Cornyn and Paxton flood Texas airwaves in final day of GOP Senate runoff

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Voters in Texas will see little of theRepublican candidatesfor U.S. Senate on Monday. But that's only if they stay away from screens.

Election 2026 Texas

There were no public campaign events scheduled for Sen.John Cornynnor state Attorney GeneralKen Paxtonon the final day of their more than yearlong quest for the GOP nomination. Instead, their fight for Tuesday's runoff continues as it has for months — intense and unabated — through advertising that has topped $109 million, heavily from Cornyn's side.

Cornyn is scheduled to host an annual, non-campaign event in San Antonio to recognize high school graduates attending the nation's service academies. The senator seeking a fifth term held his last public campaign event in Corpus Christi on Friday, ahead of Tuesday’s voting.

Paxton headlinedhis last events Thursdayin the Austin area and in San Antonio, content to let his campaign and a super PAC carry his primary message: thatPresident Donald Trump endorsed himon May 19.

Trump's announcement and accompanying dismissal of Cornyn, who has had an awkward public relationship with the president, came on the second day of early voting, which ended Friday.

Though the candidates were quiet over the weekend, Trump reaffirmed his support for Paxton on Sunday, and disparaged Cornyn as insufficiently loyal to him.

Paxton, Trump posted on social media, “was also very loyal to your favorite President, ME,” while calling Cornyn “VERY disloyal to me.” It was Trump's strongest rebuke of Cornyn, who had dismissed his 2024 comeback chances, and echoed the president's reproach ofLouisiana Sen. Bill Cassidybefore he lost in the May 15 GOP Senate primary.

After Trump's jabs, Cornyn still leaned into his support for the president just before Monday's event. The senator said that 99.3% of his votes aligned with Trump, that he “wants him to be successful” and then he referenced Trump’s previous comments “where he called me a good man and a friend.”

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As for endorsing his opponent, “obviously the president is entitled to make his pick," he said, but “Texans are a pretty independent breed and people will be making their own choices.”

Following Trump's call for retribution, Republican voters in Indiana and Kentucky have also chosen GOP primary challengers over incumbent GOP officeholders who have crossed the president or opposed his agenda.

For a contest that is expected to draw a fraction of Texas’ 18.7 million voters, the two candidates’ campaigns and supporting groups were continuing to bombard all Texans with advertising, though more by Cornyn's backers than Paxton's.

"It’s just a slug fest, with the campaigns and third-party groups slugging it out,” said Wayne Hamilton, a former executive director of the Texas Republican Party.

The combination of Cornyn's campaign and supporting super PACs has far outspent pro-Paxton groups over the past year, by almost nine-to-one. But the gap has shrunk as the runoff has approached. In the final week of the campaign, the combination of pro-Cornyn ad spending was less than twice that of Paxton's group.

Cornyn's network continued to air spots attacking Paxton over ethical and personal questions that have shadowed him with little effect throughout the campaign. The senator's consequent argument to voters is that Paxton would struggle in the general election and threaten to flip the seat blue.

“Paxton’s flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election is going to be exploited to the fullest by James Talarico,” he told reporters, before heading into Monday's ceremony and giving a speech devoid of campaign politics to the assembled graduates.

Cornyn’s campaign also had reprised an ad noting his tendency to vote in the Senate for Trump’s priorities.

Paxton's campaign and groups supporting him transitioned midweek to all ads noting Trump's endorsement, though Paxton's primary super PAC, Lone Star Liberty Fund, began airing one over the weekend aimed at raising questions about state Rep. James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate nominee.

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 25, 2026

Cornyn and Paxton flood Texas airwaves in final day of GOP Senate runoff

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Voters in Texas will see little of theRepublican candidatesfor U.S. Senate on Monday. But that's only if they st...

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Trump says Iran deal should include additional countries joining Abraham Accords

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join theAbraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump's first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

Trump America 250 Memorial Day

Trump said in a social media postthat negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the 2020 accords.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran dealfaced criticismfrom fellow Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic complications to the negotiations.

Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

Trump has longhoped Saudi Arabiawould join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That's also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

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Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on Trump's list.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently,Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 25, 2026

Trump says Iran deal should include additional countries joining Abraham Accords

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several ad...

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WHO chief says fast-moving Ebola epidemic is outpacing response efforts

May 25 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the ‌fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of ‌Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the latest ​number of suspected deaths as 220.

WHO chief says fast-moving Ebola epidemic is outpacing response efforts

Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting ‌Ebola cases meant ⁠responders were now "playing catch-up" and the epidemic was likely to get worse before ⁠it gets better.

Tedros said he would travel to Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday with ​another senior ​WHO official responsible for ​addressing health emergencies, Chikwe ‌Ihekweazu.

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Earlier on Monday neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering Congo were at high risk and should take ‌immediate action.

The WHO has declared ​the outbreak of the rare ​Bundibugyo strain of ​Ebola a public health emergency of ‌international concern.

