Nancy Guthrie latest: Person who left DNA on recovered glove has been cleared, sheriff says

Nancy Guthrie latest: Person who left DNA on recovered glove has been cleared, sheriff says
Nancy Guthrie latest: Person who left DNA on recovered glove has been cleared, sheriff says
This image provided by the FBI Feb. 5, 2026, shows a missing person Nancy Guthrie. (FBI)

(ARIZONA) — As the search for Nancy Guthrie continues into its second month, one lead that hasn’t panned out for investigators is the glove recovered about 2 miles from Guthrie’s home.

The DNA on that glove traced back to a person who works at a nearby restaurant and “has nothing to do with the case,” according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona, home by an unknown suspect in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 1.

On Tuesday, the FBI met with Nancy Guthrie’s children in Tucson to brief them on the status of the case, sources told ABC News.

One of the sources described it as a routine “touch base,” saying investigators “have nothing to tell them.”

As the case has subsided from the news, the number of tips has tapered off, though investigators are actively running down possible leads.

Savannah Guthrie has offered a $1 million reward, bringing the combined reward between the family and law enforcement to $1.2 million.

“We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country,” Savannah Guthrie wrote on Instagram this week. “please don’t stop praying and hoping with us.bring her home.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Trump teases endorsement in Texas Senate primary as GOP leaders urge him to back Cornyn

Trump teases endorsement in Texas Senate primary as GOP leaders urge him to back Cornyn
Trump teases endorsement in Texas Senate primary as GOP leaders urge him to back Cornyn
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 02, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will soon make an endorsement in the heated Texas Senate Republican primary, as Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton head toward a runoff election in May.

Trump also expressed his desire for the non-endorsed candidate to concede.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!” Trump wrote.

The president’s post came hours after Senate Republican leadership urged Trump to back Cornyn, a four-term Republican senator, over Paxton, a conservative firebrand who has become popular among Trump’s MAGA base despite being involved in several scandals.

Neither Cornyn nor Paxton captured 50% of the vote on Tuesday night’s primary. Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, who was also running in the primary, has conceded.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat James Talarico, a 36-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Tuesday night.

At stake in this year’s midterm cycle is Trump’s hold on Congress, where Republicans have narrow majorities in both the House and Senate.

“We need to hold that seat, which means we need to nominate somebody that’s going to win in November. And to me, that’s only one of those two that’s going to make it to the runoff: and that is John Cornyn,” Republican Whip John Barrasso said on Wednesday. “I would encourage the president to endorse him. The president will make his on his own time.”

Barrasso noted higher turnout on Tuesday night among Democratic voters, which he said “shows that the energy and enthusiasm is there on the Democrat side.

“We need to nominate somebody who attracts voters across the state of Texas, and that’s John Cornyn,” Barrasso said. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s hopeful that Trump will endorse Cornyn and save the GOP’s campaign arm from continuing to have to spend heavily to help Cornyn defeat Paxton. Cornyn and his allies already spent more than $70 million on ad spending, according to tracking firm AdImpact.

“Cornyn had, in my view — had a great night. And you know, wins. He’s positioned to win the runoff,” Thune said. “And if the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money and lot of just, 10 weeks of spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats.” 

Thune said that a hard-fought primary runoff between two Republican candidates is “not helpful.”

“Which is why, if the president can weigh in, it would be enormously helpful,” Thune said. 

Thune later told Fox News that he spoke with Trump on Wednesday and reiterated his support for Cornyn, though he said Trump “makes his own decisions.”

Throughout the course of the primary election, Trump’s avoided making an endorsement, claiming that Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt were all “excellent” candidates and his “friends.”

Trump, in his social media post on Wednesday, praised Cornyn and Paxton for running “good races” but said they were “not good enough.”

“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT!” Trump wrote.

