INTERNACIONAL
Texas Dems also skipped town in 2021 to avoid a vote, and several caught COVID-19 in DC
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Texas House Democrats departed the state Sunday in an attempt to halt a redistricting Monday vote, claiming that the legislation is «using an intentionally racist map» to undermine the voices of Black and Latino voters in the state of Texas.
Democrats’ absence means that Republicans are unable to go ahead with a scheduled vote under House rules, blocking the potential passage of redistricting legislation that would establish a new congressional map that could lead to five new GOP U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
«This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,» state Rep. Gene Wu, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday.
TEXAS DEMOCRATS FLEE STATE TO BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING VOTE IN DRAMATIC LEGISLATIVE MOVE
J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, left, and State Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat from Texas, during a news conference at the Democratic Party of DuPage County office in Carol Stream, Illinois, Aug. 3, 2025.
Most of the House Democrats fled to Chicago, while others headed to New York and Boston.
The Texas House stipulates that at least 100 members of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business, and roughly 50 Democrats are absent — meaning the vote is stalled until they return. It’s unclear how Democrats plan to proceed, and Wu told reporters that precise plans were still up in the air.
The redistricting legislation would shift Democrat voters from toss-up districts into ones that are more solidly Republican, and also move other Republican voters into districts that lean more toward Democrats — ultimately paving the way for more GOP seats.
This isn’t the first time Democrats have fled the state in protest of legislation.
In July 2021, more than 50 Democrats also left the state of Texas and headed to Washington, D.C., to tie up Texas legislation that would implement new voting restrictions in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s loss of the 2020 election, which some Republicans claimed was «stolen.»
Specifically, the measure Democrats opposed included new voter ID restrictions for those voting by mail and prohibited drive-by voting and extended voting hours. Likewise, the measure included new limitations for those who work at the polls, and barred local election officials from distributing a mail-in ballot to anyone who hadn’t officially requested one.
Democrats ultimately returned to Texas weeks later, after multiple members caught COVID-19 while in D.C., and House Republicans finally passed the measure in August 2021 before Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law in September 2021.
TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to arrest the Democrats who departed the state Sunday, should they not be back by 3 p.m. Monday when the Texas House reconvenes. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Abbott threatened to arrest the Democrats who departed the state Sunday, should they not be back by 3 p.m. Monday when the Texas House reconvenes. Even so, there is no indication of when the Democrats plan to return to Texas.
«Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business,» Abbot said in a statement late Sunday.
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The Texas Democrats have attracted support from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who labeled the Democrats’ decision to flee Texas a «righteous act of courage,» and accused Republicans of attempting to silence «millions of voices, especially Black and Latino voters.»
«Texas Democrats were left with no choice but to leave their home state, block a vote from taking place and protect their constituents,» Pritzker said in a news conference Sunday.
The Texas Democrats have attracted support from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who labeled the Democrats’ decision to flee Texas a «righteous act of courage.» (Mark Black/The Associated Press)
Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
texas,greg abbott,new york city,chicago,boston
La orden del ministro de Defensa
Un tanque del ejército de Israel, cerca de la frontera con Gaza, este miércoles. Foto: REUTERS Benjamin Netanyahu reúne a su gabinete de seguridad
Más muertos en un centro de distribución de comida
Camiones con ayuda humanitaria esperan para entrar a la Franja de Gaza por el cruce de Rafah, en la frontera con Egipto. Foto: AP INTERNACIONAL
‘Should have been prepared’: GOP senators fight for unified message on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
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Now that the Senate has fled Washington until after Labor Day, Republicans finally have a chance to sell President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» to their constituents, but some fear that Democrats already have an advantage in the messaging war.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said that Republicans could «absolutely» do better in selling the colossal bill to combat Democrats’ «lies.»
«Well, we should have been prepared right off the bat and talked about, ‘No, we’re not talking about reforming Medicaid designed for [women, children and the elderly]. We’re looking at how we can save and preserve it and repair the damage done by the Obamacare addition to it,’» he told Fox News Digital. «We should have been talking about that, but we didn’t.»
SENATE GOP READY TO GO NUCLEAR AFTER SCHUMER’S ‘POLITICAL EXTORTION’ OF NOMINEES
President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Since Trump signed the bill into law, and throughout the entire process to get it to his desk, Democrats have largely been unified in their attacks against the bill, rebranding it as Republicans’ «big, ugly betrayal,» and targeting cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and a litany of other policies.
«It’s a very unpopular bill, so if I were them, I would probably go out and start trying to spin,» Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital.
Messaging against the bill has become routine in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s floor speeches, where he often targets the cuts to Medicaid touted by the GOP as reforms to a broken system.
«The more Americans learn about the Republicans’ bill, the more they are realizing that Donald Trump and Republicans sold them a raw deal,» the New York Democrat said in a floor speech last week. «The Republicans’ ‘big, ugly betrayal’ is one of the most devastating bills for Americans’ healthcare that we’ve ever seen.»