Tedros said containing the ​fast-moving outbreak ​was complicated by the fact that Congo's Ituri and North Kivu provinces were highly insecure and ​there were ‌no approved vaccines for Bundibugyo virus.

(Reporting by Vincent ​Mumo Nzilani and Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander ​Winning and Gareth Jones)

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 25, 2026

WHO chief says fast-moving Ebola epidemic is outpacing response efforts

May 25 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the ‌fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic...

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A Palestinian woman and a young girl were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian woman and a young girl were killed in anIsraeli airstrike in southern Gazaon Monday, hospital authorities said.

APTOPIX Israel Palestinians Gaza

The strike hit a tent sheltering a displaced family in the area of Muwasi, on the western side of Khan Younis, according to the Kuwait field hospital, which received the casualties. The hospital said another girl was wounded.

The military said it had struck a militant, but gave no further details.

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The fatalities were the latest among Palestinians in the coastal enclave sincean October ceasefire dealattempted to halt amore than two-year warbetween Israel and the Palestinian militantHamasgroup in Gaza. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the shaky ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 880 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, is generally seen as reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to violations of the truce or threats to its troops. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 25, 2026

A Palestinian woman and a young girl were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian woman and a young girl were killed in anIsraeli airstrike in southern Gazaon Monday, hos...

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Is my neighbor allowed to park in front of my house? What NJ law says

Many have experienced the ultimate frustration of coming home after a long day and finding an unfamiliar car in front of their house ⸺ or in the worst case ⸺ in their usual parking spot.

Whether the neighbors are throwing a party or people are simply visiting the area, someone parking in front of your house can be annoying.

But is it legally allowed?

According to Nolo, a publishing company on legal concerns, the answer is yes.

“An individual citizen does not ‘own’ or have any ongoing exclusive right to use a parking space on a public street,” said attorney Brian Farkas in a2023 Nolo article. “These spaces are open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Exceptions to this rule include neighborhoods with specifically allocated parking spaces to a home’s occupant, which would typically be outlined in a rental or homeowner agreement.

These accommodations are more prevalent in suburban areas, but rarer in large cities, said Farkas.

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Of course, drivers must abide by posted street signs and regulations while parking.

New Jersey parking laws for vehicles

New Jersey lawlists over a dozen places where parking is prohibited, including within intersections, on crosswalks, on bridges and other elevated structures, and in front of public and private driveways. Parking within ten feet of a fire hydrant and within 50 feet of the nearest railroad crossing is forbidden. These laws apply at all times unless directed by a police officer or "to avoid conflict with other traffic."

State law, however, allows for municipal ordinances to permit parking in front of private driveways if the driver also owns the driveway, is in the same household as the driveway owner or is authorized to park there by the owner. This rule is on the basis that allowing this specific parking "would not interfere with the normal flow of traffic."

Municipalities have varying limits for how long a vehicle can be parked in the same spot. Typically, a vehicle can be parked for up to 48 hours before it is subject to removal,according to state law.

Talking it out

For the most part, street parking is legal. To avoid conflict with neighbors, Farkas suggests a face-to-face discussion to reach an agreement before getting law enforcement or town personnel involved. For example, neighbors can alternate parking weekly if necessary and assuming no one else will park in this spot.

"It is to your mutual advantage to keep each other's needs in mind so that you can both park in peace,” the Nolo article says.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press:Can you legally park in front of someone's house in New Jersey?

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 24, 2026

Is my neighbor allowed to park in front of my house? What NJ law says

Many have experienced the ultimate frustration of coming home after a long day and finding an unfamiliar car in front of their house ⸺ ...

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Iran's supreme leader is holed up in undisclosed location, U.S. intel says

Iran agrees in principle to dispose of highly-enriched uranium, White House official says 03:41

U.S. intelligence shows thatIran's supreme leaderis effectively holed up in an undisclosed location with little access to the outside world and is only reached by a labyrinth of couriers, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.

The Iranian officials authorized to work with the Trump administration have been having a difficult time communicating inside of their own government system — and it's a central reason why the details of a potential deal with Iran and past agreements have been slow to emerge.

When the U.S. sends proposed details, the difficulty in reaching the supreme leader means there can be a long delay before the U.S. receives a response, two of the officials said.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment on intelligence on the supreme leader's whereabouts or Iranian communication methods.

A senior administration official said Sunday the supreme leader hadagreed to the contoursof the current draft agreement, and President Trump posted on Truth Social that he anticipated final word in the next few days.

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in U.S. and Israeli strikes in Operation Epic Fury, is taking extreme measures to avoid the strikes similar to the ones that killed his father,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until Feb. 28. Mojtaba Khamenei has not been officially seen or heard in public since before the start of the war.

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U.S. and Israeli intelligence obtained from inside the Iranian government has made it possible to locate and eliminate much of the Iranian senior leadership during the war, one of the officials said.

