HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday in another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein to oust the incumbent.

The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters and added to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.

Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.

In the evening, after the primary result was known, Massie took the stage before a fired-up crowd that cheered and chanted throughout his speech, including slogans such as “no more wars” and “America First!”

“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” Massie said.

He also criticized unwavering fealty to Trump in Congress: “If the legislative branch always votes whichever way the wind is blowing, then we have mob rule,” he said. But if lawmakers follow the constitution, “we have a Republic.

Gallrein delivered a shorter, more muted speech at his victory party in Covington, where he first thanked Trump for his support and leadership.

Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president and accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party. He is expected to win the general election against Democrat Melissa Strange in the deeply red district.

The president visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March.

The primary turned white hot in the final stretch of the campaign as Massie recruited a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an attempt to show voters that they could support both him and Trump. Trump ratcheted up his social media attacks on Massie, calling him “an obstructionist and a fool,” and Gallrein shared a stage with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.

The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.

Also Tuesday, Republicans statewide chose U.S. Rep. Andy Barr as their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader. In a contest representing a generational changing of the guard for the party, Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, bested Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.

Massie’s challenge

Massie’s challenge was to win over voters who generally think favorably of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. It was not the first Republican primary Trump has tried to sway, but Massie’s overt rebelliousness has been a particular challenge to the president.

Gallrein embraced the role Trump gave him and focused his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering loyalty to the president.

Some voters were fed up with Massie bucking the party.

George Scherzer, who lives in the small town of Crestwood, supported Massie in past elections but did not like his lack of support for some of the president’s agenda, including last year’s tax and spending bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

“Some of his votes just did not make sense to me,” Scherzer said.

Massie noted that he voted with his party the vast majority of the time. As for the remainder, he said those were on proposals that violated his America First principles such as adding to the national debt and getting into military entanglements like the war with Iran.

Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing that he is generally against all foreign aid. But the race drew in millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.

That became a stump topic for Massie, who said the attempt to oust him was to send a warning to other lawmakers who oppose the president or aid to Israel.

In a last-minute pitch to Kentucky Republicans, Boebert posted photos of her with Massie and with Trump on the social platform X, saying, “I support both of these men.” Replying to that, Massie said: “she likes both Trump and me! Yes it’s possible!!”

Trump lashed out at Boebert on his Truth Social platform, asking for a Republican to challenge her — even though the filing deadline in her home state of Colorado has already passed. “Anybody that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” he wrote.

Trump also influenced Senate primary

The president swayed the race not just through his endorsement but by offering a third challenger, Nate Morris, an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who fashioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Barr.

Barr was first elected in 2012 in the 6th Congressional District. As with Gallrein, he is expected to win the general election in the Republican-dominated state.

During the campaign both Barr and Cameron tiptoed around their relationship with McConnell, whom they previously called a mentor.

McConnell criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and more recently voted against some of his Cabinet picks. He is stepping down after becoming the longest serving Senate leader in American history, coinciding with a transformation of the party under Trump.

Many Republicans, while admiring McConnell’s achievements, see him as out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First movements spawned by Trump. Both Barr and Cameron took note, and while ingratiating themselves to the president, they put some distance between themselves and the senator.

___

Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.

Symptoms of meningitis include high temperature, severe headache, vomiting and confusion

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A junior school pupil has become the fourth person to contract meningitis in Reading, following the tragic death of a child last week. The child is among a group of students who contracted Meningitis B (MenB), including teenager Lewis Waters, from The Henley College in Oxfordshire, who died last week.

The Mirror reports two further patients being treated for the infection are pupils at separate schools in the area. They are Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre.

Dr Rachel Mearkle, consultant in health protection at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “A fourth case of meningococcal disease has been confirmed in Reading.

“This fourth case has links with the same wider social network as the other cases, where measures, including antibiotic prophylaxis, have already been implemented.”

The individual, whose age has not been revealed, is a pupil at Westwood Farm Junior School and is recovering well, Dr Mearkle added.

“The risk to the wider public remains low and this case is not linked to the incidents in Kent or Dorset,” she said.

Sixth form pupil Lewis Waters “fought hard” after catching meningitis but developed sepsis and tragically died last week “within a few hours of feeling a bit ill,” his father Sean said.

In a social media post on Sean Waters paid tribute to his son and wrote: “Words simply can’t describe the heartbreak and upset we’re going through.” He added: “[Sean] fought hard and was really taken care of by the ICU [Intensive Care Unit] team, but they just couldn’t save him.”

He said his son was “funny, sociable and kind-hearted”, and “loved his sisters, friends and family dearly”, adding: “Life won’t be the same for many of us now that he’s gone.”

