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Ahead of the sentencing, prosecutors recommended Kenneth Iwamasa spend more than three years in prison for his role in Perry's October 2023 passing.

Al 'Mr.Impeachment' Green Out As Crypto-Backed Candidates Win Key Texas Primary Runoffs

Authored by Christina Comben via CoinTelegraph.com,

Crypto-backed political groups supported several winning candidates in Texas primary runoffs Tuesday, highlighting the digital asset industry’s growing role in US elections as Congress debates new rules for crypto markets.

Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican US Senate runoff against four-term Senator John Cornyn by a wide margin, according to Texas primary runoff results, and will face Democratic state Representative James Talarico in November.

In Houston’s 18th Congressional District, Democrat Christian Menefee unseated fellow Democrat representative Al Green in a decisive win after Republican-led redistricting forced the two incumbents into the same district, ousting one of the state’s most senior House members.

Democrats and Republicans Alex Mealer and Jon Bonck also secured their party’s nominations in competitive Houston-area House races.

The contests drew heavy spending from crypto-aligned political action committees (PACs) focused on a small number of high-stakes races, and come as Congress debates new rules for digital asset markets, including legislation to define crypto market structure and establish a framework for dollar‑pegged stablecoins.

Victories by candidates backed by crypto-focused PACs in a politically influential state could give the industry additional allies as those measures advance.

Crypto money reshapes key Texas races

Two races in particular show how that money is being deployed.

Protect Progress, an affiliate of the Fairshake super PAC backed by firms including Ripple and Coinbase, reported spending about $5 million to support Menefee and a further $2.8 million on advertising opposing Green in the Houston race.

Another crypto-focused group, Fellowship PAC, funded in part by financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald and crypto custodian Anchorage Digital, reported roughly $500,000 in spending to boost Paxton over Cornyn in the Senate runoff.

Fairshake’s Republican affiliate, Defend American Jobs, also backed four winning Republican candidates, Jon Bonck, Tom Sell, Carlos De La Cruz and Alex Mealer.

Texas runoffs test crypto’s political power

Bitcoin-focused policy advocate Dennis Porter commented on Menefee’s victory, saying, “A pro crypto Democrat just ousted a 20-year incumbent Democrat who was anti crypto. Nature is healing,” a nod to what many in the industry saw as years of Democratic-led “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” campaigns, in which bank regulators and enforcement agencies have been accused of squeezing crypto firms out of the financial system.

While much of crypto PACs' recent spending in the state has gone to Republican candidates, Menefee’s win gives the groups a high-profile Democratic ally in Texas.

The crypto advocacy group, Stand With Crypto, assigned Green an F grade for his strong opposition to industry-backed legislation, while Menefee is rated as supportive of digital asset innovation.

Stand With Crypto assigned Al Green an "F" rating. Source: Stand With Crypto

Prediction markets had strongly favored the crypto-aligned challengers heading into election day.

Contracts on regulated and crypto-native platforms implied odds of over 90% that both Paxton and Menefee would prevail, with nearly $15 million reportedly traded on markets tied specifically to the Paxton vs Cornyn runoff.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/27/2026 - 15:00

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The "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star and her ex-boyfriend have made domestic violence claims against each other.

The "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star and her ex-boyfriend have made domestic violence claims against each other.

Russian Fuel Tanker Aborts Cuba Delivery After Drifting In Caribbean For A Month

A Russian tanker carrying 270,000 barrels of diesel fuel and which is under US and EU sanctions spent weeks trying to reach crisis-hit Cuba, which is also under US sanctions as well amid what's essentially become a full energy blockade, but has failed the reach the island nation and turned southward toward Brazil.

The exiled Russian outlet, The Insider, has detailed the following based on maritime tracking data:

The Russian-flagged tanker Universal (IMO: 9384306), which had been drifting for almost a month in the Sargasso Sea approaching the Antilles, has finally moved. However, the vessel is heading south, not toward Cuba, according to data from the Starboard Maritime Intelligence ship tracking service provided to The Insider. The vessel's current destination is listed as FOR ORDER. Judging by the vessel's movements, the United States has denied the tanker permission to transit Cuba. (machine translation)

via The Insider

It had been bound for Cuba since its departure from Russia in April, and was for a month drifting in an area some 1,000 miles northeast of Cuba.

Its destination remains listed as "For order" - which means it is still in a holding pattern awaiting routing and final destination instructions.

According to more details of it prior movements via The Moscow Times, "The Universal departed from the Russian Baltic port of Vistino in the Leningrad region on April 6 and, according to Britain's The Telegraph, was escorted through the English Channel by a Russian military convoy."

It was the Russian Black Sea Fleet frigate Admiral Grigorovich that accompanied the vessel into the Atlantic. Such extreme measures as a full military escort are deemed necessary due to prior EU country interdictions of sanctioned Russian ships.

Especially going back to April, Cuba and its population have been facing tightening economic strains where rolling blackouts and fuel shortages have intensified public hardship.

This energy crisis has become a central issue in its relations with Washington, as the government seeks relief from sanctions that limit access to fuel imports. A main supplier, Venezuela, has curtailed oil shipments to Cuba since the United States captured dictator Nicolás Maduro in January.

It appears that Russia is not going to try its luck at supplying Cuba with much-needed fuel amid the US-led fuel blockade of the island nation. After drifting for five weeks in the Sargasso Sea, the US-sanctioned, Russian-flagged Handymax tanker UNIVERSAL (9384306) has now… pic.twitter.com/bEIpyblcii

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) May 27, 2026

The White House has repeatedly proclaimed that the Cuban government is in a weakened state. President Trump has also threatened "Cuba is next". "The country is very weak. They’re in a very weak position economically, obviously, and financially," WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said back in April.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/27/2026 - 14:40

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The "Saturday Night Live" alum was photographed sitting courtside next to Chalamet and his girlfrined, Kylie Jenner, at an April 28 NBA game.

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The Tulsa Drillers, the Dodgers’ double-A affiliate team, are suspending their bat dog program for the immediate future, according to a team spokesperson, following a freak injury to outfield prospect Kendall George earlier this week. George, a former first-round draft pick ranked 13th overall in the Dodgers’ farm system by MLB Pipeline, is feared to...

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