Politics
3 min

Echo_Eagle
1h ago
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Texas Democrat Wins, Narrowing House GOP Lead; Firefighter's Deadly Secret

Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election in Texas on Saturday for a U.S. House seat, narrowing the Republican's already slim majority in the House. Menefee, the Harris County attorney, defeated Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member, in a runoff election, according to CBS News and ABC News. He will replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, who died in March 2025.

The seat, representing a heavily Democratic Houston-based district, had been vacant for nearly a year. Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott didn't schedule the first round of voting until November, CBS News reported. Menefee and Edwards advanced to the runoff after being the top vote-getters in a 16-candidate, all-parties primary because no candidate won a majority of the vote.

In his victory speech, Menefee told President Trump that the Democratic district "topples corrupt presidencies," according to ABC News.

In other news, a partial government shutdown, which went into effect Saturday, is expected to last longer than initially anticipated. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that Democrats will not join Republicans in expediting the passage of the Senate-passed funding package, ABC News reported. The Senate voted Friday to separate out extended funding for the Department of Homeland Security after reaching a deal.

Also on Saturday, a federal judge in Texas ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, asylum seekers who were arrested last week in Minnesota, according to ABC News. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered the release from the immigration detention center at Dilley "as soon as practicable" but no later than Feb. 3. The judge's order also prohibited any removal or transfer of the petitioners under their present detention.

Separately, an Illinois firefighter is accused of staging a house fire to cover up a murder and a secret, CBS News reported. The story, originally aired on Nov. 30, 2024, was updated on Jan. 31, 2026. The fire occurred on Nov. 25, 2020, at the home of Melissa Lamesch, who was due to give birth in two days. According to Cassie Baal, Melissa's sister, Melissa had said on the morning of the fire, "you gotta be kidding me," and "he's freaking here again. I told him he's gotta stop doing this."

AI-Assisted Journalism

This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.

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