ABC News’ Diana Paulsen contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to runoff with Brandon Herrera in Texas GOP primary

Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to runoff with Brandon Herrera in Texas GOP primary
Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to runoff with Brandon Herrera in Texas GOP primary
Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera speaks during a campaign rally at the Constantino S Pizza restaurant on February 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

(TEXAS) — The Texas 23rd Congressional District race is projected to head to a runoff, as incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was accused of having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, and conservative activist Brandon Herrera both failed to receive more than 50% of the vote.

With 94% of the expected vote reporting Wednesday morning, Herrera holds just about a 1-point advantage over Gonzales (roughly 43% to 42%).

Gonzales and Herrera previously went head-to-head in the 2024 Republican primary and similarly advanced to a runoff. Gonzales ultimately won by just 400 votes. 

Tuesday’s primary election came as Gonzales battles calls from some House Republicans to resign amid allegations that he engaged in an extramarital affair with a congressional aide who died by suicide last fall. Gonzales has denied the allegations of the affair with the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles.

Asked recently if he had an extramarital affair with Santos-Aviles, Gonzales said “what you have seen is not all the facts.”

Text messages, provided to ABC News by Santos-Aviles’ widower, appear to show Gonzales pursuing a relationship with the former staffer. ABC News has reached out to Gonzales for a request for comment on the text messages.

In February, Gonzales told ABC News that “Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place.”

ABC News has also confirmed that Gonzales has been under investigation by the Office of Congressional Conduct, which has already completed its probe. Due to its rules, the OCC can’t transmit a report against a member of Congress 60 days prior to an election.

The runoff election is scheduled for May 26, which is more than 60 days away from the primary election.

On Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee announced that it started an investigative subcommittee to look into the allegations against Gonzales.

Gonzales has notably lost many endorsements in his bid for reelection as calls for his resignation continue. He said last month that he is “not going to resign.”

President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales prior to the allegations. Since then, the White House has not responded to ABC News’ questions about whether the president still supports Gonzales.

In a post on X reacting to the news of a runoff, Gonzales began by thanking the president and looking forward to a “victorious May.”

In a reply to Gonzales post, Herrera retorted: “Are you seriously congratulating yourself for not winning your primary?”

Herrera, a Second Amendment activist and social media personality, has also faced his share of controversy, including accusations that his YouTube videos allegedly featured Nazi-related imagery. In response, Herrera wrote in a social media post that “I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi.”

Both candidates have sought to align themselves closely with the president.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Senate voting on Democrats’ Iran war powers resolution

Senate voting on Democrats’ Iran war powers resolution
Senate voting on Democrats’ Iran war powers resolution
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference on the Epstein Files on Capitol Hill February 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate is voting Wednesday on a Democratic-led Iran war powers resolution that calls for congressional approval for military action against Iran.

The initial procedural vote to pass the resolution, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff, would direct the removal of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Iran that have not been authorized by Congress. It comes after recent U.S. strikes on Iran that killed several Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.

There is no timeline in the bill, so if it passed and President Donald Trump signed it, which is highly unlikely, the U.S. would have to draw down troops.

Because this bill is privileged, it would only need 51 votes to advance and ultimately be approved by the Senate. It’s not yet clear whether the legislation will have that support, but at this time it seems unlikely to advance.

Earlier this year, a similar resolution concerning military action in Venezuela passed an initial procedural test vote when a small handful of Republican senators voted with Democrats to move it forward. Some of those Republicans were ultimately swayed to revoke their support for that legislation during a vote on final passage, and the bill was ultimately defeated by Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote.

This time around though, Republicans seem even more inclined to support Trump’s actions in Iran.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, of Missouri, was one of the Republicans who initially supported the Venezuela war powers resolution before ultimately voting against it during a vote of final passage. His switch in position during that vote in January came after Trump attacked Hawley and the other Republicans who initially supported the proposal.

Hawley told ABC News on Tuesday that he would vote against the Iran war powers resolution.

The legislation cites the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which states that in the absence of a declaration of war but when armed forces are introduced, the president must report to Congress within 48 hours the circumstances necessitating their introduction and must terminate the use of U.S. armed forces within 60 days unless Congress permits otherwise. If approval is not granted after that 60-day period and the president deems it an emergency, then an additional 30 days are granted for ending operations.

