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Texas AG Ken Paxton announces run for US Senate
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night that he will run for the U.S. Senate.
The announcement comes as Paxton no longer faces the cloud of a federal corruption investigation that loomed over him as he rose up the ranks in the Republican Party.
The announcement by Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a MAGA firebrand, comes two weeks after Republican Sen. John Cornyn officially launched his re-election campaign as he bids for a fifth six-year term serving Texas in the Senate.
«It’s time for a change in Texas,» Paxton told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, before acknowledging Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas’ other Republican senator. «It’s time that we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way.»
EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR DETAILS SURFACE IN HISTORIC IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a news conference in Dallas, June 22, 2017. On Tuesday, Paxton announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
On Sunday, Cornyn said he was looking forward to «the competition» amid rumors of Paxton’s candidacy.
«Ken Paxton is a fraud,» Cornyn’s campaign charged in a social media post after Paxton’s announcement. «He talks tough on crime and then lets crooked progressive Lina Hidalgo off the hook. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn’t contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions.»
TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’
«He says he’s anti-woke but he funnels millions of taxpayer dollars to lawyers who celebrate DEI,» the post continued. «And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family.»
Cornyn’s campaign noted that the incumbent senator has voted with Trump more than 95% of current senators. Trump and Texas need a «battle-tested conservative» who knows how to protect his agenda in the Senate and won’t be outsmarted by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, the campaign said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. (Fox News Digital)
The announcement from Paxton puts the gears in motion for what may be an extremely expensive and bruising GOP primary battle, pitting the remaining establishment and business factions of the Republican Party versus the ascendant MAGA wing.
«It sets the table for the most expensive primary in Texas. It will be a brutal battle,» veteran Republican strategist Dave Carney told Fox News. Carney, the longtime top political adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, noted that the announcement by Paxton also «opens up the attorney general’s race. There will probably be a very competitive primary for that and we’re going to have a lot of musical chairs down ballot.»
Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican strategist and communications consultant based in Texas and Washington, D.C., said «this is going to be the most expensive, nastiest, most aggressive, most personal U.S. Senate primary in Texas history.»
«You have two candidates who are going to raise significant funds, who are in significant positions, who do not like each and have not liked each other, whose teams do not like each other and the stakes could not be higher,» he emphasized.
WILL DEMOCRATS ONCE AGAIN CHASE THE ‘GHOST OF A BLUE TEXAS’ IN NEXT YEAR’S SENATE RACE?
Paxton’s announcement was not a huge surprise, as he has long claimed Cornyn does not represent the conservative values of Texans and has accused the senator of not being an ally of Trump.
He has also regularly labeled Cornyn a «RINO,» a «Republican in name only» and an insult MAGA and «America First» Republicans have regularly used to criticize more mainstream or establishment members of the GOP.
Paxton, who has been Texas’ top prosecutor since 2015, has regularly criticized his GOP rival, pointing to Cornyn’s position on a border wall and opposing Trump during the 2016 election.
Cornyn also previously came under criticism from conservatives after he helped push a bipartisan gun control bill after the 2022 mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers.
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton at his primary night celebration, on March 1, 2022, in McKinney, Texas. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Paxton, for a couple of years, had flirted with a primary challenge against the 73-year-old Cornyn, a former state senator, former Texas Supreme Court justice, and former state attorney general, who first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
FACING POSSIBLE PRIMARY CHALLNGE FROM A TRUMP ALLY, LONGTIME TEXAS SENATOR ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION
«I can’t think of a single thing he’s accomplished for our state or even for the country,» Paxton said in a September 2023 interview on the Fox News Channel. «Somebody needs to step up and run against this guy,» adding, «everything’s on the table for me.»
Fast-forward to earlier this year, and Paxton, at a county GOP meeting in Texas, told supporters that one of the things «we need to do, and I might play a role in this, is replace John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.»
And in a Fox News Digital interview in January, Paxton acknowledged that he was «looking potentially at the U.S. Senate.»
Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at an event outside the Texas Statehouse, on Feb. 28, 2022 in Austin. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Cornyn, during the early stages of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, had said he would prefer that the GOP take a new direction, which angered Trump. But the senator endorsed Trump in late January of last year, after the then-former president won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican presidential nomination calendar.
Since Trump returned to the White House three months ago, Cornyn has been supportive of the president’s Cabinet nominees and agenda.
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And in the senator’s campaign launch video last month, the announcer highlighted that during Trump’s first term in office, «Texas Sen. John Cornyn had his back.»
