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Daily Briefing: Redrawing Texas

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Daily Briefing: Redrawing Texas


Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert. Happy Shark Week! 🦈

Quick look at Monday’s news:

Texas’ congressional map on the drawing board

The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is poised to consider a new set of congressional maps during a special session that kicks off Monday.

Here’s the latest from the Caller-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.

  • Why this matters for America: After facing pressure from Trump’s political team, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to redraw some of Texas’ 38 U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. Trump wants to disperse GOP voters across the state to help flip blue seats, rather then have them be consolidated in red districts.
  • Can the president pressure state politics? Democrats from the state’s congressional delegation said they expect the new districts to violate the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the votes of racial minorities.
  • “I’m a Texan. How can I get involved?” Texans can follow the special session online, contact their lawmakers and testify at hearings to participate in the legislative process.

More from the USA TODAY Network: A special session could spark redistricting in Florida and Ohio is already scheduled to redraw maps this year.

Israel fire kills dozens more aid seekers in Gaza

At least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire while they waited for U.N. aid trucks Sunday in northern Gaza, the territory’s health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced Gazans, some of whom began to leave. The ministry said dozens of people were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza, in one of the highest reported tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed. Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.

More news to know now

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ICE detention is growing in the South

Republican-led Southern states increasingly lead in detaining and deporting millions of immigrants ‒ from “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades to the expansion of a sprawling Georgia immigration facility. Far from the U.S.-Mexico border, Mississippi has the ICE jail with the highest average daily population. Louisiana has more detention centers than any other state besides Texas – nine total – after it converted nearly half a dozen correctional facilities to immigrant detention. Most are remote, scattered near farms and forests. And other states might follow Louisiana’s example as more federal funds flow to ICE detention. 

A $10 billion lawsuit. More documents coming. Here’s the latest on Trump and Epstein.

Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit for libel and slander against the Wall Street Journal, its publisher, two of its reporters, and News Corp founder and former friend Rupert Murdoch. At issue is its story that Trump sent a “bawdy” 50th-birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, decorated with a crude drawing of a woman’s naked body that used his distinctive signature. Trump called the article “false” and demanded damages. But his attempt to convince Americans that there is nothing to see here is likely to be an uphill battle.

Today’s talkers

WNBA Commissioner booed by crowd chanting ‘Pay Them!’

 In case their message to the WNBA and its owners wasn’t already clear, the players sent another one ahead of Saturday night’s All-Star Game. Taking the court for warmups, every single player wore a black T-shirt with “Pay Us What You Owe Us” emblazoned across the front. The players’ unwavering stance stands in stark contrast to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s impression this is just the normal back-and-forth that occurs in every labor negotiation. The crowd booed Engelbert and chanted “Pay Them! Pay Them!” as she presented the All-Star MVP trophy to Napheesa Collier, whose team beat Team Clark 151-131.

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Photo of the day: This is dad’s special cup

Scratch “cup.” It’s the Claret Jug. American Scottie Scheffler stole hearts celebrating his win of the 2025 Open Championship, the first British Open victory of his career, giving him career wins at three of the four major tournaments. Only the U.S. Open remains.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.





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Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN

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Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN


A small jet carrying six people crashed on a highway in South Texas Tuesday evening, with bystanders jumping in to assist emergency services in rescuing passengers from the fiery wreckage.

One person was killed and five others were injured after the plane crashed on Laredo’s Loop 20 highway, shutting down traffic in both directions and strewing debris across multiple lanes.

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Video shared by a witness from the scene showed emergency responders attempting to crack open the plane’s windshield as authorities and bystanders assisted several people out of the burning aircraft. Some were seen walking away after escaping the aircraft.

The plane, a NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude business jet, had departed San José del Cabo, Mexico, at around 6:18 p.m. local time and was bound for Austin, Texas, before diverting toward Laredo, along the US-Mexico border, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.

Authorities responded to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. local time after receiving a call from the local airport tower after the plane reported mechanical issues, Laredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Baeza told reporters from the scene. The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers before it crashed the highway, hitting a moving vehicle on its descent, he said.

