LINDALE – Lindale’s only newspaper, the Lindale News and Times, is coming back to the town in print and online with a new name, the Lindale News. According to our news partner KETK, the good news about the Lindale News comes after the former owner and publisher, Jim Bardwell, announced that the paper was closing down after 124 years but now its being saved thanks to a nonprofit from Irving.
Bardwell has reportedly donated the intellectual property rights to the paper to the Irving based nonprofit news organization, Rambler Texas Media. Rambler’s publisher John Starkey and the Lindale Chamber of Commerce met on Thursday and announced that Rambler will be continuing the Lindale Times’ 124 years of history.
“THE LINDALE NEWS LIVES ON! Today John Starkey stopped by our office with hot off the press newspapers. We are excited that Rambler Texas Media has come to town to help us continue to promote events, organizations, and our community.”
Lindale Chamber of Commerce Continue reading Lindale newspaper returning to print and online
WISE COUNTY – An effort in one North Texas city to rename a public street after former President Donald Trump has so far hit roadblocks, but supporters aren’t giving up. Some Republicans in Wise County have sought to change the name of Airport Drive in Decatur to “Trump Way.” The quarter-mile road leads to the Decatur Municipal Airport on the northern side of the city. The issue came up multiple times this summer at the Decatur City Council, including Sept. 9, but officials took no action. Several council members said it’s important that the council and the city remain nonpartisan. However, if supporters get enough signatures from registered voters, the proposal for “Trump Way” could come up for a vote on a future ballot.
Rick Lifto, the chairman of the Wise County Republican Party, told the Star-Telegram that there are many streets, highways and buildings throughout Texas named for former presidents — but not Trump. “I thought well, if we’re going to recognize him in some way, what would be the most appropriate? It seemed appropriate that we should name something after Trump,” Lifto said. The Metroplex has several highways bearing the names of former commanders-in-chief, most notably those who are from the Lone Star State. The 52-mile President George Bush Turnpike, honoring the 41st president, wraps around the northern suburbs of Dallas — and happens to intersect with the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway. George H.W. Bush’s name is also on Houston’s airport. As for Bush 43, there’s Bush Drive that leads to his presidential center at SMU, as well as an elementary school in Collin County and the southbound I-44 bridge at the Red River (which was a tribute bestowed by the state of Oklahoma, which also has a 20-mile stretch of U.S. 287 called Trump Highway in the Panhandle). Hundreds of thousands of people each day take Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway, also known as Interstate 20, through Arlington. And up in McKinney, there’s a small neighborhood where every street is named after presidents, including Clinton and Carter drives. In Decatur, population roughly 8,000, the would-be Trump Way is nowhere near as traveled as those other presidential roadways, nor does it have many addresses. There’s a Texas Army National Guard recruiting office on the corner, though technically its address isn’t Airport Drive. Google Maps images show a few potholes along the short stretch of asphalt, which doesn’t even have center striping. Lifto, the Republican county chair, said he first approached Wise County government leaders about renaming a road after the 45th president (who also hopes to become the 47th). In his view, Lifto said that Trump supported several pieces of legislation that benefited Wise County, including bills calling for high-speed Internet in rural areas.
A church sign is seen at House of Prayer near the First Haitian Church and community center in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
One of the fact-check moments in last week’s debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris occurred when Trump talked about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio.
ABC moderator David Muir was quick to challenge Trump’s assertion (even though that wasn’t Muir’s job) while Kamala Harris stood by making a grand show of derisive laughter.
I wish Trump hadn’t gone there. His raising of the topic was an unforced error. Whether Haitian migrants are eating the domesticated pets of Springfield or not (disgusting as that is) isn’t really the point.
The point is that there is exactly zero chance that Haitian migrants could eat the cats and dogs of Springfield, Ohio if the Haitian migrants weren’t there in the first place.