The latest cases of meningitis in Reading follow a major outbreak in Kent that killed two people and left more than a dozen others needing hospital treatment in March.

Eighteen-year-old student Juliette Kenny tragically died on March 14 following the outbreak in Kent – just a day after she first started showing symptoms of meningitis.

Juliette was a year 13 student at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, and was described by her father Michael Kenny as “fit, healthy and strong” before her death.

An unnamed 21-year-old University of Kent student also died in the outbreak in March.

Meningitis can affect anyone but babies, young children, teenagers and university students are considered among the groups most at risk due to close contact in schools, nurseries and shared accommodation.

Symptoms can appear suddenly and in any order, according to the NHS, but some symptoms may not appear at all.

They include a high temperature, severe headache, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, a stiff neck, sensitivity to light, cold hands and feet, severe muscle pain and a rash that does not fade under pressure.

Police have cordoned off an area in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens following reports of a suspected stabbing, with witnesses reporting multiple people allegedly injured

A major armed police operation has descended on Manchester City Centre following reports of a ‘suspected stabbing’.

Greater Manchester Police sealed off an area near Superdrug in Piccadilly Gardens on Tuesday evening, May 19.

A police helicopter was also hovering overhead for at least forty minutes, reportedly hunting for those involved.

Witnesses have claimed that multiple people had been stabbed, though this has yet to be confirmed by Greater Manchester Police.

A male was spotted being rushed into an ambulance as the city centre saw a massive emergency services presence.

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With roads shut and cordons established, medical debris can be spotted scattered on the ground with bloodied bandages visible inside the blue tape.

CID officers also arrived at the scene.

Manchester Evening News have contacted Greater Manchester Police for further comment.

Lee Andrews’ mum Trisha has issued a heartbreaking plea to the ‘kidnapper’ for his return

Lee Andrews’ mum has made a heartbreaking appeal to the “kidnappers” she believes may be holding her son captive. The Dubai-based businessman married former glamour model Katie Price in January, just a fortnight after the pair first met, and the couple have rarely been out of the spotlight since.

Late last week, Katie and Lee were scheduled to appear together on Good Morning Britain for what would have been their first joint TV interview, however Katie was left to face the cameras alone after Lee failed to board a flight from The UAE.

Katie has had no contact with her husband since Thursday, and his location has remained a mystery ever since. As the days passed, she insisted he had been kidnapped, and a missing persons report was subsequently filed.

Now his mother, Trisha, has spoken out, pleading: “Please bring my son back.” Katie had initially claimed in a video shared on social media that Lee was in a van with “ties around his hand when she last spoken to him.

When asked whether she believed her son had been kidnapped, Trisha told The Sun: “I don’t know, he could have been. I’ve not seen the video. I don’t know the laws out there but I wouldn’t have thought they’d use cables. Wouldn’t they put handcuffs on?”

Trisha, who works as a travelling medium performing readings, also suggested her daughter-in-law shares “too much” on social media. She added: “I think she’s exploiting in general, that’s what I meant She’s always putting things on [social media] isn’t she? As I said, I get on with Katie. She puts too much on [social media].”

Trisha went on to claim Lee has been living in Dubai for over 20 years, with her last visit to him being approximately six years ago, and she hasn’t seen him since he was last in the UK around 2022.

Throughout the ordeal, Katie has been swift to hit back at those suggesting the entire situation is nothing more than a publicity stunt, the Mirror reports.

In a recent video, Katie faced the camera and opened up about how difficult she was finding things. She said: “Hey everyone, I’m here to do an update about Lee. This is a really difficult time for me at the moment. It’s been five days since I’ve heard anything from Lee. None of his family have heard anything, his dad is out in Dubai and he’s heard nothing.”

She revealed Lee had been reported missing to the British Embassy – with the Foreign Office confirming they are “supporting the family of a British man” – and her “anxiety levels are sky high”.

Katie then made a heartfelt plea to her followers, continuing: “If there’s anyone in Dubai or you know anyone in Dubai and you spot him or see him… I don’t know because I don’t know where he is. Because the last thing I know, his hands were tied and he had a hood over his head and he was in the back of a van.”

The star also expressed her gratitude to those who have shown their support, including fans, family and friends. “All I can do is look after myself and my head and get on with each day as I can,” she said.

“Because I still have to get on with life. I want to thank everyone for their kind messages. I’m a tough girl. I’m a survivor but I’ve never been in a situation like this.

“No one needs to worry about me, I always keep my head mind body and soul in check as I have done for a long time but it’s just the unknown and the anxiety because I just don’t know where he is. It is distressing.”

Massie, who has been in office since 2012, broke with Trump by voting against his “big, beautiful” tax and spending legislation last year over concerns about the national debt. He has also voted to curtail Trump’s attacks on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and his ongoing war in Iran.

