Andreeva and Kostyuk set up Russia-Ukraine clash in French Open semis. Mensik ends Fonseca’s run

PARIS (AP) — Marta Kostyuk, the best player on clay this season and a vocal supporter of Ukraine amid the war with Russia, will play her first major semifinal at the French Open against a Russian.

Kostyuk won an intense all-Ukraine quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 on Tuesday. That set up Kostyuk against Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, who thumped Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3.

In men’s play, 20-year-old Jakub Mensik ended the run of Brazil’s Joao Fonseca with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory.

“It was one of my best performances so far,” Mensik said.

The 19-year-old Fonseca beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in five sets in the third round and then eliminated two-time runner-up Casper Ruud in the fourth round.

Mensik collapsed to the clay with cramps upon edging Mariano Navone in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the second round and also needed five sets to advance in the fourth round against Andrey Rublev.

For a place in Sunday’s final, Mensik will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev, the 2024 runner-up, who beat rising Spanish player Rafael Jodar 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3.

Kostyuk leads Andreeva 2-0 on the tour; the second win in the Madrid final a month ago. Kostyuk didn’t shake hands at the net, following protocol for Ukrainians with opponents from Russia and its ally Belarus since the war started four years ago.

“We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv, so many people dead,” Kostyuk said. “I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!)”

Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 18 civilians and wounding more than 100 others, authorities said Tuesday.

“I texted my family if they were OK. This is pretty much all I can do,” Kostyuk said. “The biggest thing I can do is sit here and talk about it so more people can find out about it so they don’t get used to this terrible life.”

Svitolina said friends in Ukraine told her about the attacks just hours before the match.

“Just very sad that we all have to really put up with this heaviness and pain every single day, and scared moments not knowing what’s going to bring the next day,” Svitolina said.

She will leave Roland Garros to look after the daughter she has with French tennis player Gael Monfils, but will be cheering on Kostyuk.

“Hopefully she can get the title,” Svitolina said. “It’s going to be massive for Ukraine.”

No. 7-seeded Svitolina got off to a slow start but worked her way back, matching No. 15 Kostyuk’s power from the baseline. Kostyuk was better on the important points in the decider and improved her impressive 2026 record on clay to 17-0.

She’s the first Ukrainian woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open era since 1968. Svitolina has reached the semis at the other three Grand Slams but failed for the sixth time to win a French Open quarterfinal.

Andreeva will appear in her second French Open semifinal, two years after the first. She was asked about the challenges of playing a Ukrainian in wartime.

“Well, for me it doesn’t matter who I play,” Andreeva said. “I really try to play against the ball that is coming at me. Usually it doesn’t matter to me who I’m playing against, so I’m trying to really focus on the game and on the game plan.”

Asked whether she found it frustrating to hear Russian opponents avoiding the issue, Kostyuk said she wished “there was some more clear stance on what’s going on.”

“Especially when your country is killing other people,” she added. “I don’t know how you can sleep at night peacefully when you know that this is going on, and you have nothing to say about it.”

After a week of hot weather, rain arrived in Paris and play started and finished under the closed roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Competing in the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years, Cirstea struggled to find her rhythm against her 19-year-old rival.

The 36-year-old veteran, playing the final season of her career, immediately dropped her serve. She didn’t hold serve or win a game until the first game of the second set. Andreeva’s deep, accurate groundstrokes and charges to the net took a toll on 18th-seeded Cirstea, whose attempt to come back was shortlived.

“I felt like it was one of my best matches so far this tournament,” Andreeva said. “Super happy to be back in semis.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

NHL’s Dallas Stars plan move to suburbs in 5 years, with NBA’s Mavs also leaving downtown then

PLANO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Stars are planning to move north, out of downtown and to the suburb of Plano in five years after the lease is up at the NHL team’s current home arena.

Stars officials announced Tuesday the signing of a nonbinding letter of intent to build a new hockey-specific arena and entertainment district about 20 miles north of the downtown American Airlines Center, which they have shared with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks since it opened in 2001.

The leases at the AAC for both teams expire in 2031. The two franchises have been in a legal dispute about their partnership agreement and management of the building.

The Stars made their intentions known a day after the Mavericks said they have a preliminary agreement on a site for their own new arena about 10 miles north of downtown, but still within the Dallas city limits. The NBA’s team deal is for 104 acres on the former site of Valley View Mall, which was demolished three years ago.

