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Abbott scores big win in redistricting battle as Texas Democrats’ blockade collapses

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The Texas State House on Wednesday passed a new congressional map, blasting through a Democratic roadblock in a bid to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto the U.S. House next year.
The map passed the Republican-controlled House in a 88-52 vote, setting up a new look for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections with the addition of five Republican-leaning congressional districts in the Lone Star State.
Still, the map must make its way through the Texas State Senate before it lands on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
TEXAS DEMS END WEEKSLONG QUORUM STANDOFF IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a bill signing in the State Capitol April 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Abbott pushed for the creation of a new map to adhere to President Donald Trump’s desire to not see a repeat of the 2018 election cycle, when Democrats handily regained the majority in the House and acted as a foil to the president’s legislative desires toward the end of his first term.
While Republicans control a supermajority in deep-red Texas and already passed the map through the state Senate, Democrats still needed to create a quorum in the House to actually move the process along.
ABBOTT, TEXAS REPUBLICANS LAUNCH NEW TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH AS FLEEING DEMOCRATS PLAN TO END WALKOUT

President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
Dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state to stall the process, creating a national media frenzy and generating support from Democratic donors, including groups linked to George Soros and Beto O’Rourke, to help pay for their fines, travel and lodging.
It generated pushes to have them arrested by Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as a request from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to have the FBI track them down and the DOJ to launch an investigation into the political action committees funding their escape.
O’ROURKE, SOROS-LINKED GROUPS FACE CALL FOR DOJ PROBE OVER ALLEGED FUNDING OF TEXAS DEM WALKOUT
Democratic leaders announced Monday they would return for the second special session following California’s plan to redraw its maps to soften the blow from the Lone Star State, ending the blockade and allowing Republicans to charge ahead.
Texas House Democrats accused the GOP of crafting a map that was illegal and racially discriminatory, and they tried and failed on the House floor to add amendments to the bill that would have halted the process. Despite Democrats’ best efforts, Texas House Republicans shot down a dozen amendments to the bill.
«Members, it breaks my heart to see how this illegal and rigged, mid-decade redistricting scheme is dividing our state and our country,» Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat, said. «This is Texas, it’s not Washington D.C. The impulses of outside politicians and their billionaire backers shouldn’t dictate what we do in this chamber, in this House.»

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom (Reuters)
Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who wrote the bill for the new map, countered that four of the five new districts were «majority-minority Hispanic,» noting that each of the new districts now trended Republican. Still, he had no qualms as to why Republicans were pursuing changes to the congressional maps.
«The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward, [to] improve Republican political performance,» he said.
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The Democrats’ blockade ended on Monday, when Abbott called for a second special session after their demands for California to also begin a redistricting cycle were met in an effort to nullify the map Texas Republicans were creating.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democrats unveiled their new map last week, which, if passed, would create five new Democratic-leaning congressional districts that would counteract the Texas legislature’s new map.
donald trump,texas,greg abbott,politics
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«¡Callate cerdita!»: 2025, un año difícil para los periodistas, con pocas esperanzas de mejorar

Seguimiento de asesinatos y agresiones a periodistas
Periodistas aprenden pronto que tienen una lucha entre manos
Algunos motivos para el optimismo
INTERNACIONAL
Fraud engulfs Minnesota as another blue state kicks off New Year with ID for trains — not votes

