In an op-ed published in the Austin American-Statesman<\/a>, Phillips, a Republican who served as the state\u2019s chief justice from 1988 to 2004, said that he believed that Talarico would be a better representative of Texas in the Senate, and more willing to engage in productive bipartisanship.<\/p>\n By contrast, he said, Paxton would be a Trump acolyte who would enable the president\u2019s excesses and self-dealing, steering the Republican Party away from the ideals Phillips believes it should embody, such as limited government and free enterprise.<\/p>\n He also felt that Paxton\u2019s history of scandal would cast a shadow over his Senate tenure, regardless of his future conduct.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever exemplary his future conduct might be, Paxton\u2019s longstanding reputation will embarrass Texas in ways our state simply cannot afford,\u201d Phillips wrote. \u201cWhile I, like many Republicans, do not agree with all of Talarico\u2019s past statements or current positions, I am confident that he would serve this great state with dignity and honor.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillips said he believed there were still Republican candidates on the ticket who were worthy of serving. Paxton just wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThus, while I enthusiastically support the statewide Republican judicial candidates and many Republican candidates for other statewide offices, my choice for United States Senator must be James Talarico,\u201d Phillips wrote.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.42 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s cuts have exposed US to \u2018cascade\u2019 of El Ni\u00f1o dangers, experts warn<\/p>\n Gabrielle Canon<\/p>\n Sweeping cuts to the premier US climate agency under Donald Trump have severely hampered the country\u2019s capacity to forecast, research and respond to extreme weather events, former government officials and scientists have warned, as the US faces a cascade of hazards<\/a> fueled by a potentially historic El Ni\u00f1o this winter.<\/p>\n From the start of his second term, the president has taken aim at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), slashing staff levels, canceling contracts and grants<\/a>,<\/a> and shutting down databases and research laboratories. The agency that has long been considered a global crown jewel in climate science and forecasting, has lost roughly 20% of its staff since January 2025.<\/p>\n The National Weather Service, which is housed within Noaa, has also taken a hit. Weather stations have had to delay data collection and cut operating hours, with hundreds of meteorological and other technical positions still vacant across its 122 forecast offices.<\/p>\n The effects have already been felt at Noaa, where a chaotic and volatile environment has sent morale plummeting, increased burnout and hampered vital work. While capacity has quietly unravelled, a large-scale disaster will quickly expose the most dangerous gaps.<\/p>\n \u201cThe system has not really been tested since all the cuts happened,\u201d said Tom Di Liberto, a former Noaa climate scientist who now works as the media director of Climate Central.<\/p>\n That test could soon be coming.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s super El Ni\u00f1o, a climate phenomenon characterized by warmer than average equatorial sea surface temperatures, has the ability to fuel extreme weather events around the world. It\u2019s already climbing off the charts and is expected to strengthen through the northern hemisphere\u2019s autumn and winter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Along with dangerous spikes in temperature, El Ni\u00f1o will supercharge storms in parts of the American west, raise sea levels in California by up to a foot, and set the stage for debris flows, landslides and flash floods.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether we as a country can handle the kind of coast-to-coast extremes that could potentially happen this winter is a big question,\u201d Di Liberto said.<\/p>\n Read the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In the latest episode of our Stateside<\/a> podcast, Carter Sherman speaks to Julian Borger<\/a>, the Guardian\u2019s senior international correspondent, about how historic elections in Serbia, Brazil, Israel and the United States could reshape the political world order in just 10 days – and why the upcoming US midterm elections are the biggest test for global democracy.<\/p>\n Before heading to Texas<\/a>, Trump spoke in blunt terms about the US\u2019s relationship with Venezuela, describing a massive shipment of oil he\u2019ll show off at a campaign stop as a personal gift from a subdued country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took over Venezuela, very successfully,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd they\u2019ve sent me as a gift, a boatload of a million barrels of oil, and I\u2019m giving that to the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration<\/a> deposed Venezuela\u2019s former leader, Nic\u00f3las Maduro, in January, dragging the autocrat off to a Brooklyn jail after a nighttime incursion into the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. His US-friendly successor, Delcy Rodriguez, who took power with Trump\u2019s backing, has since brokered deals with the Trump administration that would see Venezuela oil revenues funneled into US coffers.<\/p>\n The oil shipment from Venezuela is part of Trump\u2019s efforts to tamp down voters\u2019 outrage over soaring gas prices due to the war in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to accept a million barrels of oil, and I\u2019m going to give it to you people to use it the way you want,\u201d Trump said.