’s homeland where it hurts including Moscow. The country is also developing a technology that Gulf state emirs are interested in to protect their infrastructure against Iranian attacks. In the month of November, Ukraine announced that it would be selling new weons to Saudi Arabia as well as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This was after Zelenskyy visited the Gulf.
It is a testament to the saying that necessity really does lead to invention. In the last year, Trump’s administration has urged Europe to take the lead on arming Ukraine. Since the war with Iran, the Patriot missile batteries that were already short-supplied are now being used to defend Israel and the Gulf. According to European military experts and U.S. military analysts, Ukraine gained territory from Russia during ril. This is a significant turn of events. According to the European Union, Russia now loses 25,000-30,000 soldiers per month – more than it can hire. Putin’s iron grip over the Russian media keeps this truth from reaching the majority of his countrymen. He doesn’t need to be concerned about the public opinion. The increasing number of casualties can’t be hidden from the grieving families and friends forever. Just a few short months ago, Russia was the one gaining on the battlefield. Donald Trump Sahil Kur writes, President of the United States
, pressed Ukraine to accept a deal that heavily favored Putin following their summit in Anchorage Alaska. Before the U.S., Israel, and other countries launched their war with Iran and depleted their attention and weons stocks. Trump also criticized NATO and America’s traditional European allies, who refused to join his fight against Iran. Trump, in what was widely perceived as punishment against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his statement that Iran had “humiliated”, the U.S.A., ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Germany. He has even speculated that he might leave NATO. This has caused European leaders to seriously contemplate the possibility of losing the U.S., as their bulwark in the face of potential aggression by Putin. The European leaders now consider preventing a Russian win over Ukraine to be fundamental to their security. The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, , told reporters that “no active” talks are taking place with Ukraine. However, the U.S. will always be prepared to take a constructive role, if the opportunity arises. The Europeans, instead, are considering sending their own envoys to meet with Putin. The Russian leader is still cable of inflicting severe punishment. Russia launched a hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine’s cital over the weekend. It was one of the biggest attacks against Kyiv and its surrounding area since the beginning of the war. The missiles are able to fly up to 8,077 mph in a high trajectory, before plummeting to the ground. This makes them hard to intercept. Moscow’s attack also included drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The Kremlin stated that it was a retaliation against Ukraine’s strikes on what they claimed were civilian targets in Russia. In a significant move, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov warned Rubio before the strike that U.S. Embassy employees could be at risk. Former U.S. diplomats told NBC News that it was surprising the U.S. didn’t immediately go to the U.N. Security Council in order to try and prevent the attack. The administration has not protested. Europeans fear that, should Putin feel he has lost, he could escalate, threatening other nations in the area, including the Baltics. The war in Ukraine continues. Laura Jarrett is NBC News’ senior legal correspondent and will answer questions from NBC News subscribers on the Supreme Court, among other topics. This Q&A will take place at 3 p.m. ET. ET. Exclusive:
Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with NBC News Henry J. Gomez , admitted that his wife was unlikely to convert. He also talked about the Iran war and his friendship with Rubio. Deal or no deal? While Trump’s team worked behind the scenes to bring about an Iran peace agreement over Memorial Day Weekend, his own social media posts created confusion. 2028 watch: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a populist on AI in advance of a potential presidential run. In the courtroom: Former US President Joe Bidenheaded for a recount sued Justice Department to stop the release audio recordings and transcripts relating to his private conversations he had with the ghostwriter who wrote his 2017 memoir. Housing Plan:
New York mayor Zohran Mamdani according to Bridget announced plans to build and preserve 200,000 affordable housing units in the next ten years.
Only New York : Trump announced that he would attend an NBA Finals match in New York to watch the Knicks try to win their first title since 1973. Stop and celebrate:
The music lineup for a ‘World Fair-style Celebration’ on the National Mall to mark America’s 250th Birthday will include hip-hop artists
Vanilla Ice and interview today with NBC News’ Ryan Chandler Flo Rida, as well country singer
Martina McBride. This is all for the moment from The Politics Desk. Adam Wollner has compiled the newsletter for today.
