Texas Gov. Abbott threatens Democratic lawmakers who fled state to block redistricting - National & International News - MON 4Aug2025 -

Texas governor threatens Democratic lawmakers who fled state to block redistricting vote.

Ukraine corruption watchdogs expose drone procurement bribery scheme, days after independence restored.

Texas governor threatens Democratic lawmakers who fled state to block redistricting vote

Over the weekend, dozens of Democratic Texas legislators fled for blue states in order to deny the state legislature a quorum to vote on a draft bill for Congressional redistricting. Last month, President Trump said he believed Republicans could win five more seats in Texas if district maps were redrawn. This would benefit Republicans who have held on to narrow majorities in the House of Representatives.

States normally only draw up new Congressional maps once every ten years following the national census. Nevertheless, Republican legislators in Texas are now moving to do Trump’s bidding by moving ahead with an unusual mid-decade redistricting. Last week, they unveiled new maps that drastically redraw several districts in Northern Texas in time for the 2026 Midterms.

In response, Texas Democratic legislators have not only left the state but have also called on Democratic-led states to escalate the fight by drawing up new district maps of their own. Democratic governors Gavin Newsome of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Kathy Hochul of New York have said they will push for redistricting in their states if Texas Republicans approve their new map. At the same time, several Democratic governors hoped that the courts would intervene to halt partisan gerrymandering efforts by both parties.

Texas Republicans, including Governor Greg Abbott, have threatened the Democratic lawmakers who left the state with arrest, daily fines, and potentially with removal from their seats in the legislature.

Ukraine corruption watchdogs expose drone procurement bribery scheme, days after independence restored

Just two days after their independence from executive oversight was restored, Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have exposed a major military procurement corruption scheme. According to NABU and SAPO, the scheme involved purchasing drones and electronic equipment like jamming systems for Ukraine’s war effort at massively inflated prices. Government officials and members of the military allegedly received kickbacks of up to 30%. So far, 6 people have been arrested for their part in the conspiracy, including a member of parliament, two provincial officials, a National Guard commander and two businessmen. NABU has not publicly identified the suspects, but local media identified the MP as Oleksiy Kuznyetsov, a member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party.

Last month, NABU and SAPO were at the heart of a controversy within Ukraine that sparked days of massive nationwide protests. The protests began after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation to bring NABU and SAPO under the control of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, a presidential appointee. Zelensky and the legislature initially said the law was necessary to counter Russian influence in Ukraine’s anti-graft watchdogs.

This explanation did not satisfy the outraged Ukrainian people, nor did it satisfy Zelensky’s European partners and wartime allies. The European Commission and heads of state warned Zelensky that Ukraine’s prospects of joining the EU were in jeopardy unless he overturned the legislation. On Thursday, Ukraine’s parliament overwhelmingly voted to pass a new bill to restore independence to NABU and SAPO.