Texas Democrats leave state to block vote on new House map backed by Trump
US president has urged Republicans to redraw map to help the party net a handful of seats in the midterms next year. Texas Democrats are leaving the state en masse in an attempt to prevent the state’s House of Representatives from holding a vote on Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will win them several additional US House seats in the 2026 midterm elections to buttress their narrow majority. The dramatic move on Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties, with the state’s attorney general having previously threatened to arrest them if they took such an action. Refusing to attend legislative sessions is a civil violation, so Democrats legally could not be jailed, and it is unclear who has the power to carry out the warrants. Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans who hold full control of the Texas government from pushing through a rare mid-decade redrawing of the congressional map at the direction of President Donald Trump. Trump is eager to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House just two years into his presidency, stymying his legislative plans, and hopes the new Texas map will aid that effort. “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement. To conduct official business, at least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present. Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the majority-Republican chamber. At least 51 Democratic members are leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus. Advertisement “Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” he said. Standoff in 2021 The move marks the second time in four years that Texas Democrats have fled the state to block a vote. In 2021, a 38-day standoff took place when Democrats left for Washington, DC, in opposition to new voting restrictions. Republican Governor Greg Abbott called a special session of the legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort, as well as to respond to flooding in Texas Hill Country, which killed at least 135 people in July. Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned new United States House map that would create five new Republican-leaning seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats. Adblock test (Why?)
All five miners trapped after copper mine collapse in Chile found dead
More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine. All five workers trapped at a copper mine in Chile have been found dead, according to a regional prosecutor, after rescue teams cleared more than 24 metres (78 feet) of underground passages that collapsed in a strong earthquake last week. Prosecutor Aquiles Cubillo of the O’Higgins region said on Sunday that the body of the fifth trapped worker had been found at the El Teniente copper mine. More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine, in Rancagua, about 100km (62 miles) south of Santiago. “We deeply regret this outcome,” Cubillos said. The latest death brings the total toll from the accident to six, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening. Chile’s state-owned mining company Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another three on Sunday. It has not yet commented on the final worker. The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 metres when the collapse happened, killing one colleague and halting operations at the site. Their exact location had been pinpointed with specialised equipment. Minister for Mining Aurora Williams announced the temporary cessation of activity at the mine on Saturday. The mine began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500km (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels. Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 tonnes of copper – nearly 7 percent of the total for Chile. The cave-in happened after a “seismic event” on Thursday afternoon, of which the origin – natural or caused by drilling – was not yet known, the authorities said on Saturday. The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2. Advertisement “It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades,” Andres Music, the mine’s general manager, said in a statement. The search team included several of the rescuers who participated in successfully surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for more than two months in the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of global media attention. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply, with about 5.3 million tonnes in 2024. Its mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a death rate of 0.02 percent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile. It also lies in the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Aerial view of El Teniente copper mine, where a collapse killed five trapped workers underground [Esteban Felix/AP] Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,257
Here is how things stand on Monday, August 4: Fighting A Russian attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region on Sunday, Governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram. A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a major fire at an oil depot in Sochi in southern Russia, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on Sunday. The fire was extinguished hours later after 120 firefighters were deployed, officials said. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, briefly halted flights at Sochi’s airport during the fire. Ukraine’s military says it used drones to target several sites inside Russia, including refineries, an airfield and an electronics plant. The governor of the Voronezh region in southern Russia said four people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack that caused several fires, A Russian attack injured seven people and destroyed dozens of houses and apartments in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Telegram early on Sunday. The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday that Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles against Ukraine. It said 60 drones and one missile were intercepted, but 16 drones and six missiles hit eight different locations across Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defence said its air defence units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea. It did not specify how many drones were fired in total. Advertisement Politics and Diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners following negotiations in Istanbul, adding that “work on the lists [of prisoners to be released] is ongoing”. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Zelenskyy announced he had appointed Anatolii Kryvonozhko as Commander of Ukraine’s air force, a role Kryvonozhko has been serving in as Acting Commander for nearly a year. Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine has prepared three new sanctions packages, including sanctions against the captains of Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers. China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok, China’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement on Sunday. The drills will last for three days. Speaking to a crowd of one million young Catholics on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Leo said: “We are with the young people of Gaza; we are with the young people of Ukraine.” Adblock test (Why?)
Indian Army’s BIG statement after officer caught assaulting SpiceJet staffer on camera, says, ‘Committed to…’
The Indian Army on Saturday, i.e., August 2, stated that it is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into an alleged assault by one of its personnel on SpiceJet employees at Srinagar Airport last week.
India Post makes BIG announcement, will discontinue THIS service from September 1
The Indian Postal Department has announced that it will discontinue the iconic Registered Post service, bidding goodbye to a 50-year era. The service will be strategically integrated with Speed Post with an aim to modernise operations, from September 1. Read on to know more on this.
Air India sees another incident as Singapore-Chennai flight cancelled due to…
Air India on Sunday cancelled its flight scheduled from Singapore to Chennai due to a technical issue, PTI reported. The flight AI349 was to be operated with an Airbus A321. Read on to know more on this.
India’s import bill to skyrocket by USD 9-11 billion post US penalty on Russian oil; here’s how
India’s annual oil import bill could surge by USD 9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to US threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, according to analysts.
Himachal monsoon havoc: Mandi, Kullu among worst-hit districts; IMD warns of more showers
According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), Himachal Pradesh, a total of 179 people have lost their lives since June 20, including 101 in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, and 78 in road accidents attributed to treacherous weather conditions.
Mukhtar Ansari’s son Umar Ansari arrested in Lucknow, here’s what happened
It is alleged that Umar Ansari intended to secure illegal gains and submitted forged documents reportedly bearing the fake signatures of his mother, Afshan Ansari, in the court.
Texas House Democrats flee the state in bid to block GOP’s proposed congressional map
The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.