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BBC News World
All evacuation orders lifted as explosion in California chemical tank avoided
Days after the threat of an explosion at a tank of chemicals sparked fears of environmental disaster, 16,000 residents from a Southern California town were allowed to go home on Tuesday. Subscribe to read the story without ads
Receive unlimited access adfree articles and exclusive material. First detected on Thursday, the crisis at GKN Aerospace’s 7,000-gallon methyl methacrylate tank in Garden Grove had led to the evacuation of 10s of thousands. Orange County Fire Authority reported that by Tuesday night there was no danger of an explosion, no leakage of chemicals, no fire threat, and no risk for the public. “All orders of evacuation related to the Garden Grove incident involving hazardous materials have been lifted,” said the agency. The emergency at its height forced more than 60,000 Garden Grove residents and those in nearby cities to leave their homes. The majority of evacuation orders were lifted on Monday, but proximately 16,000 people were told to stay away due to a slight risk of fire or explosion. At a meeting of the community held on Tuesday, some residents questioned whether dangerous chemicals could be stored at the Garden Grove facility. Garden Grove is a city with 171,000 residents located about 35 miles southeast from Los Angeles. Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein confirmed that there would be investigations conducted at the state and federal level. “Our community is entitled to know the facts, including what occurred and why. We also deserve to know if there were any laws or regulations broken,” Klopfenstein said. Orange County incident command Craig Covey stated at the meeting that firefighter responded to the 911 call about a leaky tank at GKN Aerospace at 3:22pm on Thursday. The firefighters found a pressure release valve on top of one out of three tanks. A valve malfunction in the refrigeration system was responsible for the overheating. It was designed to keep the tank temperature at 50 degrees. Covey stated that the tank was “imminently ready to explode”. He said that the sprinklers were turned on by the company to cool down the tank. The fire department also used a stream of 1,250 gallons per minute. Covey reported that the cooling measures had been successful in reducing pressure. Covey stated that the gauge indicated the tank temperature had reached at minimum 100 degrees during the weekend. The fire agency reported that the temperature in the main tank remained at 92°F on Tuesday.
The crack in the tank helped to relieve pressure, allowing crews to be more aggressive. Officials have stated that if the worst-case scenario — a boiling fluid expanding vor explosive (BLEVE) — had occurred, there would have been a disaster. GKN spokesperson said on Tuesday that they were “continuing to work round the clock” alongside the Orange County Fire Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency. The spokesperson ologized for the disruption caused by this incident, but said that the safety of the community and neighbors was the priority.
BBC News World
Biden sues Justice Department for blocking release of audio files from interviews.
Former president Joe Biden sued on Tuesday to ask a federal judge not to release audio recordings or transcripts of private conversations he had with the ghostwriter who wrote his 2017 autobiogrhy. Subscribe to read the story without ads Justice Department Get access to adfree articles and exclusive content. Biden’s attorney Amy Jeffress writes in Tuesday’s lawsuit in U.S. district court for Washington, D.C., that “the Department has reversed this position” after President Donald Trump’s second term. Amy Jeffress, Biden’s attorney, writes that during the second term of President Donald Trump, the Department reversed its position. Jeffress writes: “President Biden recounted in his conversations with Zwonitzer – and in his memoir – the year that began in Thanksgiving 2014” The year 2014 was one of the most important in President Biden’s life, and also the most painful. Jeffress stated that every American has the right of privacy for the conversations held in one’s own home, whether a current or former Vice-President. The Heritage Foundation wanted all the records on which Robert Hur, the then-special prosecutor who wrote the 2023 report about Biden handling classified documents, relied. It described him as being “painfully slower” with Biden having trouble remembering events and struggling at times to read or relay his own journal entries. Hur declined to charge Biden criminally. Zwonitzer, the Justice Department, and Zwonitzer have not responded to our requests for comment. Trump called Biden a “crooked politician” in his response to the lawsuit.
BBC News World
The tumultuous ‘Summer House Reunion’ on Bravo is a must-see event.
This article contains spoilers for the first part of “Summer House Season 10” reunion. Subscribe to read the story without ads
Get access to adfree articles and exclusive material. Kyle Cooke interrupts Lindsay Hubbard, a fellow cast member of “Summer House”, during the first part of the Season 10 reunion. He says: “I believe you need to check the phone.” Hubbard’s phone starts buzzing when she reads the statement that confirms Cooke’s estranged spouse, Amanda Batula and fellow cast member West Wilson have been together for weeks after public denials. Cooke, Hubbard and other cast members call each other. They combine their phone lines into one massive debrief. Carl Radke asks, “Has anyone looked into Ciara?” over the speakerphone.
, saying it was a result of a “genuine friendship” and they didn’t mean to “purposefully hide anything.” A week later the two
, saying that the relationship grew out of a “genuine long-standing friendship”. Wilson sat next to Batula on the stage couch, largely silent. Batula was adamant in defending herself during the episode. This led to multiple conflicts with other cast members. Fans reacted immediately to the confirmation of their relationship, comparing it with the scandal surrounding “Scandoval,” a cheating scandal on “Vanderpump Rules”, which dominated the internet three year ago. Both scandals, despite their differences in circumstances, fueled fan bases that were already passionate and had deep parasocial attachments to the casts. Reddit users and TikTok creators spent weeks deciphering leaked clips of the “Summer House Reunion Ting” for clues regarding shifting alliances. Bravoholics attending the AMC screening Tuesday were excited to see their fellow fans watching the reunion. Cocke, 26 attended the screening along with Tessa Millhollin, and Steph Castro who are part of a group chat named “The Real Boatwives of Brooklyn”. (A play on Bravo’s popular franchise “The Real Housewives”) The genuine relationships that the cast pears to have is what attracts the three women. This can be rare on reality television. Castro, the first person to reveal the scandalous information in the group chat, said: “I don’t think that could hpen. I have great female friends in my life.” “It’s so far from what we’re like as friends,” said Castro.
