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Greg Abbott Says the Only Thing Stopping Texas From Shooting Migrants Is the Headache of Potential Murder Charges
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As governor of Texas, Greg Abbott has a horrific record when it comes to immigration, from sending more than 100 migrants to a freezing-cold DC on Christmas Eve to a “hold-the-line” operation on the border that could lead to more drownings. Yet he’d like credit for one thing, and that’s the fact that he hasn’t given local officials the greenlight to literally shoot migrants crossing into Texas—but only because he doesn’t want to deal with being charged with murder.
Appearing on The Dana Show last week, Abbott declared: “We are using every tool that can be used from building a border wall to building these border barriers, to passing this law that I signed that led to another lawsuit by the Biden administration where I signed a law making it illegal for somebody to enter Texas from another country…. The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”
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Not surprisingly, Abbott’s remarks have seen considerable blowback. “Time and time again, Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans have made it abundantly clear they have no morality or humanity,” Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. Representative Veronica Escobar wrote on X: “I can’t believe I have to say ‘murdering people is unacceptable.’ @GregAbbott_TX. It’s language like yours that left 23 people dead and 22 others injured in El Paso.” (In 2019, the day before 23 people were killed in a mass shooting in El Paso by a gunman who railed against a “Hispanic invasion,” Abbott’s campaign warned in a fundraising mailer that “liberals” had a “plan to transform Texas—and our entire country—through illegal immigration.”)
In the same interview, Abbott defended his decision to install razor wire barriers on the border, which the Biden administration has sought permission from the Supreme Court to remove. “In the history of America, have you ever seen a president try to prevent a state from securing his own safety?” Abbott asked. “We laid down this razor wire, hundreds of miles of it that was an effective deterrent and repelled migrants from entering the state of Texas. And because it was so effective, Biden ordered the Border Patrol to either cut it or to lift it.”
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Bess Levin
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Texas National Guard Seizes Control Of Park In Eagle Pass, Prohibits Federal Border Patrol Agents From Entering
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Screenshot: Griff Jenkins X Video Earlier this week, the Texas National Guard took control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, a city property where mass illegal crossings have been occurring.
They are restricting Border Patrol from accessing the area, claiming that federal agents “perpetuate illegal crossings.”
Two US officials confirmed the move to CBS News, which reported that Border Patrol agents had “used the park in recent weeks to hold migrants in an outdoor staging area before they are transported for further processing, including last month, when illegal crossings soared to record levels.”
“They are denying entry to Border Patrol agents to conduct our duties,” one official told the network, adding that they are not sure “what authority (Texas officials) have over the federal government.”
RELATED: Governor Abbott Slams ‘Unbelievable’ Video Of Border Patrol Opening Gate For Illegal Immigrants
Texas National Guard Blocking Border Patrol
The Texas Military Department has confirmed that the National Guard has deployed armed soldiers and vehicles to block federal government access to the park in Eagle Pass.
Texas informed federal officials that no Border Patrol agents would be allowed to enter Shelby Park in any operational capacity.
Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins posted a video showing BP agents being prevented from entering the area.
NEW: Exclusive video of TX National Guard denying BP agents access to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, TX – a major BP area of operation. BP sources say this tactic has had no impact on migrant flow and ultimately migrants are still turned over to BP adding extra steps @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/M8BdZrSGC4
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) January 12, 2024
“The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area,” a statement from the Texas Military Department reads.
They’re accusing the federal government of aiding and abetting illegal immigrants from entering the country.
The Joe Biden administration is responsible for a record-breaking surge at the border even as they insist that “our approach…is working” and that the “border is secure.”
It’s clear the Texas National Guard disagrees with that assertion, taking matters into its own hands.
This Isn’t The First Clash Between Texas And The Feds
This isn’t the first time the Texas National Guard got into a dispute with Biden’s Border Patrol agents, and it likely won’t be the last.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was furious after seeing video of Border Patrol agents opening a gate at the southern border and allowing dozens of illegal immigrants into the country after Texas National Guard officers had locked it shut.
The incident took place in August of 2022.