A new arena for the Stars is expected to be part of a large-scale redevelopment project at The Shops at Willow Bend, where the last enclosed mall built in Texas is set for demolition.

The Stars submitted their letter of intent to the city of Plano, which placed it on the City Council agenda for consideration at its next meeting Monday. The letter includes plans for the mixed-used project as well as design and construction of the arena.

“This project would present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our franchise,” Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said in a statement. “We eagerly await the vote by the Plano City Council and look forward to continuing the conversation to be part of the redevelopment of The Shops at Willow Bend.”

That mall on about 90 acres opened in 2001, and there are open restaurants and parking garages in the area. The new arena would anchor the redevelopment that could include sports, entertainment, retail, dining and public gathering spaces.

The NHL franchise was known as the North Stars before moving south from Minnesota and beginning play in Dallas for the 1993-94 season. The Stars in 1999 became the first of hockey’s Sun Belt teams to win a Stanley Cup title.

The Stars won that championship while still playing at Reunion Arena, a building they also shared with the Mavericks after first moving to Dallas. The site of that downtown arena, which was fully demolished in 2009, is about a mile from the AAC.

The NFL’s Cowboys were in Dallas during the franchise’s first 11 seasons at the city’s Cotton Bowl (1960-70), but moved to Texas Stadium in Irving in 1971, the season of their first Super Bowl title. They have played since 2009 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, which is halfway between the downtown areas of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Arlington is also home to the MLB’s Texas Rangers, the franchise that began as the Washington Senators in 1961. The Rangers are in their third stadium in Arlington since moving there in 1972. Globe Life Field, their retractable-roof stadium adjacent to AT&T Stadium, opened in 2020.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Parks awarded $300,000 to improve trails

Parks awarded 0,000 to improve trailsSMITH COUNTY – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded $6.17 million in statewide recreational trails grants to improve 21 parks and trail projects across the state. According to our news partner, KETK – $354,000 is set to be distributed between parks in East Texas. The parks will receive the grant money for much needed upgrades. Continue reading Parks awarded $300,000 to improve trails

New details released on Texas Children’s Hospital’s planned detransition clinic

Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has to create a detransition clinic for transgender patients by this summer and keep a list of “potential” gender affirming care patients, according to new details released Monday by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

According to a 10-page list of settlement terms, requested by The Texas Tribune, Texas Children’s has 90 days from the effective date of the settlement to set up the detransition clinic. The attorney general announced the settlement two weeks ago but because a final settlement has not been signed there is no effective date agreed upon yet.

The $10 million settlement, first announced on May 15, is the result of a 2023 investigation by the attorney general’s office into Texas Children’s. That same year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14 that bars transgender children from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Previously, all that was known about the settlement was that the hospital agreed to pay $10 million to the state and permanently revoke the medical privileges of three current doctors and two former ones.

The settlement terms released Monday are the first details about the unusual agreement between the nation’s largest pediatric hospital and the attorney general that would set up the nation’s first “detransitioning clinic.” Detransitioning is the stopping or reversal of transitioning care by social, medical or legal means, and it is rare for people to regret transitioning after taking hormone therapy and surgical interventions.

Common reasons for detransitioning include lack of family support, financial barriers and social pressure.

Per the settlement, Texas Children’s must also create a website for the detransition clinic and create a donate page so those individuals wanting to donate money toward the detransition clinic’s efforts, can do so. The hospital must keep a “Potential GAC Patient List” that includes all diagnostic codes detailed by the AG and conduct an internal review of the list to confirm compliance with state and federal laws and the settlement agreement.

According to Texas Children’s, they have not been asked to share the list and noted to do so would not be legally permissible. “We abide by HIPAA and protecting patient privacy is one of our top priorities,” the hospital said in a statement.

The attorney general’s office released to the Tribune a “Settlement Term Sheet” and not the complete settlement document between the two parties, as originally requested because one has not been signed. “We’ve aligned on a term sheet and the next step is to finalize the settlement agreement per standard practice,” Texas Children’s said in a statement.

Other requirements include the removal of all hospital press releases from the Texas Children’s website related to gender transition services. The clinic will provide multiple services including access to endocrinology, surgery, primary care, fertility counseling, psychiatry and psychotherapy.

As previously announced, TCH must bar any gender-affirming care procedures, what the Texas attorney general’s office calls “sex-rejecting” procedures in the settlement, defined as pharmaceutical or surgical interventions that “attempt to align an individual’s physical appearance or body … that differs from the individual’s sex.” This includes puberty blockers and hormone treatments. Also previously announced was the permanent revoking of medical privileges to three current doctors and two former ones.