“I think they’re in compliance with the statute. The statute gives them 60 days, gives the administration 60 days to conduct activity without having to come back to … Congress for authorization, unless they’re ground troops. My view has always been, ground troops will require congressional authorization. So they’re currently none involved, none have been involved, and they’re following the War Powers Act,” Hawley said.

Still, Democrats say the vote is critical. Sen. Kaine, of Virginia, who is leading the Iran resolution and who has been an outspoken proponent of Congress’ role in declaring war, said the vote will show where everyone stands on the conflict.

“We’re going to put everybody on the record [Wednesday]. Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end run around the Constitution,” Kaine said on Tuesday. “Everybody’s got to declare whether they’re for this war or against it.”

Without the support of at least a few Republicans, the Iran resolution is likely to fail to advance during Wednesday’s vote. 

Even if this legislation were to pass, it would still require approval in the House and the signature of the president to become law.

The House is set to vote on its own war powers resolution later this week. The non-binding measure, introduced by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, would not be subject to the president’s signature or veto if it passed both houses of Congress.

On Wednesday, Johnson expressed confidence that Republicans will defeat the House’s war powers resolution, despite some reservations expressed by a handful of conservatives. Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House, so it would only take a few defections for the bill to pass.

“I think passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea,” Johnson warned. “It would empower our enemies. It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the U.S. military and the commander in chief away from completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe.”

ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

19-year-old pulled from sinking car details rescue by first responders

19-year-old pulled from sinking car details rescue by first responders
19-year-old pulled from sinking car details rescue by first responders
Andi Burns, 19, was pulled from freezing water after her truck crashed and first responders rescued her just in time. (ABC News)

(BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio) — A 19-year-old who crashed and became trapped upside down in a river in Batavia Township, Ohio, was pulled from her sinking pickup in a dramatic rescue captured on body camera footage.

The footage from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office obtained by ABC News showed first responders on Feb. 22 working to safely rescue Andi Burns as rising, freezing water filled the truck and a dispatcher stayed on the line to keep her calm.

Burns was driving home from work on State Route 222 when she lost control of her vehicle on black ice, hit a tree and plunged off a steep embankment into the Little Miami River, according to a copy of the accident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Deputies and firefighters arrived on the scene to find the truck overturned in the river, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to Clermont County officials, Burns was wearing an Apple Watch that automatically called 911 using its crash detection feature.

“Please God please,” Burns was heard saying on the 911 call, telling dispatch that her head was “barely up” from the water.

In an interview with ABC News recalling the incident, Burns said she was “terrified.”

“It was completely black out, pitch black,” she said. “I didn’t think that anybody could hear me or knew what happened — I just was starting to freak out.”

Rescuers jumped into the water and shouted for tools to shatter a window and pop the door as they fought to reach her, according to the body camera footage.

“Grab my hand, grab both my hands,” one of the firefighters could be heard telling Burns in the footage.

Firefighter and EMT Tommy Jetter, who’s in his first year on the job, told ABC News that “the way that the car went in and flipped upside down altogether, that’s a very, very dangerous car accident wreck.”

He credited Burns for “being able to stay awake and find that air pocket and for her staying calm is very impressive.”

With the cab of the truck nearly filled with water and her head just inches from the water, crews were able to free Burns and pull her to safety, according to the footage.

“We got her!” the rescue team was heard shouting in the body cam footage.

Burns did not sustain any serious injuries and was able to walk away from the scene with just bruises, the accident report says.

“Surviving that car accident of one being in the water is very, very, very lucky, very fortunate, God was definitely on her side for that,” Jetter said.

Burns told ABC News she plans to become an EMT in Clermont County.

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DHS puts man on ‘worst of the worst’ list, removes him after questioning

DHS puts man on ‘worst of the worst’ list, removes him after questioning
DHS puts man on ‘worst of the worst’ list, removes him after questioning
The sign of Department of Homeland Security is seen outside its headquarters on February 13, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Telesforo Cerero-Palacios is a home renovator in Minnesota who says he has no reported criminal history, so he was shocked to learn the Department of Homeland Security listed him as one of the “worst of the worst” detained immigrants in the U.S. who have serious offenses. 