As he gears up for what will most certainly be his roughest re-election of his decades-long career, Cornyn has the backing of the top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
And Republican sources confirm to Fox News that Thune, as well as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Tim Scott, have personally asked Trump to back Cornyn.
Sen. John Cornyn speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
The president’s grip on the GOP is stronger than ever and any endorsement Trump may make in the emerging Republican Senate primary in Texas would be extremely influential.
Making Cornyn’s path to renomination even more difficult is a possible Senate bid by Rep. Wesley Hunt, who represents a Houston area district.
The third-term 43-year-old Texas Republican and rising MAGA star has made his case to the president’s political team, sources confirm to Fox News. Hunt’s argument is that he’s the only person who can win both a GOP primary and a general election, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to Fox News.
An outside group supportive of Hunt is currently spending seven figures to run ads across the Lone Star State to increase the lawmaker’s name ID.
CORNYN’S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPARKS QUESTIONS ON BOTH PARTY FLANKS AS DEMS CHASE ‘THE GHOST OF A BLUE TEXAS’
GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas headlines the opening of the first Trump campaign office in Pennsylvania, on June 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Some Republican operatives and strategists worry that a primary battle in Texas could cost up to $100 million, potentially diverting much-needed resources from other races.
While Paxton is very popular with the conservative base of the party, it’s not clear at this point what Trump will do regarding the race. And political strategists note that toppling Cornyn in a GOP primary will likely be a very expensive proposition, and it’s not clear if Paxton can raise the money needed for victory.
«This says two things. One, Paxton sees an opportunity. And two, him getting in this early shows he needs the maximum time possible to try to raise money,» Mackowiak said. He added that Paxton «has received some negative feedback on fundraising.»
Paxton grabbed national attention in 2020 for filing the unsuccessful Texas vs. Pennsylvania case in the Supreme Court that tried to overturn former President Joe Biden’s razor-thin win over Trump in the Keystone State, and for speaking at the Trump rally near the White House that immediately preceded the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists aiming to disrupt congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory.
During Biden’s four years in the White House, Paxton took the administration to court numerous times.
While Paxton, who’s in his third four-year term as Texas attorney general, has long been a legal warrior in the MAGA movement, he also has plenty of personal political baggage.
Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges soon after taking office in 2015, and more recently came under investigation by the FBI over bribery and corruption allegations from former top staffers. And in 2022, he survived a bruising primary amid his many legal difficulties.
In 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, but he was later acquitted of all charges by the state Senate.
The charges in the long-running federal corruption probe were dropped during the final weeks of the Biden administration.
The attorney general also faced an investigation by the Texas State Bar for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
While Paxton for years has denied any wrongdoing and has survived his legal fights, he would likely continue to face tough optics and plenty of incoming fire over his past predicaments during a Senate showdown.
Colin Allred, last year’s Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, speaks at a campaign rally in Houston on Oct. 25. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
The eventual winner of next year’s GOP primary will be considered the favorite in the general election against whomever the Democrats nominate.
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Former Rep. Colin Allred has said he’ll decide by this summer if he’ll mount a 2026 Senate campaign.
Allred, a former Baylor University football player and NFL linebacker who later represented Texas’ 32nd Congressional District (which includes parts of Dallas and surrounding suburbs), was last year’s Democratic challenger in the race against Cruz.
Texas,Senate,US,Congress,Donald Trump,Elections,Politics
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EN VIVO |Israel llevó a cabo una nueva oleada de ataques aéreos en Teherán contra el régimen iraní
Según comunicados militares difundidos en ocasiones similares, este tipo de operaciones suele dirigirse contra instalaciones vinculadas a la producción de armas, centros de mando y otros objetivos estratégicos en la capital iraní, aunque en este caso no se precisaron los blancos alcanzados
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ofrecerá este lunes una conferencia de prensa junto a autoridades militares en la Casa Blanca, en medio del ultimátum que fijó a Irán para reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz antes del martes bajo amenaza de ataques contra infraestructura clave y eventuales medidas sobre recursos petroleros.
El mandatario elevó el tono en declaraciones públicas y en redes sociales. En una entrevista con The Wall Street Journal, afirmó: “Si no hacen algo antes del martes por la noche, no tendrán ninguna central eléctrica y no les quedará ningún puente en pie”. En su plataforma Truth Social, escribió: “Abran el maldito estrecho, bastardos locos, o vivirán en el infierno”. Desde Teherán, el portavoz del Ministerio de Exteriores, Esmaeil Baghaei, respondió: “En caso de que se ataque la infraestructura de Irán, reaccionaríamos de la misma manera”.
