AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has finalized his divorce from his wife, Angela, one of his lawyers said Thursday.
It comes nearly a week after Paxton, a Republican, lost his U.S. Senate race by double digits to Democrat James Talarico in one of the most expensive contests of the midterm elections that saw a wave of victories for Democrats across the country.
Angela Paxton, a state senator, cited allegations of adultery when she sought to end their 38-year-marriage. She filed the divorce after her husband had launched his run for Senate, posting on social media that she was doing so on “biblical grounds.”
Jared Julian, a lawyer for Ken Paxton, said the terms would remain private.
“From my observation, however, they share a mutual respect for one another,” Julian said. He added that both appeared to be looking forward “to the next chapters of their lives.”
An attorney for Angela Paxton did not immediately respond to phone and email messages Thursday. The finalized divorce was first reported by The New York Times.
After Paxton entered the race, some Republicans considered Paxton a potential drain on GOP resources because of legal, ethical and personal questions he has faced for years.
Angela Paxton had stuck by her husband through a decade of legal troubles that included state and federal corruption investigations and a 2023 state impeachment trial that publicly exposed an extramarital affair.
The Senate race that seemed like a longshot for Democrats when the year began became partly a referendum on Paxton’s history. Despite beating the long-seated incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, in a primary and gaining President Donald Trump's endorsement, Paxton struggled to find traction in the general election against Talarico.
In October, less than a month before the election, Angela Paxton urged voters to back the Republican ticket but did not mention her estranged husband by name.
“It’s not as much about the individual players on the team. It’s about getting the whole team across the finish line,” she said in a campaign advertisement.
Democrat Nathan Johnson was elected attorney general and will take office in January.
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, stands with his wife Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, left, as he is sworn in for a third term by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during the first day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session in Austin, Texas, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses anti-abortion activists at a rally outside the Supreme Court, Nov. 1, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, after hearing arguments on abortion in the court, as his wife and Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton, stands right. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A cargo ship struck a bridge across the Delaware River on Thursday, disrupting traffic between Palmyra, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, according to a Pennsylvania lawmaker.
The collision left the 3,659-foot-long (1,115-meter-long) Tacony-Palmyra Bridge unable to close, causing a major backup on the Philadelphia side, state Rep. Ed Neilson said in a news release. No injuries have been reported, he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the cargo vessel is currently moored at a Kinder Morgan facility in Bristol, Pennsylvania, where an inspection team is on site. The Coast Guard identified the vessel as the 591-foot (180-meter) Strategic Alliance, which was built in 2013 and sails under the flag of Singapore.
The drawbridge was open for ships to pass through at the time of the collision around 1:15 p.m., according to the Coast Guard. It remained open afterward because another vessel needed to pass through, and has since come back down.
The steel bridge carries vehicles along Route 73 between Palmyra and the Tacony neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. It has three lanes of vehicular traffic, two into Philadelphia and one into New Jersey. Estimates from 2025 show the bridge can carry as many as 76,200 vehicles each day.
No one answered the phone Thursday afternoon at the Burlington County (New Jersey) Bridge Commission, which owns, operates and maintains the bridge. A recorded message said the bridge is closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic until further notice, and that an update would be provided in time for evening rush hour.
Opened in 1929, the Tacony-Palmyra toll bridge was found to be in “fair” condition, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2026 National Bridge Inventory data released this fall.
Inspectors rated the deck of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge as in good condition, the substructure as in fair condition and the superstructure — the component that absorbs the live traffic load — as fair.
Associated Press journalists Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