Abbott described the footage as “unbelievable.”
In May of 2023, stunning video footage showed a United States Army soldier reportedly opening a gate and allowing a large crowd of illegal immigrants across the border onto private property in Texas.
That incident took place in the same location in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Political Insider recently covered social media videos showing a sea of illegal immigrants numbering in the thousands waiting to be “processed” in Eagle Pass.
There were 302,000 encounters along the southwest border in December, marking the highest monthly total ever recorded as Biden’s border crisis rages on.
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Rusty Weiss
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2023 saw a record 28 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters
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The U.S. dealt with 28 disasters that each cost over $1 billion last year, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. That’s the most in one year since records began in 1980.
The average number of billion-dollar disasters since 1980 is 8.5 per year. However, from 2019 to 2023, the average was 20.4 events, including the previous record of 22 events in 2020.
NOAA adjusts for the Consumer Price Index to account for inflation.
Here’s when and where 2023’s billion-dollar disasters happened.
The majority were from severe storms and tornadoes, which made up 19 of them. The rest included four floods, two tropical cyclones (including Hurricane Idalia), one wildfire, one winter storm and one drought/heat wave.
The year may end up with one more, depending on the tally from the mid-December East Coast storm.
In total, NCEI estimates 2023’s billion-dollar disasters cost $93.0 billion, above the average of $60.5 billion. They also say these also contributed to at least 492 deaths.
NOAA’s information on 2023’s costly disasters came the same day that Europe’s climate agency reported the global average temperature last year set a record that was 2.66 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The Lower 48 had its fifth-hottest year on record, according to NOAA.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts
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She was a victim of the 'Happy Face Killer.' Investigators close in on ID but ask public's help
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More than 30 years after a woman died violently at the hands of the “Happy Face Killer,” Riverside County investigators are close to a breakthrough in identifying her — but they’re seeking the public’s help.
The serial killer, whose name is Keith Hunter Jesperson, boasted of killing the woman and seven other female victims in the early 1990s, sending letters to the press about his exploits that he signed with a smiling face.
He referred to the woman he killed in Riverside as “Claudia,” but investigators have never been able to confirm her identity, according to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.
“Our goal is to identify this victim and provide closure to her family, wherever they may be,” Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin said in a statement. “We are hopeful someone hearing any of these details may remember anything that could help us reunite this woman with the family who may have been looking for her for over three decades.”
Jesperson has been in custody since 1995 and pleaded guilty to murdering this Jane Doe in 2010, according to authorities. In his confession, Jesperson said he met the victim in August 1992 at a brake check area along Highway 15 south of Victorville.
Jesperson had been working as a long-haul truck driver. The woman hitched a ride with him, saying she was going to Los Angeles, but Jesperson had been headed southeast toward Arizona on his truck route.
He drove her south to Cabazon and then a rest stop in the Coachella Valley, where Jesperson killed her in his truck after a dispute about money, he said. He then drove seven miles north of Blythe along Highway 95 and disposed of the woman’s body on the side of the road. Her remains were discovered on Aug. 30, 1992.
The woman was described by Jesperson as in her 20s, about 5-foot-6 and 140 to 150 pounds. She had shaggy blond hair and a tattoo of two dots on the left side of the thumb on her right hand. She was wearing a T-shirt with a motorcycle on it when her body was found.
Forensic investigators using DNA evidence and genealogists have determined the woman’s biological father, now dead, hailed from Cameron County in Texas. Her mother remains unidentified but could have been from Louisiana or southeastern Texas. Investigators have contacted several people they believe to be half-siblings of the woman, though they told investigators they were not aware of her and could not identify her.
Anyone with potential leads can contact the Riverside County district attorney’s cold case hotline at (951) 955-5567 or by emailing coldecaseunit@rivcoda.org.
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Jeremy Childs
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Powerful winter storm brings blizzard conditions to the Plains
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How rainbow clouds dazzle the skies
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Clouds come in many shapes and forms, but did you know there are rainbow clouds?
According to NOAA, “a rainbow cloud can occur because of something called cloud iridescence.”