Trump’s casting of the problem in terms of migrant carnism served only to validate the criticisms of the media and of Trump haters while letting Harris off the hook for the knowable consequences attendant to airlifting thousands of poor, unvetted migrants into a small town in the heartland. The problems now on display in Springfield are a manifestation of a much larger humanitarian problem that was intentionally created by the administration in which Kamala Harris currently serves.
A much more pertinent angle – and thus an angle never explored by the two partisan hacks from ABC that were “moderating” the debate – is how the Biden administration justifies dropping 20,000 unvetted migrants into a community of just 58,000.
There’s no dismissing that with derisive laughter. There’s no need for a David Muir “fact check.” The fact isn’t disputed.
Imagine if you woke up one morning to find that one of every four people living in your town was poor, unemployed, unable to speak the language, untethered to the norms and customs of your community and completely dependent upon your tax money for the necessities of life?
What if suddenly the number of students in your kid’s already overburdened classroom expanded by a third – and none of them spoke English?
New York City mayor Eric Adams never misses an opportunity to tell you that his city is being pushed to its limits under the strain of feeding and housing 67,000 illegal migrants. What if it were four million, the number in Springfield, OH scaled up to the native population of New York? How loudly would Eric Adams be squealing then?
It isn’t about eating dogs and cats. It’s about the fact that no nation that wants to call itself sovereign can permit millions of people to come in unvetted with no thought given as to the impact.
The simple truth is that Kamala Harris couldn’t care less about the problems that 20,000 Haitian migrants have visited upon Springfield, OH. Neither could David Muir. Muir and Harris care only about electing Harris.
But you and I and every sane person you know should care. Because the consequences of Biden administration immigration policy now being felt in Springfield, Ohio are coming to communities across the country if Kamala Harris wins the election.
Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) -- After waiting six months -- and losing $4 billion on paper -- former President Donald Trump faces a potential windfall from his social media company.
Half a year after the public company behind Trump's Truth Social platform went public, the "lockup" agreement that prevented Trump from selling any of his 115 million shares expired on Thursday afternoon.
Beginning to sell his shares could allow Trump to profit handsomely from his stake in the company -- which is currently valued at approximately $1.7 billion -- but it could crater the stock for the company's diehard supporters, many of whom invested their money in the company as a sign of their support for the former president.
At the same time, holding onto the investment would be a financial leap of faith for Trump, whose shares comprise a large percentage of his net worth but have lost billions of dollars in value over the last six months.
Asked about the choice last week, Trump vowed not to sell.
"They're worth billions of dollars, but I don't want to sell my shares," Trump said. "I'm not going to sell my shares. I don't need money."
Trump's choice comes amid new financial pressures and a significant reshuffling of his financial portfolio.
While Trump's net worth has grown to $4.3 billion according to the most recent Forbes estimate, the former president owes over $560 million in civil judgments, which he is actively appealing. The majority of his personal wealth -- once built on the namesake properties that shot him to fame -- now stems from his shares in his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which have fallen more than 70% since the company went public.
Analysts, meanwhile, have expressed concern about a further decline if Trump loses the November election.
Shares in Trump Media closed at a new low of $14.70 Thursday ahead of the lockup provision expiring, though the company enjoyed a 25% surge last week after Trump announced his plan to hold his shares.
"When he's promised to do something, he's kept his word," said Jerry Dean McLain, a shareholder who purchased a hundred additional shares after Trump's pledge. "He's loyal to his followers -- to his people -- so I don't have any reason not to believe him."
'Nothing like this'
Trump turned to the idea of creating his own social media company in the months following his ban from Twitter and other social media companies after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Truth Social launched in 2022, billing itself as a beacon for free speech on the internet with larger plans to expand into streaming.
"All of a sudden, I went from being No. 1 to having no voice," Trump said about the benefit of Truth Social. "I'm not going to let that happen again."
Despite multiple roadblocks -- including a dispute with the company's cofounders and its special purpose acquisition company paying a fine to settle fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange commission -- the social media company went public in March.
Shares in the public company peaked at $66 in April, with analysts comparing the company to so-called "meme stocks" like AMC and GameStop, whose share prices surged based on investor enthusiasm rather than financial metrics.
