Texas land commissioner primary: Who is running and what you need to know
The General Land Office oversees investments that earn billions of dollars for public education, manages state lands, operates the Alamo and distributes benefits to Texas veterans. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.
After two Houston Congress members died in office, Al Green defends his seniority to voters
The 78-year-old Democrat is up against two younger opponents, including Rep.-elect Christian Menefee, in a district left vacant for 11 months after the death of Sylvester Turner.
How Taylor Rehmet upset a MAGA candidate to flip a North Texas Senate district Trump carried by 17 points
Republicans dismissed the result as a one-off explained by the unpredictability of special elections. Others cited Rehmet’s working-class appeal and Latino and suburban backlash to GOP policies.
Longtime Trump aide’s Mar-a-Lago wedding draws top admin officials
Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff and a longtime aide to President Donald Trump, got married Sunday at Mar-a-Lago in a ceremony attended by the president and a host of senior administration officials. Speaking briefly to reporters ahead of the wedding, Trump called it a “big day” and praised the attendees as “very loyal, very fantastic people.” Among those in attendance were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Billionaire Elon Musk was also present. Other senior figures included White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and policy chief Stephen Miller. KAROLINE LEAVITT IS EXPECTING A BABY GIRL IN MAY 2026, SAYS MOTHERHOOD IS ‘CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN ON EARTH’ Several members of the Trump family attended, including Donald Trump Jr., his fiancée Bettina Anderson, his ex-wife Vanessa Trump, and their daughter Kai. WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S ‘BOLD VISION’ FOR TOWERING INDEPENDENCE ARCH FOR AMERICA 250 “Congratulations! Wonderful wedding with amazing people,” Musk wrote on X following the ceremony. First lady Melania Trump was not in attendance. Scavino, 50, announced his engagement in September, sharing footage of the proposal online. A fixture in Trump’s inner circle since 2015, Scavino has served in multiple senior communications roles across both administrations.
PETA’s push to retire Punxsutawney Phil sparks rare bipartisan backlash
Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans are finding rare common ground — defending Punxsutawney Phil from animal rights activists. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and GOP lawmakers are jointly rejecting pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to retire the famed groundhog after he predicted six more weeks of winter on Monday. Shapiro amplified the moment on social media by posting an image of a yellow Gadsden flag — a symbol associated with conservative politics and the 2010s Tea Party movement — but with the typical snake replaced by a groundhog. GROUNDHOG DAY: PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL MAKES 140TH WEATHER PREDICTION Meanwhile, the leader of the Pennsylvania House Republican caucus told Fox News Digital that PETA’s latest idea, to replace Phil with a groundhog hologram, is off base. “PETA lacks as much good taste as they do credibility here. Punxsutawney Phil and the celebration of Groundhog Day are core parts of what it means to be Pennsylvanian and are cherished by the nation,” said House Minority Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford. “On top of that, Phil is treated like royalty, and rightfully so,” Topper said, referencing his spacious library digs that also include a large window allowing sunlight and the smiles of passersby. “It sounds like it is time PETA be forcibly retired from bad takes and outlandish viewpoints.” In a statement, PETA said it wants to give Groundhog Day a “much-needed glow-up.” “Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family, and we’ll provide a giant, state-of-the-art, 3-D projection hologram of a groundhog along with a vocal prognostication to light up the Gobbler’s Knob stage,” PETA said in a statement. Pennsylvania Deputy Tourism Secretary Anne Ryan said in a statement that Punxsutawney Phil “draws national and international attention” to Pennsylvania every year. “Six more weeks of winter means more time to enjoy everything that makes this season special — from skiing and snowboarding to cozy small towns, historic sites, and festive winter events,” Ryan said, alluding to the commonwealth’s latest tourism slogan, “The Great American Getaway.” Punxsutawney Phil lives with his wife Phyllis and their young kit at the Jefferson County Library in downtown Punxsutawney, halfway between Altoona and Erie. The famed groundhog’s support extends well beyond his burrow. Across Pennsylvania’s historically German regions, including the Lehigh Valley and Dutch Country, Groundhog Day is marked by feasts hosted by more than a dozen “Grundsau Lodsch,” or Groundhog Lodges, featuring traditional food, music and weather forecasts delivered in the Pennsylfaanisch dialect. There is also the famous 1993 Bill Murray film named after the holiday.