You’ll see this dazzling phenomena in altocumulus, cirrocumulus, lenticular and cirrus clouds.
These rainbow clouds, or as they’re scientifically known, ‘nacreous clouds’, form when small ice crystal scatter the sun’s light. Once the light hits the droplets, it creates a vibrant hue of colors.
Check out this video of rainbow clouds see above Aylesford, United Kingdom in late December.
Cloud iridescence is a rare phenomenon. Clouds need to be thin and have a lot of water droplets that are about the same size.
Iridescence is a combination of high-altitude clouds, the uniform distribution of ice crystals, sunlight and a sun that is high in the sky.
(Photo by: CameraLeon/WEATHER TRAKER/TMX)
Nacreous clouds are rare sites to see. According to the World Meteorological Organization, you can see these dazzling sites in Alaska, Canada and parts of Scandinavia and the Arctic.
Plus, the clouds form in colder climates because the ice crystals in the clouds need to be chilled to freezing or below.
Whenever you see rainbow or nacreous clouds, enjoy these color clouds and experiences.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Keith Bryant
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Look at incredible video of tornado spinning through Fort Lauderdale
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A tornado ripped through parts of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 6.
Look at this incredible video of the tornado in the area.
The video was shot by one of our Spectrum News photographers who was in the area covering the Buffalo Bills game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday Jan. 7.
Ft. Lauderdale city officials on X (formerly known as Twitter) said the twister was spotted near Las Olas and the Intracoastal.
The twister was a part of a storm system bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms to parts of South Florida.
In another video, you can see sparks fly as the tornado spins through the area.
Plus, the tornado touched down shortly after the National Weather Service in Miami issued a Tornado Warning for the area.
There were no reports of injuries, just scattered debris and some power outages.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Spectrum News Weather Staff
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Here are your top 5 astronomical events for 2024
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Every year, avid sky gazers book their calendar full of events that are sure to have you looking up. And 2024 promises to bring a series of events you don’t want to miss.
North America is set for dozens of potential sky gazing events during 2024. From a pair of eclipses to a brand new comet and several meteor showers, here are the top five astronomical events for North America in 2024.
1. America’s total solar eclipse
The most anticipated event of the year across the nation will come in April when the Great American Solar Eclipse will streak across the United States.
On April 8, 2024, the nation will be greeted by the moon passing right in front of our sun, creating a breathtaking experience for those who can reach totality. While the entire nation will enjoy the eclipse, only a few select states will get the joys of totality.
Totality occurs when the moon blocks out the entire sun from view, leading to a darker sky resembling if it were dawn or dusk.
A look at the path of the total solar eclipse.
Just prior to totality, another phenomenon known as Baily’s beads will occur. These beads look like distinct balls of light found just on the edge of the moon’s surface as it passes in front of the last bit of the sun.
Baily’s beads are caused by the sun’s light shining through the craters on the surface of the moon and will flicker on and off as the sun passes through the valleys of the moon’s surface.
Totality will be enjoyed by states like Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Maine. Totality will last for nearly four and a half minutes in cities across Texas—the longest in the nation.
2. America’s penumbral lunar eclipse
Just two weeks before the total solar eclipse, the nation will be greeted by an eclipse of a different kind. On March 24-25, 2024, the nation will observe a penumbral lunar eclipse.
Often, during a total lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the inner shadow of Earth, known as Earth’s umbra. During that passage, the moon darkens noticeably, and can produce a unique nighttime effect.
But during a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon stays out of the inner shadow and only breaches Earth’s outer shadow, known as the penumbra.
During a lunar eclipse, the moon passes by Earth’s shadow.
This leads to a less deep and typically less dramatic eclipse. Sometimes it can even be mistaken as a normal Full Moon event versus an actual eclipse.
Regardless, this eclipse will be found nationwide. The best time to view the eclipse will be around maximum eclipse time, when one half of the moon will appear slightly darker than the other half.
3. Planets align
A favorite of sky gazers alike, planetary alignment is expected in late June across the nation. This celestial alignment will feature the planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn along with our Moon.
