博客

Social media companies accused of “addicting the brains of children” as trial begins

February 9, 2026 / 8:31 PM EST / AP

The world’s biggest social media companies face several landmark trials this year that seek to hold them responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Opening statements in one such trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court began on Monday.

Instagram’s parent company Meta and Google’s YouTube face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children. TikTok and Snap, which were originally named in the lawsuit, settled for undisclosed sums.

Jurors got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining social media companies named as defendants.

Mark Lanier delivered the opening statement for the plaintiffs first, in a lively display where he said the case is as “easy as ABC,” which he said stands for “addicting the brains of children.” He called Meta and Google “two of the richest corporations in history” that have “engineered addiction in children’s brains.”

He presented jurors with a slew of internal emails, documents and studies conducted by Meta and YouTube, as well as YouTube’s parent company, Google. He emphasized the findings of a study Meta conducted called “Project Myst” in which they surveyed 1,000 teens and their parents about their social media use. The two major findings, Lanier said, were that the company knew children who experienced “adverse events” like trauma and stress were particularly vulnerable for addiction; and that parental supervision and controls made little impact.

Internal company documents

He also showed internal Google documents that likened YouTube to a casino, and internal communication between Meta employees in which one person said Instagram is “like a drug” and that employees are “basically pushers.”

At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury.

KGM made a brief appearance after a break during Lanier’s statement and she will return to testify later in the trial. Lanier spent time speaking about her childhood, and particularly focused on what her personality was like before she began using social media, saying her mother called her a “creative spark” as a child. She started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9, Lanier said. Before she graduated elementary school, she had posted 284 videos on YouTube.

The outcome of the trial could have profound effects on the companies’ businesses and how they will handle children using their platforms.

Lanier said the companies’ lawyers will “try to blame the little girl and her parents for the trap they built,” referencing the plaintiff. She was a minor when she said she became addicted to social media platforms, which she claims had a detrimental impact on her mental health.

Lanier said that despite the public position of Meta and YouTube being that they work to protect children and implement safeguards for their use of the platforms, their internal documents show an entirely different position, with explicit references to young children being listed as their target audiences.

Lanier also drew comparisons between the social media companies and tobacco firms, citing internal communication between Meta employees who were concerned about the company’s lack of proactive action about the potential harm their platforms can have on children and teens.

“For a teenager, social validation is survival,” Lanier said. The defendants “engineered a feature that caters to a minor’s craving for social validation,” he added, speaking about “like” buttons and similar features.

“This was only the first case — there are hundreds of parents and school districts in the social media addiction trials that start today, and sadly, new families every day who are speaking out and bringing Big Tech to court for its deliberately harmful products,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the nonprofit Tech Oversight Project.

Jurors are not being asked to stop using Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or any other forms of social media throughout the course of the trial — which is expected to last about eight weeks — but Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl emphasized that they should not make any changes to the way they interact with the platforms, including changing their settings or creating new accounts.

Kuhl said that jurors should decide the liability of Meta and YouTube independently when they deliberate.

A separate trial in New Mexico, meanwhile, also kicked off with opening statements on Monday.

KGM claims that her use of social media from an early age addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Importantly, the lawsuit claims that this was done through deliberate design choices made by companies that sought to make their platforms more addictive to children to boost profits. This argument, if successful, could sidestep the companies’ First Amendment shield and Section 230, which protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their platforms.

“Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, Defendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” the lawsuit says.

Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify

Executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify at the trial, which will last six to eight weeks. Experts have drawn similarities to the Big Tobacco trials that led to a 1998 settlement requiring cigarette companies to pay billions in health care costs and restrict marketing targeting minors.

The tech companies dispute the claims that their products deliberately harm children, citing a bevy of safeguards they have added over the years and arguing that they are not liable for content posted on their sites by third parties.

A Meta spokesperson said in a recent statement that the company strongly disagrees with the allegations outlined in the lawsuit and that it’s “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said that the allegations against YouTube are “simply not true.” In a statement, he said, “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”

The case will be the first in a slew of cases beginning this year that seek to hold social media companies responsible for harming children’s mental well-being.

In New Mexico, opening statements began Monday for trial on allegations that Meta and its social media platforms have failed to protect young users from sexual exploitation, following an undercover online investigation. Attorney General Raúl Torrez in late 2023 sued Meta and Zuckerberg, who was later dropped from the suit.

A federal bellwether trial beginning in June in Oakland, California, will be the first to represent school districts that have sued social media platforms over harms to children.

In addition, more than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, claiming it is harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. The majority of cases filed their lawsuits in federal court, but some sued in their respective states.

