Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Texas lawmaker recounted his mission to shed light on what conservatives have dubbed an immigration crisis
Republican senator Ted Cruz has drawn criticism for taking a trip to America’s southern border as the conservative Texan politician once again became the butt of internet jokes and memes.
In the style of a wildlife documentary, Cruz captured his experience with the help of professional photographers and shared his recent journey to the US-Mexico border Thursday night on social media, where he aimed to shed light on what Republicans have dubbed a crisis.
The Texas governor has sent troops to fortify the border while advocates say the immigration numbers are being politicized
Along the winding road which follows the Rio Grande west from Mission, Texas, dozens of armed border patrol agents, state troopers, soldiers and state and local police are dotted about to catch undocumented migrants entering the country from Mexico.
This is a so-called hotspot for irregular migration – folks crossing the border river without permission to enter the US – in what the Republican party and anti-immigrant activists are calling a crisis at the border. During one afternoon this week, there were more law enforcement vehicles cruising along this dusty 15-mile stretch towards Los Ebanos, a tiny border community connected to Mexico by a hand-operated cable ferry, than there was local traffic.
Police issued a warrant for the arrest of Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon. The woman's detention on Thursday at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body camera.
An arrest warrant was issued for Wright, who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, saying to a police officer: 'What are you going to do, arrest me?'
Police said they had obtained an arrest warrant on resisting arrest and criminal trespassing charges
Warrant issued after state ended orders requiring masks in public places, though many businesses have kept their own rules in place
An arrest warrant was issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, saying to a police officer: “What are you going to do, arrest me?”
Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate on 2 March but not everyone in the state is ready to embrace the change
The parking lot was packed at The Shops at La Cantera, a partially outdoor mall in north-west San Antonio, on the day that Texas officially ended mandatory mask wearing. But it was clear not everyone was ready to embrace the change, with most people who wandered in and out of stores still donning face coverings, and many shops requiring customers to wear one before entering.
Cases could plateau at a point equivalent to summer 2020 peak, while vaccines have reached relatively few people
Public health experts encouraged Americans to continue social distancing and wearing masks at a potentially critical inflection point in the pandemic – one in which highly effective vaccines could provide relief, but fervor to reopen public life could unintentionally spread new Covid-19 variants.
The warnings come the same week Texas and Mississippi flung open the doors to normal social life in their states.
Police say a man told investigators that he kidnapped and killed two people at officer Bryan Riser’s instruction
A Dallas police officer was arrested Thursday on two counts of capital murder, more than a year and a half after a man told investigators that he kidnapped and killed two people at the officer’s instruction in 2017, authorities said.
Bryan Riser, a 13-year veteran of the force, was arrested Thursday morning and taken to the Dallas county Jail for processing, according to a statement from the police department. Riser was not listed in online jail records Thursday evening and a lawyer for him couldn’t immediately be identified.
Texas governor Greg Abbott, who lifted face covering requirement, said it was ‘not the type of word a president should be using’
The White House has defended Joe Biden’s criticism of the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, after the president called their decisions to end mask mandates “Neanderthal thinking”.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, emphasized that the president was comparing the governors’ actions to “the behavior of a Neanderthal, just to be very clear, the behavior”. She also said Biden’s comments were “a reflection of his frustration” about Americans not following public health guidance to limit their risk of contracting coronavirus.
Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, who announced yesterday that they were rescinding their mask mandates, despite public health experts’ concerns about another surge in coronavirus cases. 'We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we are able to get vaccines in people’s arms,' Biden said. 'The last thing we need is neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine,' Biden said. 'It still matters.'
President said US ‘on the cusp’ of being able to change nature of Covid crisis but ‘the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking’
Joe Biden criticized Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi on Wednesday, calling their decisions to end state-wide mask mandates “a big mistake”.
The US president said the country was on the “cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease” with the distribution of vaccines and added: “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine.”
Tanden’s letter to Biden requesting her withdrawal said:
Dear President Biden,
I am writing to you to withdraw my nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be considered for this role and for the faith placed in me.
The withdrawal marks the first cabinet nominee by Biden to fail to get confirmation.
“I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my Administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.”
February was the peak of my pandemic depression – and then came the ‘Arctic blast’
As for so many, February was the peak of my pandemic depression. It nearly marked the first anniversary of the Covid lockdown, and the demise of my social life. But quarantining in San Antonio, Texas, brought an entirely new set of challenges.
My breaking point was around midnight last Tuesday, during the “Arctic blast” which, prior to last week, sounded like a refreshing juice-box flavor for children. Our house was 40F (4C). My father was outside boiling water on the grill so we could have a hot drink to get us through the night. My only link to the outside world was a horrendous internet connection, so I couldn’t even doom-scroll my way out of this frozen hellscape.
Texas Republicans will use federal funds to help pay exorbitant energy bills hitting ordinary Texans after a deep freeze crippled the state this week, a senior congressman said on Sunday.
Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for Texas, which has suffered widespread power blackouts and water shortages during a deep freeze, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a Democrat-led legislature has overturned a dormant 1969 ban on most abortion procedures.
History made. #SB10, affirming that decisions about abortion should remain with NM women, has passed both chambers of the #nmleg. Thank you to every New Mexican who has fought for this progress. #nmpolpic.twitter.com/OigA95YhMB
This November, you elected leaders to build a better future for all New Mexicans. Thank you to the voters, activists, and champions who fought for a New Mexico where abortion care is accessible for all. You made this win possible! #nmleg#SB10#repealthebanpic.twitter.com/ltIrJ0ZFJv
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has already indicated that he would opposeNeera Tanden’s to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, in part because of combative statements she has made on Twitter.
New: Manchin is opposing Neera Tanden's nomination for OMB: "I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget."
OMB: Biden tells reporters he will not pull @neeratanden nomination, will find the votes for her
WH press secretary Jen Psaki: "Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties."
Child drowned while crossing the freezing Rio Grande with his family amid unprecedented weather conditions at US-Mexico border
An eight-year-old Honduran boy has become the latest victim in a string of drownings on the US-Mexico border as migrants attempt to cross the Rio Grande in treacherous winter conditions.
The child, who has not been named, drowned on Wednesday while attempting to cross the freezing river with his family amid unprecedented Arctic conditions in the borderlands which have killed more than 30 people and left millions in Mexico and Texas without power, water and food.
Millions of Texans are facing water shortages after a winter storm caused pipes to burst and treatment plants to back up. Officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population of the nation’s second largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it. The storms have also left millions without power for days
Both states have faced widespread power outages after failing to plan for extreme weather
When California saw widespread power blackouts last year during wildfires and a summer “heat storm”, Republican lawmakers from Texas were quick to deride the coastal state’s energy policies. “California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity,” tweeted senator Ted Cruz during the record-breaking heatwave in August.
Ted Cruz has provoked an outcry after the Republican senator from Texas left the state for a trip to the sunny Mexican tourist resort of Cancún, as millions of his constituents endured deadly power outages and freezing temperatures.
Cruz was spotted waiting for, then later boarding, a flight to Cancún on Wednesday night.
A day later, after the images went viral, he returned to Texas
Power out for millions after snowstorm hits Cruz’s home state
Ted Cruz has sparked outcry after the Republican senator from Texas left the state for a trip tothe sunny Mexican tourist resort of Cancún, as millions of his constituents endure deadly power outages and freezing temperatures.
Cruz was spotted waiting for, then later boarding, a flight to Cancún on Wednesday night. After photos of Cruz on the plane went viral on Twitter, prompting fierce criticism, the senator returned to Texas on Thursday, saying the trip was “obviously a mistake”.