TMZ

Several top Texas Republicans running statewide in 2025 have declined to debate their Democratic challengers ahead of the general election. Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing state Rep. James Talarico in the U.S. Senate race, has repeatedly deflected debate offers, including proposals to appear on Fox News. Gov. Greg Abbott, who debated opponents in his three prior general elections, has not agreed to face state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, citing campaign travel instead. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has similarly avoided debating state Rep. Vikki Goodwin. The trend extends beyond Texas: The Washington Post found fewer than half of U.S. Senate races this cycle include debates, and in Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs is again skipping debates with her opponent.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), 34, is reportedly dating progressive YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella, 24, according to TMZ. The pair met in spring 2025 when Cocchiarella interviewed Ansari and have reportedly been seeing each other since. Both declined to discuss their personal lives in detail, with Ansari instead criticizing ICE enforcement actions and the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran, saying her focus remains on helping Democrats retake the House.

Ansari, a first-term congresswoman representing Arizona's 3rd District, became the first Iranian American Democrat elected to Congress in 2024. She has previously pushed back on an online petition alleging undisclosed ties to Iran, calling the claims misinformation. Cocchiarella, a Dartmouth-turned-Columbia graduate with more than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers, has interviewed prominent Democrats including Zohran Mamdani, Gavin Newsom and Hakeem Jeffries. He previously faced sexual assault allegations at Dartmouth, which he has denied, and later settled a related lawsuit.

Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother charged with killing her three young children in January 2023, has drawn renewed national attention after a Plymouth Superior Court judge declared a mistrial earlier this month when jurors failed for a third time to reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutors alleged Clancy deliberately planned the killings of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, while her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

The case has since become a flashpoint in national political discourse. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told TMZ that Clancy should face a "public execution," calling her a "serial killer" who deserves the death penalty. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, separately said the case had become a "cause celebre" tied to what he called "racial politics" and ideology around policing and immigration enforcement. Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, condemned Cruz's remarks as "despicable" and accused him of misunderstanding postpartum psychosis. President Trump called the case a "very sad situation" and noted any pardon request would be a state, not federal, matter.