However, Arsenal have since won four Premier League games in a row to fight back from that wobble and celebrate a title triumph for the first time since the famous ‘Invincibles’ side of 2003/04 under Arsene Wenger, with the Champions League final against holders Paris Saint-Germain to come in Budapest on May 30.

Police rushed to the scene to alleged reports of a ‘stabbing’

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A huge armed police response has rushed to Manchester City Centre after reports of a ‘suspected stabbing’.

Greater Manchester Police cordoned off an area near Superdrug in Piccadilly Gardens on Tuesday night, May 19.

A police helicopter was also circling for at least forty minutes, reportedly searching for those involved.

Witnesses have reported that multiple people had been stabbed, however this is yet to be confirmed by Greater Manchester Police.

A male was seen being rushed into an ambulance as the city centre gained a huge emergency services presence.

As the roads are closed and cordons are in place, medical debris can be seen left lying on the floor with bloodied bandages inside the blue tape.

CID officers also attended the scene.

Manchester Evening News have approached Greater Manchester Police for further comment.

Wanderers take on Stockport County on Sunday 24 May, kick-off 1pm, but engineering works and huge travelling support means that getting down to the capital by train is set to be a nightmare for fans making the trip.

Wembley Stadium (Image: PA)

Network Rail is carrying out upgrade works between Wigan and Warrington on the day of the match, which will have a significant knock-on effect for Avanti West Coast services on the West Coast Main Line, the key route from Bolton and Manchester to London Euston.

As a result of the works, Avanti’s Scotland services will divert via Manchester Piccadilly without making a normal stop there, significantly reducing the number of trains available from Manchester Piccadilly to London ahead of the early kick-off.

Bolton Wanderers Football club warned in an official statement: “There will be a very limited train service that can get Bolton Wanderers fans to London in time for the early kick off, and given the estimated number of fans expected to travel and journeys being uncomfortable due to extremely busy trains, we are advising you to avoid using rail to get to London.”

Trains will not call at Warrington Bank Quay or Wigan North Western, with rail replacement buses operating between those stations and Crewe.

London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly services are also set to be reduced to just two trains per hour in each direction throughout the day.

The club has confirmed there will be trains available after the final whistle for the return journey back to Bolton via Manchester or Preston.

Fans wishing to travel by rail are therefore advised to head to London on Saturday 23 May instead.

For those who haven’t already secured a seat, there are several coach travel options available though some are filling up fast.

Bolton Wanderers’ official club coaches have officially now sold out.

Fans still looking for travel options are in luck, with both Coach Innovations and National Express continuing to sell seats available.

Coach Innovations is offering standard return coaches at £55 per person, departing Bolton Train Station on Trinity Street at 6am, with tickets available at coachinnovations.co.uk, though the company’s premium Club Class option has already sold out.

Meanwhile, National Express is running a dedicated Wembley Express service for the final, with adult returns priced at £60, dropping fans directly at the stadium gates in time for an 11am arrival.

Fans travelling by car can pre-book a parking space at Wembley via wembleyofficialparking.com, with prices set at £50 per car, £25 for Blue Badge holders, and £120 for coaches. Prices may rise on the day.

The market is free to attend and open to all ages

Work is underway ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend for the return of the Belfast Spring Market.

On the grounds of Belfast City Hall, over 70 traders will once again be offering a great selection of products from across the globe during the five-day market event.

The market will once again offer food enthusiasts, families, and everyday explorers the very best international cuisine, artisanal products, and handmade goods, operated by the team behind the famous Belfast Christmas Market.

READ MORE: Belfast Spring Market to bring over 70 traders to grounds of City Hall this Bank Holiday weekendREAD MORE: Bouncy castles, face painting, mud kitchens and more on offer at free family fun day in South Belfast

The market is free to attend and open to all ages.

A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “Traders sell a vibrant mix of global street food, artisan crafts and unique gifts.

“Visitors can enjoy a delicious range of international flavours, including spicy Mexican burritos, mini Dutch pancakes, freshly cooked paella and savoury continental pastries.

“The market also has a wide selection of arts, crafts and handcrafted goods. Browse original artwork, colourful flowers and artisan products, including handmade soaps and locally produced items.”

When is the Spring Continental Market in Belfast?

Traders will be showcasing an array of tantalising flavours from across the globe and unique handcrafted gifts, during the five-day event, which will open to customers from Thursday, May 21 to Monday, May 25.

What are the Spring Continental Market Belfast opening hours?

The Spring Continental Market at City Hall runs from Thursday 21 to Monday 25 May and will be open from:

• Thursday – Saturday 10am – 10pm
• Sunday 12noon – 6pm
• Monday 10am – 6pm

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