First Thing: Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in Texas primary | US news

Good morning.

Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general backed by Donald Trump, defeated incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican senatorial primary, signaling how much clout the president still wields in the deep-red state.

After the race was called, Cornyn said he would “support the GOP ticket” in the midterm elections, where Paxton will face Democratic state legislator and Presbyterian seminarian James Talarico.

But the Texas attorney general has a serious burden: Paxton was impeached in 2023 after being charged with corruption, but was later acquitted in a trial in the Texas senate, where his wife is a state senator (but not allowed to vote).

He was also charged with felony securities fraud, which could have led to prison time, but the case was dismissed after a pre-trial diversion agreement in 2024. Last year, his wife filed for divorce on “biblical grounds” on the grounds of adultery.

• So what about Paxton’s new rival? As a Democrat, Talarico faces major challenges in Texas but has gained huge popularity with his message of peace and populism. Leading the primary is Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a former Democratic Senate candidate and partner at Ascend Strategy Labs., “Talarico has a shot if Ken Paxton runs,” said a social justice consulting firm in Austin.

UN says war against Iran has increased global hunger to historic levels

The US-Israeli war against Iran has worsened other global disasters, causing hunger to soar to record levels at a time when funding for famine relief has fallen dramatically, the deputy head of the UN World Food Programme.

WFP says 363 million people worldwide are at risk of acute hunger, 45 million of whom are due to conflicts in the Middle East and the resulting rise in oil prices. This comes against the background of two famines declared in Gaza and Sudan in 2025.

• How much has funding decreased? WFP financing cut last year by a third, with the contribution of the United States, by far the largest donor, falling by more than half.

• How is the US-Israeli war against Iran? Does famine affect? It directly increases food prices, mostly due to transportation costs, but some avenues of aid are also blocked.

South Carolina Republicans defy Trump once again to reject swift redistricting push

Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have challenged Donald Trump and rejected aggressive efforts to control the state’s congressional districts ahead of November’s midterm elections.

By a 26-18 vote, state senators rejected redistricting in a special session of the legislature in the middle of the decade, defeating an attempt by Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn to split his district.

The proposal would cancel the congressional election, where early voting begins Tuesday, and reschedule it with new district boundaries that would significantly reduce the number of reliably Democratic voters in the Clyburn district.

In other news…

• The Trump administration’s war against Iran should not affect arms sales to Taiwan, This is what experts said after a US official suggested that the pause in the delivery of a key arms package was due to the conflict.

• The US military launched a new attack on an alleged drug-smuggling ship in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. He killed one person and left two people aliveSince the United States began its campaign against alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin American waters in September, it has not provided evidence that any of the ships were carrying drugs.

• Iceland’s foreign minister says he fears his country is facing a “Brexit moment” EU referendum is approaching Amid warnings about misinformation, foreign interference and artificial intelligence.

• Russian government gave instructions to leading banks Ukraine should shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles themselves, Kyiv forces are targeting the infrastructure used to wage and finance the war.

Status of the day: The average female face is rated as more attractive than nearly 60% of male faces

A new global study has found that the average female face is more attractive than nearly 60% of male faces. Both men and women rate the average female face as more attractive than a male’s, but the perceived difference diminishes with age, the researchers said.

Actually: I’m a sex educator – that’s why I don’t define sex at all

Sex educator Maya Walsh-Little asks a seemingly simple question at the beginning of her classes: “What is sex?” He argues that no matter how much you know about sexuality, it can be useful to explore your ideas on the subject. “Using a singular definition of sex implicitly confirms that there is a right and wrong way to have sex, and that there are right and wrong roles to play during sex,” writes Walsh-Little.

Don’t miss this: The pain of losing your furniture and your soulmate

Breakups are bad enough, but have you ever lost all your furniture in the process? For couples living together, splitting up the apartment’s furniture, appliances, decorations, and other belongings can be economically and emotionally costly.

Climate control: Climate crisis is accelerating antibiotic resistance worldwide, study says

The climate emergency is worsening the global rise in antibiotic resistance, which poses a serious threat to human health, according to a study showing that the crisis is associated with a 10% global increase in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023. Although antimicrobial resistance is mainly caused by the overuse of antibiotic drugs, research suggests that rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may affect the spread and mutation of bacteria.

Latest Thing: How Japan’s cat obsession became a multibillion-dollar industry

The influence of cats is clearly visible in Japanese society; In fact, a neighborhood in Tokyo is called “cat town” because of its historical association with felines. Now a report shows that animals are generating an expected ¥3 trillion ($18.8 billion) in value to the Japanese economy this year, in a phenomenon called “catnomics.”

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