En paralelo, el régimen iraní lanzó múltiples ataques contra Israel y países del Golfo. En Israel se reportaron al menos dos muertos y dos desaparecidos en Haifa, mientras que Kuwait, Arabia Saudita y Dubái informaron interceptaciones de misiles en sus respectivos territorios.
A continuación, la cobertura minuto a minuto:
El ejército de Israel atacó posiciones del grupo terrorista Hezbollah en el Líbano
La Fuerza Aérea israelí destruyó una serie de infraestructuras y depósitos de armas pertenecientes a Hezbolá en distintas zonas del Líbano, según nueva documentación difundida sobre los ataques. Los objetivos, de acuerdo con la información oficial, se encontraban ocultos en el corazón de la población civil.
Como parte del operativo, en los últimos días se identificaron y atacaron lanzadores y arsenales escondidos en edificios civiles e infraestructuras en varias áreas del país. Según las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI), la organización Hezbolá opera desde dentro de la población civil y la utiliza para llevar adelante ataques contra ciudadanos israelíes y fuerzas militares.
Antes de los bombardeos, se aplicaron medidas para reducir los daños a civiles, entre ellas el uso de armamento de precisión, vigilancia aérea e inteligencia adicional. Las FDI afirmaron que continuarán actuando contra Hezbolá, al que acusan de operar bajo los auspicios del régimen iraní, y señalaron que buscan impedir ataques contra la población israelí, en especial en el norte del país.
El régimen de Irán ejecutó a un hombre por sus “vínculos” con EEUU e Israel
Irán ejecutó este lunes a un hombre condenado por actuar en nombre de Israel y Estados Unidos durante la ola de protestas antigubernamentales registrada a comienzos de este año, según informó el poder judicial. “Ali Fahim, uno de los elementos enemigos en los disturbios terroristas de Dey (enero)… fue ahorcado después de que la Corte Suprema revisara el caso y confirmara el veredicto”, indicó el sitio Mizan Online.
La ejecución se produjo en el contexto de las protestas que estallaron a finales de diciembre por el aumento del costo de vida y que luego derivaron en manifestaciones antigubernamentales a nivel nacional, con su punto más alto los días 8 y 9 de enero. También se enmarca en la guerra entre Irán, Israel y Estados Unidos iniciada el 28 de febrero tras ataques que acabaron con la vida del líder supremo Ali Khamenei.
Según Mizan, Fahim fue condenado por trabajar contra Irán en nombre del “régimen sionista y de Estados Unidos”, además de irrumpir en una instalación militar clasificada para apoderarse de armas. Las autoridades sostuvieron que las protestas comenzaron de forma pacífica y luego derivaron en “disturbios instigados por extranjeros”, con más de 3.000 muertos, mientras que la organización HRANA reportó más de 7.000 fallecidos, en su mayoría manifestantes.
El ejército de Israel anunció que está interceptando misiles iraníes en el sur del país
El ejército israelí interceptó misiles iraníes dirigidos al sur del país, en un nuevo episodio de la escalada militar entre ambos países, según informaron medios locales.
De acuerdo con reportes de la prensa israelí, el ataque activó las alarmas en varias zonas del sur, incluida la ciudad de Beersheba, y fue neutralizado por los sistemas de defensa aérea sin que se registraran víctimas.
El Canal 12 indicó que no hubo heridos tras la interceptación, en lo que constituye el más reciente de una serie de ataques lanzados por Irán contra territorio israelí durante la mañana, en el marco de un intercambio sostenido de misiles y drones entre ambas partes.
Una mujer resultó herida en el centro de Israel
Una mujer resultó herida de gravedad en el centro de Israel y se registraron al menos 15 puntos de impacto tras los últimos ataques iraníes, según informaron medios locales.
El portal Ynet News señaló que una mujer de 34 años sufrió heridas “graves” por misiles interceptores en Petah Tikva. Además, reportó la existencia de “al menos 15 sitios de impacto” en distintas zonas del centro del país y daños en un edificio en Tel Aviv.
Por su parte, el Canal 2 difundió imágenes de columnas de humo sobre Gush Dan y Bnei Brak, así como un video que muestra daños menores en un edificio de Tel Aviv.
Un herido en Abu Dhabi tras un ataque iraní
Un ciudadano extranjero resultó herido en Abu Dhabi, según informaron las autoridades locales, en un incidente vinculado a la caída de metralla tras la interceptación de un ataque aéreo.
La oficina de prensa de la ciudad indicó que un ciudadano ghanés residente sufrió “heridas moderadas” cuando fragmentos impactaron en la empresa Rinn Systems, ubicada en la zona de Musaffah, luego de una interceptación exitosa por parte de los sistemas de defensa aérea.