\u201cOil prices are going to be dropping very sharply, very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says he’ll respect election results ‘if they\u2019re honest’<\/p>\n Pressed on the tarmac en route to a pair of Texas<\/a> campaign events on whether he would accept the election results of the 2026 midterm elections, President Trump gave a familiar reply: \u201cI will, if they\u2019re honest.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said he would be open to working with, and potentially making deals, with a Democratic majority if Republicans were to lose control of Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that won\u2019t be the case, but if it is, that\u2019s happened before with many presidents,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cYou have strong veto, and you end up working out deals.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.16 EDT<\/p>\n Trump-appointed CDC deputy director to resign after six months on the job The deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will resign after six months on the job, according to an agency email obtained by the Guardian.<\/p>\n Dr Jennifer Shuford was appointed by Donald Trump<\/a> in April as part of a four-person senior leadership team.<\/p>\n The appointments were meant to stabilize the agency after the previous CDC director, Susan Monarez<\/a>, left less than a month into the job \u2013 publicly describing the directives of the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr<\/a>, as \u201cunscientific<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI am leaving to spend more time with my family,\u201d Shuford said in a statement, sent via email by the CDC director, Dr Erica Schwartz. \u201cI am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC. It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n A sign outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Roybal campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Megan Varner\/Reuters<\/p>\n Shuford is expected to leave her post on 12 November, after the midterm elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n The deputy director was appointed as part of a four-person team in April, alongside Schwartz and two other top leaders. Shuford\u2019s appointment was cheered by public health leaders, such as Association of State and Territorial Health Officials<\/a> (ASTHO), who would have known her work as Texas health commissioner.<\/p>\n In the time since Shuford has worked at the agency, Kennedy has made significant changes that undermine vaccine trust and access. In just a few recent examples: Kennedy fired all 17<\/a> of the CDC\u2019s expert vaccine advisory panel members and replaced them with ideologically aligned<\/a> appointees, slow-walked<\/a> death updates to the agency\u2019s measles dashboard, and forced the CDC to publicly contradict scientific consensus on vaccines and autism \u2013 a change the Autism Science Foundation said left it \u201cappalled<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n At the same time, the agency has lost one-third<\/a> of its workforce and 48 distinct measles outbreaks have roiled the US, particularly in Pennsylvania<\/a>. The overwhelming majority<\/a> of Americans \u2013 including Maha supporters \u2013 trust vaccines.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.00 EDT<\/p>\n Tom Phillips, chief justice of Texas supreme court, endorses James Talarico in Senate race<\/p>\n Tom Phillips, a longtime chief justice of the Texas<\/a> Supreme Court and a staunch Republican, endorsed Democrat James Talarico in the Texas Senate race on Monday.<\/p>\n In an op-ed published in the Austin American-Statesman<\/a>, Phillips, a Republican who served as the state\u2019s chief justice from 1988 to 2004, said that he believed that Talarico would be a better representative of Texas in the Senate, and more willing to engage in productive bipartisanship.<\/p>\n By contrast, he said, Paxton would be a Trump acolyte who would enable the president\u2019s excesses and self-dealing, steering the Republican Party away from the ideals Phillips believes it should embody, such as limited government and free enterprise.<\/p>\n He also felt that Paxton\u2019s history of scandal would cast a shadow over his Senate tenure, regardless of his future conduct.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever exemplary his future conduct might be, Paxton\u2019s longstanding reputation will embarrass Texas in ways our state simply cannot afford,\u201d Phillips wrote. \u201cWhile I, like many Republicans, do not agree with all of Talarico\u2019s past statements or current positions, I am confident that he would serve this great state with dignity and honor.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillips said he believed there were still Republican candidates on the ticket who were worthy of serving. Paxton just wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThus, while I enthusiastically support the statewide Republican judicial candidates and many Republican candidates for other statewide offices, my choice for United States Senator must be James Talarico,\u201d Phillips wrote.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.42 EDT<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before departing for a campaign event in Michigan, JD Vance responded to a question about President Trump\u2019s remarks branding Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a \u201cjihadist.