Trump urges Texas Republicans to vote for Ken Paxton in runoff election
As Texas heads to the polls for the primaries, former President Donald Trump reminded his supporters to vote for Attorney General Ken Paxton, amid other posts Tuesday morning.
“Texas, Vote for Ken Paxton, our Country’s BEST Attorney General!” Trump posted.
US strikes Iran as Trump faces backlash over ‘disastrous’ peace deal plan - podcast
The United States has conducted strikes on Iran despite suggestions that a peace deal could be within reach. Donald Trump faces growing criticism over the proposed plan to end the war, which reportedly contained major concessions from Washington. However, the possibility of an agreement remains uncertain.
In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to ’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour.
President Trump raised the cap on refugee admissions for the current year by 10,000, a move aimed at allowing more white South Africans into the US, a signed presidential determination seen by disclosed.
White South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity are in dire circumstances in the majority-Black country due to ‘incitement of racially motivated violence’ by the South African government and political parties, said the document dated May 21.
Trump halted refugee admissions from around the globe when he took the presidential oath in 2025 but soon launched a program that specifically brought white South Africans into the US. The total cap on the number of white South African refugee admissions into the US for the 2026 fiscal year is now 17,500.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a discrimination lawsuit that Brian Flores, the Miami Dolphins head coach, filed against the NFL, the court ruled Tuesday.
The NFL had appealed to the Court, requesting that the case be handled through arbitration instead of open court in New York.
Flores filed his lawsuit against the league and three teams in February 2022, alleging that the league is “rife with racism” regarding its hiring of Black coaches. At least two more Black coaches joined his lawsuit later.
Federal court blocks new Republican-friendly voting map in Alabama
Alabama cannot use a new Republican-friendly map in this year’s midterm elections because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters, a panel of three federal judges ruled on Tuesday.
The decision blocks Alabama from using a congressional map lawmakers passed in 2023 but never implemented because the same court found it was drawn with intent to discriminate. Alabama was eventually ordered to adopt a map with two majority-Black districts that both elected Democrats. After the Supreme Court gutted a major provision of the Voting Rights Act in April, Alabama took the extraordinary step of moving its imminent congressional primary and sought to use the 2023 congressional map this year.
The state is likely to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Tuesday’s ruling is significant because the judges stated the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the Voting Rights Act did not permit Alabama to use the map.
“We cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the court wrote in its opinion.
Key Texas races amid Senate runoff
While the Senate race between Republican Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, is generating significant attention, especially after the President endorsed Paxton, several other important races in Texas are underway today:
One notable race is between Representative Al Green, 78, who has served 11 terms as a Democrat, and Christian Menefee, 38, who has been serving his first term as a representative since earlier this year when he won a special election.
The two sitting members of Congress are opposing each other because recent Republican redistricting shuffled their districts.
Previously, Green represented Texas’ ninth district and now he’s seeking nomination from the 18th. Green has long been among Trump’s top critics and was the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment as early as 2017. He used to represent a majority African American district and has long advocated for civil rights.
Menefee and Green have differed on their stance on cryptocurrency. While Green has opposed crypto, in a January questionnaire, Menefee expressed support for the industry.
“We should make sure the next generation of blockchain innovation is built in America.”
Within a month, a crypto PAC had donated more than $1.5 million to Menefee’s campaign – a contribution of roughly 60% of his funding.
Trump administration considers asking federal workers to sign NDAs
President Trump’s administration floated a plan to ask federal workers to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to a government document released Tuesday, reported.
This is not the first time the administration has proposed non-disclosure agreements with federal workers. Last year, after the administration fired federal workers in large numbers for “poor performance,” they were asked to sign confidentiality agreements but refused.
Donald Trump and his motorcade have left the White House for his scheduled doctor’s visit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The White House described the visit as annual preventative medical and dental checkups, AP reported. This is Trump’s fourth visit to Walter Reed since he returned to office for a second term and comes as he is trying to project strength ahead of midterms.