The hospital previously issued a statement insisting it complied with all laws and decided to settle to close a legal chapter that has been, in their words: “wrought with falsehoods and distractions.” The hospital also noted earlier that the services demanded as part of the settlement were already offered at the hospital. Late Monday, they emphasized that fact. “The detransition clinic will formalize the supportive, multidisciplinary services we already deliver to all patients who need our care,” the hospital statement said. “This simply provides structure and a name for the services we currently provide.”

A 2024 study of private insurance by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that less than 1% of minors are transgender and received puberty blockers or hormone treatments.

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Artist suing FIFA over destruction of Dallas whale mural before World Cup

DALLAS (AP) – The artist who painted a giant mural on a building in downtown Dallas of life-sized swimming whales has filed a $25 million lawsuit against soccer’s international governing body and others, saying they illegally painted over his work to promote the city’s upcoming World Cup matches.

The artist Wyland says he hand-painted the sprawling mural that covered roughly 17,000 square feet (1,580 square meters) across two of the building’s walls.

The mural stood for nearly three decades before workers began painting over it last month, causing an uproar among residents who admired the mural’s grand scale and message of ocean conservation.

The area’s World Cup organizing committee said in a statement that, in place of Wyland’s mural, new artwork is planned “that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026.” It said a portion of Wyland’s mural would be preserved.

Wyland filed suit Monday in U.S District Court in Dallas saying that World Cup organizers, along with the building’s owner and management company, painted over his mural without his consent or even notifying him. He says their actions violated a 1990 federal law passed to protect visual artists from destruction of publicly displayed works.

Wyland is seeking at least $25 million in damages. His lawsuit says world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and other defendants “hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark” to promote the World Cup.

“Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced an historic fixture of the host city,” the artist’s lawsuit says.

A FIFA spokesperson said Tuesday the federation “has no involvement in this whatsoever” and referred a reporter to the tournament’s local organizing committee.

A spokesperson for the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee declined to comment. The committee isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Slate Asset Management, which manages the building where the mural was painted over, said in a statement that local World Cup organizers asked Slate in March to donate the mural space for “a new public art installation.”

“Slate is not being compensated in any way for the use of the wall space and was told by the local groups that Mr. Wyland had been notified,” the management company’s spokesperson said in an email.

Dallas is hosting more World Cup matches than any of the other sites in the event co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with nine matches set to be played at AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Wyland’s Dallas mural, titled “Whaling Wall 82,” was finished in 1999 and is among more than 100 similar murals known as Whaling Walls the artist painted around the world to promote the conservation of ocean life.

An online petition protesting the mural’s destruction and calling for protecting of public artwork in Dallas has received more than 2,600 signatures.

Wyland’s lawsuit alleges violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act, a 1990 federal law that protects artwork of “recognized stature” even if someone else owns the physical artwork.

A judge cited that law in 2018 when he ordered a property owner to pay a group of New York graffiti artists $6.7 million for whitewashing dozens of their spray-painted murals on buildings that once housed a factory in Queens. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.

Toll 49 extension to reduce travel time

Toll 49 extension to reduce travel timeTYLER– A public meeting was held in Tyler on Tuesday to discuss the proposed extension of Toll 49, a project designed to relieve congestion and provide shorter travel times. According to our news partner KETK, during the meeting in Tyler community members had the opportunity to review project layouts and data detailing the potential positive impact on drivers.

The proposed extension would stretch from State Highway 110 to US 271 and aims to provide shorter travel times for both local and regional traffic. NET RMA Project Consultant Randall Dillard explained why he believes the extension is needed.

For those unable to attend the recent Tyler session, another public meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, June 9. This upcoming meeting will take place in Longview at the Maude Cobb Convention Center. If the project is approved, construction for the Toll 49 extension is expected to commence around 2033.

Lufkin City Council advances ordinance designed to protect children from sex offenders

LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) – The Lufkin City Council voted on Tuesday in favor of advancing a proposed ordinance that will work to keep children protected from registered sex offenders.

The ordinance, which was discussed at Tuesday’s city council meeting, is designed to restrict certain registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of locations where children frequently gather.

If the ordinance is passed, registered sex offenders whose victims were under 17 would be prohibited from living near schools, parks, childcare facilities, and churches.

