Paxton says Texas Senate race could decide America’s future

ALLEN, Texas — Republican Ken Paxton warned Monday that a Democratic victory in his Senate race could threaten the country’s future, delivering a dire message to supporters as early voting began in the unusually competitive Texas contest.

“If we lose Texas, we're going to lose the country, and that's what we're fighting for,” Paxton told a large crowd packed into Matt’s Rancho Martinez restaurant Allen. “This is our time, our moment, to draw the line in the sand that generations of patriots drew before us.”

Paxton, the state’s attorney general, faces a surprisingly close race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Republicans are struggling with voter frustration over the economy, while some in their own party have doubts about Paxton. No Democrat has won a Senate race in Texas since 1988.

Rallying Republicans on the first day of early voting, Paxton called Talarico deeply flawed and said his support of pro-environmental policies would hurt Texas’ oil and gas industry. He also said Talarico was out of step with Texas values because he supported “transitioning our kids.”

—The Dallas Morning News

Trump orders redo of DC public golf course, defying judge

President Donald Trump on Monday defended ordering the extensive redevelopment of a historic Washington, D.C. public golf course in defiance of a federal judge’s orders.

The duffer in chief announced the imminent closure of the East Potomac Golf Course, the closest links to the White House, for a planned 15-month renovation to transform it into what he vowed would be “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”

“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course. They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!” Trump wrote on his social media site.

Trump angrily derided U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, who has ordered all work in his latest vanity project in the nation’s capital to stop for a week at least, and has rejected the government’s efforts to have her removed from presiding over the case.

—New York Daily News

California creates first tribal-led marine protected areas

California has designated its first tribal-championed marine protected areas, often described as underwater parks. While environmentalists celebrate the historic move, commercial fishers warn they will lose access to key waters.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday to create two roughly nine-square-mile State Marine Conservation Areas near Carpinteria and around Central California’s Point Sal. The efforts were co-led by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, respectively. Both areas will allow hook-and-line fishing from the shore but prohibit commercial fishing and sportfishing from a boat.

The marine conservation area near Point Sal encompasses kelp forests and what’s known as Lion Rock, a haven for sea lions, seals and migratory birds, said Violet Sage Walker, chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. There are ancient village sites along the coast, she added.

“It’s a very important, special area within and surrounded by areas that are heavily fished and also heavily burdened by pollution and industrialization,” she said. The designation adds a “safeguard.”

—Los Angeles Times

France toughens protest response as officials admit failure

PARIS — French officials, acknowledging law-enforcement failures, rolled out tougher security measures and pledged aid for businesses after cost-of-living protests this weekend degenerated into violence, vandalism and looting.

An 11 p.m. curfew was put in place in a few areas of Paris amid other restrictions after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu earlier called on regional authorities to impose curfews where needed.

“These are specific acts of delinquency, of looting, and it is out of the question that it continues,” Lecornu told reporters. He blamed an “ultra-left movement that seeks to create profound disorder in the country, all the way through to the presidential election.”

The protests drew more than half a million people on Saturday across the country, but what started out as a peaceful demonstration to complain about poor conditions in classrooms and hospitals, and cost-of-living concerns soon deteriorated. Some 2,397 people were arrested on Saturday, according to Interior Ministry figures released late Sunday.

—Bloomberg News