TikTok also faces similar lawsuits in more than a dozen states.

Other countries, meanwhile, are enacting new laws to limit social media for children. In January, French lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for children under 15, paving the way for the measure to enter into force at the start of the next school year in September, as the idea of setting a minimum age for use of the platforms gains momentum across Europe.

In Australia, social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16, officials said. The law provoked fraught debates in Australia about technology use, privacy, child safety and mental health and has prompted other countries to consider similar measures.

The British government also said last month it will consider banning young teenagers from social media as it tightens laws designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time.

Catherine O’Hara’s cause of death was a pulmonary embolism, with cancer as underlying cause, AP reports

February 9, 2026 / 7:06 PM EST / CBS/AP

Catherine O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, with cancer as the underlying cause, according to a Los Angeles County death certificate issued Monday, The Associated Press reported.

The certificate lists the pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lungs, as the immediate cause of the actor’s Jan. 30 death at age 71. Rectal cancer was the long-term cause.

The oncologist who signed off on the certificate indicated that he had been treating O’Hara since March of last year, and last saw her on Jan. 27. She died at a hospital in Santa Monica, California. She was cremated, according to the document.

The beloved Canadian-born comic actor and

As pressure mounted to release Epstein files, FBI employees compiled allegations against other men

By Michael Williams, Aileen Graef
23 min ago
PUBLISHED Feb 9, 2026, 9:26 PM ET

As the Justice Department faced mounting pressure to release the Epstein files last year, FBI employees were compiling what one described as “salacious” allegations against men in Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit and putting together a presentation that included a list of “prominent names” in the investigative files.

The 21-slide presentation — released with more than 3 million documents in the Epstein files — outlines the various federal investigations into the late convicted sex offender, his death and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking.

One slide lists a dozen names and notes that “numerous” tips were made anonymously to the FBI’s tip line. Some of the tips included claims of sexual misconduct, while others were not allegations of criminal conduct but rather indicated an association with Epstein.

The men listed, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, have been known to have associations with Epstein and have denied wrongdoing regarding previous allegations against them.

Former US President Bill Clinton speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/File

[Related article Illustration by CNN Politicians. Business titans. Hollywood figures. See the names — and their correspondence — in latest Epstein files release 1 min read]

Efforts by FBI employees to compile some of the most explosive claims contained in the Epstein files took place as public backlash mounted last year over the Trump administration’s decision to shut the door on releasing more documents. Separately, the FBI compiled a list of sexual assault allegations related to Trump this past August — many of which appear to have come from unverified tips.

Eventually, Congress passed a law in November demanding transparency and the release of all documents, forcing the Trump administration to act.

It’s not clear from the presentation what steps had been taken to verify any of the allegations. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN earlier this month that the Department of Justice has no plans to bring additional charges related to Epstein, saying there was nothing in the files to warrant new prosecutions.

CNN has reached out to the DOJ. The FBI declined to comment.

Top Trump administration officials early last year hyped the release of the Epstein files and a purported “client list,” which has been long sought since Epstein’s death in 2019, including by Trump’s base.

Attorney General Pam Bondi initially said last February that a client list was sitting on her desk — though the administration said she was referring to other documents. Later that month, she gave a group of rightwing influencers binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1,” which turned out to contain already publicized documents related to the sex offender.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on October 7, 2025.

Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA/AP

Under pressure because of the lack of new details, Bondi promised more documents would be released.

But the administration began backtracking, CNN previously reported, sometime around May 2025 — the same month that Bondi told Trump in a meeting that his name was included in the files.

This sparked backlash that intensified after the DOJ said on July 7 in an unsigned memo that it had concluded there was no client list and that Epstein had died in 2019 by suicide — undercutting conspiracy theories to the contrary. The department did not plan to release any new documents on the matter, an official told CNN at the time.

Three days later an email with the subject line “Response to 07/10/2025 Director’s call” broke down material recovered on Epstein’s devices, evidence items seized, and victims’ reports as to whether they had accused others of sexual misconduct. The short summary indicates at least four or five of Epstein’s victims had accused unnamed men of sexually abusing them, but that the cases were referred to local law enforcement because “there was not enough evidence to federally charge these individuals.”

In an email later in July, a person at the FBI was asked to write summaries of “salacious statements” made about 13 people, including Trump, Clinton, Mountbatten-Windsor, billionaire Leon Black, and ex-movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Among the short statements provided were details of newly disclosed but unverified claims of sexual assault made against Trump, along with similar claims against Weinstein and Black.