During this alignment, you can expect to find all the planets and our moon situated near one another in the eastern sky during sunrise.
If you are heading east during your morning commute, you may notice all these celestial bodies shining brightly next to the moon, resembling stars.
4. Perseid meteor shower
Often called the most reliable meteor shower of the year, the Perseid meteor shower will happen in the heart of August. The peak of the shower will occur on the nights of Aug. 12 and 13.
The Perseid shower is caused by Earth’s movement through a debris cloud left behind from the comet Swift-Tuttle, a comet last passed by Earth in 1992.
Two Perseid meteors, centre and lower left, streak across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower above a forest on the outskirts of Madrid, in the early hours of Monday, July 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
2024 is likely to be a decent year for this shower, as the moon will only be illuminated 50%. This should allow for between 200 to 350 meteors an hour if you can get to a place with no light pollution. For those in cities, expect that number to be closer to 40 to 60 meteors an hour.
5. A new comet passes by
While there is a bit of a debate about how big this event may be, October will bring a new comet to the skies of Earth.
Discovered back in Feb. 2023, Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will make its closest pass to Earth’s Northern Hemisphere during October. The comet will be roughly 44 million miles away from our planet, or roughly 100 million miles closer than our closest neighbor, Mars.
The comet will appear too close to the sun to be seen in early October, but it will get into a better position for observation around and after Oct. 14.
Comet Hale–Bopp. (NASA)
Scientists are still debating how visible the comet could be on Earth, but some scientists believe this could be a very bright passing, outshining some of the brightest stars in our sky during the peak passage.
A few scientists believe it could be the brightest comet in our skies since Comet Hyakutake in 1996 or Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Comet Hale-Bopp was the most observed comet in human history.
If these hypotheses prove to be correct, Comet C/2023 A3 could feature a very prominent tail that observers could see with their own eye.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Zach Covey
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How to identify severe flu symptoms in children
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Biden, Republicans trade blame for border crisis
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Mayor Eric Adams sues 17 charter bus companies for $700 million for transporting asylum seekers to NYC
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NEW YORK — In a stunning and unexpected move to stop Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from shipping busloads of asylum seekers to New York City, Mayor Eric Adams has filed a lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies used by the Lone Star State.
He wants the bus companies to reimburse the city for the hundreds of millions of dollars it’s cost to shelter them.
Just call it the Empire State strikes back, with a bold counter punch to Abbott.
“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the cost of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas, alone,” Adams said.
The mayor sued the bus companies who, since the spring of 2022, have been used by Abbott to ship asylum seekers to New York, with officials showing them maps, giving them bar-coded bracelets with their destinations clearly marked, and then checked by drivers to make sure they land in the city.
The suit seeks $708 million to compensate the city for the cost of shelter, food and health care.
“These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants,” Adams said.
READ MORE: Hundreds of asylum seekers pass through New Jersey train stations, Gov. Murphy says
The suit charges the companies with “bad faith” conduct and violating New York social service law by dumping the asylum seekers in New York City without providing a means of support.
“Gov. Abbott’s continued use of migrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane, but makes clear he puts politics over people,” Adams said.
The last straw for the mayor was apparently Abbott’s decision to send buses to New Jersey train stations connecting to New York City to thwart an executive order limiting the days and and hours busloads of asylum seekers could arrive here.
Adams is also seeking to build a regional coalition to stop Abbott.
“I communicated with the governor of New Jersey last night. We also spoke with the governor of Connecticut. We’ve got to continue to reach out to our colleagues in the region,” Adams said.
Adams and Abbott have been engaged in an intense game of Texas Hold ‘Em poker over the asylum seeker crisis. It remains to be seen if the suit will force Abbott to throw in his chips.
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PolitiFact – Texas Gov. Abbott suggests feds violated court order by snipping razor wire at border. Is it true?
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As U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional Republicans gathered on the banks of the Rio Grande to highlight the migrant crisis at the Texas-Mexico border and criticize the Biden administration’s handling of it, Gov. Greg Abbott suggested that a resurfaced video appeared to show the Biden administration violating a federal court order barring Customs and Border Protection agents from cutting razor wire the state installed to discourage unlawful immigration.
