Fireworks

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reportedly rang in 2025 at a Dubai gathering alongside Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail, two former Loretto Hospital-linked figures who were living abroad as fugitives at the time, according to the Wall Street Journal and a video reporter's Instagram post. Photos show Suhail standing near Paxton and his girlfriend as they watched fireworks over the Burj Khalifa.

Ahmed, Loretto's former CFO/COO, and contractor Suhail were indicted in 2024 on federal charges accusing them of embezzling $15 million from the Chicago hospital and steering $19 million in contracts through bribery; Ahmed also faces separate charges tied to an alleged $700 million COVID-19 testing fraud scheme. Both men have since returned to the U.S. to face prosecution, with Ahmed in custody and Suhail's attorney citing resolved civil matters for the delay. Campaign records show Ahmed donated $190,000 to Paxton since 2022, including contributions made shortly after his indictment. The report adds scrutiny to Paxton's closely watched Senate race against Democrat James Talarico, who has made Paxton's conduct and wealth a campaign focus.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan met in Medford for their second debate of the governor's race, a wide-ranging hourlong discussion on affordability, schools, homelessness and economic development. The event, hosted by KOBI5, was less combative than their first encounter but surfaced sharp policy divides, especially on taxes.

Kotek stopped short of committing to tax code changes but said she'd pursue "tweaks" to keep Oregon competitive, pointing to a business-focused Prosperity Council she convened this year. Drazan pledged to cut taxes and repeal Oregon's estate tax, criticizing Kotek for a string of new levies passed during her first term. Both candidates addressed business retention following Dutch Bros' planned move from Grants Pass to Arizona, SNAP benefit changes tied to federal policy shifts, and Oregon's struggling K-12 schools, with Kotek defending incremental reforms and Drazan calling for vouchers and bigger changes. The candidates agreed on opposing a sales tax and favoring a pause on new data centers.

Polling shows the race is extremely tight, with Drazan holding a narrow, statistically insignificant lead over Kotek among likely voters.

Arizona Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, a candidate seeking to unseat Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in a competitive U.S. House district, deleted numerous social media posts before launching her campaign. Archived records show the posts date to her 2020 Arizona Senate run, during the height of pandemic-era progressive activism following the murder of George Floyd. Deleted content included claims that "systemic racism is quite literally in the air we breathe" and that "racism is killing the planet," along with criticism of "privileged cis men" and calls to indoctrinate children against systemic racism.

The National Republican Congressional Committee criticized Mendoza over the deletions, also citing past comments calling police "an occupying army," her lobbying for tax increases, and a personal tax dispute. Mendoza's case follows similar deleted-post controversies involving Michigan Democrats Abdul El-Sayed and William Lawrence, as candidates nationally recalibrate messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Arizona House candidate JoAnna Mendoza deleted old social media posts on race and policing before her 2026 campaign launch.

Utah GOP Sen. John Curtis has called for a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into Donald Trump Jr. following reports that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, a Putin ally, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding afterparty, including renting a private island and a fireworks display. Curtis sent a letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin urging subpoenas for both Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to examine "use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit."

Curtis's letter also cited the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial, Trump Jr.'s defense-sector investments, and his board seat at prediction market company Kalshi as areas raising conflict-of-interest concerns. He linked the scrutiny to a separate $500 million UAE investment in World Liberty Financial ahead of Trump's inauguration, after which chip-export restrictions to UAE-linked firms were loosened. Curtis argued that congressional oversight standards should apply consistently regardless of which party controls the White House.

Michigan's U.S. Senate race has become one of the country's most closely watched and negative contests, pitting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers with control of the Senate potentially at stake. El-Sayed has cast Rogers as a "sock puppet" for Donald Trump, citing Rogers' defense of Trump's brief delay of the Gordie Howe Bridge opening and his broader alignment with the president. Rogers has countered by branding El-Sayed a "fringe extremist," pointing to his progressive positions and a bruising Democratic primary against Haley Stevens.

Recent polling shows a tight race, with El-Sayed narrowly ahead in most surveys but within the margin of error. Analysts note the outcome may hinge on turnout among Black and Jewish voters, some of whom have expressed hesitation over El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel and ties to livestreamer Hasan Piker, as well as on Trump's low approval ratings weighing on Rogers' candidacy.