US immigration enforcement flights increase carbon emissions
US immigration enforcement flights are producing hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of climate-damaging carbon emissions as officials shuttle unprecedented numbers of people to detention centers far from home and deport them to countries across the world.
Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies have spurred at least an 80% increase in such flights year over year, accelerating climate change by emitting massive amounts of carbon dioxide, according to data analysis shared exclusively with .
“We’ve seen a staggering increase of all US immigration [enforcement] flights,” including “the number of flights as well as the locations that the flights are going to,” said Savitri Arvey, director of research and analysis for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First (HRF), the US advocacy group.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) air operations emitted an estimated 335,876 tonnes (37,0240 US tons) of carbon emissions in 2025, up 88% from the year before. The first four months of 2026 show the federal agency is on track to contribute even more to global heating this year from such flights, revealed.
Those emissions exacerbate the climate crisis, a driver of irregular migration itself, while polluting the air in local communities used as flight hubs, such as Phoenix, El Paso and Harlingen in Texas, and Alexandria in Louisiana.
Congressional Black Caucus urges corporations to oppose redistricting
The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday called on major corporations across the US, including those that previously expressed support for voting rights and racial justice, to oppose redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black US House districts.
In a letter sent to more than 250 companies, members of the Black Caucus urged them to condemn the redistricting efforts, which the lawmakers described as “coordinated efforts to silence Black voices at the ballot box.”
Some of the companies had co-signed their own message to Congress five years ago urging lawmakers to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a Democratic proposal to restore and update the Voting Rights Act.
That 2021 coalition, Business for Voting Rights, was backed by many of the country’s most valuable and influential companies, including Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, Salesforce, Target, PayPal, Intel and Starbucks.
Analysis: Texas Senate runoff sees surge of anti-Muslim rhetoric in campaign ads
In the bitter and expensive runoff between John Cornyn, the incumbent, and Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, the state’s Muslim community has been a frequent target for campaign ads and legal challenges.
Both candidates have tried to portray the other as either too soft on the supposed threat of Islam or insufficiently aggressive toward Muslim institutions.
“Every time it’s an election year, this is one of the favorite cards that the GOP plays to get votes,” said Shehla Faizi, a Muslim running for state comptroller as a member of the Green party. “We have a boogeyman, the boogeyman are Muslims, and we’re going to use that to make people afraid and force them to vote for us.”
Experts and advocates interviewed for this story agreed that the frequency and vitriol of this year’s anti-Islam attacks seem to have reached a fever pitch – an observation consistent with recent trends.
Specifically, Paxton and Paxton-allied groups ran ads accusing Cornyn of supporting “Muslim mass immigration” and having “a special place in his heart for radical Islam.” Cornyn, meanwhile, has responded by emphasizing his record “fighting radical Islamic extremism” and drafting a bill aimed at “[stopping] the spread of Sharia Law in the U.S.”
Even though the Senate campaign will conclude with the 26 May election, Texas Muslims say politicians are fanning the flames of anti-Muslim bigotry that has already been central to recent political discourse.
Nearly 200,000 US truck drivers at risk over new licensing rule
Nearly 200,000 US truck drivers are at risk of losing their commercial driver’s licenses after the US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a rule restricting licenses to those with specific employment authorization statuses, disqualifying those with other authorizations, including asylum seekers, refugees and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.
Tens of thousands of immigrant drivers are stuck in limbo after the rule took effect in March, and lawsuits challenging the rule are still under review by federal courts.
The rule has shaken immigrant drivers who have spent years dedicated to the industry.
Sarabjeet Singh, a truck driver from India who has worked in central California for the past 12 years, said he attempted to renew his license last month when it expired but was denied.
Kavita Patel, Singh’s wife, said the loss of his license has been devastating for their whole family.
“This not only affected us financially, but this is a huge burden mentally, emotionally, physically,” she said. “People think you can just find another job, but your entire skill set [and] experience has been built around driving this big rig.”