Education experts warn Mamdani plan could gut NYC gifted programs, hurt low-income students
Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has outlined plans to scale back the city’s Gifted and Talented program, prompting some education experts to warn that doing so could deprive high-achieving students, particularly those from low-income families, of critical academic opportunities. Recent media reports indicate that Mamdani, who took office in January, intends to end the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarten students and delay entry until third grade, a move critics argue would amount to a major weakening of accelerated learning options in the nation’s largest school district. The plan is drawing sharp criticism from Defending Education, a national education watchdog group that previously fought, and won, a years-long legal battle to preserve New York’s gifted programs after it was argued that the admissions system had discriminatory effects and reinforced racial inequities in education. “The Court of Appeals rightly concluded that the role of the judiciary is not to make education policy,” Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital, adding that the program complied with state education law and equal protection requirements. GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE But Perry warned that Mamdani’s policy agenda could undo what the courts upheld. “As we suspected he might, newly minted democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani — himself, a product of expensive private schools — has pledged to shut down the gifted and talented program, despite the fact that it has helped countless students from humble backgrounds achieve their full academic potential,” Perry told Fox News Digital. “Depriving kids of much-needed advanced learning opportunities is not only foolhardy, but it’s also the height of hypocrisy coming from someone who was born into affluence and attended costly private schools. Apparently, Mamdani believes only the privileged should have access to various educational opportunities.” ‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES Mamdani has argued that early gifted testing contributes to inequities in the school system, though critics counter that dismantling selective programs does little to improve outcomes for struggling students while actively harming high performers. Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives for K-12 programs at Defending Education, echoed Perry’s concerns, emphasizing the impact such changes could have on working-class families. “On behalf of parents who simply want the best possible education for their children, Defending Education spent years in court fighting to preserve New York City’s gifted and talented programs against efforts to use the courts to inject race into every aspect of the school system,” Runko said. “Those efforts may succeed if Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves forward with eliminating these accelerated learning opportunities,” he warned. “Students, particularly those from lower-income families who benefit from NYC’s gifted and talented programs, deserve opportunities for academic excellence, not a one-size-fits-all approach that could weaken learning for all students.” Mamdani’s office pushed back on Defending Education’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that the administration opposes testing five-year-olds for gifted and talented programs but is not eliminating advanced learning opportunities across all grade levels. Mamdani’s office said the focus is instead on reshaping the public school system to provide “rigorous” instruction for all students, rather than separating children at an early age. Mamdani faced heated criticism from his opponents in the mayoral race regarding his plans to change the program, as well as from the Washington Post editorial board in October. “Who could have guessed that Zohran Mamdani (D), the leading candidate to become the next New York mayor, would provoke a firestorm by announcing this week that he intends to phase out the city’s early elementary school programs for gifted students in the name of equity? Parents of bright children want access to schooling that meets their needs?” The Post wrote. “Shocking.”
Sanctioned Russian jet touches down in Cuba, echoing secret flights before Maduro’s ouster
A Russian cargo plane typically used to transfer military equipment landed at a military airfield in Havana Sunday night, echoing flight patterns seen ahead of the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The U.S.-sanctioned Ilyushin Il-76, operated by Russian state-linked airline Aviacon Zitotrans, was tracked landing at San Antonio de los Baños Airfield, a Cuban military installation roughly 30 miles south of Havana, according to public flight data. Flight-tracking records show the aircraft stopped in St. Petersburg and Sochi in Russia; Mauritania, Africa; and the Dominican Republic. Each landing would have required approval from host governments, offering a window into which countries are continuing to permit Russian military-linked aviation activity despite Western sanctions. The same aircraft conducted flights to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba in late October 2025, as tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated. That movement preceded U.S. military action in Venezuela that ultimately ended Maduro’s rule — a sequence U.S. officials and analysts have since pointed to as a warning indicator when evaluating similar Russian aviation activity in the region. MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION Now, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel finds himself under mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, who has sharply intensified U.S. policy toward Havana in recent weeks. On Thursday, Trump declared a national emergency related to Cuba, asserting that the Cuban government poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The administration also said it would impose penalties on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba without U.S. authorization. Trump confirmed Sunday that the U.S. is engaged in direct talks with Cuban officials. TRUMP SAYS CUBA IS ‘READY TO FALL’ AFTER CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO “Cuba is a failing nation. It has been for a long time, but now it doesn’t have Venezuela to prop it up,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. “So we’re talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens. I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba.” Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both have indicated support for political change in Havana, though the administration has not said whether it would pursue that objective through military action. Russian military ties to Cuba have repeatedly triggered concern in Washington. While the Soviet Union’s footprint on the island receded after the Cold War, Moscow has steadily rebuilt defense and intelligence cooperation with Havana over the past decade. U.S. officials have warned that renewed Russian activity in Cuba could pose security risks close to the U.S. mainland. The Il-76 is a heavy transport aircraft capable of carrying roughly 50 tons of cargo or up to 200 personnel, a capability that has drawn scrutiny given the operator’s history. Aviacon Zitotrans has been sanctioned by the United States, Canada and Ukraine for supporting Russia’s defense sector. “Aviacon Zitotrans has shipped military equipment such as rockets, warheads, and helicopter parts all over the world,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in January 2023, when it added the airline to its sanctions list. It remains unclear what cargo the aircraft carried on its most recent flight. During earlier operations in Venezuela, Russian state media and a Russian lawmaker said the same aircraft delivered Pantsir-S1 short-range and Buk-M2E medium-range air defense systems to Caracas.