By the summer, Trump Media's stock price lingered around $30 before slumping to the teens in September, which some experts still believe is overvaluing the company, which only brought in $836,000 in revenue last quarter -- a 30% decline from a year earlier. Based on the company's cash per share, the stock is overvalued by 1,000%, according to University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter.
With the company losing millions of dollars, reporting limited revenue, and offering an unproven business model, the stock's performance has frequently tracked with Trump's personal wins and losses. When Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, the stock declined 14% in after-hours trading following the verdict. Shares then surged as much as 30% early trading on the Monday after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"It's much more of a speculative half-proxy for the former president's reelection prospects and half kind of a long shot early-stage opportunity to get in on a potential new tech company and social media platform," said Tyler Richey, an analyst at Sevens Report Research.
While it's not unusual for a company's stock price to fluctuate based on its corporate leadership, Trump's relationship to the value of his company stands alone, according to Mike Stegemoller, a finance professor at Baylor University. Trump is the platform's most notable user, he attracts new members to the platform, and he is the company's largest shareholder.
"Publicly traded corporations ... are somewhat dependent on personalities, but nothing like this," said Stegemoller. "You're getting this asset that generates cash flows, and you're coupling that with a personality that's pulling revenue to that asset."
In regulatory filings, the company has acknowledged the risk of being tied to the former president. If Trump were to sell his shares or begin using another social media platform, the company's stock value could suffer.
Trump, for his part, has vowed to continue posting on Truth Social.
"I love it. I use it as a method of getting out my word," Trump said last week regarding the platform.
'A much more profitable deal'
The lockup agreement that's kept Trump from selling off his shares in the first six months is an arrangement that's often used by public companies to prevent company leadership from taking actions that could affect the stock price, according to Ritter.
Trump's 115 million shares means he owns more than half of the company, so selling those shares -- which Trump would have to disclose within two days in a public filing -- could trigger a massive selloff and tank the company's stock price.
"As soon as folks know he's getting out in any large amount, I would imagine shares would fall," said Stegemoller.
According to Stegemoller, Trump's announcement last week that he would not sell his shares is reasonable -- not only because Trump likely wants the company to succeed, but also because selling his shares too rapidly could cost him money. Because he holds so many shares, Trump would be unlikely to fully offload them all before the stock price plummeted, forcing him to sell his remaining shares at a lower price.
Alternatively, Trump could slowly sell some of his shares, arrange a deal with a buyer, or use the shares as collateral for loans. Selling some of his shares would allow Trump to still own a controlling interest in the company while diversifying his portfolio, according to Stegemoller.
"Selling slowly over time in order to pull money out of his investment is a much more reasonable deal for him, and a much more profitable deal for him, too," Stegemoller said.
Although Trump has publicly declared that he plans to hold his shares, executives in the company could consider selling their holdings, which could also impact the stock price.
"They might want to get out as quickly as possible, and rather than sell their shares gradually, it might be a rush for the exit," said Ritter.
'I'm not leaving'
Trump has suggested that the company's sluggish stock performance is partially due to speculation about him stepping away from the company -- a notion he tried to dispel last week.
"People think that I'm leaving. That's why they're down," Trump said regarding shares in the company. "It's different if I leave, but I'm not leaving. I love it."
And some analysts believe the expiration of the lockup provision could prove to be a turning point for the company.
According to Richey, a recent spike in trading volume and other metrics suggest that the stock price might be reaching a bottom, while Trump's decision to hold his shares could reassure investors.
Speculation about Trump's chances of winning in the November election could also help the stock price.
"There's still money in the markets supporting a Donald Trump win if you're using the stock price as a proxy for the election outcome," Richey said.
TYLER – A jury found Mytrez Woolen, 25, guilty of killing Starrville Methodist Church pastor Mark McWilliams on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, after deliberating for roughly three hours, the jury returned the verdict. The trial started on Monday and both sides made their closing arguments Thursday morning. Woolen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Woolen was accused of hiding out in the church overnight in January 2021 after running from police, then shooting the pastor, grazing his wife with a bullet and shooting another parishioner several times. He pleaded not guilty to capital murder in April 2021.
DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News says Texas schools won’t receive A-F accountability grades after a judge granted a new order temporarily blocking them on Wednesday. A coalition of school districts sued over the system alleging the grades are invalid because they’re based on flawed STAAR tests. A trial on the case is set for February. Travis County Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle temporarily granted dozens of districts’ requests to prohibit Education Commissioner Mike Morath from publishing campus grades for last school year. Texas Education Agency officials plan to appeal the decision, agency spokesman Jake Kobersky said.
The grades are based largely on how well students perform on the STAAR tests. This is the second year in a row some districts sued to block the grades’ release. The current lawsuit alleges grades released by the state would be invalid. The suit questions the use of computers to score students’ essays on the assessment. Large numbers of students scored zeroes on their written answers last year. “During the 2023–24 school year, the Commissioner radically changed the way the new STAAR test is being administered by replacing human graders with AI grading,” their lawsuit states. “This change was made without ensuring that this radical change would not impact the new STAAR test’s validity and reliability.” Morath has repeatedly defended the A-F system as valid and critical to students’ success. Supporters of the system argue families need to know how their local schools are performing and school leaders need to know where to direct resources. Some school district leaders in North Texas, including those in Dallas ISD, released their projections for how schools would perform on A-F, saying it was important to remain transparent with families.
LONGVIEW — Workforce Solutions East Texas has announced the relocation of its workforce center to the Park Place Shopping Center just west of Gilmer Road, at 1905 W. Loop 281, Suite 40. The business hours will be Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Longview Workforce Center will open on October 1, 2024.
Workforce Solutions East Texas provides no-cost recruitment and employment services to businesses and job seekers in the East Texas area. The new facility is 25,712-square-feet. The Workforce Solutions East Texas Board approved entering a five-year lease term with five one-year extension options.
The current Workforce Solutions East Texas, Longview office at 209 S. Center Street will be closed from September 23 to 30, 2024, to prepare for the move. During this time, staff will serve customers virtually by calling 1-844-ETWORKS.
TYLER – Keep Tyler Beautiful (KTyB) invites Tyler residents to bring their family and friends to help cleanup community parks during Park Service Day. This year, the event will be hosted at the Tyler Senior Center, 1915 Garden Valley Rd., on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Park Service Day is an event where each September volunteers take on beautification and restoration projects. This year’s projects includes giving the interior of the Senior Center a fresh coat of paint, updating the flower beds out front, building a retention wall at Fun Forest Park, repainting the safety signs and steps at the Fun Forest pool, and adding a mural to the restroom area. Continue reading Keep Tyler Beautiful hosts Park Service Day
SMITH COUNTY – The arrest documents of a Tyler man who led deputies on a motorcycle chase Tuesday morning depict an aggravated robbery days before. According to our news partner KETK, 34-year-old Charles Griffith was arrested after evading deputies and on an active warrant. Police were called to a home on Highway 271 where the caller claimed multiple men broke into her house, and Griffith pointed it at her. The other people attempted to steal her TV. The following Tuesday, authorities began pursuing Griffith while on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. An affidavit reported he even went into oncoming traffic to avoid police. After an on-foot chase, police were able to detain Griffith and find a digital scale, a medical vial, a pill bottle with three white pills inside, a water bottle, blue candy, a wallet, a pink lighter, a rubber hose and a plastic bag with 120 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack. Griffith was booked into the Smith County Jail and charged for aggravated robbery, evading arrest with a vehicle and manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. He is being held on a combined bond of $1,850,000.