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance, who has sparred with the progressive El-Sayed repeatedly on the campaign trail, took a somewhat softer tone. But he didn\u2019t walk away from Trump\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n Vance said that El-Sayed had identified himself with a segment of Democrats \u201cwho seem to align with people who justify violence against the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s in the guy\u2019s heart,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI just know he has a lot of weird friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.52 EDT<\/p>\n Trump and Rubio descend on Texas to campaign for Paxton, and to tout Venezuelan oil<\/p>\n President Trump is set to headline back-to-back campaign events in Texas<\/a> on Tuesday, as Republicans look to bolster Senate candidate Ken Paxton in the face of a strong challenge from Democrat James Talarico.<\/p>\n Trump will rally in Corpus Christi this afternoon, then head to Lubbock for an evening event. He\u2019ll be joined on the campaign trail by Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u2013\u00a0a highly unusual move for the nation\u2019s top diplomat.<\/p>\n Together, the pair are set to flaunt an oil tanked filler with Venezuelan crude bound for Texas refineries, according to officials familiar with the plans.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump dances as he leaves the stage after delivering remarks to supporters at a midterm election campaign rally in Corinth, Mississippi on Monday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters<\/p>\n Trump has frequently touted the oil deal his administration struck with the new, US-backed Venezuelan leadership after deposing its former leader, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, earlier this year, as a windfall for the nation. Rubio, a chief architect of Trump\u2019s foreign policy, especially in Latin America, has been deeply involved in those negotiations.<\/p>\n The stunt also comes at a moment when surging oil prices, an aftershock of the war in Iran, have kneecapped the Republican party going into the midterms, countering Trump\u2019s 2024 election promises to bring down prices.<\/p>\n Those grievances have put states once considered reliably Republican into play for the midterms, and Texas may be chief among them. The state hasn\u2019t sent a Democrat to the Senate in decades, yet recent polling has found a closely contested race between Paxton (a divisive candidate dogged by scandal) and Talarico.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.46 EDT<\/p>\n US voters: tell us what issues will decide your vote in the midterm elections?<\/p>\n On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states.<\/p>\n In an October poll by the New York Times\/Siena College<\/a>, Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating sank to 36% with most respondents expressing frustration over his handling of the US economy, cost of living and Iran war.<\/p>\n We\u2019d like to hear from all Americans of voting age about their thoughts on the midterm elections. What are the main issues that will decide your vote and why?<\/p>\n Share your story by filling out the form here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Shadow from Trump’s Washington arch would land on Arlington Cemetery, Washington Post finds<\/p>\n Since President Trump first proposed the installation of a monumental new arch in Washington, critics have argued it would detract from another important site nearby: Arlington National Cemetery, the nation\u2019s largest military cemetery, which sits just across a nearby bridge.<\/p>\n A U.S. Army honor guard member stands vigil at dawn at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n But a new analysis by The Washington Post<\/a> has found that the arch would, quite literally, cast a shadow over the hallowed burial ground.<\/p>\n On 284 days out of the year, the arch would block sunlight from portions of the cemetery, its shadow passing over the graves of more than 75,000 people, as well as several notable memorial sites. Those include the eternal flame honoring former president John F. Kennedy and the Military Women\u2019s Memorial.<\/p>\n The shadow would also pass over the grave sites of several Supreme Court Justices, including Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Post found.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.35 EDT<\/p>\n Strong early turnout in Israeli election, with Netanyahu’s political future in the balance<\/p>\n Israeli voters are going to the polls today to decide the future of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who president Trump has strongly backed and who worked with him to launch the ongoing war with Iran.<\/p>\n Early turnout in the election, branded by some as the most consequential in Israeli history, was the highest it\u2019s been in decades, according to data released by Israel\u2019s Central Elections Committee.<\/p>\n Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s longest-serving prime minister, faces his first true election test since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the beginning of the war in Gaza. That conflict touched off a wider regional conflict that increasingly drew in the US, culminating in the current US-Israeli war on Iran, which Trump and Netanyahu jointly launched earlier this year.<\/p>\n A man walks past a Likud Party campaign banner featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trum in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Baz Ratner\/AP<\/p>\n That war and its economic aftershocks (the soaring price of fuel, in particular) have loomed large over the US midterm election. Today\u2019s election in Israel will help determine the future course of that war, and what Israeli leadership will be working with the US to see it through, as well as implement Trump\u2019s peace plan for Gaza.<\/p>\n Follow along the Israeli election as it unfolds here<\/a>, with my colleague Yohannes Lowe.