By Arlette Saenz, CNN

(CNN) — State Rep. James Talarico will win the Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, placing a once little-known state legislator at the top of the party’s ticket for the general election in November.

The 36-year-old will defeat US Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a fiery 44-year-old Democrat from the Dallas area, in a contentious primary that became increasingly personal. He will face either US Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who CNN projects will head to a May 26 runoff.

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher from Round Rock, outside of Austin, was not well known across Texas before entering the Senate race in September. But he gained a following after making his faith a prominent focus of his messaging.

Talarico also benefited from national exposure when “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said he was not allowed to run an interview with the Democratic state legislator due to potential FCC concerns from CBS. The interview consequently got millions of views online.

An intensely fought primary on the Republican side is giving some in the Democratic Party hope the long-held GOP Senate seat could be in play in November. But Democrats are operating in tough political terrain: No Democrat has won statewide in more than three decades.

Throughout the primary, the two Democrats, who each have large online followings, portrayed themselves as fighters but showcased different approaches on how to wage those fights.

Crockett often pointed to her experience tangling with the president and GOP in Washington while Talarico talked about taking on a “broken, corrupt political system.”

The Democratic primary also reignited the party’s debate over “electability” with some Democrats, including allies of Talarico, openly questioning whether Crockett could win against a Republican in November.

Crockett, a Black woman, pushed back on those critiques, telling reporters last month, “I am tired of people asking whether or not I am electable. The reality is that that is nothing but a dog whistle.”

The Texas congresswoman criticized a super PAC supporting Talarico for airing an ad suggesting Democrats would lose in November if she was at the top of the ticket, saying those efforts were aimed at “tearing down a Black woman.”

The two Democrats, who served together in the Texas state House, promoted different strategies for achieving a Democratic victory in the general election. Crockett, a Democratic firebrand who rose to prominence through her viral showdowns with the GOP, said her party should focus on reenergizing base voters, including Black and young voters, instead of targeting those in the middle.

Talarico, on the other hand, argued Democrats should not just turn out base voters, but also appeal to independents souring on President Donald Trump.

Crockett entered the race in December with high name recognition. Her last-minute entry in the race prompted former Rep. Colin Allred to abandon his Senate bid and instead run for a House seat in North Texas.

Allred later endorsed Crockett’s campaign after an activist on TikTok accused Talarico of referring to him as a “mediocre Black man.” Talarico’s campaign argued his comments were mischaracterized.

Talarico held a fundraising and advertising advantage over Crockett throughout the contest.

Talarico raised more than $20 million since launching his candidacy last September while Crockett brought in $3.7 million since her December campaign launch. Crockett also transferred an additional $4.8 million from her House campaign account.

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Por Jessie Yeung y Rhea Mogul, CNN

El último conflicto en Medio Oriente sigue aumentando cinco días después de que Israel y Estados Unidos lanzaran su operación conjunta contra Irán, desencadenando ataques de represalia contra Israel y los estados vecinos del Golfo y sumiendo a la región en el miedo y la incertidumbre.

Los líderes estadounidenses e israelíes han emitido declaraciones contundentes de que el ejército iraní ha sido golpeado y se encuentra a la defensiva. Sin embargo, los misiles y drones iraníes siguen llegando y atacando activos estadounidenses en toda la región.

En Estados Unidos, los legisladores continúan divididos. Hay una votación en el Senado sobre los poderes de guerra del presidente Donald Trump programada para este miércoles.

La guerra ha interrumpido los viajes internacionales, ha dejado varados a ciudadanos y familias extranjeras y ha disparado los precios internacionales de las materias primas. Mientras tanto, el número de muertes y bajas civiles en Irán y el Líbano está aumentando.

Esto es lo que debes saber el quinto día.