TRUMP TELLS SCHUMER TO ‘GO TO HELL’ OVER SENATE NOMINEE DEAL FUNDING DEMANDS AFTER NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSE
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., turns to an aide during a news conference where he commented on Elon Musk’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s spending and tax bill, at the Capitol in Washington on June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Polling of the bill’s favorability among Americans is also working against Republicans. A Fox News poll conducted in June after the House GOP passed the legislation found that 59% of respondents opposed the bill.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., charged that «90% of the media is lying» about the bill, and countered that Republicans were actually increasing Medicaid spending faster than the rate of inflation «to the tune of $200 billion a year when it’s all said.»
«This is not the first message like this that we’ve struggled to get the truth through,» he told Fox News Digital.
«Republicans need to lean into it,» he continued. «We worked really hard, and we’re going to save and preserve Medicaid for those who need it the most. And we need to be sharing that.»
TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE THE SENATE’S VERSION OF TRUMP’S BILL
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) arrives for a Senate Republican Caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 2, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., contended that Republicans shouldn’t be shy about the work they put into the bill.
Hawley, shortly after the bill passed early last month, held an event in his home state pushing the bill. He, alongside former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., lauded the bill’s inclusion of his Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which renewed and expanded compensation funding for people exposed to nuclear waste.
When asked if Republicans had gotten off to a slow start on selling the bill, he said that too much time had been devoted to talking «about Medicaid, for my own taste.»
«It’s less of that,» he said. «Talk about the tax cuts in this bill for working people, you know. I mean, that’s what people want. I mean, I was asked when I went home. I was asked immediately by people, ‘When are those no taxes on tips? When does that start?’ So, I mean, people are tracking it, but they’re tracking what’s for them.»
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And Sen. Tommy Tubberville, R-Ala., charged that Democrats had «zero credibility» when it came to bashing the GOP for cuts and reforms.
«We got a lot of time,» he told Fox News Digital. «There will be a lot of water underneath the bridge. You won’t hear about the ‘big, beautiful bill’ here in another year because there’s going to be a couple more big, beautiful bills.»
politics,senate,donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
NATO member scrambles jets after Russian drone attack near border, as Witkoff meets with Putin
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Romania was forced to scramble F-16 jets after Russia carried out a strike just half a mile from the NATO nation’s territory.
The country’s Ministry of National Defense (MApN) confirmed in a post on X that Russia carried out a drone attack near its border.
«On the night of August 5-6, the Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the civilian infrastructure in the Ismail area, Ukraine, in the vicinity of the border with Romania,» Romania’s defense ministry wrote in a post on X.
«The radar systems of the MApN detected air targets in Ukrainian space, close to Tulcea County. At 1:10a.m., the population in the north of the county was warned via RO-Alert,» the ministry added. RO-Alert is Romania’s official emergency warning system.
Flames and plumes of smoke in Ukraine seen from Romania as Russia continues the war. (East2West news)
NATO JETS SCRAMBLED AMID RUSSIA’S LARGEST DRONE ATTACK ON UKRAINE
The defense ministry stated that two F-16 fighter jets took off «to monitor the national airspace,» but no «unauthorized intrusions» were detected. The ministry said it would carry out checks in the area and keep NATO allies updated in real time.
The drones reportedly struck oil and gas pipelines at the Orlivka plant in Odesa, Ukraine. Bright orange flames and plumes of smoke were visible across the Danube River.
Nearby Lithuania has also suffered from Russia’s war on Ukraine. Drones from Putin ally Belarus crossed into its territory, according to Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys, who said he spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
«These repeated incidents represent an alarming sign of the spillover of Russia’s aggression against [Ukraine] onto [NATO territory],» Budrys said of the incident. «We cannot compromise the security of our country and citizens, nor the integrity of NATO airspace. We must remain vigilant, as the threat is real and growing.»
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow, Russia Aug. 6, 2025. (Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters)
RUSSIA LAUNCHED ITS LARGEST AERIAL ATTACK OF THE WAR, UKRAINE SAYS
This attack could signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not moving closer to reaching a ceasefire deal, despite President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline. It’s unclear whether Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit will push the Russian leader to move toward peace. However, if Moscow fails to make a deal by Friday, the U.S. will impose sanctions on Russia and potentially secondary tariffs.
Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Witkoff’s visit. One person close to the administration told the Financial Times that «if Witkoff comes back empty-handed, with absolutely nothing, Trump is going to go ballistic.»
President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Witkoff reportedly spent about three hours at the Kremlin and, according to Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, the «dialogue will prevail,» Reuters reported.
TRUMP CONFIRMS NUCLEAR SUBMARINES «IN THE REGION» AHEAD OF WITKOFF’S RUSSIA VISIT
Before setting the deadline, Trump reportedly spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about securing a deal that would end the brutal war more than three years after Russia’s invasion. Zelenskyy later confirmed the conversation took place, saying that the «key focus» was ending the war.
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«Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States. We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities,» Zelenskyy wrote on X.
East2West News contributed to this report.
russia,nato,ukraine,europe
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