“What happened here? Why does their system say this about you?” Cerero-Palacios, 53, recalled after a relative saw him on the list.

The DHS website features thousands who the agency claims are the “worst” individuals, including a photo of Cerero-Palacios with his alleged crime, “dangerous drugs.”

However, a DHS government document showed that Cerero-Palacio has no criminal history. The document, reviewed by ABC News, is known as a “Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien,” which is created by the agency when individuals are detained.

Cerero-Palacios said he has never been accused of any drug-related offense and an ABC News review of criminal records in Minnesota found several traffic and parking tickets and one small claim case, but did not turn up any drug-related charges.

In an interview conducted in Spanish, Cerero-Palacios told ABC News that agents entered his home on April 7, 2025, looking to detain a relative, but that’s when he was asked about his immigration status. He said he told officials he was undocumented and was subsequently detained.  

The DHS document appears to corroborate his account, stating that deportation officers working with the Drug Enforcement Agency were conducting fugitive operations at his address when they interviewed him about his immigration status.  

“During the interview, CERERO freely admitted that he did not have any documents that would allow him to reside in the United States legally,” the document said.

It also states that in 1998, Cerero-Palacios was arrested for giving a police officer a false name, but the case was dismissed in 2000. 

The document makes no mention that he’s ever been accused of any drug-related charges. 

“CERERO claims and appears to be in good health and takes no medication. CERERO does not use narcotics,” the document says.

Despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson citing his 1998 arrest in a statement shared with ABC News, DHS appears to have issued him a non-immigrant visa three times, until 2015, the document showed.  

“This illegal alien was previously arrested for giving a false name to a peace officer. The FBI number connected to this drug charge is linked to multiple aliases, including Telesforo Cerero-Palacios. We will give you more information on this case shortly,” the ICE spokesperson told ABC News. 

It’s unclear what drug charge the spokesperson was referring to. Days after ABC News began asking questions about its inclusion of Cerero-Palacios on its “worst of the worst” database, DHS appears to have removed Cerero-Palacios from the list.

DHS did not respond when asked if he was erroneously placed on the list and has not followed up with any additional information, despite repeated attempts by ABC News to obtain one. 

Cerero-Palacios spent 16 days in immigration detention last year and was released after posting a bond, Cerero-Palacios’ attorney, Gloria Contreras Edin said.

“What is interesting is we come to find that he’s on ‘worst of the worst’ so it’s like, why is he on there,” Contreras Edin told ABC News. “They would have never released him if he had been a drug dealer. They would have never let him out on a bond and then I wonder how many other people are they doing that to.”

Cerero-Palacios told ABC News that his inclusion on the website prompted him to stay at home except to go to work.

“I was afraid to leave the home thinking that they might detain me again,” Cerero-Palacios said.

Contreras Edin shared a letter with ABC News from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that said a background search using her client’s fingerprints, name, and date of birth “indicates that no record was found.” 

The letter says the search does not preclude any information being available at the county or city level.

“I have to believe in my heart that it was an error or a mistake, but it’s such a significant error and such a significant mistake that it worries me that they may be doing this to other people,” Contreras Edin said. 

DHS launched the “worst of the worst” website in December, promising to allow users to “search through some of the hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal aliens who have been arrested across all 50 states,” the agency said in a press release.  

Since then, the database has grown to include more than 30,000 people. DHS has used the information on the website to justify its expansion of immigration enforcement operations such as “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents during immigration operations.  

Meanwhile, Cerero-Palacios is still in immigration proceedings and has a hearing about his case in April. He says the government’s claims about him have affected him profoundly. 