Posted by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during his visit to Eagle Pass on Jan. 3 with Johnson and around 60 other House Republicans, the video shows Border Patrol agents snipping concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande as dozens of migrants wade toward U.S. soil. Some are shown reaching land with the aid of a rope affixed to a CBP pickup truck.
“Importantly, if this video was taken today, it means that the Biden Admin. is in direct violation of a current court order by the 5th circuit court of appeals prohibiting the border patrol from cutting the razor wire erected by Texas,” Abbott wrote in a fiery post on X on Wednesday afternoon.
Abbott vowed to prosecute the Biden administration for contempt of court if the claim were confirmed.
Abbott, however, should have known the video was taken several weeks before the court order came down because he posted a video of the same incident in September.
Gaetz’s tweet of the video was also misleading.
“I’m currently in Eagle Pass, TX witnessing the intentional destruction of our Southern Border by the Biden administration,” Gaetz said in the video post on X just before 2 p.m. Jan. 3. It had been viewed more than a million times by that night and received more than 5,000 retweets.
Gaetz wrote that an unnamed “Texas bc official” had sent the video, which “shows how illegal aliens are being encouraged to invade our country while the fencing put up by Texas is cut open by @CBP.”
Abbott’s post, which cited Gaetz’s video, had been viewed more than 500,000 times and liked more than 15,000 times by the afternoon on Jan. 4.
Abbott’s office did not respond to American-Statesman requests for comment. In an email statement, a spokesman for Rep. Gaetz said “the post did not indicate that the video was taken this week.”
Similar video first circulated in September
The incident shown in Gaetz’s video occurred several weeks before a federal appeals court in late October issued an order temporarily barring the Biden administration from removing the barbed barrier.
A very similar video of the same incident circulated widely in late September 2023, a CBP spokesperson told the American-Statesman, which conducted reverse-image searches of several stills from the clip to confirm it was first circulated several months ago.
Shared by Abbott along with the Daily Mail and numerous X users, the video from September shows the two CBP agents cutting a section of wire, albeit from a minutely different angle. The September video and the one Gaetz shared Jan. 3 show the exact same attire, foliage, background and wire arrangement — including a pink plastic object on the right side of the section of exposed wire — and the same migrants wading through the river below the agents.
After that video first circulated in September, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to stop the federal government from removing the wire. The Department of Homeland Security released a statement at the time saying that border agents “have a responsibility under federal law” to protect migrants from being injured regardless of their legal status. Migrant children have been lacerated by the fences, needing stitches in some cases, USA Today reported.
Judge Alia Moses, the chief judge for the U.S. Western District of Texas, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, issued a temporary order Oct. 30 barring the wire’s removal except in cases of emergency.
“The Court shall grant the temporary relief requested, with one important exception for any medical emergency that mostly likely results in serious bodily injury or death to a person, absent any boats or other life-saving apparatus available to avoid such medical emergencies prior to reaching the concertina wire barrier,” the judge wrote in the court filing.
The issue then pingponged between opposing rulings. Moses reversed her position and issued a new order authorizing the federal government to continue cutting the wire in November, but a Dec. 19 decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals again prohibited cutting of border wire.
The Justice Department appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 3.
Austin American-Statesman staff reporter John C. Moritz contributed reporting.
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Las Vegas Judge Pounced On And Assaulted By Criminal In Court After Sentencing Him To Jail
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Source: TODAY YouTube A judge in Las Vegas, Nevada was pounced on and assaulted by a criminal in court on Wednesday morning after she sentenced him to jail.
Judge Attacked By Convicted Criminal
Daily Mail reported that Judge Mary Kay Holthus from the Clark County District Court was in the middle of sentencing Deobra Delone Redden for aggravated battery with substantial bodily harm after denying him bail when he leaped from where he was standing into the judge’s bench and attacked her. As he lunged at the stunned judge, Redden could be heard saying, “nah f*** that b*tch.”