• Nuevos ataques: El presidente Donald Trump declaró el martes que Estados Unidos e Israel atacaron a otro grupo de líderes iraníes. Elogió la operación y afirmó que las instalaciones militares iraníes habían quedado prácticamente inutilizadas, desde la Armada hasta la Fuerza Aérea, entre otras. Imágenes satelitales tomadas el martes mostraron daños significativos en instalaciones gubernamentales y militares iraníes, así como en un hospital.
• Aumenta el número de muertos: Más de 1.000 personas, incluidos niños, han muerto en Irán desde el sábado, según la Agencia de Noticias de Activistas de Derechos Humanos, con sede en Estados Unidos. El grupo indicó que su informe es preliminar y que la cifra podría aumentar.
• Nuevo líder supremo: Un grupo de altos funcionarios iraníes se ha reunido virtualmente para elegir a un nuevo líder supremo tras los ataques iniciales de Estados Unidos e Israel que mataron al ayatola Alí Jamenei, según la agencia de noticias semioficial iraní Fars. El hijo de Jamenei, Mojtaba Jamenei, se encuentra entre un pequeño grupo de clérigos considerados como posibles sucesores. Sin embargo, se desconoce su paradero, e incluso si están vivos.
• Cámaras de tráfico: El Financial Times ha revelado nuevos detalles sobre esa operación, incluido que Israel había pirateado las cámaras de seguridad de las calles de Teherán y las había utilizado durante años para construir un complejo sistema de vigilancia.

• Ataques al Líbano: Israel también está atacando al Líbano, apuntando al grupo militante Hezbollah, respaldado por Irán, y emitiendo órdenes de evacuación para docenas de aldeas.
• Irán contrataca: Los estados árabes del Golfo Pérsico están sufriendo las consecuencias de la feroz represalia de Teherán. Países como Kuwait, Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Arabia Saudita han interceptado cientos de misiles y drones en los últimos días, lo que plantea interrogantes sobre la capacidad de sus defensas aéreas para resistir el ataque y cuántas armas quedan en el reducido arsenal iraní. Durante décadas, estos países se han preparado para un posible ataque de este tipo, armándose con arsenal estadounidense y albergando tropas del Pentágono, incluso cuando instaron a la administración Trump hace apenas unas semanas a no atacar a Irán.
• Instalaciones estadounidenses atacadas: Estados Unidos ha cerrado embajadas en Arabia Saudita, Kuwait y Líbano, tras el ataque iraní a varias de ellas. Una estación de la CIA en Arabia Saudita y una base militar estadounidense en Qatar, la más grande de Medio Oriente, también fueron atacadas. Se ha ordenado la salida del per

By Arit John and Molly English, CNN

(CNN) — State Rep. Steve Toth will defeat US Rep. Dan Crenshaw in the Republican primary for Texas’ 2nd District, CNN’s Decision Desk has projected, a stunning upset in a race that tested whether the incumbent was deemed sufficiently loyal to the president.

Crenshaw, a four-term congressman and former Navy SEAL, has had a complicated relationship with the conservative wing of his party. Though he has been an ally of President Donald Trump, he has also clashed with the president and the MAGA movement over his support for Ukraine and resettling Afghan allies, as well as his vote to certify Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.

The incumbent has also been critical of members of his party, who he’s called “grifters” and “performance artists” who tell conservatives what they want to hear.

Those policy and stylistic differences have drawn the ire of members of his party, including US Sen. Ted Cruz, who endorsed Toth and appeared in a super PAC ad backing the challenger. (Cruz’s team took a victory lap after Toth declared victory.)

Crenshaw is projected to lose despite outraising Toth by more than $1.5 million.

This isn’t Toth’s first time challenging an incumbent. He tried, and failed, to unseat former Rep. Kevin Brady in Texas’ 8th District in 2016.

Toth, a former megachurch pastor and local business owner, has been one of the most conservative members of the Texas legislature, where he’s served on-and-off for more than a decade. In 2024, he was among four Texas House Republicans who were censured for campaigning against members of their party they deemed too “liberal.”

Texas’ 2nd District, which is north of Houston, changed slightly due to Republican-led mid-decade redistricting aimed at netting the GOP as many as five additional US House seats. Much of Toth’s state House seat was drawn into the 2nd District.