According to the Texas Public Sex Offender Website, there are roughly 138 registered sex offenders within the City of Lufkin.

Investigation into park shooting

Investigation into park shootingLONGVIEW — An investigation has been launched after a teenager was shot near a park in Longview on Monday night. According to the Longview Police Department and our news partner KETK, at around 11:26 p.m. officers heard gunshots coming from the 400 block of Fair Street. Once arriving to the area, the officers found a teenager who had sustained gunshot wounds while attending a gathering at a nearby park, the department said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the incident currently remains under investigation. Following the incident, the department is reminding residents that the city parks close at 11 p.m. and residents should refrain from visiting the parks after hours to ensure the safety of all community members.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the department at 903-237-199 or the Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-7867.

ETFB starts free summer meals for kids

ETFB starts free summer meals for kidsTYLER – The East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) kicked off its Free Summer Food Program on Tuesday afternoon, which aims to provide kids with free meals while they’re out of school for the summer.

According to our news partner KETK, the program was launched at 43 locations across East Texas and a special event was held at the Glass Recreation Center in Tyler, which was sponsored by the PepsiCo Foundation’s Food for Good. the program is expected to distribute over 100,000 meals to nearly 4,500 kids and teenagers throughout the summer and is open to anyone under 18. Continue reading ETFB starts free summer meals for kids

Smith, Gregg County early voting

TYLER – Early Voting for the City of Tyler mayor runoff election is set for June 1-9. Stuart Hene is currently serving as a Tyler City Councilmember and John Nix is a former City Councilmember are running for the position.

Early voting hours will be:
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 1-5
*9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9. Continue reading Smith, Gregg County early voting

Tyler mayor runoff through June 9

Tyler – Early Voting for the City of Tyler mayor runoff election is set for June 1-9. Stuart Hene is currently serving as a Tyler City Councilmember and John Nix is a former City Councilmember are running for the position.

Early voting hours will be:
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 1-5
*9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9. Continue reading Tyler mayor runoff through June 9

Waskom tabs finalist for superintendent

Waskom tabs finalist for superintendent WASKOM – The Waskom ISD Board of Trustees has named East Texas Native Lindsey Wood the finalist in the race for Superintendent following the unexpected death of previous superintendent, Christopher Guastella, in March.

According to our news partner KETK, Wood currently acts as the superintendent of academic services at Ferris ISD and has 19 years of experience in public education and 12 years in school administration.

The board conducted an extensive search focused on finding a leader who identifies with the district’s vision, values and commitment to student success. Continue reading Waskom tabs finalist for superintendent

Will Arnett to star alongside Kristen Stewart in ‘The Challenger’

A photo of Will Arnett. (Drew Herrmann/FOX)

Will Arnett is set to star with Kristen Stewart in The Challenger.

The actor will play George Abbey, the influential NASA official often referred to as the architect of the modern astronaut corps, in Prime Video's upcoming limited series, ABC Audio has confirmed.

Arnett joins Stewart, who, as previously reported, will portray Sally Ride in her TV debut.

The Challenger is created by Golden Globe winner Maggie Cohn. She also writes, executive produces and showruns the program, which is inspired by Meredith E. Bagby’s 2023 book The New Guys. James Hawes, who has worked on Slow Horses and Black Mirror, will direct and executive produce the show. Kyra Sedgwick, Stewart and Bagby also executive produce.

The series follows "the gripping story of one of the most defining moments in space history, both the unprecedented events leading up to the tragedy, and the shocking investigation that followed," according to Prime Video.

"As the members of the 1986 Rogers Commission interrogate the complex inner workings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to find what, or who, was responsible for the Challenger's doomed fate, the show explores Commission member Sally Ride's personal journey," its description continues. "We follow Sally, and the rest of the diverse Astronaut Class of ’78, through the ranks of the shuttle program, through initial recruitment and training, professional and personal highs and lows, until Sally’s historic glass ceiling moment as she becomes the first American woman in space."

"There is no one better than Maggie Cohn to bring to life the complex story of the Challenger and the new class of astronauts recruited by NASA in the early 1970s, all through the eyes of an American hero, Sally Ride," Sedgwick said in a press release when the project was announced back in March.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paxton and Platner visit Washington to shore up support for their controversial Senate candidacies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Controversial U.S. Senate hopefuls Ken Paxton, a Republican from Texas, and Graham Platner, a Democrat from Maine, are in the nation’s capital Tuesday to shore up support within their respective parties, with Paxton’s itinerary including a White House huddle with President Donald Trump.

