Southwest
Facing possible primary challenge from Trump ally, long-serving senator gets backing of leader Thune

As he gears up for what may potentially be his roughest re-election of his decades-long career, longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas landed the backing of the top Republican in the Senate.
“I’ve been honored to work alongside @JohnCornyn—one of the most effective and respected conservative leaders in the country,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.
Thune, who topped Cornyn last year in the Senate GOP race to succeed longtime leader Mitch McConnell, emphasized that his one-time rival “was tireless and instrumental in building our majority. We need to keep him in the Senate & in the fight to deliver on President Trump’s agenda.”
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
The Senate Majority Leader’s endorsement came a couple of hours after Cornyn — who previously served six years as the No. 2 Republican in the Senate — officially launched his 2026 re-election campaign, as he bids for a fifth six-year term representing Texas on Capitol Hill.
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The backing from Thune, which was widely expected, comes as the 73-year-old Cornyn faces a possible primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The conservative and MAGA firebrand who’s an ally of President Donald Trump has repeatedly for a couple of years flirted with taking on Cornyn.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I can’t think of a single thing he’s accomplished for our state or even for the country,” Paxton said in a September 2023 interview on the Fox News Channel. “Somebody needs to step up and run against this guy,” adding, “everything’s on the table for me.”
And in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this year, Paxton said that he’s “looking potentially at the U.S. Senate.”
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While Paxton is very popular with the conservative base of the party, political strategists note that toppling Cornyn in a GOP primary would likely be a very expensive proposition, and it’s not clear if Paxton could raise the money needed for victory.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, on August 5, 2022. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Paxton has claimed Cornyn does not represent the conservative values of Texans and accused him of not being an ally of Trump.
He has also regularly labeled Cornyn a “RINO,” a “Republican in name only” and an insult MAGA and “America First” Republicans have regularly used to criticize more mainstream or establishment members of the GOP.
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Cornyn, during the early stages of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, had said he would prefer that the GOP take a new direction, which angered Trump. But the senator endorsed Trump in late January of last year, after the then-former president won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican White House calendar.
Since Trump returned to the White House two months ago, Cornyn has been supportive of the president’s cabinet nominees and agenda.
And in the senator’s campaign launch video, the announcer highlights that during Trump’s first term in office, “Texas Sen. John Cornyn had his back.”
“Now I’m running for re-election and asking for your support so President Trump and I can pick up where we left off,” Cornyn says to camera in the video.
Cornyn is a former state senator, former Texas Supreme Court justice, and former state attorney general, who first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report
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Southwest
Hiker, 33, dies after hiking Arizona mountains in extreme heat, 4 others rescued

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A 33-year-old hiker died and four others were rescued from a mountain range in Arizona during extreme heat on Sunday, authorities said.
The hikers were trekking along the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix when they suffered heat-related issues at around 1 p.m. local time on Sunday, Superstition Fire and Medical said in a social media post.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that 33-year-old Noah Farabaugh died during the rescue. The sheriff’s office said no further updates surrounding the death were expected, pending results from the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The other four hikers were helped down the mountain and refused to be taken to a hospital, Superstition Fire and Medical said.
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First responders said one hiker died during the rescue. Four others were helped down the mountain and refused medical attention. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
The five hikers had been on the trail near the Wave Cave trailhead for about six hours when they experienced heat issues, the Arizona Republic reported, citing the Superstition fire officials.

The Superstition Mountains are located about 40 miles from Phoenix. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
Temperatures in the area exceeded 100 degrees on Sunday, heat that is around 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year, the National Weather Service in Phoenix said.
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Authorities warned hikers to avoid hiking in extreme heat or excessive heat warnings.