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While Minnesota grapples with a burgeoning fraud crisis, one blue state that still does not require photo ID to vote will require residents seeking to pay a reduced fare on state-owned transit present one in order to qualify.
Reduced-fare on NJTransit, and mass transit in other states, is often offered to senior citizens, military personnel or the infirm. Meanwhile, officials in Minnesota are grappling with a multifaceted fraud scandal involving subsidies paid to largely Somali-led outfits and interests that are allegedly illegitimate and often appear unverified as well.
However, New Jersey is one of 14 states that does not require the same stringent photo identification to be shown at the polls on election day.
The discrepancy spurred an uproar online as the local outlet Shore News Network drew attention to it in its reporting of the new reduced-fare ID requirement.
RED STATE GOVERNOR TOUTS MEDICAID SAVINGS AS MINNESOTA GRAPPLES WITH WIDESPREAD FRAUD ALLEGATIONS
New Jersey Transit bus 159R drives through Lincoln Harbor in Hoboken. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
«Starting January 1, photo ID required for NJ Transit reduced fares but not for voting,» a headline from the Rutherford-based outlet read.
«This change is only for customers who have been using an NJ Transit issued non-photo ID as proof of reduced fare eligibility,» NJ Transit spokesman John Chartier told NJAdvanceMedia.
Current non-photo reduced-fare ID cards will no longer be accepted as of Thursday, according to the agency, which announced that Jerseyans must apply for a new photo ID either in-person or by mail – while providing NJTransit proof of age and/or disability and a recent photo.
COMER WARNS ‘WALLS ARE CAVING IN’ ON TIM WALZ AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WIDENS
NJ Transit said all non-photo Reduced Fare IDs will become invalid after the new year. Riders must apply for the new, free photo ID card online, by mail, or in person, providing proof of age or disability along with a recent photo, according to Shore News Network.
By contrast, on election day, voters must include their state driver’s license number on their registration form.
Failing to include that number on a registration form would then require identification be presented onsite for first-time voters; which could include a license or a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document – not all of which have a photographic component.
MINNESOTA DEM SENATE CANDIDATE FACES CALL FROM OPPONENT TO APOLOGIZE OVER VIRAL ‘PANDERING’ HIJAB VIDEO
«This is how ridiculous Democrat-run states are,» one X user said. «Beginning January 1st, a photo ID will be required for the Reduced Fair Program, but it is still not required to vote. This is how they keep states blue by cheating.»
The volunteer good-governance organization New Jersey Project also slammed state policies:
«Photo ID needed for NJ Transit discounts but not for voting. Starting January,» the group said.
WALZ SLAMMED IN WAKE OF VIRAL VIDEO THAT RAISES DAYCARE FUNDING QUESTIONS: ‘NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE’
«Priorities, Trenton?»
The blog New Jersey News wrote that state officials often claim voter ID «disenfranchises minorities» who cannot get such identification.
«Guess they won’t be riding the train either,» the outlet said.
MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS
The group «Wake Up NJ» also fired back at the new policy, citing the same disparity between arguments against voter-ID and the state’s actions toward reduced-fare straphangers.
«New Jersey expects you to get that reduced fare for New Jersey Transit, but it’s OK [if you don’t] for voting,» they said.
The photo ID rule in-practice will allow a rider who goes a short distance on a state bus – considered a «Zone 1» fare – to pay 85 cents instead of the full $1.85. Commuters going to «Zone 3» – immediate suburbs of New York City – pay $5.30, but would be able to pay $2.40 under the reduced-fare ID policy.
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Longer trips see larger savings as NJTransit’s special limited-stop service on the Garden State Parkway from New York to Toms River and Atlantic City currently costs $57.40 to hit the casinos. Showing a reduced-fare ID card would allow the rider to pay $25.80.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, for comment.
voter fraud concerns,minnesota fraud exposed,voting,travel,new jersey,business regulation
INTERNACIONAL
Iran launches satellites on Russian rockets as Moscow-Tehran ties deepen

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While the United States presses for negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Russia is signaling a parallel strategy — deepening cooperation with U.S. adversaries and portraying itself as resistant to Western pressure.
That posture was on display this week when Iran announced that three of its domestically designed satellites were launched into orbit aboard a Russian rocket.
The launch was broadcast by Iran’s Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam News Network, which aired footage showing the satellites lifting off from Russian territory. The Associated Press and Reuters reported that the satellites were carried into orbit aboard a Russian rocket launched from eastern Russia, marking the seventh time Iran has conducted a satellite launch with Russian assistance.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS AT ‘TOTAL WAR’ WITH THE US, ISRAEL AND EUROPE: REPORTS
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands as they meet in Moscow, Russia Jan. 17, 2025. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool via Reuters)
Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said the satellites were «designed and produced by Iranian scientists,» adding that cooperation between Tehran and Moscow continues «despite all the sanctions and threats,» according to Iranian state media cited by Reuters.
Iranian officials claim the satellites are intended for civilian purposes, including environmental monitoring and agriculture, though Western governments have long warned that Iran’s space program could advance technologies applicable to ballistic missile development.
The launch underscored a broader strategic relationship between Moscow that has expanded significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Iran has supplied Russia with drones and other military equipment used on the battlefield, while Russia has provided diplomatic cover, economic cooperation and advanced technical support amid sweeping Western sanctions on both countries.
IRAN REPORTEDLY DEVELOPING CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL MISSILE WARHEADS AS PROTESTS SPREAD OVER COLLAPSING ECONOMY

A Russian warship and an Iranian army speed boat attend a joint naval exercise on Tuesday. (AP/Iranian Army)
The growing Russia-Iran alignment comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to rise. After President Donald Trump recently warned that the United States could strike Iran again if it attempted to rebuild its nuclear program, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a sharp response.
According to the Associated Press, Pezeshkian said any U.S. attack would be met with a «harsh and discouraging» response. Iranian officials framed the warning as defensive, arguing it was meant to deter potential U.S. aggression rather than signal an intention to initiate conflict. Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is peaceful, a claim the United States and its allies dispute.
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Russian army Mi-24 helicopters fly above a warship at the Turali range on the Caspian Sea coast in the Republic of Dagestan in Southern Russia on Sept. 23, 2020 during the «Caucasus-2020» military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. (Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images)
The exchange highlights how Iran and Russia are increasingly positioning themselves as partners pushing back against U.S. pressure, even as Washington attempts to pursue diplomacy on multiple fronts. Russia has portrayed its partnerships with Iran and other sanctioned states as evidence that Western efforts to isolate Moscow have failed, while Iran has used its cooperation with Russia to showcase technological resilience under sanctions.
iran,russia,vladimir putin,donald trump,air and space
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