Both Holthus and her marshal tried to dodge the attack, but Redden overtook them and proceeded to beat up the judge. Harrowing video footage shows Redden repeatedly hurl punches at the judge while shouting expletives as security officers tried to restrain him.
Judge Holthus begged Redden to get off of her, but he continued the attack until he was finally subdued. Judge Holthus reportedly “experienced some injuries” from this attack, but was not hospitalized. Her marshal, however, was rushed to the hospital and had to receive stitches for a head injury.
“We commend the heroic acts of her staff, law enforcement, and all others who subdued the defendant,” Las Vegas District Court told Channel 13. “The court remains committed to a safe and secure courthouse and courtrooms.
“We are reviewing all our protocols and will do whatever is necessary to protect the judiciary, the public, and our employees,” the statement added.
Redden, 30, has an extensive criminal history in both Nevada and Texas. Records show that he was also facing charges for battery, robbery, assault, injury to property and coercion.
Related: California 7-Eleven Workers Placed Under Investigation For Assault After Defending Store From Robber
Redden Begged Judge For Leniency
Earlier in Wednesday’s hearing, Redden had asked the judge for leniency, describing himself as “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it is.”
“I’m not a rebellious person,” he told the judge as he argued that he should not be sent to prison, according to ABC News. “But if it’s appropriate for you then you have to do what you have to do.”
Judge Holthus, however, was not having any of it, and she made it clear that she intended to send Redden to prison.
“I appreciate that but I think it’s time he got a taste of something else, because I just can’t with that history,” Judge Holthus said, according to NBC News.
This was enough to cause Redden to become irate and attack the judge.
“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the chief county district attorney who prosecuted Redden.
Related: Fox Reporter Brutally Assaulted – Sucker Punched In Terrifying TikTok Challenge
Redden Hit With New Charges
Judge Holthus is a career prosecutor with more than 27 years of courthouse experience, and she was elected to the state court bench in 2018 and again in 2022.
Redden is set to appear in court once again today to face multiple new felony charges of battery and battery against a protected person, referring to the judge and court staff.
What do you think about this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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James Conrad
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House Speaker Mike Johnson urges Biden to use executive action at the southern border
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, blamed President Biden for the migrant crisis, saying Wednesday that the president has the authority to significantly reduce the record number of border crossings without action from Congress.
“On his first day in office, President Biden came in and issued executive orders that began this chaos,” Johnson told “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan in an interview in Eagle Pass, Texas. “Remain in Mexico is one of them.”
The Remain in Mexico policy, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols, was implemented by the Trump administration in early 2019 to deter migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. It required migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico until their court dates.
Mr. Biden ended the policy soon after taking office, saying it was inhumane. After months of legal battles, federal courts ordered the government to reinstate it. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that the Biden administration had the authority to end the program and it is no longer being implemented.
A senior administration official told CBS News nothing is completely off the table, but added the administration needs Mexico’s help with the hemispheric-wide crisis and it is not going to “stuff things down their throats.”
The Mexican government has issued statements rejecting any proposed revival of Remain in Mexico.
Johnson also said the Biden administration “could end catch and release.”
When asked about the need for logistical and financial support at the border that can only be provided through acts of Congress, Johnson said a top U.S. Border Patrol official told him the situation was comparable to an open fire hydrant.
“He said, ‘I don’t need more buckets, I need the flow to be turned off.’ And the way you do that is with policy changes,” Johnson said. “We’re just asking the White House to apply common sense, and they seem to be completely uninterested in doing so.”
There’s recently been a sharp drop in the number of migrants being processed at the border after arrivals hit a record high in December and strained resources in some communities across the U.S.
The White House and a bipartisan group of senators have been negotiating a package that would make substantial changes to immigration and border security laws. The negotiations come as Republicans demand harsher policies in exchange for more aid to Ukraine.
Watch more of Margaret Brennan’s interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday on “Face the Nation” at 10:30 a.m. ET.
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DOJ Sues Texas Over Law That Would Let Police Arrest Migrants Who Enter U.S. Illegally
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sued Texas over a new law that would allow police to arrest migrants who enter the U.S. illegally, taking Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to court again over his escalating response to border crossers arriving from Mexico.