At this point, most Iranian leaders don't see daylight, spending weeks inside highly fortified bunkers and avoiding speaking to each other unless absolutely necessary, the sources said.

"Watching them try to figure out how to talk to each other is almost like watching a sitcom. They are completely exasperated," one official said.

The most cautious measures are being taken by the supreme leader.

By design, even officials at the highest levels of the Iranian government don't know where he is and have no way to contact him directly.

Instead, messages are passed through a network of couriers created to obscure the supreme leader's location.

"This is why you see people saying things like, 'The supreme leader has agreed to the framework,' or 'We're waiting to hear back on the final deal points.' Every piece of information he receives is dated and there's a lot of latency to his responses," one official said.

The supreme leader has communicated in broad terms to his subordinates, giving them direction on what issues they can negotiate on and which issues shouldn't be discussed.

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 24, 2026

Iran's supreme leader is holed up in undisclosed location, U.S. intel says

Iran agrees in principle to dispose of highly-enriched uranium, White House official says 03:41 U.S. intelligence shows thatIran...

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Republicans who have drawn a hard line on Iran pan Trump's emerging proposal to end the war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’semerging dealto end theIran waris drawing heavy criticism from some fellow Republicans who favor a harder line against the government in Tehran and fear a lost opportunity to finally rein in a longtime Mideast nemesis.

Iran US Pushback

The deal the Republican president had said was “largely negotiated” has left a range of lawmakers, former Cabinet members and conservative analysts wondering aloud whether the terms as currently known will render the conflict all “for naught.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the president's decision to strike Iran was the “most consequential” of his second term and that he should not let up now.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over theStrait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz wrote Saturday on the social media platform X. It was in reaction to Trump's update after he had spoken with the leaders of Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who also is close to Trump, panned any deal that would leave Iran perceived as being a dominant force in the region and in which it would retain its ability to destroy oil infrastructure throughout the Gulf.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the merit of a proposed 60-day ceasefire, saying it would be a “disaster.”

“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” said Wicker, R-Miss.

Trump says it will take time to ‘get it right’

Trump, who has said he only makes good deals and detests being seen as not having the upper hand in any negotiation, dismissed objections to a deal that he said was not “even fully negotiated yet.”

“So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he said on his social media platform.

Trump said the deal he and his representatives are working out is “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of a nuclear pact that Iran agreed to under the Democratic Obama administration. Trump pulled out of that agreement and has been trying to iron out a new one.

“Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” Trump said.

He added that a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports would remain “in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”

Some support for Trump came from Capitol Hill, too.

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GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, often a thorn in the president’s side, defended the White House's approach.

“War virtually always ends with negotiations,” Paul wrote on X. “Critics of President Trump’s peace negotiations should give President Trump the space to find an American First solution.”

Under the proposal,the warwould come to an end and Iran would reopen the strait and give up its stockpile ofhighly enriched uranium, with the details and timelines to be worked out during a later 60-day window, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Critics air objections as details trickle out

Pollsshow the war, which began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, is unpopular with the American public and hascost U.S. taxpayers at least $29 billion, as of this month. Thirteen service members have been killed during the operation.

Trump initially said the war would be over in four weeks to six weeks, but the standoff continues. Iran's closure of the strait, through which about 20% of global energy supplies transit, hasjolted the world economyand sentprices for gasoline and other goodsclimbing.

Mike Pompeo, one of Trump's first-term secretaries of state, asserted on Saturday that the emerging deal seemed to him to be the same as the Obama-era one from which Trump withdrew.

“Not remotely America First,” Pompeo said on X, prompting a profanity-laced rejoinder from Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications.

John Bolton, a national security adviser in the first term who has become a critic of the president, said the emerging plan details seemed to favor the Iranian government.

“If news reports about the impending Iran deal are correct, the ayatollahs will have won a significant victory,” Bolton wrote Sunday on X. “They will be back on the road to nuclear weapons, supporting global terrorism and repressing their own people.”

Rubio says a nuclear Iran is ‘not going to happen’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on Sunday during a diplomatic mission in India, telling reporters at a news conference that no president has been stronger against Iran than Trump.

“His commitment to that principle that they’ll never have a nuclear weapon shouldn’t be questioned by anybody,” Rubio said. “And the idea that somehow this president, given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd. That’s just not going to happen.”

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Trump antagonist who had pushed legislation to restrain the president’s ability to wage war against Iran, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that while the terms are not yet fully known, “if Lindsey Graham and Ted Cuz are crashing out last night, I’d say it’s probably a pretty good deal.”

Massie will leave Congress in Januaryafter incurring Trump's wrath and losing his GOP primary last week to a Trump-backed challenger.

byVincento Seyarto

in

May 24, 2026

Republicans who have drawn a hard line on Iran pan Trump's emerging proposal to end the war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’semerging dealto end theIran waris drawing heavy criticism from some fellow Republicans who fa...

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