Portions of the emailed list were included in the 21-page presentation that included the logo of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

The presentation was created sometime after mid-July 2025, given dates listed in the slides. It featured a timeline of various state and federal investigations into Epstein, details about financial transactions between Epstein and Maxwell, and a list of people who attended “proffer” sessions – meetings with prosecutors in which a person can lay out what evidence or testimony they could provide in a criminal case.

In response to a request for comment, the White House referred to a press release issued by the Justice Department last month that said the released documents contain “untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”

Leon Black, chairman and chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management LLC, at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 1, 2018.

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false,” the press release said, “and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

Trump has never been accused by law enforcement of wrongdoing related to Epstein.

An attorney for Black, who stepped away from running the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 over his ties to Epstein, said in a statement that there was “absolutely no truth” to the allegations and maintained their relationship was only business related.

“Mr. Black asked for an independent investigation of his relationship with Epstein. The Dechert law firm investigated and reviewed more than 60,000 documents, interviewed more than 20 people and concluded that Mr. Black paid Epstein for estate planning and tax advice and that he had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activities,” lawyer Susan Estrich wrote.

“Of the three civil lawsuits filed against Mr. Black, one has been dismissed, the other withdrawn and the other is currently facing a case terminating motion for sanctions. There is absolutely no truth to any of the allegations against Mr. Black,” Estrich said.

Representatives for Clinton and Mountbatten-Windsor have not responded to a request for comment.

Weinstein is incarcerated, awaiting a third trial in New York on charges of sexual assault after having already been convicted of similar charges in Los Angeles.

“This is an unverified FBI tip, not a finding, not sworn testimony, and not evidence of anything. Mr. Weinstein denies the conduct described,” Juda Engelmayer, spokesperson for Weinstein, said in a statement to CNN.

“These intake documents exist precisely so anyone can call in anything — including stories that closely resemble allegations that have been in the public domain for years. The fact that a familiar-sounding narrative appears in a tip line during a high-profile document release does not make it true, tested, or corroborated,” he added.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reacts as he arrives for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, on December 25, 2022.

Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

Clinton has denied accusations of wrongdoing related to Epstein. He’s scheduled to appear in a deposition as part of the House’s probe into Epstein later this month – and has pushed for that testimony to be made public.

“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Clinton said in a post to X last week. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”

Mountbatten-Windsor – the former Prince Andrew who was stripped of his royal title last year over his friendship with Epstein – has not responded to the latest file release.

韩国东南部一储油设施发生火灾

2026年2月10日 08:48 / 联合早报

韩国东南部庆尚北道庆山市一处输油管道的室外储罐仓库发生火灾，尚无人员伤亡报告。

韩联社报道，火灾在星期二（2月10日）上午8时（新加坡时间上午7时）左右发生。

警方说，大火从该储油设施顶盖处烧起并发生爆炸，随后火势减弱，目前仅烟雾冒出。

Federal judge blocks California’s law enforcement mask ban

Published Feb 9, 2026, 8:56 PM ET / Source: CNN

By [Piper Hudspeth Blackburn]

A US Border Patrol agent wearing a mask, investigates the scene of a reported shooting during an operation by federal immigration officers in Willowbrook, California, on January 21.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images/File

A federal judge in California on Monday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its ban on most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations.

US District Judge Christina Snyder in Los Angeles granted the Trump administration’s request for a preliminary injunction, finding that the ban “unlawfully discriminates” against federal agents because it does not equally apply to state law enforcement officers.

Snyder, however, kept in place another law requiring federal officers operating in the state to display either their name or badge number.

The ruling is a partial win for the Trump administration, which challenged the policies in federal court last year, insisting both be thrown out to protect federal agents.

The administration had argued that the laws, signed in September in response to immigration raids last summer in Los Angeles, were an unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers.

CNN has reached out to the Justice Department and California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office for comment.

The mask ban, the first of its kind in the United States according to the Associated Press, seeks to bar neck gaiters, ski masks and other facial coverings for local and federal officers who are conducting official business. There are exceptions for undercover agents, medical masks and tactical gear. The legislation came after months of immigration arrests conducted by masked federal agents using aggressive tactics across the country.

Currently, there is no federal policy dictating when officers can or should cover their faces during arrests. Historically, officers have almost always concealed their faces only while performing undercover work to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, law enforcement experts have told CNN.

For his part, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has insisted the ban pushes back against the federal government’s use of masked agents without identification or badge numbers to detain people on the streets during immigration raids.

“It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing,” Newsom said at a press conference when he signed the law last year.