While Batula and Wilson’s relationship status was the main focus of the first half hour of the reunion, Cohen also highlighted the other cast members’ struggles and disagreements. Mia Calabrese revealed her grief for the loss of her mother. Bailey Taylor spoke out against Ben Waddell, who had repeatedly criticized women. KJ Dillard also shared a personal struggle. Amanda Batula, West Wilson and the “Summer House” Season 10 reunion. Clifton Prescod/ Bravo –
Dillard said he received a borderline personality diagnosis last fall when he was admitted to the hospital for self harm. Calabrese, Miller and Dillard visited him nearly every day during his stay in the hospital.
The Bravo reunion will be broadcast in two parts over the next two Tuesdays, and Peacock will stream “extended uncensored versions” the next day. The trailer promised screaming matches, tears and accusations of betrayal, as well as the clear dissolution of many relationships, both romantic and platonic. Cohen, who hosted hundreds of reality television reunions, described the “Summer House’ ting as one of the most intense reunions he had recorded. Fans at the screening on Tuesday said that they are already preparing for the emotional reactions of other cast members, including Radke, who’s turmoil has become a meme in the aftermath of the drama.
“I’m worried about Carl,” said Pablo Alavado (26), who attended the AMC screening with his partner Sarah Howard. He is a mess.
BBC News World
A chemical implosion has killed at least one in Washington
An implosion occurred at a Washington manufacturing company in the southwest on Tuesday. Subscribe to read the story without ads
Get unlimited, adfree access to articles and exclusive content. At a news briefing, officials reported that some people are missing. A tank containing a chemical called white liquor that is used in per-pulping was ruptured by Nippon Dynawave Packaging at Longview early Tuesday, according to a joint announcement from local officials. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson offered his condolences to those who have been reported dead
, and announced that responders from the Ecology Department of Washington State had been dispatched on the scene. I’m saddened that there are fatalities. Ferguson said that his thoughts were with the workers, their families and the first responders. Officials confirmed that the situation was fatal but did not specify how many people were killed. The officials said, based upon preliminary information, that the rupture caused “multiple critical injury” but didn’t provide any further details. A Tuesday evening update was planned. Maria Bernal with her husband Gilbert Bernal. Courtesy Bernal Family
Eli Bernal stated that his father Gilbert Bernal was killed in the plant where they both worked. Jim John, the pastor of the family, stated that Eli Bernal was at the Longview facility’s security gate during the explosion. John said that Eli was accompanying all ambulances into the facility through the security gate while his father was inside. The statement said that the patients were treated at hospitals in Longview, Vancouver and surrounding areas. PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center received nine victims after the explosion, including one who died and six others in fair condition.
There are still some individuals that have not been located as crews continue their accountability and recovery efforts. Mike Gorsuch said that a firefighter was also injured in the incident and has been treated at the Longview Hospital. Officials have advised the public to avoid the plant. They also said that the immediate danger to the community is not present. The Washington representative of the Association of Washington Pulp and Per Workers said that he was in touch with workers’ family members but refused to comment. Cowlitz County fire chief Scott Goldstein told reporters that the white liquor, used in the permaking process, contained sodium hydroxide. sodium sulfide, and disodium carboxide.
BBC News World
NASA announces plans to launch three unmanned moon missions this year as a first step to building a lunar base. Subscribe to this story to get unlimited access to exclusive content and ad free articles. These missions, which are all robotic flights, will allow NASA to gather scientific data at the South Pole of the moon, test new technologies, and prepare its astronauts for their return to the surface. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told a press briefing on Tuesday that the agency would not be rushing to build a glass dome moonbase. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke on May 19, 2010 in Washington. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Isaacman stated that the first mission is not scheduled to launch before this fall. Blue Origin of Jeff Bezos will be playing a significant role in this first mission. NASA has awarded Blue Origin a contract for the lunar lander to be used to transport two science and tech payloads. All three flights will be part of NASA’s long-term goal to establish a moon base. This initial phase will last until 2029. NASA will then build semi-permanent structures to allow early human habitation of the moon during the second phase from 2029-2032. The agency stated that it will achieve a sustained presence in the lunar surface by the third phase starting in 2032. Carlos Garcia Galan, NASA MoonBase’s program manager, stated Tuesday that the MoonBase base could cover hundreds of square kilometers. NASA officials have said that they envision regular crew rotations on and off the Moon, along with continuous activity at the surface. The moon base plans of the agency are designed to be implemented in conjunction with its Artemis Return-to-the Moon program. NASA’s Artemis II mission, which took four astronauts around the Earth and moon in a 10-day voyage last month, was the first mission to reach the moon since more than 50 year. NASA will launch its Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to take place in 2027, to demonstrate technology in low-Earth space with either one or both lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA will launch Artemis IV in 2028 if the first mission is successful. This mission will land astronauts on moon.
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