Philly DA’s ‘hunt you down’ warning to ICE draws calls for DOJ criminal probe
Soros-backed Democratic prosecutor Larry Krasner is facing criticism for his inflammatory remarks against federal immigration enforcement, with a Republican lawmaker urging the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation after Krasner said he would “hunt down” ICE agents. Krasner, the district attorney for Philadelphia, took to the podium at Penn Square last week to denounce ICE agents as “a small bunch of wannabe Nazis,” adding, “if we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities.” House Intelligence Committee member Greg Steube, R-Fla., called out Krasner and recommended that Attorney General Pam Bondi take a closer look at his ever-escalating remarks on the issue. Steube cited federal code categorizing threatening a federal officer as a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS OPEN INVESTIGATION INTO WALZ, FREY OVER ALLEGED IMPEDING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT “The DOJ should absolutely arrest and convict this guy,” he said. Krasner previously said he would seek to arrest and prosecute federal agents who “come to Philly to commit crimes” — in an apparent reference to allegations that law enforcement acted unlawfully when shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit one of them with her car while disrupting an operation. In the remarks that drew Steube’s ire, Krasner boasted that the 350 million Americans who live in the U.S. outnumber the “small bunch of wannabe Nazis” before offering to work with other states’ prosecutors to pursue them criminally after President Donald Trump’s term ends. TRUMP-ERA ICE AGENTS TARGETED FOR ‘IMMORALITY’ BY DEM TRYING TO BLACKLIST THEM FROM COP, CLASSROOM JOBS Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department to ask whether it planned to follow Steube’s recommendation, but received no response. A White House official who was asked about the situation directed Fox News Digital back to the DOJ. Krasner also earned a rebuke from his own party, as Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told Fox News that such remarks are “unacceptable… abhorrent and it is wrong; period; hard-stop; end of sentence.” “We have a psychopath with a badge,” fellow Pennsylvanian Rep. Dan Meuser, a Dallas Republican, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. DHS SHARES OBSCENE, THREATENING VOICEMAIL SENT TO ICE AGENT, BLAMING LOCAL POLS FOR ‘INCITEMENT’ Meuser condemned Krasner for repeatedly failing to prosecute actual violent criminals, citing a reported prosecution rate of 30% for such crimes. “Every responsible Democrat must condemn this behavior. Failure to do so only increases the temperature in an already volatile situation, endangering federal law enforcement and communities alike,” he said, adding that Senate Democrats are borrowing Krasner’s “reckless political playbook” in using DHS funding as a cudgel in government-shutdown negotiations. Meuser quipped that many critics rightly dub Krasner “Let ‘Em Go Larry” for his position toward prosecution of suspects who aren’t members of federal immigration enforcement. Meuser has been at the forefront of calling out prosecutors for their actions and statements, authoring the Holding Prosecutors Accountable Act, which would make district attorney offices that fail to prosecute at least two-thirds of arrests ineligible for certain Justice Department grants. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was asked about Steube’s call and said that Krasner’s comments were “vile.” WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS “He is intentionally stoking the flames of hatred and division in this country for political gain. Calling law enforcement Nazis and encouraging violence and doxing of them is absolutely disgusting,” she said, citing the 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE. “The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop,” McLaughlin said, adding that Krasner should instead be thanking ICE for removing several dangerous illegal immigrants from the Delaware Valley itself. She cited Yehi Badawi from Egypt, who was convicted of aggravated assault and robbery; Cuban national Alan De Armas-Tundidor, a convicted drug trafficker; and Thanh Long Huynh of Vietnam, who was convicted of both rape and cocaine distribution. In recent comments to Fox News Digital, another top Pennsylvania Republican who taught relevant subjects at the U.S. Army War College, said the federal supremacy clause would likely moot any actions by Krasner or Philadelphia against ICE agents following lawful federal orders. “The Constitution is not optional,” said state Sen. Doug Mastriano of Gettysburg, who ran against Shapiro in 2022. State Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee Chairman Jarrett Coleman, an Allentown Republican whose panel oversees local-state-federal interactions, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that claims Philadelphia officials can intercede with federal immigration enforcement are “empty threats.” DHS PUNCHES BACK AT MOULTON FOR ‘INCITING RIOTERS’ WITH ‘GROSS’ ICE REMARKS “If they do obstruct federal law enforcement efforts, the Pennsylvania Senate will be the least of their worries,” he said, later remarking that if Krasner paid more attention to actual violence, “Philadelphia wouldn’t be such a s—hole.” Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, a far-left funder of many allegedly soft-on-crime prosecutors in localities around the country, dumped $1.7 million into Krasner’s 2017 election, according to Philadelphia’s PBS affiliate. Philadelphia City Council Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, of the left-wing Working Families Party, and Democrat Rue Landau also authored legislation intended to limit ICE operations within city limits. The city’s lone Republican councilman, Brian O’Neill, is ranked as the third party rather than minority in the Democratic-led chamber. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for further comment.