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TEXAS (TEXASTRIBUNE) – In 2020 and 2021, the number of deaths due to pregnancy or childbirth in mothers rose in the state of Texas. The Texas Tribune reports that the rates are the highest since the state started tracking maternal deaths in 2013. Even excluding deaths related to COVID-19, the numbers were worse than usual. The maternal mortality rate in 2020 was 27.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 17.2 in 2019. With COVID-related deaths excluded, the rate was 24.2. This is according to a report released this month by the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. In 80% of these cases, the committee determined there was at least some chance of saving the patient’s life – a decline from 90% from the previous report. A quarter of women died due to infections, the most common cause of death, followed by cardiovascular conditions, obstetric hemorrhage, embolisms and mental health conditions. Continue reading Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020 and 2021
DEER PARK (AP) — A pipeline fire that forced hundreds of people to flee their homes in the Houston suburbs burned for a third day Wednesday, with officials saying they don’t expect it to be extinguished until sometime Thursday evening.
Officials said residents who had to evacuate would be allowed to return to their homes starting Wednesday evening.
Authorities have offered few details about what prompted the driver of an SUV to hit an above-ground valve on the pipeline on Monday, sparking the blaze.
Here are some things to know about the situation with the pipeline fire:
What caused the fire?
Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood in Deer Park, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.
Authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to hit the pipeline valve, the identity of the driver or what happened to them. The pipeline company on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.
Deer Park police won’t be able to reach the burned-out vehicle until the flame has been extinguished. Once the area is safe, the department will be able to continue its investigation and confirm specifics, city spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said in an email Wednesday.
The valve equipment appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The pipeline’s operator has not responded to questions about any other safety protections that were in place.
Who is responsible for the pipeline?
Energy Transfer is the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, a 20-inch-wide (50-centemeter-wide) conduit that runs for miles through the Houston area.
It carries natural gas liquids through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte, both of which are southeast of Houston. Energy Transfer said the fire had diminished overnight and was continuing to “safely burn itself out” on Wednesday.
Energy Transfer also built the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been at the center of protests and legal battles. The company’s executive chairman, Kelcy Warren, has given millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
What’s being done to extinguish the fire?
Energy Transfer said its crews were working Wednesday to install specialized isolation equipment on both sides of the damaged section that will help extinguish the fire.
Once the equipment is installed, which could take several hours of welding, the isolated section of the pipeline will be purged with nitrogen, which will extinguish the fire, company and local officials said. After that, damaged components can be repaired.
“The safest way to manage this process is to let the products burn off,” Energy Transfer said.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Deer Park officials said repair work on the pipeline to help speed up the process to put out the fire wasn’t expected to be completed until 6 p.m. on Thursday. Once finished, the fire was anticipated to be extinguished within two to three hours.
How have residents been impacted?
Authorities evacuated nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. Officials said that starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, residents in Deer Park and La Porte who had to evacuate would be allowed to return to their homes. A portion of a highway near the pipeline would remain closed, officials said.
Hundreds of customers lost power. Officials said Wednesday afternoon that only two customers remained without electricity in the Deer Park and La Porte area. Repairs to all of the power distribution lines affected by the fire had been completed.
Deer Park’s statement said Energy Transfer was “prioritizing the safety of the community and environment as it implements its emergency response plan.”
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of all residents during this ongoing situation,” Deer Park officials said.
By late Tuesday, about 400 evacuees remained, and some expressed frustration over being forced to quickly flee and not being given any timeline for when they will be able to return.
“We literally walked out with the clothes on our backs, the pets, and just left the neighborhood with no idea where we were going,” said Kristina Reff, who lives near the fire. “That was frustrating.”
What about pollution from the fire?
Energy Transfer and Harris County officials have said that air quality monitoring shows no immediate risk to individuals, despite the huge tower of billowing flame that shot hundreds of feet into the air, creating thick black smoke that hovered over the area.
Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight, and some have been deadly, raising recurring questions about industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday rejected Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal that would have linked temporary funding for the federal government with a mandate that states require proof of citizenship when people register to vote.
Next steps on government funding are uncertain. Lawmakers are not close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that will fund federal agencies during the next fiscal year, so they’ll need to approve a stopgap measure to prevent a partial shutdown when that budget year begins Oct. 1.