巴勒斯坦呼吁国际社会干预以色列的“危险决定”

2026年2月10日 09:11 / 联合早报

以色列安全内阁2月8日批准旨在扩大犹太人定居点的一系列决定。图为约旦河西岸城市希伯伦。 （法新社）

针对以色列安全内阁通过的旨在扩大犹太人定居点、加强对约旦河西岸控制的一系列决定，巴勒斯坦各方发表声明予以谴责，并呼吁阿拉伯国家、伊斯兰国家及国际社会立即采取干预行动。

新华社报道，巴勒斯坦副总统谢赫星期一（2月9日）发表声明，敦促阿拉伯国家联盟、伊斯兰合作组织和联合国安理会召开紧急会议，讨论以色列政府作出的“危险决定”。他强调，阿拉伯国家、回教国家和国际社会应统一立场，谴责相关措施并要求以方立即撤销决定。

巴勒斯坦总统府8日通过巴勒斯坦通讯社发表声明指出，以色列的决定“极其危险”，是以色列对巴勒斯坦人民发动的全面战争的延续，也是对巴勒斯坦人民在约旦河西岸地区民族和历史权利的进一步侵犯。

巴勒斯坦总统府说，以方举措旨在进一步吞并巴勒斯坦领土、驱逐巴勒斯坦人民，公然违反国际法、联合国有关决议以及包括《奥斯陆协议》在内的巴以双方已签署的所有协议。

声明还谴责以色列试图通过上述决定使定居点活动、土地掠夺以及破坏巴勒斯坦公民财产的行径合法化，并呼吁国际社会采取行动制止以方威胁到地区安全的决定。

哈马斯8日也发表声明，谴责以色列相关决定是“法西斯式”的定居点政策，是以方全面吞并和实施种族清洗计划的一部分，意在“改变当地的地理和法律现实”。

哈马斯在声明中呼吁巴勒斯坦各方加强协调，并敦促阿拉伯和回教国家及国际社会采取切实行动，对以色列施加压力，“制止其侵犯和侵略行为”。

Trump targeted the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor over trade practices and China ties

By Louis Casiano
Fox News

Published February 9, 2026 8:19pm EST

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to prevent the opening of a bridge that will connect Michigan and Canada unless Ottawa negotiates with Washington on tariffs and the exclusion of American products.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump accused Canada of taking advantage of the United States with unfair trade practices and cozying up to China.

In an effort to bring Canada to the negotiating table, Trump said he would not allow the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is named after the legendary Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings. The bridge, which is currently under construction, will connect Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, [Canada treats] the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” Trump wrote.

Trump has previously accused Canada of taking advantage of U.S. trade policies. In his post, Trump said Canada has moved forward with building the bridge with “virtually no U.S. content.”

He blamed former President Barack Obama for “stupidly” giving Canada a waiver so they could get around the Buy American Act, which mandates federal agencies purchase materials that are manufactured in the U.S. and made mostly from U.S.-produced components.

Trump accused Canada of not using American products, including steel.

“Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just ‘take advantage of America!’ What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!” he wrote. “Ontario won’t even put U.S. [spirits, beverages], and other alcoholic products, on their shelves, they are absolutely prohibited from doing so and now, on top of everything else, Prime Minister Carney wants to make a deal with China — which will eat Canada alive. We’ll just get the leftovers! I don’t think so.”

By cozying up to China, Canada would be risking its national sport: ice hockey, Trump said.

“The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup,” he said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

US judge rejects California law that banned masks for federal officers

February 10, 2026 2:47 AM UTC / Reuters

Feb 9 (Reuters) – A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday preliminarily struck down a California state law that bans federal officers from wearing masks while on duty.

U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said, opens new tab the U.S. government was likely to prove that the law is unconstitutional and granted its request for an order against its enforcement.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

In the same ruling, Snyder upheld another California law that requires federal officers to display identification when performing their duties.

节点运行失败

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that Snyder’s decision on the identification law was “a clear win for the rule of law,” and that “no badge and no name mean no accountability.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the decision on the mask law “ANOTHER key court victory” in a statement on X.

“These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs,” Bondi said. “We have no tolerance for it.”

Newsom signed the provisions in September amid Republican President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles during protests over immigration enforcement operations. The U.S. Department of Justice sued to strike down the laws in November and said it would not comply.

The department said in the lawsuit that federal officers “face a real threat of criminal liability from state officials who have made clear their intent to target federal officers and disrupt federal law enforcement activities, including federal immigration enforcement.”

Snyder, an appointee of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton, agreed with the Trump administration that California’s masking law violated the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which prevents states from interfering with federal functions. The judge said the law improperly targets federal officers by treating them differently than state law enforcement officers, who were excluded from the mask ban.

Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

巴勒斯坦呼吁国际社会干预以色列的“危险决定”

2026年2月10日 09:11 / 联合早报

以色列安全内阁2月8日批准旨在扩大犹太人定居点的一系列决定。图为约旦河西岸城市希伯伦。 （法新社）

针对以色列安全内阁通过的旨在扩大犹太人定居点、加强对约旦河西岸控制的一系列决定，巴勒斯坦各方发表声明予以谴责，并呼吁阿拉伯国家、伊斯兰国家及国际社会立即采取干预行动。

新华社报道，巴勒斯坦副总统谢赫星期一（2月9日）发表声明，敦促阿拉伯国家联盟、伊斯兰合作组织和联合国安理会召开紧急会议，讨论以色列政府作出的“危险决定”。他强调，阿拉伯国家、回教国家和国际社会应统一立场，谴责相关措施并要求以方立即撤销决定。

巴勒斯坦总统府8日通过巴勒斯坦通讯社发表声明指出，以色列的决定“极其危险”，是以色列对巴勒斯坦人民发动的全面战争的延续，也是对巴勒斯坦人民在约旦河西岸地区民族和历史权利的进一步侵犯。

巴勒斯坦总统府说，以方举措旨在进一步吞并巴勒斯坦领土、驱逐巴勒斯坦人民，公然违反国际法、联合国有关决议以及包括《奥斯陆协议》在内的巴以双方已签署的所有协议。

声明还谴责以色列试图通过上述决定使定居点活动、土地掠夺以及破坏巴勒斯坦公民财产的行径合法化，并呼吁国际社会采取行动制止以方威胁到地区安全的决定。

哈马斯8日也发表声明，谴责以色列相关决定是“法西斯式”的定居点政策，是以方全面吞并和实施种族清洗计划的一部分，意在“改变当地的地理和法律现实”。

哈马斯在声明中呼吁巴勒斯坦各方加强协调，并敦促阿拉伯和回教国家及国际社会采取切实行动，对以色列施加压力，“制止其侵犯和侵略行为”。

Turning Point Action endorses Ken Paxton in heated GOP Senate primary in Texas

PUBLISHED Feb 9, 2026, 7:53 PM ET / CNN

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since the death of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 20, 2025.

Cheney Orr/Reuters

Turning Point Action has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the GOP’s nastiest primary battles, supporting the controversial, conservative firebrand in his bid to unseat longtime Sen. John Cornyn.

Paxton announced the endorsement on X, noting he felt “honored” to be supported by the group, which is an affiliate of Turning Point USA,the influential conservative nonprofit founded by the late political activist Charlie Kirk.

“The movement that Charlie Kirk built has inspired millions, and I’m proud to be standing alongside Turning Point Action in carrying on the fight to save this country and defend our freedoms,” Paxton added.

The endorsement comes as top Senate Republicans have been putting pressure on President Donald Trump to pick a side in the Texas GOP primary before it’s too late: Cornyn, Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are set to face off in a primary next month, which could lead to a costly runoff in May.

A University of Houston poll released Monday found that 38% of likely voters intend to vote for Paxton – compared to 31% for Cornyn and 17% for Hunt, with 12% unsure.

Cornyn, who is currently in his fourth term in office, has been somewhat critical of Trump and repeatedly shared concerns about Trump’s electability in the leadup to the 2024 presidential race. However, in the past year, he’s tried to align himself closely with the president: His launch video featured footage of Trump praising him in 2019 and he posted a photo on X of him reading “The Art of the Deal.”

CNN reported earlier this week that senior Republicans fear it could cost at least $200 million to defend the seat in Texas if Paxton – who has a history of scandals – is the nominee, draining critical resources that could be spent elsewhere. Democrats have been bolstered by wins in major off-year contests and hope to capitalize on that momentum and retake both Congressional chambers, even if the path to a Democratic majority in the Senate is very narrow.

Cornyn has continued to seek out Trump’s endorsement, and he approached Trump again last week following a Democratic upset in a deep-red slice of Texas.

In an interview with CNN, Cornyn warned that Democrats could win the seat if the wrong Republican — namely Paxton — makes it to the general election.

“I think if Republicans nominate the attorney general, I think they absolutely do,” Cornyn told CNN when asked whether Democrats had a chance of flipping the senate seat. “At minimum … we’d have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to salvage that seat that could be used in places like Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire and elsewhere.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are engaged in a heated primary of their own, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a 44-year-old civil rights attorney, and state Rep. James Talarico, a 36-year-old former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, vying for the nomination.

CNN’s Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.