The lawsuit draws Texas into another clash over immigration at a time when New York and Chicago are pushing back on buses and planes carrying migrants sent by Abbott to Democrat-led cities nationwide. Texas is also fighting separate court battles to keep razor wire on the border and a floating barrier in the Rio Grande.
But a law Abbott signed last month poses a broader and bigger challenge to the U.S. government’s authority over immigration. In addition to allowing police anywhere in Texas to arrest migrants on charges of illegal entry, local judges could also order migrants to leave the country.
The law is set to take effect in March.
The lawsuit was filed in Austin. Civil rights organizations and officials in El Paso County, Texas, filed a lawsuit last month that similarly described the new law as unconstitutional overreach.
FILE – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference in Austin, Texas on June 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) The Justice Department sent Abbott a letter last week threatening legal action unless Texas reversed course. In response, Abbott posted on X that the Biden administration “not only refuses to enforce current U.S. immigration laws, they now want to stop Texas from enforcing laws against illegal immigration.”
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and about 60 fellow Republicans visited the Texas border city of Eagle Pass, which has been the center of Abbott’s $10 billion border initiative known as Operation Lone Star. Johnson suggested he could use a looming government funding deadline as further leverage for hard-line border policies.
President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to make policy compromises because the number of migrants crossing the border is an increasing challenge for his 2024 reelection campaign. Johnson praised Abbott, who was not in Eagle Pass, and slammed the lawsuits that seek to undo Texas’ aggressive border measures.
“It’s absolute insanity,” Johnson said.
Illegal crossings along the southern U.S. border topped 10,000 on several days in December, a number that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Troy Miller called “unprecedented.” U.S. authorities closed cargo rail crossings in Eagle Pass and El Paso for five days last month, calling it a response to a large number of migrants riding freight trains through Mexico to the border.
Authorities this week also resumed full operations at a bridge in Eagle Pass and other crossings in San Diego and Arizona that had been temporarily closed.
Legal experts and opponents say Texas’ new law is the most far-reaching attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that was partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Under the Texas law, migrants could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.
Those ordered to leave would be sent to ports of entry along the border with Mexico, even if they are not Mexican citizens. The law can be enforced anywhere in Texas but some places are off-limits, including schools and churches.
For more than two years, Texas has run a smaller-scale operation on the border to arrest migrants on misdemeanor charges of trespassing. Although that was also intended to stem illegal crossings, there is little indication that it has done so.
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The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
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Look fast! A brief meteor shower peaks early Thursday morning
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The new year starts with the Quadrantid meteor shower. But don’t blink, or you might miss it.
The Quadrantids aren’t one of the more well-known meteor showers, but they can still bring a decent number of meteors… if you’re looking at the right time.
Most meteor showers have a peak that lasts a couple of days, but the Quadrantids’ shower is much shorter. It should peak within a few hours of 4 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday morning, according to Sky & Telescope.
NASA says the Quadrantids produce roughly 120 meteors per hour in perfect conditions, although that can vary quite a bit. And this year won’t have ideal conditions even if you get away from city lights, thanks to a half-full moon hanging in the southeastern sky during the peak.
If you give it a shot, let your eyes adjust to the dark sky for at least 15 minutes and try to shield the moon from view. The American Meteor Society recommends looking north. Even if moonlight washes out the fainter meteors, you might catch a bright fireball meteor as relatively larger particles burn up in the atmosphere.
The Quadrantids are unusual, like December’s Geminids, because they come as the Earth passes through the debris of an asteroid, rather than a comet. The name itself is also unusual; it’s from the constellation “Quadrans Muralis,” which didn’t make the cut in 1922’s official, modern list of constellations.
An image of an etching of an astronomical chart of constellations, showing a quadrant–Quadrans Muralis–above Bootes the Ploughman. Also shown are the dogs Asterion and Chara and the hair of Berenice. (Library of Congress)
The next noteworthy meteor shower is the Lyrids in April. Unfortunately, the moon will be nearly full for that show.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Spectrum News Weather Staff
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Greg Abbott Is Going Out of His Way to Create Chaos in Chicago and New York
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For the better part of two years, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been sending migrants from the southern US border to sanctuary cities—an endeavor, he claims, that is meant to provide “relief to overwhelmed border communities,” but that has seemingly been about scoring political points and sowing chaos. That’s never been more apparent than in recent weeks as he defies efforts by northern cities to systematize arrivals and counter the escalation of his inhumane stunt.
Chicago and New York began imposing restrictions last month on “rogue” buses that drop migrants off outside approved locations as they seek to handle the crisis. But rather than coordinating with the cities’ Democratic leadership, Abbott has gone to even more extreme lengths—chartering planes to send migrants north and sending asylum-seekers to locations outside city limits, all without notice.
More than 300 migrants arrived Sunday at a train station in Rockford, a city of 150,000 about an hour and a half northwest of Chicago, whose leaders said they were not notified by their counterparts in Texas. “Governor Abbott is determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday. That same day, at least four more buses arrived in New Jersey, where Abbott has sent hundreds of migrants since New York Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order regulating drop-offs. “It seems quite clear the bus operators are finding a way to thwart the requirements of the executive order by dropping migrants at the train station in Secaucus and having them continue to their final destination,” Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said in a statement Sunday.
Abbott’s latest moves underscore the cruelty of his campaign, which started in protest of President Joe Biden’s border policies. He is using human beings as pawns in his political gamesmanship and making it as dangerous as possible for them by undermining efforts by local leaders to coordinate the arrivals. “Putting people on airplanes and dropping them off in the city of Chicago and Denver, New York, without any coordination, without a manifest—I don’t know how many federal laws or aviation laws he can be violating,” Johnson said Sunday. “But this type of chaos is not what’s needed in this moment.”
That chaos is sure to intensify this year ahead of the November election as Republicans look to exploit the recent surge in migrants entering the country. House Speaker Mike Johnson and members of his conference—which has been holding up a foreign aid package seeking hardline border policies—are kicking off the new year with a trip to Texas on Wednesday. Meanwhile, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has made an even more extreme anti-immigration agenda a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the country,” the former president said at a rally last month.
President Joe Biden and others have rightly condemned that rhetoric, noting its echoes to that of Adolf Hitler. But Abbott and other Republican extremists are trying to make the story about Democrats’ struggles to contain the humanitarian crisis instead of the GOP’s inhumanity in the face of it—especially, perhaps, in Chicago, where Democrats will hold their convention in August. “There’s no secret here that we need comprehensive immigration reform,” Johnson said over the weekend. “But what we can’t have is a governor in the state of Texas acting the way he is acting.”
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Eric Lutz
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Why is salt used on roads in the winter?
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We all know that road crews and plows work hard to keep roads clear and safe for drivers this time of year.
In addition to clearing snow and ice from roads, plows also put down a lot of salt on roads and other surfaces this time of year.
The usual freezing point of water – the temperature at which water freezes and becomes ice – is 32 degrees. So if there’s precipitation (snow, sleet, or freezing rain) and the ground is 32 degrees or colder, ice will form on streets and other surfaces.
So, why use salt on roads and other surfaces? It’s simple – salt lowers the freezing point of water, which prevents ice from forming.
Interesting fact: road salt is simply rock salt, which is table salt in its natural form.
The big difference is that the table salt that we use goes through a long purification process, while rock salt does not. As a result, rock salt still has impurities and that’s why it’s brownish or gray in color.
(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Can salt become less effective if it gets too cold? Generally, salt loses its effectiveness once the temperature falls below 15 degrees.
When temperatures are that cold, the salt simply can’t get into the structure of the frozen water or ice to start the dissolving and melting process. Therefore, salt is much less effective or not effective at all when temperatures are bitterly cold.
Road crews sometimes try other methods, even beet juice.
When wintry weather hits, be careful, take your time and stay safe on the roads – especially when temperatures are cold enough to keep road treatments from doing their thing.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Carrie Cheevers
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