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By Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris, Alison Main, CNN

(CNN) — Embattled Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales told CNN on Tuesday he would not resign amid allegations that he had an affair with a senior staffer who later died by suicide, while he declined to answer repeated questions about whether the accusations are true.

The Texas Republican would not say whether he had an affair with the staffer or sent sexually explicit text messages that appeared to show him pressuring his staffer to share images of herself.

“I am not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas,” Gonzales told CNN when pressed whether he had a relationship with his staffer or on whether the text messages were real. He has previously said he’s being blackmailed.

“There will be an opportunity for all the details and facts to come out,” Gonzales said. “What you’ve seen is not all the facts. And there will be ample time for all of that to come out.”

The Texas Republican — who is one week out from a difficult primary fight that could end his tenure in Congress — is facing mounting calls from his GOP colleagues to step down after reports surfaced of his alleged affair.

He faces a fellow Republican, Brandon Herrera, in a primary on March 3 — a rematch of last year’s close election.

Gonzales’ comments to CNN are his first public remarks since news reports about lewd text messages he was alleged to have sent to the staffer. They included one exchange, provided to CNN by the staffer’s husband, that showed Gonzales asking for a “sexy pic.”

Gonzales is set to speak later with Speaker Mike Johnson about the matter, which is also being investigated by an internal House ethics commission.

“I’m not going to talk about our prior conversations. We haven’t spoken yet but I will,” Johnson told CNN when asked about what he plans to say to Gonzales.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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By Jim Sciutto, Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration took the unusual step of warning the Ukrainian government that its strikes on a Russian Black Sea oil facility late last year had impacted US investments in Kazakhstan, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US revealed Tuesday.

“We have been hearing that Ukrainian attacks to Novorossiysk affected some of the American investments which are being performed through Kazakhstan. And we have heard from Department of State that we should refrain from, from, you know, attacking American interests,” Amb. Olga Stefanishyna said at a briefing.

Stefanishyna said she had received a demarche, which is a formal diplomatic notice, from the US State Department over the matter. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

The news comes on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion with no end to the brutal war in site. US-brokered peace talks have shown little sign of a breakthrough. The unusual move to issue the demarche appears to speak to the administration’s priorities and follows Trump’s decision to halt new military aid to Kyiv last year.

The Ukrainian ambassador said the US did not suggest Kyiv should refrain from attacking Russian military and energy infrastructure.

“It was related to the very fact that American economic interest was affected there,” she said. “We have taken the note on that.”

In late November, Ukrainian drones struck the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, damaging not just Russian interests but also a key pipeline which led to a significant drop in Kazakh oil exports. Chevron is a major shareholder in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries oil from Kazakh oil fields to the Black Sea for export.

Still, the communication came as Russia was vastly expanding its own missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure in the midst of Ukraine’s coldest winter in a decade – attacks described by Ukrainian and European officials as a deliberate effort to inflict suffering on Ukrainian civilians.

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) - The proliferation of illegal food vendors in Santa Barbara County has been a challenge for government leaders for several years, but new plans could bring the situation under control.

The county is discussing more enforcement combined with an outreach to the public. In that communication the county will have public service announcements explaining that street kitchens have food that is transported without appropriate refrigeration or warming storage equipment.

Restaurants near the pop-up street kitchens have also complained about unfair business operations. Those owners claim the street operators do not have approved permits, health inspections, or fire prevention equipment.

They also say there is an economic impact on local businesses who are paying annual fees and going through inspections required by law.

The county plans include:

• Alert the public to health risks of consuming food from unlawful
  vendors (e.g., foodborne illness and pest contamination)
• County PIO will conduct six-month multifaceted media campaign
• Digital and social media
• Earned media (e.g., press releases in local newspapers)
• Example Public Service Announcement (PSA)

The county says the restrictions will not impact Compact Mobile Food operations. Those include smaller fruit vending or ice cream carts.

(More details, photos and video will be added later today.)

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