Las autoridades instaron a la población a informarse a través de canales oficiales. “Las autoridades competentes instan al público a obtener información únicamente de fuentes oficiales y a evitar la difusión de rumores o información no verificada”, señaló la oficina en una publicación en X.
Israel llevó a cabo una nueva oleada de ataques aéreos en Teherán contra el régimen iraní
Las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI) informaron que la Fuerza Aérea israelí completó recientemente una serie de ataques contra instalaciones de infraestructura del régimen iraní en Teherán, en el marco de la escalada del conflicto en la región.
Según comunicados militares difundidos en ocasiones similares, este tipo de operaciones suele dirigirse contra instalaciones vinculadas a la producción de armas, centros de mando y otros objetivos estratégicos en la capital iraní, aunque en este caso no se precisaron los blancos alcanzados.
Las autoridades israelíes no facilitaron más detalles de inmediato sobre el alcance de los ataques ni sobre posibles daños o víctimas.
War,Middle East,Military Conflicts
INTERNACIONAL
Desplazados por la guerra, cristianos de Líbano celebran Pascua lejos de sus hogares e iglesias
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Pair of Democrat lawmakers slam ‘blockade of fuel’ to Cuba, ‘economic bombing’ after visit to island
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Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., said after a congressional delegation returned from Cuba that U.S. economic restrictions on the island represented an «illegal U.S. blockade of fuel» and «effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country.»
The lawmakers, following their five-day delegation to Cuba, spoke out against what they described as a humanitarian crisis on the island that they argue is linked to the U.S. embargo.
«The illegal U.S. blockade of fuel to Cuba—90 miles south of the United States—adds to the longest embargo in world history and is causing untold suffering to the Cuban people,» the lawmakers said in a statement on Sunday. «The United States prevented a single drop of oil from entering Cuba for over three months. This is cruel collective punishment—effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country—that has produced permanent damage. It must stop immediately.»
US ALLOWS RUSSIAN OIL TANKER TO REACH CUBA AMID BLOCKADE AS TRUMP SAYS ISLAND ‘HAS TO SURVIVE’
Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson said after a delegation to Cuba that there was a humanitarian crisis on the island. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«We witnessed firsthand premature babies in incubators, weighing just two pounds, who are at tremendous risk because their ventilators and incubators cannot function without electricity,» they continued. «Children cannot attend school because there is no fuel for them or their teachers to travel. Cancer patients cannot receive lifesaving treatments because of lack of medications. There is a water shortage because there is little electricity to pump water. Businesses have closed. Families cannot keep food refrigerated, and food production on the island has dropped to just 10 percent of the people’s needs.»
This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his pressure campaign on Cuba in recent weeks, calling the island a «failed nation» and suggesting that «Cuba is next» following recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela and Iran.
The trip came after Jayapal and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced legislation to block federal funds for military action against Cuba without congressional approval.
The two lawmakers spoke out against what they described as an «illegal U.S. blockade of fuel» and «effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country.» (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Jayapal and Jackson said they spoke with families, religious leaders, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, the Cuban government, Latin American and African ambassadors, humanitarian aid organizations and Cubans across the political spectrum, including dissidents.
«Across all sectors, there is agreement: this illegal blockade must end immediately. We do not believe that the majority of Americans would want this kind of cruelty and inhumanity to continue in our name,» the lawmakers said.
The pair added that the Cuban government «has sent many signals that this is a new moment for the country.»
«While we were there, President Diaz-Canel released over 2,000 prisoners. The Cuban government has begun to liberalize its economy with significant reforms, including allowing Cuban American entrepreneurs to invest in private businesses in Cuba. Entrepreneurship has grown substantially, with small- and medium-sized private businesses now comprising large parts of the economy,» the statement said.
CUBA RELEASES 2,000 PRISONERS AMID TRUMP PRESSURE, ENERGY CRISIS
U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his pressure campaign on Cuba in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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«Significantly, the Cuban government has invited in the FBI to conduct an independent investigation of a lethal speedboat shooting,» it continued. «The remaining obstacles to progress in Cuba now rest with the United States changing our outdated, Cold War-era policy of coercive economic measures and military pressures against Cuba.»
Jayapal and Jackson went on to say that «true reform will only come from charting a new course.»
«The United States and Cuba must immediately enter into real negotiations that provide for the dignity and freedom of the Cuban people and the tremendous benefits to the American people that will accrue from a real collaboration between our two countries,» they concluded.
cuba, world, politics, donald trump, energy
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