Georgia voters split on Trump picks; Bystanders help survivors after Texas jet crash

President Donald Trump wins in one of the night’s biggest primaries, but loses in another. Georgia Republicans embrace his Senate pick, but voters have other ideas in the governor’s race.

Plus, a business jet crashes onto a Texas highway and erupts into flames. What happens next turns a group of passing motorists into unlikely rescuers.

And a freshly renovated Washington landmark is already battling the very problem it was supposed to fix.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

Trump-backed Mike Collins takes Senate race in Georgia, aims to replace Ossoff

President Donald Trump can claim a big win in Georgia after the candidate he backed for U.S. Senate cruised to victory in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Rep. Mike Collins defeated former football coach Derek Dooley, the candidate backed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. The result sets up one of the marquee Senate races of the midterms, with Collins now turning his attention to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.

“Y’all know what the mission is, is to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November, return this seat to the people of Georgia,” Collins said Tuesday.

But Georgia voters didn’t follow Trump’s lead everywhere.

In the race to succeed Kemp, billionaire businessman Rick Jackson defeated Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican runoff. Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own money on the campaign and will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Meanwhile, in Alabama, Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore won the Republican Senate runoff to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.

In Oklahoma, Rep. Kevin Hern won the GOP Senate primary, putting him on track to succeed Markwayne Mullin after his move to the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

In California, the special election to fill embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell’s seat will go to a runoff. Sen. Aisha Wahab leads the pack with more than 40% of the votes. It’s not yet clear who she’ll face in the runoff.

Trump warns Israel on Lebanon, saying Netanyahu must be more responsible

Trump has turned up the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the U.S. works to lock in a peace deal with Iran. At the G7 summit in France, Trump said he’s “not happy” with Israel’s actions in Lebanon and said Netanyahu needs to be “more responsible.”

The president argued the conflict with Hezbollah is making it harder to finish a U.S.-backed agreement with Iran, which could be signed as early as Friday in Switzerland.

The remarks indicate a rare public rebuke of Netanyahu from a president he once called the “greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House.”

Meanwhile, a new point of tension has emerged. Iran’s foreign minister said any Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon would violate the proposed deal.

But Israel has already said its troops would remain, with its national security minister saying the agreement does not bind Israel.

Business jet crashes on its way from Mexico to Austin, killing one

A dramatic video out of Texas shows a business jet crash onto a highway in Laredo. The plane went down just after 10 p.m. on Loop 20, clipping a light pole and striking a vehicle before erupting into flames.

Local reports said witnesses watched the plane fall from the sky already on fire.

As first responders arrived, bystanders jumped in to help, working to break through the aircraft’s windshield to reach people trapped inside.

The flight was headed from Los Cabos, Mexico, to Austin, Texas, when it crashed.

Authorities said one person was killed and five others were injured. Investigators have not said whether the person who died was on board the plane or on the ground.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and there’s still no word Wednesday morning on the condition of the survivors.

Trump keeps Pulte in intel post, delaying Clayton hearing over FISA fight

A surprise twist in Washington on Wednesday: Trump has pulled the plug on a Senate confirmation hearing for his pick to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies, and he’s tying the move to a fight over surveillance powers and election law.

Trump announced on Truth Social that he is postponing a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, his nominee to serve as director of national intelligence.

Instead, Bill Pulte will remain acting DNI for now.

The president accused Democrats of backing away from a deal to support reauthorization of a key foreign surveillance program known as FISA after Republicans moved to replace Pulte. Trump also said he doesn’t want to remove Clayton from his current job as U.S. Attorney in Manhattan until his replacement is confirmed.

Adding another twist, the president said he will not support a FISA extension unless Congress also passes the Save America Act, also known as the Save Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

Clayton’s hearing was scheduled for Wednesday. There’s no word yet on when it will be rescheduled.

Trump shifts key Education Department programs to other agencies

The Trump administration has taken its biggest step yet toward dismantling the Department of Education. The administration announced Tuesday that it’s relocating two of the department’s most significant responsibilities to other parts of the federal government.

Oversight of special education programs will transfer to the Department of Health and Human Services, while responsibility for investigating school discrimination complaints will transfer to the Justice Department.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the changes will improve efficiency and align those programs with the agencies best equipped to handle them.

The move affects offices responsible for enforcing civil rights laws in schools and for overseeing roughly $15 billion in annual funding for students with disabilities. Critics say the changes could make it harder for families to navigate the system and could weaken oversight of students’ rights.

The Trump administration insists services won’t change, but legal challenges are expected as the president continues his push to dismantle the Education Department without formally abolishing it.

Algae returns to reflecting pool, crews scramble to clean newly renovated landmark

Trump wanted the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool to look its best in time for America’s 250th birthday celebrations. The problem? Just days after a multimillion-dollar makeover, the water has turned green.

Workers returned to the water this week to try to get a handle on an algae bloom that appeared less than two weeks after the reflecting pool reopened.

The Trump administration spent more than $14 million on the project, fixing leaks, installing a new filtration system and even painting the bottom “American flag blue,” as the president called it.

“We made the surface as good as it can be. And we’re now covering it with the most beautiful blue, very thick. And you think of it as a very sophisticated form of rubber. No leaks, no problems. And it’s beautiful. It’s called American flag blue. That was the color we chose.”

President Donald Trump

But now, instead of crystal-clear reflections, visitors are seeing patches of green algae spreading across the water’s surface. To fight it, crews have been vacuuming the pool, operating a high-tech filtration system and adding hydrogen peroxide to the water.

“I’m glad they’re trying, but honestly, I don’t think you can fight Mother Nature and the nature of this pool,” Florida resident Patrick Hicks said. “Anytime you have an environment that big, that’s like cleaning a lake or something else. As long as it doesn’t stink, I’m okay. And as long as I can enjoy it and get close, I’m fine with it and happy about it.”

Experts say the shallow, warm water creates ideal conditions for algae and warn this may be more of an ongoing maintenance challenge than a one-time fix.

Some visitors aren’t impressed. Maryland resident Dana Pace said it was a waste of taxpayer funds.

“It was a 100% waste of funds. I do, however, see that the National Park Service is getting some work today, clearing out the algae,” Pace said.

To be fair, algae has plagued the reflecting pool for decades, including after a $34 million renovation under the Obama administration.

The question now is whether this latest high-tech fix can succeed where previous efforts have struggled.

Messi scores hat trick in World Cup opener

Lionel Messi reminded everyone in Kansas City on Tuesday night why he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game. The Argentina star scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Algeria, giving the defending World Cup champions a strong start to their title defense.

The hat trick also put Messi in elite company. His three goals brought his World Cup total to 16, tying Miroslav Klose of Germany for the most in tournament history.

France and Norway also secured wins on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Men’s national team returns to action on Friday, when it faces Australia in Seattle.

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Not red or blue: America’s politically homeless middle

America has a homeless problem, but not the unhoused. 

It’s the politically homeless, and new polling shows there are more of them than those who comfortably identify as Democratic or Republican. They’re the Democrats who think public safety and a secure border are important. They’re the Republicans who think the government should play a role in healthcare.

Pew Research Center polled more than 10,000 American adults from Nov. 17 to 30, 2025, asking them a set of 30 questions about government, economics, immigration, elected officials and other issues. The newly released report is the ninth iteration of Pew’s “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology,” first published nearly 40 years ago. 

Other media reporting on the polling has interpreted the groupings as insight into how voters will approach the upcoming election. Academics who specialize in polling and political methodology warn not only about the categories’ fuzzy boundaries but also that this is a simple snapshot of a complex electorate.

Read the full story now>

Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief