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5/27: CBS Evening News
Latest details on Washington state chemical tank rupture; Trump's optimism on an Iran peace deal seems to waver.
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U.S. conducts another strike against Iran, Democrats are hopeful about their chances to retake GOP-held Senate seats, a town in eastern DRC is emerging as the epicenter of the latest Ebola outbreak.
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Raw Story
Lindsey Graham astonishes onlookers with 'ignorant' Fox News interview
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) astonished onlookers on Wednesday after he gave what some described as an "ignorant" interview on Fox News. Graham joined Fox News host Sean Hannity on his eponymous show, where the two discussed topics ranging from President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Iran to Trump's endorsement of Graham's re-election bid. But it was one comment Graham made about a prominent award that he thinks Trump should receive that caught the ears of political analysts and observers. "If he can get Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of Islam in the world, to recognize the State of Israel, then he will have ended the Israeli-Arab conflict that's been going on for thousands of years. They should change the Nobel Prize to the Trump Prize," Graham said. Graham made the comments at a time when Trump's influence in the Middle East appears to be waning. Trump's negotiations with the Iranian regime to end the war have effectively stalled, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed. Political analysts and observers reacted to Graham's comments on social media. "Is there anyone more ignorant than U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham? Ignorant of history, ignorant of geography, ignorant of politics, ignorant of geopolitics, and even ignorant of religion?" Samar Jarrah, a radio host and author, posted on X. "How did America descend this quickly to such a level? In fact, to something even worse than rock bottom.""This man lives permanently in Trump's anus," Wajahat Ali, host of the "Democracy-ish" podcast, posted on X. "Is Lindsey drunk again or just embarrassing himself?" Orla Joelsen, a political commentator from Greenland, posted on X.
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Blaze Media
WATCH: Protester screeches 'Nazi b***h!' at Fox News reporter on air during New Jersey ICE protest
A Fox News reporter caught the crazed reaction from an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protester live as she broadcasted from a demonstration at an immigrant detention center in New Jersey.Protesters have declaimed against the conditions inside of the ICE detainment center at Delaney Hall in Newark as detainees have reportedly been participating in hunger strikes since Friday.'It’s constant with this. This is what these people do. They want people who are in this country illegally to be released out onto the streets.'On Tuesday, the outrage led to an outburst captured on air on Fox News."I'm not the most popular reporter, right, at these ICE protests. So just prepare yourself to see some of that," said Fox reporter Alexis McAdams. "The other situation is there's people like this. You are a protester who’s been out here — and you have a dirty mouth."The woman appears to say, "You're a b***h!" at McAdams."OK! So that’s just what we deal with," McAdams responded. "It’s constant with this. This is what these people do. They want people who are in this country illegally to be released out onto the streets.""F**king Nazi b***h! That’s what you are!" screams the protester."That is an eloquent argument," replied Fox host Will Cain back at the studio.Video of the interaction was posted to social media, where it quickly went viral.Protesters claim that federal officials are ignoring medical care requests and needs from the detainees, who also claim they are being held under poor conditions and fed bad food that is causing illness. On Monday, protesters tried to block vehicles from leaving the center and were pepper-sprayed by agents. The Department of Homeland Security denies the allegations about the conditions at the facility.RELATED: Pro-ICE student suspended for posters at California high school after anti-ICE student walkout "They're given rotten frozen food, or in the case of last week, they found live worms in their food, we're also hearing of people being denied toilet paper," said activist Catalina Adorno to WABC-TV. There are about 300 detainees being held at the privately run facility at Delaney Hall, which includes about 1,000 beds. Detainees have tablets to communicate with the outside.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
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Alternet.org
Why Paxton’s upset and Trump’s polling collapse spell bad news for the GOP
Despite suffering from weak approval ratings in countless polls, President Donald Trump is having no problem affecting the outcome of GOP primaries: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and at least five Indiana state lawmakers are among the Republican incumbents who lost recent GOP primaries to challengers backed by Trump. Journalist Colby Hall is arguing that Trump's weakness in polls and far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Tuesday victory over Cornyn are "the same story," showing that "Trump's coalition is getting smaller and louder at the same time.""The contradiction at the center of Donald Trump's politics has never been more visible than it was this week," Hall, the founder of Mediaite, writes in a column for his ColbyHall.com website. "He is one of the least popular presidents in modern polling history, and simultaneously, the most dominant force in the Republican Party. Neither fact is canceling out the other. His approval numbers are collapsing again. Depending on the poll, they are now approaching the lows he hit after January 6. He is underwater on inflation, cost of living, immigration, and now Iran. The broader electorate is plainly exhausted by him, the still very high price of a gallon of gas, and the bread and eggs he promised to make cheaper on Day 1 of his second term."Hall continues, "At the exact same moment, Trump casually ended Sen. John Cornyn's political career with a single endorsement of the far more MAGA-coded Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas. Ironically, Trump helping Paxton win the primary delivers his MAGA faithful a short-term win while putting the seat itself in real jeopardy. Democratic nominee James Talarico is a much more plausible threat to Paxton than he would have been to Cornyn, and a Republican Senate majority that looked safe a week ago no longer does."According to Hall, the "true nature of Trump's current power" is that he "looks weak nationally" yet continues to be "all-powerful inside the Republican Party.""The two observations fit together pretty neatly," Hall argues. "Trump still owns the Republican primary electorate. The problem for Republicans is that the Republican primary electorate is no longer the country. His coalition is shrinking and becoming more emotionally concentrated at the same time. That creates the illusion of growing strength because intensity is very often mistaken for scale." Hall compares Trump's influence on the GOP's hardcore MAGA base to professional wrestling, noting that "the diehards in the front rows scream louder as the cheap seats empty out.""Trump's endorsement (of Paxton) remains incredibly powerful inside a shrinking but highly motivated audience that still sees him as the central figure in American politics," Hall explains. "Outside of it, the reaction looks very different. Republicans may still hold the seat, but they just replaced a broadly electable incumbent with a candidate carrying impeachment baggage, corruption allegations, and obvious general-election vulnerabilities. Democrats suddenly have a plausible opening in Texas that barely existed before."
Left
Alternet.org
Leading election forecaster gives Texas GOP the news it feared after Paxton win
While President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters might be celebrating Ken Paxton's dominant win in Tuesday's Senate primary, according to one of the leading election forecasters, the result has tipped the general election odds in the direction that the Texas GOP most feared.Paxton, whose time as Texas attorney general has been plagued by scandal and corruption, trounced incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff this week, spelling the end of one of the most powerful Republicans in the Senate. This came after Trump, at the last minute, issued an endorsement of Paxton, calling him a staunch MAGA ally, despite the warnings of his party. Given his history, Paxton has a lot of toxic political baggage, prompting considerable alarm that voters might turn their noses up at him and open a path to victory for Democrats.The blue opposition is also fielding one of its strongest Texas Senate nominees in years in the form of state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a strong campaign with a focus on economic issues voters are most worried about, as well as his devout Christianity. Numerous polls have shown that Cornyn might have been able to fend off Talarico, Paxton's chances were much closer, with some even giving the Democrat the edge.These worries were reflected by the latest update from the Cook Political Report, a firm that issues predictions for every major political race in the country based on evolving circumstances. In the wake of Paxton's win, per The Hill, the report moved its prediction for the Texas Senate race to be more in favor of a Talarico win. Cook still, overall, gives the Republican Party the edge in the race, but now, it is more slight. Whereas the rating used to be "likely Republican," Paxton's win saw it changed to a "lean Republican" rating, the sort of momentum shift that the Texas GOP does not want to see. It also noted that the Texas AG has no shortage of weaknesses for Democrats to exploit, potentially helping them move the race more in their favor through November."Paxton has a litany of ethical lapses for Democrats to exploit — from allegations of bribery and misuse of his office to marital infidelity, which led his wife to divorce him on ‘biblical grounds,’” Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor for the Cook Political Report, explained. “Given the national environment, this is a race that certainly may have become competitive even if Cornyn had won, but Paxton’s flaws warrant an immediate move to the Lean column."
Left
Raw Story
'You're a Nazi!' Fox News confronted on live TV by protester with 'dirty mouth'
A Fox News correspondent got an earful—live on air—while reporting from outside a New Jersey immigration detention center Tuesday afternoon.Alexis McAdams was reporting for Will Cain's 4 p.m. show outside Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark when a protester unleashed on her mid-broadcast. McAdams had just warned Cain that the scene could get uncomfortable, telling him she's "not the most popular reporter" at ICE protests—then almost immediately had to address a demonstrator nearby."You have a dirty mouth," McAdams told the protester on camera, brushing it off as par for the course. "That's just what we deal with."Seconds later, the protester made her feelings crystal clear."You're a Nazi b—! You're a Nazi b—! That's what you are!" the demonstrator shouted directly at McAdams.The network quickly cut back to Cain in the studio."That is an eloquent argument made against the presence of Alexis McAdams," Cain said dryly. "Stay safe, Alexis."The confrontation unfolded amid a large demonstration outside Delaney Hall, where protesters have been demanding the facility's closure. Demonstrators built human chains and barricades outside the center, and a hunger strike was underway inside. New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said he was hit with pepper spray during the chaos—a claim DHS disputed, saying pepper ball projectiles directly struck no one. Gov. Mikie Sherrill also attempted to enter the facility but was denied access.DHS has pushed back on protester claims of poor conditions inside Delaney Hall, saying detainees receive three meals a day, clean water, clothing, and medical, dental, and mental health services.
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NPR Topics: News
Morning news brief
Controversial Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wins GOP nomination for U.S. Senate seat, South Carolina lawmakers reject Trump-backed redistricting plan, Trump's whiplash diplomacy on Iran continues.
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Raw Story
'He's bad news': Republican says Trump's endorsement made him vote for other candidate
Texas Republicans headed to the polls Tuesday in a make-or-break Senate runoff — and for at least one voter, President Donald Trump's endorsement didn't seal the deal. It backfired.CNN caught up with two Republican voters outside a Plano polling location on Election Day, and their reactions to Trump's last-minute backing of Attorney General Ken Paxton told two very different stories about the state of the GOP.The first voter said Trump's endorsement was the deciding factor — pushing him away from Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, and toward Paxton. "I was torn because I was gonna go with Cornyn," he said. "But when Trump backed [Paxton] — I like who he backs."The second voter went the other way entirely."I made one vote, and that was for Cornyn," he told CNN's Arlette Saenz. "Primarily because he's not supported by Trump."When Saenz pressed him, he didn't mince words. "I think he's ruined my Republican party," he said of Trump. "I think he's divided America. I think he's bad news. And I still lean Republican, so I voted for Cornyn."NOTUS White House reporter Jasmine Wright, appearing on CNN, said the exchange captured a split that's playing out statewide. "You're literally seeing the 80-20, 70-30 split that we see represented in polling," she said, adding that the White House is banking on the majority holding. "This question that we continue to ask — whether or not Trump still holds a vice grip on the Republican Party — continues to show us yes, yes, and yes."Trump amplified that grip Tuesday morning, resharing a post urging Texans to "Get the RINOs out now" while calling Paxton the country's best attorney general.Cornyn, meanwhile, made his closing argument on Fox News, hammering Paxton's scandal-ridden record. "Texans have learned that you can't trust what Paxton says," he said, citing Paxton's impeachment by a Republican-led House and a $6.6 million whistleblower judgment against him.The winner faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
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