Ken Paxton wins Texas Senate runoff; Washington chemical blast leaves nine missing
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pulls off a major win, knocking out longtime Sen. John Cornyn in one of the year’s biggest Republican races.
Plus, a deadly implosion tears through a Washington paper plant, leaving a worker dead and nine others still missing.
And President Donald Trump gathers his Cabinet at the White House on Wednesday morning, with Iran expected to dominate the discussion.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
Trump-backed Paxton defeats Cornyn in Texas Senate runoff
There was another big primary win for Trump on Tuesday, as his pick in the Texas Senate race defeated a longtime Republican incumbent.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, handily defeating four-term Sen. John Cornyn in a high-stakes runoff.
Trump threw his support behind Paxton just last week, calling him a “true MAGA warrior.”
With the loss, Cornyn becomes the first Republican U.S. senator from Texas to lose a GOP reelection primary, according to the Associated Press.
Paxton made sure to thank Trump directly in his victory speech.
“When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen,” Paxton said. “Instead, he gave his complete and total endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics. And I’m honored to have his support, and I look forward to working with him in the Senate to deliver for Texas.”
Following his loss, Cornyn spoke at his own event, saying, “I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election. I’ve said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas, and they’ve made their decision, and I must respect it.”
Paxton now advances to a November showdown against Democrat James Talarico.
Tuesday’s runoffs also shaped several House races across Texas.
In Houston, freshman Rep. Christian Menefee defeated longtime Rep. Al Green in the Democratic runoff for the 18th district. Former Rep. Colin Allred has unseated Rep. Julie Johnson in the Democratic primary runoff for Dallas’ deep blue 33rd district.
Also, Democrat Johnny Garcia won his party’s primary in Texas’s 35th district in San Antonio, defeating Maureen Galindo.
Chemical tank implodes at Washington mill, resulting in one death, multiple injuries
A deadly implosion inside a paper mill has left workers dead and injured, with crews still searching for answers.
The implosion happened Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Washington, near the Oregon border. Authorities said a massive chemical tank ruptured, creating what firefighters described as a mass-casualty scene.
The tank contained white liquor, a corrosive chemical mixture used in paper manufacturing.
“There were multiple critical injuries, and patients were transported to hospitals in Longview and throughout the Vancouver, Portland area,” Mike Gorsuch with the Longview Fire Department said. “We can also confirm there were fatalities related to the incident. We are not confirming or giving any information on their names until their families have been notified.”
Officials said one person has died and nine others were injured, including a responding firefighter. Another nine people remain unaccounted for. Patients suffered burns and inhalation injuries.
The incident also comes as thousands of people in Southern California remain displaced because of a separate chemical emergency.
Officials there said the threat of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged tank at a damaged aerospace plant has been reduced, but roughly 16,000 people still have not been allowed back into their homes while crews continue monitoring the site.
Investigators still don’t know what caused the Washington tank to implode, and recovery crews said unstable conditions at the site have made operations more difficult.
Trump convenes Cabinet to talk Iran as Tehran accuses US of ceasefire violation
Trump plans to gather his Cabinet at the White House on Wednesday morning as discussions with Iran progress, even as Tehran claims the U.S. violated the ceasefire.
Iran released a video Tuesday that it claims shows its military responding to recent U.S. actions — including what it says was the shootdown of an American drone and the tracking of an F-35 fighter jet — following U.S. strikes earlier this week.
An official with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that a return to full-scale fighting is unlikely but warned that if the war restarts, Iran is prepared to turn its southern coast into a “graveyard for aggressors.”
Despite the rhetoric, the Trump administration continues to project optimism about a deal.
Vice President JD Vance told NBC News he’s “extremely hopeful” Iran will agree to an arrangement that prevents it from developing nuclear weapons. Vance said the bigger challenge will be building an enforcement system that “gives us confidence that they won’t violate the deal in the future.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday its ongoing naval operations have turned away 108 vessels attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports.
Iran has called those actions a violation of the ceasefire.
Trump and his top advisers are expected to discuss Iran, along with other foreign and domestic issues, during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. The meeting was originally planned for Camp David, but it has since been moved to the White House due to weather concerns.
South Carolina Republicans stop GOP redistricting plan
Republicans seeking to redraw congressional maps across the South encountered a pair of roadblocks Tuesday — one in a courtroom and another within their own party.
South Carolina lawmakers abruptly halted work on a plan that would have reshaped Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn’s district and could have moved the state closer to an all-Republican congressional delegation. The proposal had already cleared the Republican-led House, but a group of GOP state senators joined Democrats to block it after early voting had begun.
Some Republicans argued it was simply too late to throw out an election already underway.
Clyburn, the state’s first Black member of Congress elected in nearly a century and now seeking an 18th term, insisted he would run regardless of the district lines.
South Carolina leaders have signaled the redistricting fight is far from over.
Meanwhile, in Alabama, a federal court blocked a separate Republican-backed map that would have given the GOP an advantage in six of the state’s seven congressional districts. Judges ruled the plan could not move forward, writing that it represented an intentional effort to split up Black voters and dilute their voting strength.
Republican officials in Alabama have already vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Biden sues DOJ over recordings tied to classified docs investigation
Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department to keep hours of recordings tied to the classified documents investigation from becoming public.
The lawsuit centers on interviews Biden gave in 2016 and 2017 to ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer while working on his memoirs. Those recordings later became part of special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Hur’s investigation ultimately recommended no criminal charges, but his report sparked a major political firestorm after raising questions about Biden’s memory and describing him as a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.
Biden’s attorneys now argue that releasing the material would violate his privacy rights, saying the conversations took place inside his home and were obtained through a criminal investigation.
The suit comes after the Justice Department said it planned to release the recordings and transcripts to Congress and to The Heritage Foundation in June.
Trump weighed in late Tuesday on Truth Social, calling Biden a “crooked politician.”
Construction begins for UFC arena on White House South Lawn
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is coming to the White House.
Construction has begun on an octagon on the south lawn as part of next month’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday, which also coincides with Trump’s 80th birthday.
For months, Trump has been discussing bringing a UFC fight card to the White House grounds.
Inside the cage, fighters are expected to compete for the UFC heavyweight title, the lightweight belt and other matchups. Plans call for a red, white and blue stage with a stars-and-stripes theme built around the octagon.
Crews are also building a 5,000-seat arena just outside the White House for in-person fans. On the ellipse, the UFC plans to distribute up to 85,000 free tickets so fans can watch the fights on large video screens.
The event is scheduled for Flag Day, June 14.
More from Straight Arrow:
Plea bargains keep America’s courts running. Guilt or innocence barely matters
NEW YORK — When Emile Herrera Acosta agreed to plead guilty, he had already been locked up for three months on Rikers Island.
While awaiting his court date at New York’s infamous jail complex, the 23-year-old got COVID-19, endured weeks of medical processing — including blood testing and STD tests — and lived in a cell so cramped that he and another prisoner had to squeeze past each other to reach the toilet.
The conditions took a toll.
“The food was so horrible, I couldn’t go to the bathroom for 16 days,” Acosta told Straight Arrow. “When I finally did, the guys could hear me screaming and said it sounded like I was giving birth.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