Longtime Iowa federal judge dies at 78 after more than 26 years on the bench
Robert Pratt, a federal judge in Iowa who served more than two decades on the bench, died Wednesday after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 78. His son, Michael Pratt, told The New York Times that his father died of a heart attack while at a gym. Pratt was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa by former President Bill Clinton in 1997 and went on to serve more than 26 years on the federal court. The Iowa State Bar Association said he retired in 2023, having presided over cases including a sentencing decision that was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gall v. United States. APPEALS COURT DISMISSES DOJ MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT AGAINST FEDERAL JUDGE An obituary for Pratt, who was born May 3, 1947, described him as a man who “championed the underdog and the uncelebrated” throughout his career in public service. In 2009, he helped launch an annual Fourth of July naturalization ceremony held alongside Iowa Cubs baseball games and later presided over dozens of ceremonies welcoming new U.S. citizens. Pratt previously drew scrutiny after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump over a series of pardons in 2020, comments he later acknowledged were inappropriate for a federal judge. REAGAN-APPOINTED JUDGE RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF TRUMP, WARNS OF PRESIDENT’S ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’ During a phone interview with The Associated Press, Pratt took aim at Trump’s pardons of John Tate and Jesse Benton, two former top aides to Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign. “It’s not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals,” he said. “But apparently to get a pardon, one has to be either a Republican, a convicted child murderer or a turkey.” The Associated Press reported that the remarks led to a judicial misconduct complaint by Lavenski Smith, who was serving as chief judge of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals at the time. In an April 16, 2021, letter to Smith, Pratt apologized for the remarks and said he accepted the conclusion they could be construed as “inappropriate partisan statements.” “I acknowledge the wrongfulness of the comments, and I regret the embarrassment they have caused to my court and the judiciary in general. I am truly sorry for the remarks and apologize for having made them,” Pratt wrote. “I also want to reaffirm my commitment to the impartial administration of justice in full compliance with the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.” He is survived by his wife, Rose Mary, three children, a stepdaughter and seven grandchildren.
Illegal immigrant in Florida charged with arson, felony criminal mischief, sheriff says
Police arrested an illegal immigrant in Florida on charges of arson and felony criminal mischief, Florida police announced Sunday. Authorities say Marcelino Gillen-Hernandez attempted to start two fires on a property in Wahneta, Florida. Authorities first received reports from the property’s owner, who said she was able to extinguish the latest blaze with a garden hose after she saw it glowing under a mobile home on the property. She told police that Hernandez admitted to her that he had started both fires, one earlier in January and another this weekend. Hernandez said he had been told to do so by people “at a residence he used to live at,” the owner told authorities. Authorities say Hernandez made the same confession when being interviewed by police. DESANTIS ANNOUNCES FLORIDA ARRESTED 10,400 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ‘OPERATION TIDAL WAVE’ After Hernandez was taken into custody, he told deputies that he had also previously broken some windows at the Placita Mexico store in Wahneta, police said. “Hernandez stated that on the first occasion he attempted to break a window using a rock but was unsuccessful. He advised that on a subsequent occasion he returned and successfully broke a door window. On another occasion, he stated he struck a door with a hammer in combination with a rock,” police wrote. Hernandez is being charged with three counts of unoccupied burglary, two counts of criminal mischief with property damage less than $1,000 dollars, and one count of criminal mischief with property damage $1,000 or more. He is also facing two counts of arson. DHS TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER ARRESTING OVER 10K ILLEGAL ALIENS IN DEEP BLUE CITY DESPITE VIOLENT RIOTS Each of the charges has been enhanced by one degree due to the suspect being in the country illegally, police noted. HOUSTON ICE OPERATION NETS OVER 3,500 CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS IN SIX WEEKS DURING SHUTDOWN “This suspect—who is in the country illegally—committed very serious felonies while taking advantage of someone who allowed him to live in a trailer on her property. He caused over $1600 worth of damage to a local business as well,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “We also learned he threatened to kill a 74-year-old man with a knife in 2024 and was arrested for aggravated assault on a person over 65 years old. He should have been deported back then and perhaps he wouldn’t have been here to terrorize and victimize others,” Judd added.