“It’s kind of a fear and helplessness that comes from waking up one day and realizing, ‘Oh, guess what, your career that you built is suddenly all gone in one night,’” she added.
Trump scheduled to see doctors for his annual physical
President Trump is scheduled to undergo a medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina.
The 79-year-old president is scheduled to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as annual preventative medical and dental checkups, AP reported.
This will be Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term and comes as he tries to project strength ahead of midterm elections that will test his influence with voters.
Trump turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected US president. His predecessor, former president Joe Biden, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race due to widespread concerns about his age.
A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of US adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.
America’s ugliest primary? Texas Republican infighting could hand Senate seat to Democrat
Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, faces four-term incumbent John Cornyn on Tuesday in what is considered the ugliest primary election of the year. The winner of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas will contest November’s general election against Democrat James Talarico.
Paxton and Cornyn have spent months seeking the most valuable endorsement in Republican politics: Donald Trump’s. Trump described Paxton as “a true MAGA warrior.”
Supporters in Paxton’s hometown agree.
“Paxton is more conservative,” said Jim Tubbesing, 77, strolling in Paxton’s hometown, a tranquil vision of Americana with antique shops, trendy bistros and a walkable historic downtown exuding 19th-century charm.
“He has been good for Texas. I vote for the policy, not the fact that he’s alleged to have done something.” Tubbesing called Cornyn a “RINO: Republican in name only.”
The runoff is not fundamentally about policy, since Cornyn and Paxton would vote similarly on almost every piece of legislation. It is more about style and has huge implications for Texas, control of the Senate, and the future direction of the Republican Party.
Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and state supreme court justice, is widely seen as a last gasp of the Republican establishment. In a primary on 3 March, he narrowly beat Paxton, a far-right hardliner who has been under investigation. Paxton’s aggressive stances on immigration and culture war issues appeal to the party’s base. Both men qualified for the runoff.
Cornyn tries to hold on to Texas Senate seat in runoff with Trump-backed Paxton
Texans are voting for a Republican nominee for US Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, following Donald Trump’s late bid to influence the race in his latest effort to rid the GOP of figures less devoted to him.
The president’s endorsement of state attorney-general Ken Paxton over four-term senator John Cornyn gave the challenger a late boost, leaving Cornyn at risk of becoming the first Republican senator in history to seek the party’s nod and lose.
This comes despite Cornyn’s campaign and allied groups spending roughly $90 million in advertising since last year, the vast majority attacking Paxton, AP reported.
It is the latest GOP contest where Trump has sought to punish a Republican he views as insufficiently loyal. This month, he has successfully backed challengers to incumbents in Louisiana, Kentucky and Indiana, demonstrating his enduring influence among primary voters.
Paxton’s campaign and a pro-Paxton super PAC began airing ads promoting the endorsement within 24 hours of Trump’s announcement. Cornyn acknowledged Trump’s move would have an impact but said he was not giving up.
“I know who gets to choose our senators, and it’s the people of Texas,” he said hours after the endorsement.
The winner will run in November against Democratic candidate James Talarico.
Tuesday’s runoffs will also decide Democratic US House nominees for districts in Dallas and Houston that overwhelmingly support Democrats, and a San Antonio-area seat the party hopes to flip.
Iran denies imminent deal with US amid ongoing talks
Iran has dismissed suggestions that a deal with the US is imminent, citing confusion in US positions and Israeli interference as reasons why an agreement is proving difficult to secure. Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press briefing, Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, said future management of the Strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to agree on, clarifying that it was not tolls being proposed but “fees for navigational services.”
By contrast, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal was still possible, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would open “one way or another.”
“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.
Trump Tower planned for Tbilisi on land linked to sanctioned leader’s son
A Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records. The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, managed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu.
Mexico to host Iranian football team during World Cup
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team.
Sheinbaum said football’s governing body FIFA approached her government after the US declined to host Iran’s squad throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there.