Temperatures in the area exceeded 100 degrees on Sunday, the National Weather Service said. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
“As temperatures climb, so does the risk. Heat illness can set in fast, even for experienced hikers,” Superstition Fire and Medical said in the social media post. “Please stay safe and plan wisely. No hike is worth your life.”
The Superstition Mountains are located about 40 miles from Phoenix.
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Southwest
Drummer detained by CBP before flight to Europe for band's tour

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A drummer and green card holder for a Texas-based band was removed from a flight by federal immigration officials on Monday before the band was set to depart for a European tour.
Yamal Said, a member of the heavy Americana band Lord Buffalo, was detained at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who said they had a warrant for his arrest after he allegedly violated a restraining order at least twice, the Department of Homeland Security said on X.
Violating a protective order two or more times can lead to it becoming a felony in Texas, based on the circumstances.
“Yamal Said is a Mexican national and lawful U.S. permanent resident,” the agency wrote on X sharing a news headline about the incident.
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Yamal Said is a member of the heavy Americana band Lord Buffalo. (Yamal Said via Instagram)
“Said had a warrant for his arrest after violating a restraining order at least TWICE. If you come to our country and break our laws, you will be arrested. When he was attempting to leave the U.S., he was apprehended by CBP and has been turned over to local law enforcement.”
The exact nature of the protective order has not been made public. Said is currently being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center.
Said moved to the U.S. in the 1980s after a devastating earthquake hit Mexico City, Voyage Austin previously reported. He has been the band’s drummer for the last eight years and teaches music for Texas School for the Blind based in Austin, the outlet reported.

Yamal Said is being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center. (Tarrant County Corrections Center)
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Paul Carlson, assistant principal at the school, remarked that Said is “a highly respected and long-serving member of our school community,” the Austin Chronicle reported.
Said’s detention forced the band to announce on social media that it had canceled its tour.
“We appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support from y’all today. We still know very little about the situation, but we have been asked by our drummer’s family and his legal team to respect their privacy while this situation evolves,” the band wrote.

Said and his band were set to depart Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for a European tour. Passengers seen at the airport in 2023. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The band had been preparing for an eight-date European tour in support of their latest album, “Holus Bolus,” with Norwegian band Orsak:Oslo, the Austin Chronicle reported.
“No one should be pulled off a plane and jailed for simply trying to travel and make art with their band,” Orsak:Oslo wrote on social media Wednesday. “We won’t pretend to understand the full complexity of the situation, but this should not happen anywhere.”
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Southwest
Federal magistrate judge dismisses trespassing charges against 98 arrested in new military zone

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Dozens of immigrants who illegally crossed into the U.S. via a newly established military-controlled zone along the U.S.-Mexico border have had their trespassing charges dismissed.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began filing the dismissals late on Wednesday, ruling the immigrants did not know they were entering the military zone – known as the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA) – and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents.
Wormuth ruled that the federal government failed to demonstrate probable cause that the immigrants knew they were entering the zone.
The government had argued in a criminal complaint that the military had posted signs in the zones stating in both English and Spanish that it was a restricted area and that unauthorized entry is prohibited.
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Dozens of immigrants who illegally crossed into the U.S. via a newly established military-controlled zone along the U.S.-Mexico border have had their trespassing charges dismissed. U.S. soldiers pictured at the southern border in New Mexico last week. (Can Hasasu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Despite signs indicating restricted access, the judge noted that the challenging terrain made it unlikely that the defendants saw the warnings.
The decision marks a setback for the Trump administration’s border crackdown as the trespassing charges were central to enforcing the NMNDA.
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The NMNDA was established in April and spans approximately 180 miles along the southern New Mexico border. U.S. Army personnel now patrol the area and are authorized to detain unauthorized entrants.
“Beyond the reference to signage, the United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering the NMNDA (New Mexico National Defense Area),” wrote Wormuth in a 16-page ruling. Wormuth has served as a U.S. magistrate judge since 2009. Magistrate judges are appointed by district court judges and not by the president.

Army Sgt. Drew Scheffer, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, provided surveillance over the southern border near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on April 12. The military has been patrolling the southern border as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migration. (Department of Defense)
The judge dismissed two charges faced by the 98 arrested immigrants: violation of a security regulation and entering military property for an unlawful purpose, both misdemeanors. A third misdemeanor charge of entering the U.S. illegally remains.
Up to May 9, Ellison’s office reported charging 339 migrants for entering the New Mexico military area.
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Last month, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico to announce that the Army was taking control of the federal land as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and trafficking.
The 109,651 acres of federal land was transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights.

U.S. soldiers pictured at the southern border in New Mexico last week. (Can Hasasu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The switch in jurisdiction allows the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior.
In March, the Defense Department authorized the military to patrol the southern border to provide “enhanced detection and monitoring” to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Fox News Digital emailed and called a Department of Justice attorney involved in the case for comment.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Reuters contributed to this report.
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