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The fourth-term congressman, who lost decisively to state Rep. Steve Toth, said baseless attacks about his alleged insider trading and gun stances fueled the upset.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw blamed unfounded attacks and a culture of misinformation for his primary loss to state Rep. Steve Toth, saying in an interview that the “power of clickbait” proved too much to overcome.

Crenshaw, a fourth-term congressman from Atascosita, lost to Toth, one of the most conservative members of the Texas Legislature, by a decisive 15-point margin, according to unofficial returns.

His district, which includes Kingwood, Lake Houston and The Woodlands, is split between Harris County and Montgomery County, a hotbed of conservative activism where Attorney General Ken Paxton received twice as many votes as incumbent John Cornyn in the Senate Republican primary.

Crenshaw acknowledged that the “telling the truth thing” is viewed as “a real crime” among some voters. But he heaped most of the blame for his loss on what he said were baseless attacks over his alleged insider trading and stance on red flag laws — leaving Crenshaw, in his eyes, to fend off talking points that twisted the truth.

Review of FDA records by the Environmental Working Group reveals firms are exploiting rule to send new chemicals in food system

More than 100 substances widely used in common US foods, supplements and beverages underwent no health and safety review by the US Food and Drug Administration, a new analysis of federal records finds.

The review of FDA records by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) non-profit reveals that diverse products across the food pyramid, such as Capri Sun drinks, Kettle and Fire organic broth, Acme smoked fish, and Quaker Oats snack bars, use a range of substances that have not undergone review by regulators.

Companies are using the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) rule that was developed in 1958 to allow ingredients such as salt or white vinegar to be used without a burdensome and needless review process.

Oil shot to its highest price since 2023 after surging again Friday because of the Iran war, and a weak update on the U.S. job market knocked stocks lower to cap Wall Street's worst week since October.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.3% after a report showed U.S. employers cut more jobs last month than they created and after oil prices spiked above $90 per barrel. The combination of a weak economy and high inflation is a worst-case scenario for investors because the Federal Reserve has no good tool to fix both problems at the same time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged as many as 945 points before finishing with a loss of 453, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.

California state superintendent says mother and sons arrested during ICE check-in and deported to Colombia

California’s superintendent is calling for the return of a hearing-impaired six-year-old after he, his mother and his five-year-old sibling were detained on Tuesday while reporting for their check-in at an ICE office in San Francisco and deported to Colombia.

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her sons were arrested during their visit to ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (Isap), said Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP). A relative who was waiting outside for Gutierrez and her sons was unable to hand off the assistive devices necessary for the six-year-old, who is deaf and has a cochlear implant.

“No child should be ripped from their home community and hidden in a detention center, especially not a Deaf child who is being deprived of the ability to communicate and understand what is happening to him,” Tony Thurmond, the California superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement on Friday. “I am calling on the federal government to return our student to his school community now. These inhumane and illegal attacks on our families must end.”

As some elected leaders choose to play nice with the president, Democratic AGs have done the opposite – to impressive effect

Four Democratic attorneys general, sitting in their offices from New York to California with state flags and books behind them, announced a new lawsuit on Thursday, alleging the president, yet again, had broken the law by attempting to create new tariffs without congressional approval.

It’s a now familiar scene for the group of top law-enforcement officials who have collectively filed more than 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration, serving as a counterweight to the president’s quest to expand his power and circumvent the constitution.

They’ve protected billions of dollars for their states. They’ve stopped or stalled policies that would have cut food benefits during a government shutdown, closed health programs and job training, curtailed funds for crime victims, ended birthright citizenship, cut off funds for schools, and kept illegal tariffs in place.

Senate blocks war powers measure and House follows suit – now president can bomb Iran free from congressional interference

Before US troops invaded Iraq, George W Bush asked Congress to pass a resolution authorizing military force against Washington’s longtime nemesis, a request that lawmakers obliged.

Twenty four years later, the United States is at war with a different Middle Eastern rival – Iran – under a different Republican president – Donald Trump. But this time, the president did not bother to seek permission from the Senate and House of Representatives before joining Israel in launching the air and naval campaign. And far from objecting, Congress’s Republican majorities have simply stepped aside.

The stage is now set for Trump to continue his military campaign against Iran free from Congress’s interference, despite shifting explanations by the president and his administration of its objectives, and concerns from lawyers that the war is illegal and costing unnecessary money and lives.

Moscow is rushing to the support of its ally amid a joint US-Israeli bombing campaign

Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to help target US forces in the Middle East, according to a report, in a development likely to cause a rift between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Since the beginning of the war last Saturday, Moscow has been supplying Iran with the locations of US military assets, including warships and aircraft, three officials told The Washington Post.

The conflict has already spread far beyond the Middle East as Iran retaliates against US bases in the region, with attacks reported as far as Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.

A reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee who has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not shown any warrant when she was arrested this week, according to court documents filed by her attorney.

Estefany Rodriguez Florez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias who has done stories critical of ICE, was arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop, according to documents filed in federal court in Nashville. Her lawyer called for her immediate release, but ICE has asked a judge to deny the request.

Rodriguez, a Colombian citizen, entered the U.S lawfully and has been living in the country for the past five years, court records filed by her lawyer show. She has a valid work permit, and she has applied for political asylum and legal status through her husband, who is a U.S. citizen.

The United States and Ecuador said their forces have bombed a drug trafficker’s camp near Ecuador’s border with Colombia. The camp belonged to a dissident faction of the FARC guerrilla group.

The United States and Ecuador carried out joint strikes inside Ecuador as part of an ongoing operation targeting drug trafficking, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a statement on Friday.

SOUTHCOM said that its commander, General Francis Donovan, at the order of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, directed the joint force to support Ecuadorian forces conducting what it called "lethal kinetic operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations" within the Latin American country.

"We are advancing alongside our partners in the fight against narcoterrorism," the statement posted on X said.

Georgian diplomats, government officials, and ministers have lost their visa-free travel privileges in all EU countries — a move that Brussels has taken in response to democratic backsliding in the country.

The European Commission has suspended all visa-free travel in the EU for Georgian diplomats and high-ranking government officials.

The Commission said the suspension comes in response to "Georgia's deliberate and persisting violation" of their commitments to democracy, as well as human and fundamental rights.

"If a government attacks its own people, silences journalists, and curtails freedom, there are consequences," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.

Kristi Noem’s top adviser is out just days after she was grilled on their relationship at a House hearing

Corey Lewandowski, a top adviser to Kristi Noem, is out at the Department of Homeland Security, according to MS NOW.

Noem's scandal-ridden leadership of the agency came to an end Thursday, when Donald Trump announced he was tapping Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her, effective March 31.

While Noem has recently faced increased scrutiny about her actions as DHS secretary — which culminated in two chaotic congressional hearings this week — questions about her relationship with Lewandowski have also followed her throughout her brief tenure.

Iceland's government has said a vote on resuming accession talks with the EU will be held in August. Iceland withdrew from talks in 2013 — but rising costs, the war in Ukraine and US imperialism have prompted a rethink.