Trump critic Thomas Massie defeated in Kentucky House primary

Voters in northern Kentucky on Tuesday rejected incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, in favor of Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer recruited by Trump.

Gallrein defeated the seven-term incumbent in the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a victory Trump’s allies framed as a win for the MAGA movement’s hold on the party.

Primaries were also held Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho.

In Georgia, another prominent Trump critic faced defeat, while a Trump ally won a primary in Alabama.

Massie, a seven-term incumbent, had been an outspoken GOP opponent of Trump, clashing repeatedly with the president over Iran policy, government spending and the release of Jeffrey Epstein files.

Trump treated the primary as a personal vendetta against Massie, his allies said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing on Wednesday with a ceremony featuring a military band, days after Xi hosted Trump.

The two leaders held talks in the Great Hall of the People, mirroring Xi’s meeting with Trump the previous week, during which they discussed trade, the Iran war and Taiwan.

At the top of the agenda for Putin is likely reciprocal trade and investment, as Russia’s economy continues to suffer from the cost of its war in Ukraine and related sanctions.

China, Russia’s largest trading partner, buys nearly half of Moscow’s oil exports.

On foreign policy, Xi said the world was in danger of returning to the “law of the jungle,” state media reported, adding that further hostilities in the Middle East were “inadvisable” and calling for a ceasefire.

The U.S. Senate voted 50-47 on Tuesday to advance a war powers resolution aimed at forcing Trump to end the Iran war unless he receives congressional authorization to continue it.

Tuesday’s vote marked the first time the chamber advanced the bill, the eighth attempt since the conflict began in February.

The Senate’s vote is the first step toward full passage; Trump will almost certainly veto the resolution if it passes both chambers.

Four Republicans crossed party lines to join all but one Democrat in voting for the bill: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to vote against it.

Democrats see the vote as a way to force Republicans to take a public stance on Trump’s unpopular war, even if a veto is certain.

The Guardian is providing live updates on the Iran war.

The World Health Organization is considering using experimental vaccines and medicines to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as deaths rise.

The NAACP is urging Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to boycott college sports in southern states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation.”

The Justice Department has permanently barred the IRS from auditing the tax returns of Trump, his family, his company and “related companies.”

More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wind-driven wildfire threatened homes.

Nine countries pledged $7 billion to a Gaza relief package at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting chaired by Trump, but only the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have sent funds, according to a source familiar with operations. The board received $23 million for operations and $100 million for a future Palestinian police force — just $1.75 for every $100 pledged.

Most Americans are trying to eat more protein, research shows, but with various sources, a guide advises on different options from beef to pulses for fiber.

Distinguishing between real and AI-generated images is increasingly tricky; the University of New South Wales launched an AI faces test, and a photographer and an internet addict took the challenge to see if there is a science to authenticity or just guesswork.

The growing extraction of resources, including critical minerals and biofuels for fast fashion and packaging, is pushing the Amazon and other rainforests toward a breaking point, according to new analysis.

An entire room in a new exhibition on extreme pop fandom is dedicated to a piece of gum chewed by Nina Simone, rescued from the Royal Festival Hall by Warren Ellis of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds. The exhibition features a Dolly Parton shrine and Spice Girls-endorsed soda cans, with fans acting as citizen curators.