“Imagine how many others have seen my photo? My reputation is ruined, they’ll say ‘Oh, I thought he was a hard worker, but he’s involved with drugs,'” he said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Coastal sea levels may be higher than previously thought, study says

Coastal sea levels may be higher than previously thought, study says
Coastal sea levels may be higher than previously thought, study says
Houses are perched on a cliff at Buena Vista above the beach trail in San Clemente, CA on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Measurements of coastal sea-level height around the world may be higher than scientists previously thought, according to new research.

Past research may even have underestimated coastal sea level heights around the world by an average of .3 meters, or about 1 feet, a study published Wednesday in Nature found.

Sea levels in some areas in the Global South — regions such as Asia and the South Pacific — could be up to 3 feet higher than previously assumed, according to the paper.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that ocean levels may increase by between 0.28 meters and 1 meter by 2100. Human-amplified climate change is the primary cause for present-day rising sea levels, climate research shows.

However, assessments of coastal sea-level often assume overall sea levels rather than the direct measurements of sea-level height in specific regions, according to the paper.

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands analyzed 385 pieces of peer-reviewed scientific literature on coastal exposure and hazard impact assessments published between 2009 and 2025 and calculated the difference between commonly assumed and actual measured coastal sea level.

They found that 90% of all studies relied on assumed sea levels based on gravitational models — or geoids — rather than using the measured sea level, according to the paper.

Earth’s gravitational models only account for gravity and Earth rotation and do not account for other factors that determine local sea levels, such as tides, current and winds.

Less than 9% of the existing studies combined land elevation measurements and sea level measurements, but those studies appeared to suffer from conversion errors and data alignment issues, Katharina Seeger a geographer studying flood hazards and risks at Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands and co-author of the study, said during a press conference Tuesday.

Sea level was found to be underrepresented by .24 to .27 meters, depending on the model used. Some discrepancies were found to be as high as 5.5 meters to 7.6 meters, the researchers said.

The underrepresentations were particularly noteworthy in regions like Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific.

Coastal sea heights were also underrepresented in Latin America, the west coast of North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.

The new estimates could put up to 37% more land below sea level, impacting 77 million to 132 million people globally, the researchers said.

Nearly 40% of the U.S. population lives near the coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Coastal subsidence is often underrepresented in flooding models, a 2024 study published in Nature found. The inundation coastal regions will experience due to rising sea levels may actually be worse than previously thought when factoring in how rapidly the land is sinking, according to the study.

Large cities surrounded by water — like Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco — will be among the regions that could experience flooding in the near future due to land elevation changes combined with sea level rise — about 4 millimeters per year, the 2024 study found.

The sinking is expected to cause structural damage to most existing properties, the authors said.

Parts of low-lying Florida, such as Miami, are already dealing with more frequent and impactful high tide flooding events. High tide flooding, the overflow or excess accumulation of water that covers typically dry coastal land during times of high tide, is happening more often in many coastal communities, even on generally quiet weather days, according to NOAA.

Miami showed the greatest share of exposure to flooding, with up to 122,000 people and up to 81,000 properties that could be at risk of flooding by 2050.

The latest research indicates that re-evaluation of the methodology of existing assessments for characterizing sea-level rise impact is needed, the paper noted. This could have implications for policymakers, climate finance and coastal adaption plans, the scientists said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

DOJ proposes policy aimed at limiting state bar ethics probes into its attorneys

DOJ proposes policy aimed at limiting state bar ethics probes into its attorneys
DOJ proposes policy aimed at limiting state bar ethics probes into its attorneys
Signage outside the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is proposing a new policy that would seek to limit the ability of state bar associations to launch ethics probes into DOJ attorneys, according to a new document posted Wednesday in the Federal Register. 

The proposal, which comes amid growing scrutiny of the department’s attorneys and whether they’re complying with ethical obligations in enforcing the Trump administration’s agenda, would seek to empower Attorney General Pam Bondi to request that state bar investigations be suspended pending a DOJ review of any originating complaint. 

In the event the state bar authorities “refuse” to suspend their investigations, the proposal says, the Justice Department “shall take appropriate action to prevent the bar disciplinary authorities from interfering.” 

It’s not immediately clear what “appropriate action” the department could take to influence state-level proceedings, and the proposed rule does not elaborate further. 