The seat remains strongly Republican, and Toth will be heavily favored in the November matchup against Democrat and businessman Shaun Finnie, who ran unopposed in his own primary Tuesday.

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By David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — US Rep. Tony Gonzales and conservative activist Brandon Herrera will advance to a runoff in the Republican primary for Texas’ 23rd District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, prolonging a contentious campaign in which Gonzales denied allegations that he had an affair with a former staffer who died by suicide.

It’s a rematch from two years ago, when Gonzales beat Herrera in a runoff by just 354 votes out of nearly 30,000. But this time, the campaign was upended by the allegations Gonzales had an affair with Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, the former staffer, who died in September. A county medical examiner ruled that she died of self-immolation and listed her manner of death as suicide.

The controversy gained traction in the final weeks before the primary amid a pressure campaign from Herrera and new revelations from Adrian Aviles, the husband of the late staffer.

Text messages provided to CNN by Adrian Aviles show that Gonzales sent lewd messages to Santos-Aviles, including one exchange asking for a “sexy pic.” In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett last week, Aviles called the congressman a “predator” and said that “he’s continued to lie to the American people, his constituents.”

He faces mounting calls from some of his GOP colleagues to step down. “A male harassing a female employee, I just can’t stomach it, dude. I’ve got a wife and a daughter. He needs to go,” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Gonzales has said he won’t resign.

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

He accused Adrian Aviles and his attorney of blackmailing him, claims the attorney, Bobby Barrera, denied.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has also so far declined to back calls for Gonzales’ resignation, though he conceded the accusations were “very serious” and said that he has urged the San Antonio Republican to address them with his constituents directly.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has not withdrawn his endorsement of Gonzales, made last December, though Trump notably left Gonzales off a list of his Texas endorsements posted on social media last week. Still, the president shouted out the congressman at an event in Corpus Christi, Texas, last Friday, remarking, “Tony, congratulations.”

Herrera has used the controversy to raise questions about Gonzales’ character and electability. Some Texas Republicans allied with Herrera supported his calls for Gonzalez’s resignation, including state Rep. Wes Virdell, whose district shares territory with the 23rd.

Pressing the attack, Herrera has leveraged a large social media following cultivated over years of conservative commentary, particularly on gun rights. His username on X is “TheAKGuy,” and he boasts more than 4 million subscribers to his channel on YouTube, featuring

MONTECITO, Calif.— It was a night about women empowering women.

“It is a day that we really celebrate the societal, the political, the economic achievements of women, but we also come together to push for more progress,” said Shelterbox USA President Kerri Murray.

Conversations centered around the gender pay gap, abuse of power, and overcoming hardship with featured speakers who were all-stars in their own right, from Olympic Medalist Brittany Brown to local author and survivor of the Montecito debris flow Kim Cantin.

“For those of you don't know, after the mudslide, 23 people died, including my husband and my son,” said Kim Cantin.

Each speaker shared bold stories of resilience.

Every woman on the panel seemed to have a unique superpower.

“I figure out, like, okay, how am I going to deal with this? And so adapting and learning and growing is is my superpower,” said actress and advocate Jordana Brewster.

Olympic Athlete Brittany Brown says 90% of her success in running is mental.

“It's really just how you think about yourself. How you attack a race. Like, I work with the sports psych. So I do a lot of, like, mental preparation and visualization. Playing that race is playing out practices. And just like, centering yourself,” said Brown.

The takeaway message from all the incredible women? —the power of community.

“I think women being truthful to each other and like telling each other like what our secrets are, our hacks and what we're doing. I think that's the best way to that sisterhood,” said Jordana Brewster.

“When I look at who exemplifies courage, strength, perseverance, and also using that as a path for really inspiring and helping others, it would be Kim,” said Shelterbox USA President Kerri Murray.

“I’ve, I've heard of her [Kim Cantin’s] story like a few times.And every time she speaks about it and I see her, ability to turn her experiences into something to help other people. It’s super powerful,” said Singer Hunter Hawkins.

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