Pete Davidson and his girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders, 27, were involved in a car accident in March

The historic impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plunged Republicans on Sunday into a fight over whether to banish one of their own in America's biggest red state after years of scandal and criminal accusations that will now be at the center of a trial in the state Senate. Paxton said he has “full confidence” as he awaits judgement from the Senate, where his conservative allies include his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who has not said whether she will recuse herself from the proceedings to determine whether her husband will be permanently removed from office. For now, Texas' three-term attorney general is immediately suspended after the state House of Representatives on Saturday impeached Paxton on 20 articles that included bribery and abuse of public trust. The decisive 121-23 vote amounted to a clear rebuke from the GOP-controlled chamber after nearly a decade of Republican lawmakers taking a mostly muted stance on Paxton's alleged misdeeds, which include felony securities fraud charges from 2015 and an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption accusations. He is just the third sitting official in Texas' nearly 200-year history to have been impeached. "No one person should be above the law, least not the top law officer of the state of Texas,” said Republican state Rep. David Spiller, who was part of a House investigative committee that this week revealed it had quietly been looking into Paxton for months. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has remained silent about Paxton all week , including after Saturday's impeachment. Abbott, who was the state's attorney general prior to Paxton's taking the job in 2015, has the power to appoint a temporary replacement pending the outcome in the Senate trial. It is not year clear when the Senate trial will take place. Final removal of Paxton would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where Republican members are generally aligned with the party's hard right. The Senate is led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has served as state chairman for former President Donald Trump's campaigns in Texas. Before the vote Saturday, Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz came to Paxton’s defense, with the senator calling the impeachment process “a travesty” and saying the attorney general’s legal troubles should be left to the courts. “Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with the impeachment, “I will fight you.” Paxton, 60, decried the outcome in the House moments after scores of his fellow partisans voted for impeachment. His office pointed to internal reports that found no wrongdoing. “The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just,” Paxton said. "It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning.” Lawmakers allied with Paxton tried to discredit the investigation by noting that hired investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said several of the investigators had voted in Democratic primaries, tainting the impeachment, and that Republican legislators had too little time to review evidence. “I perceive it could be political weaponization,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the House’s most conservative members, said before the vote. Republican Rep. John Smithee compared the proceeding to "a Saturday mob out for an afternoon lynching.” Rice University political science professor Mark P. Jones said the swift move to impeach kept Paxton from rallying significant support and allowed quietly frustrated Republicans to come together. “If you ask most Republicans privately, they feel Paxton is an embarrassment. But most were too afraid of the base to oppose him,” Jones said. By voting as a large bloc, he added, the lawmakers gained political cover. To Paxton’s longstanding detractors, however, the rebuke was years overdue. In 2014, he admitted to violating Texas securities law, and a year later was indicted on securities fraud charges in his hometown near Dallas, accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He pleaded not guilty to two felony counts carrying a potential sentence of five to 99 years. He opened a legal defense fund and accepted $100,000 from an executive whose company was under investigation by Paxton’s office for Medicaid fraud. An additional $50,000 was donated by an Arizona retiree whose son Paxton later hired to a high-ranking job but soon was fired after displaying child pornography in a meeting. In 2020, Paxton intervened in a Colorado mountain community where a Texas donor and college classmate faced removal from his lakeside home under coronavirus orders. But what ultimately unleased the impeachment push was Paxton's relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. In 2020, eight top aides told the FBI they were concerned Paxton was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer's unproven claims about an elaborate conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties. The FBI searched Paul’s home in 2019, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Paxton also told staff members he had an affair with a woman who, it later emerged, worked for Paul. The impeachment accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. The bribery charges included in the impeachment allege Paul employed the woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that he paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general's home. A senior lawyer for Paxton’s office, Chris Hilton, said Friday that the attorney general paid for all repairs and renovations. Other charges, including lying to investigators, date back to Paxton’s still-pending securities fraud indictment. Four aides who reported Paxton to the FBI later sued under Texas’ whistleblower law, and in February he agreed to settle the case for $3.3 million. The House committee said the probe was sparked by Paxton seeking legislative approval for the payout. “But for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the panel said. ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached by Republican-controlled Statehouse AP News Digest 3 a.m. Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton

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Chris Pratt has shared why he believes people shouldn’t wait to start a family. The Guardians of the Galaxy star, 43, recently spoke to Men’s Journal about how becoming a father has made him a better actor. Pratt shares son Jack, 10, with ex-wife Anna Faris and daughters Lyla Maria, two, and Eloise Christina, one, with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. Pratt explained that fatherhood has made him a more versatile actor because he sees being a parent as a “tool” to tap into his “emotional potential” during a scene. “That instinct you have to protect them – those are all things you can try to fake, but it doesn’t really come close to what you have access to when you’ve lived it,” he told the outlet on 8 June. “For me, having kids is what it’s all about, and how it’s benefitted me as an actor is a pleasant byproduct.” The Parks and Recreation alum went on to encourage others to have children as soon as possible because of the joy that it brought to his own life. “People say all the time, ‘Don’t rush to have kids,’” Pratt said. “I personally disagree. Rush. Have them. Of course, make sure you find a great partner, but don’t wait.” He then recalled a conversation he had with actor Adam Sandler, who told him: “Every day you wait is a day they don’t get to have you in their life.” “The younger you have kids, the more time they get to have with you,” Pratt continued. “It’s wild. Having kids is incredible. The things you normally take for granted in life are new.” Chris Pratt has often shared glimpses into his life as a father of three on social media. The Jurassic World star was married to Anna Faris in 2009. They welcomed their son Jack in 2012, but announced their split in August 2017. Pratt and Faris finalised their divorce in October 2018, four months after he began dating his current wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger. He proposed to the 33-year-old author in January 2019 and they were married in June that year. They went on to welcome daughter Lyla Maria in August 2020 and daughter Eloise Christina in May 2022. Chris Pratt previously sparked backlash on social media when he praised his wife for giving him a “gorgeous healthy daughter,” as many people noted that his son Jack was born prematurely. He shared an Instagram post of himself and Schwarzenegger in 2021, encouraging his followers to “find someone” who looks at them the way his wife does. “We met in church. She’s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter, she chews so loudly that sometimes I put in my earbuds to drown it out, but that’s love!” the actor wrote in the Instagram caption. “She helps me with everything. In return, periodically, I open a jar of pickles. That’s the trade. Her heart is pure and it belongs to me.” However, many fans accused the actor of being “passive aggressive” towards Faris, who has been open about their son’s health issues in the past. In June 2022, he addressed the backlash towards his social media post by calling out critics. “I said something like, ‘Find someone who looks at you the way my wife looks at me.’ And then I gave her some sh*t in the thing and said, ‘But I love you. I’m so thankful for my wife – she gave me a beautiful, healthy daughter,’” he told Men’s Health at the time. “And then a bunch of articles came out and said, ‘That’s so cringeworthy. I can’t believe Chris Pratt would thank her for a healthy daughter when his first child was born premature. That’s such a dig at his ex-wife,’” he recalled. “And I’m like, That is f**ked up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s nine. And it’s etched in digital stone. It really f**king bothered me, dude. I cried about it,” he said. “I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are – to the people close to me – a real burden.” His wife – Katherine Schwarzenegger – has since revealed that she tries to ignore online criticism, though she’s aware of the negative comments often centred around her husband. “Growing up, hearing people say certain things about my parents, my siblings, my extended family was difficult,” Schwarzenegger told the New York Times, referencing her famous parents Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger. “I see what people say,” she said. “But I just know that it’s so far from the reality.” Most recently, Chris Pratt sparked a debate by posting a Mother’s Day tribute in May that didn’t include mention of his ex Anna Faris. Read More Chris Pratt posts Mother’s Day tribute with no mention of co-parent Anna Faris Katherine Schwarzenegger addresses public backlash to Chris Pratt relationship Anna Faris says she’s ‘getting closer’ to ex-husband Chris Pratt and his new wife Katherine Schwarzenegger Chris Pratt says people should ‘rush’ to have children: ‘Don’t wait’ Jamie Foxx’s rep addresses conspiracy Covid vaccine left actor ‘paralyzed and blind’ Mother sparks debate over parent who wouldn’t give daughter cake

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Albania’s prime minister has responded to not being invited by Greece to a dinner for top officials from nine Balkan nations and the European Union by saying that in “such turbulent times” Europe’s unity is “larger than what divides us.”