The proposal argues that the bar complaint and investigation process has been “weaponized” by political activists in recent years to ensnare officials across DOJ’s ranks into costly and time-consuming proceedings. 

“This unprecedented weaponization of the State bar complaint process risks chilling the zealous advocacy by Department attorneys on behalf of the United States, its agencies, and its officers,” the proposed rule said. “That chilling effect, in turn, would interfere with the broad statutory authority of the Attorney General to manage and supervise Department attorneys.” 

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Takeaways from the first primaries of the 2026 election cycle

Takeaways from the first primaries of the 2026 election cycle
Takeaways from the first primaries of the 2026 election cycle
State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, speaks during a Texas primary election night event at Emo’s Austin in Austin, Texas, US, early on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Primary voting began on Tuesday in Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina, marking the beginning of the 2026 midterm elections, which are expected to be seen in part as referenda on the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Here are a few key takeaways from the early voting.

Texas GOP Senate primary heads for a runoff

The heated Republican Senate primary heads to a runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, as neither secured over 50% of the vote Tuesday evening.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, who was also running in the race, conceded Tuesday evening and did not endorse Paxton or Cornyn.

With Trump not endorsing in the race, Paxton attempted to paint Cornyn as not aligned with the President and said that Cornyn “stabbed [Trump] in the back by trying to derail his presidential campaigns.”

“No one can name [one] accomplishment [of Cornyn’s],” Paxton said Tuesday night. “The people of Texas deserve better. That’s the message we’re taking into the runoff.”

Cornyn continued his attacks on Paxton Tuesday night, calling him a “shameless candidate” and saying there’s too much at stake in this year’s election for him to be elected to the Senate.

“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years, there is simply too much at stake in this midterm election for our state and for our country, the final two years of … President Trump’s agenda hangs in the balance,” Cornyn said.

Talarico defeats Crockett

On Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett conceded to State Rep. James Talarico, the 36-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher in the contested Texas Democratic Senate primary, giving hope to national Democrats about the possibility of flipping the state blue.

“This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee. Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” Crockett said in a statement. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track. With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win. I’m committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect democrats up and down the ballot.”

Talarico will face off against whoever wins May’s runoff election in the state’s Senate GOP primary between Cornyn and Paxton — a race that Trump has still yet to endorse a candidate in and is expected to become uglier in the lead up to the runoff.

The last time a Democrat won a Senate race in Texas was in 1988.

Talarico told his supporters early Wednesday morning at his election party that he was confident in the movement they had built.

“Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation. We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we’ve built together. Every vote must be counted, every voice must be heard,” Talarico said. “We are not we are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it’s working. “

The Trump factor

And in some down-ballot races, Trump’s endorsement continues to carry weight.

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw became the first GOP incumbent to lose a primary this cycle when he was defeated by hardline conservative state Rep. Steve Toth, in a race that focused on which candidate aligned with Trump the most.

Trump did not endorse either candidate in the race, which left Crenshaw as the only House Republican in Texas running for re-election without the President’s support.

At multiple points during his time in Congress, Crenshaw found himself at odds with Trump, including over the President’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results.

In North Carolina, a Senate seat Democrats hope to flip, former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley each won their primaries handily and will face off in one of the most-watched Senate races this cycle.

Whatley, who was endorsed by Trump, embraced the President and said he would stand with him if elected to the U.S. Senate during his victory speech Tuesday night.

“I will stand with President Trump to finish the job, secure the border permanently and ensure that illegal aliens are swiftly deported,” Whatley said later on his victory remarks.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

US sub sinks Iranian ship by torpedo in Indian Ocean, 1st such attack since WWII

US sub sinks Iranian ship by torpedo in Indian Ocean, 1st such attack since WWII
US sub sinks Iranian ship by torpedo in Indian Ocean, 1st such attack since WWII
Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, during a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Monday, March 2, 2026. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. submarine on Tuesday sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, the first time since WWII the U.S. has sunk an enemy combatant ship by torpedo.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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