FlightRadar24 data shows a steady, controlled descent into Laredo International Airport, until the signal cut out at around 600 feet, roughly two and a half miles short of the runway, at about 9:58 p.m. local time.

Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez also told CNN affiliate KGNS the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before crashing.

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CNN has reached out to Laredo International Airport and NetJets.

Police did not reveal the identities of the six on board or the condition of those injured. The victims have been transported to a local hospital, Baeza told CNN.

“Regrettably and tragically there is one deceased involved in this crash,” Baeza told reporters from the scene, without giving further details as the victim’s family is being notified.

It’s unknown if anyone in the vehicle struck by the plane was injured. Five officers responding to the crash site were also transported to a local hospital for treatment related to injuries sustained during the rescue operation, Loredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Espinoza told CNN.

Federal agencies, including the National Transportation Security Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, have been notified and officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already on-site, Baeza said.

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CNN has reached out to the NTSB, FAA and FBI for more information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.



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Texas driver dies after vehicle is swept away by fast-moving floodwaters

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Texas driver dies after vehicle is swept away by fast-moving floodwaters


A woman died Monday after her vehicle was swept into a creek by high, fast-moving waters and carried several miles downstream, authorities said.

Bandera County flooding

What we know:

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The Bandera County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 emergency call at approximately 5:30 a.m. from a female driver who reported that her vehicle had been inadvertently pulled into a creek near Lower Mason Creek Road.

The caller told dispatchers that she was floating downstream at a high rate of speed and was trapped inside the vehicle, according to a statement from Bandera County Sheriff Josh Teitge.

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Emergency operators maintained contact with the woman for several minutes before the call disconnected, which sheriff’s officials said was likely caused by water infiltrating the vehicle. Before losing connection, operators successfully pinged the woman’s cellphone, allowing authorities to pinpoint her last known location.

Sheriff’s deputies and fire personnel immediately launched a massive search-and-rescue operation. The agency deployed swift-water rescue assets, drones, and a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter unit to scour the flooded area throughout the day.

Search crews located the completely submerged vehicle at approximately 4:30 p.m., several miles downstream from where it had first entered the water.

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The driver was recovered from inside the vehicle but “succumbed to the trauma of the event,” Teitge said.

The identity of the victim was not immediately released pending notification of family members.

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Teitge expressed gratitude to local first responders, the Center Point Fire Department, state helicopter crews, and dozens of community volunteers who assisted in the daylong search.

Bandera is located roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio.

The Source: Information in this article is from the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office.

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Josh Bell hits 3-run homer as Minnesota Twins beat Texas Rangers 4-2

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Josh Bell hits 3-run homer as Minnesota Twins beat Texas Rangers 4-2


Josh Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Byron Buxton went deep for the 23rd time this season, leading off the sixth, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Monday night.

All six runs in the game came off homers, with Texas’ Joc Pederson delivering a two-run shot in the third off rookie Mike Paredes.

Minnesota’s 25-year-old left-hander fell an out short of his first major league win in his second start among four career appearances since May 31. Paredes allowed four hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings.

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Buxton has homered in six of his past nine games to get within one of major league leaders Yordan Alvarez of Houston and Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber.

Four Twins relievers held Texas to one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings, starting with Taylor Rogers (3-3) striking out Pederson, the only batter he faced, to end the fifth.

Andrew Morris pitched a perfect sixth, Eric Orze allowed a single over 1 2/3 innings and Yoendrys Gómez retired the final four Texas batters for his second save in two days and seventh of the season, six coming with Minnesota.

Josh Smith came off the bench for the Rangers in his first appearance since May 3, fouling out to catcher Alex Jackson on the only pitch he saw from Orze. Smith’s six-week absence started with a glute strain and wrist inflammation before he was hospitalized with viral meningitis.

Kyler Fedko made his major league debut for the Twins as the left fielder. The 26-year-old went 0 for 4, striking out his first two times up against Texas left-hander Mackenzie Gore, who struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings. Gore (4-6) allowed four hits and four runs with two walks in seven innings.

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Up next

Twins RHP Zebby Matthews (2-4, 5,20 ERA) faces Texas RHP Kumar Rocker (2-5, 3.56) on Tuesday.



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