The campaign pilgrimage by the two candidates, one from each end of the political spectrum, comes with both men facing concerns they could cost their parties winnable races in the November midterms, with control of the Senate at stake for the final two years of Trump’s second presidency.

Paxton’s planned meeting with Trump comes after he won the president’s coveted endorsement ahead of trouncing Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas runoff last month. The scheduled meeting was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the president’s plans but who was not authorized to discuss them publicly.

Senate Republicans feared that Paxton, the Texas attorney general, would be a weaker candidate against James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in the fall. Paxton has endured an indictment, an impeachment and public disclosure of martial infidelity.

He also is expected to meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who backed Cornyn. Senate Republicans’ campaign arm excoriated Paxton during the primary campaign, accusing him of “repulsive and disgusting” behavior and quoting his estranged wife saying she filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.”

Platner will meet with several Democratic senators days after disclosure that he and his wife have had marital difficulties and sought counseling after he reportedly sent sexually explicit text messages to other women.

Both candidates are scheduled to attend fundraisers as well.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is set to meet with Platner, said he doesn’t believe Maine voters are focused on Platner’s marriage. Asked if Platner still has a shot in the race, Heinrich said “we’ll have to see” and “I suspect so.”
Platner and Paxton are pressing ahead with few apologies

Platner and his wife have criticized media coverage of their marriage, framing it as a private matter that should not shape the campaign. Still, the latest personal issues added fuel to some Democrats’ skittishness about Platner, who already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a tattoo that is recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo.

Paxton has offered no apologies for his baggage. He framed his win over Cornyn as a “Texas-sized message to Washington,” and thanked Trump — who himself has endured repeated personal and political scandal to win two national elections — for his support.

Like Paxton, Platner was not the choice of his party’s Senate brass, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backing Maine Gov. Janet Mills. But Platner effectively became the presumptive nominee after Mills suspended her campaign weeks ago because of fundraising difficulties.

Maine’s primary is June 9, and Platner would face Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is running for a sixth term, in November. Defeating Collins is crucial to Democrats’ attempts to regain control of the Senate. Democrats have repeatedly tried to unseat Collins, but she has always survived. In 2020, Collins won reelection even though Democrat Joe Biden carried the state over Trump by nine percentage points.

In Texas, some Republicans fear they will need to divert critical resources to boost Paxton over Talarico, who has become a national fundraising phenomenon.

Although Republicans have dominated Texas for decades, prominent party leaders have said the race could be genuinely competitive this time. Eight years ago, during the midterm election of Trump’s first presidency, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won reelection over another Democratic fundraising juggernaut, Beto O’Rourke, by less than 3 points.

Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage and earlier in the campaign cycle were heavily favored to maintain their majority. But as Trump’s popularity fades and primary fights yield nominees, Democrats have become more confident in their prospects.
Most Democrats and Republicans are taking their usual sides

With control of the Senate on the line, most partisans have generally lined up behind Platner and Paxton, even if begrudgingly because of their political baggage. Tuesday’s fundraising events were the latest evidence. The event for Paxton, with a $1,000 minimum donation required, according to the invitation, is being co-hosted by seven senators, including Cruz. The fundraiser for Platner is being co-hosted by former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

“My priority is to make sure that Republicans control the majority so we can continue the agenda that we’re on,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, on Tuesday. “Ken Paxton is absolutely necessary as far as keeping that majority. I have faith that the people of Texas will support him, and he’ll get across the finish line.”

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a progressive, said her top concern is Platner’s prospective constituents.

“I want to hear from him about the economy,” she said ahead of their meeting. “And more about what he talks to the people of Maine about.”

That echoes another leading progressive who, like Warren, has endorsed Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he still supports Platner as part of the left’s economic populism.

“Of course,” Sanders told reporters Monday. “Why would I not?”

But not all Democrats are on board, including one who first came to the Senate with an outsider persona. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has earned a reputation for speaking and voting against his party, even appeared to relish Platner’s newest controversy, calling him “phustle,” a reference to Platner’s apparent profile uncovered on Kik, a popular, private messaging app.

“So much bizarre and tacky and gross stuff that you lose count. It’s like you need to have a bingo card,” Fetterman said.

The senator stopped stopped short of calling on Platner to drop out, but he echoed some Democrats’ private concerns.

“I mean, what’s next?” he said.

He later said, “I’m not going to carry water for that guy.”