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.32 EDT<\/p>\n While Donald Trump<\/a> is heading to Texas, JD Vance, his vice president and a top MAGA campaign surrogate, will be in Howell, Michigan, campaigning for Republicans in the state.<\/p>\n The stop in Michigan is part of a campaign blitz that just yesterday took Vance to Montana and Kansas. The latter of those two states has become the site of an unexpectedly competitive Senate race, with Democrat Adam Hamilton mounting a strong challenge against the Republican incumbent Roger Marshall.<\/p>\n Vance has already made multiple midterm stops in Michigan, where the Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, and Mike Rogers, the Republican, has seen some of the fiercest campaigning of this election season.<\/p>\n Vance and El-Sayed have repeatedly sparred over campaign remarks. The vice president has called El-Sayed \u201cvery evil,\u201d and El-Sayed, a Muslim who has faced frequent GOP attacks on his faith, has accused Vance of Islamophobia. We\u2019ll see if that back-and-forth continues today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.35 EDT<\/p>\n Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are en route to the United States, with a fourth expected to depart Wednesday, Moscow has said, part of a deal that triggered a fierce Ukrainian and European backlash.<\/p>\n US president Donald Trump<\/a> this month struck an agreement with Russia\u2019s president Vladimir Putin to ease sanctions in exchange for Moscow releasing diesel onto global markets.<\/p>\n The measure was seen as an attempt to lower fuel prices for American consumers ahead of the US midterm legislative elections on 3 November and drew sharp criticism from Ukraine and its allies.<\/p>\n \u201cAt present, three tankers\u201d with Russian fuel are on their way to the United States, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n A fourth was expected to set off on Wednesday, he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Social media feeds are awash with an unprecedented flood of AI<\/a>-driven disinformation ahead of November\u2019s US midterm elections<\/a>, according to experts, who warn many posts are likely \u201cslipping through the cracks\u201d.<\/p>\n As tens of millions of Americans prepare to cast their vote, social media companies have scaled back their efforts to protect voters from lies meant to manipulate elections.<\/p>\n While the backlash against Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal<\/a> prompted social media giants to bolster their trust and safety operations, a counter-backlash from the right over fears of speech restrictions \u2013 which intensified after Elon Musk\u2019s takeover of X, formerly Twitter, and the election of Donald Trump<\/a> in 2024 \u2013 has led to significant layoffs from relevant teams.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence has made it easier than ever<\/a> to launch a disinformation campaign. And platforms are increasingly relying on AI, rather than human intervention, to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can run an information operation now with quality that was impossible in 2016 for super, super cheap,\u201d said Frances Haugen, a former Facebook<\/a> data engineer turned whistleblower and advocate for transparency and accountability in Big Tech. Operatives playing dirty tricks can get around content moderation rules \u201cbecause you can just keep tweaking the post a little bit each time you create them, and some of them are going to get through\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> and secretary of state Marco Rubio on Tuesday plan to show off a newly arrived oil tanker filled with Venezuelan crude to be processed in Texas refineries, according to a congressional aide and two US officials.<\/p>\n The visit to Port Arthur, Texas<\/a>, comes on the same day that Trump is campaigning in the state for Republican candidates in the midterms, AP reported.<\/p>\n The president has rallies scheduled in Corpus Christi and Lubbock. Trump is trying to shore up support for US Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic candidate James Talarico.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear whether Rubio, who also serves as Trump\u2019s national security adviser, would take part in any campaign events. But it\u2019s the first time that he\u2019s hitting the road with Trump as the president barnstorms the country.<\/p>\n The two US officials and the congressional aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Rubio\u2019s plans before they were publicly announced.<\/p>\n It\u2019s highly unusual for the nation\u2019s top diplomat to participate in political travel. Rubio\u2019s trip would be the latest example of how Trump\u2019s second presidency has blurred the lines between governing and campaigning. Attorney-general Todd Blanche has already been appearing at rallies alongside Republican candidates.<\/p>\n Rubio previously ran for president in 2016 and is considered a top prospect in 2028. He has not said whether he will run, and his political activities have been limited since becoming secretary of state.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>\u2018I\u2019m still innocent,\u2019 says Comey as Trump calls him a \u2018dirty cop\u2019<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog.<\/p>\n![\"These](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1920.jpg\")
These four elections could change the world in 10 days \u2013 Stateside with Kai and CarterShare<\/a>Trump refers to oil tanker he’ll show off in Texas as a personal “gift” from Venezuela<\/p>\n![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Jessica-Glenza,-R.png\")
Jessica Glenza<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/George-Chidi.jpg\")
George Chidi<\/p>\n