The vote was 220-202, with 14 Republicans and all but three Democrats opposing the bill. Johnson, who said after the vote he was “disappointed,” will likely pursue a Plan B to avoid a partial shutdown, though he was not yet ready to share details.
“We’ll draw up another play and we’ll come up with a solution,” Johnson said. “I’m already talking to colleague about their many ideas. We have time to fix the situation and we’ll get right to it.”
Johnson had pulled the bill from consideration last week because it lacked the votes to pass. He worked through the weekend to win support from fellow Republicans but was unable to overcome objections about spending levels from some members, while others said they don’t favor any continuing resolutions, insisting that Congress return to passing the dozen annual appropriations bills on time and one at a time. Democrats overwhelmingly opposed the measure.
Requiring new voters to provide proof of citizenship has become a leading election-year priority for Republicans raising the specter of noncitizens voting in the U.S., even though it’s already illegal to do so and research has shown that such voting is rare.
Opponents say that such a requirement would disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have a birth certificate or passport readily available when they get a chance to register at their school, church or other venues when voter registration drives occur.
But Johnson said it is a serious problem because even if a tiny percentage of noncitizens do vote, it could determine the outcome of an extremely close race. He noted that Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa won her seat back in 2020 by six votes.
“It’s very, very serious stuff and that’s why we’re going to do the right thing,” Johnson said before the vote. “We’re going to responsibly fund the government and we’re going to stop noncitizens voting in elections.”
Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump weighed in again just hours before the vote. seemingly encouraging House Republicans to let a partial government shutdown begin at the end of the month unless they get the proof of citizenship mandate, referred to in the House as the SAVE Act.
“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social.
House Democrats said the proof of citizenship mandate should not be part of a bill to keep the government funded and urged Johnson to work with them on a measure that can pass both chambers.
“This is not going to become law,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “This is Republican theatrics that are meant to appease the most extreme members of their conference, to show them that they are working on something and that they’re continuing to support the former president of the United States in his bid to demonize immigrants.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has predicted Johnson’s effort was doomed to fail.
“The only thing that will accomplish is make clear that he’s running into a dead end,” Schumer said. “We must have a bipartisan plan instead.”
The legislation would fund agencies generally at current levels through March 28 while lawmakers work out their differences on a full-year spending agreement.
Democrats, and some Republicans, are pushing for a shorter extension. A temporary fix would allow the current Congress to hammer out a final bill after the election and get it to Democratic President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
But Johnson and some of the more conservative members of his conference are pushing for a six-month extension in the hopes Trump will win and give them more leverage when crafting the full-year bill.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declined to weigh in on how long to extend funding. He said Schumer and Johnson, ultimately, will have to work out a final agreement that can pass both chambers.
“The one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown. It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election because certainly we would get the blame,” McConnell said.
Regardless of the vote outcome, Republican lawmakers sought to allay any concerns there would be a shutdown. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said if the bill failed, then another stopgap bill should be voted on that would allow lawmakers to come back to Washington after the election and finish the appropriations work.
“The bottom line is we’re not shutting the government down,” Lawler said.
But Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of engaging in a “shutdown effort.”
“That’s not hyperbole,” Jeffries said. “It’s history. Because in the DNA of extreme MAGA Republicans has consistently been an effort to make extreme ransom demands of the American people, and if those extreme ransom demands are not met, shut down the government.”
The House approved a bill with the proof of citizenship mandate back in July. Some Republicans who view the issue as popular with their constituents have been pushing for another chance to show their support.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., noted that his state’s secretary of state announced last month that 3,251 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status made inactive and flagged for possible removal from the voter rolls. Voting rights groups have since filed a lawsuit saying the policy illegally targeted naturalized citizens for removal from voting rolls.
“These people should never have been allowed to register in the first place and this is exactly what the SAVE Act will prevent,” Aderholt said.
RUSK COUNTY, Texas – Our news partners at KETK report that a recent spike in vehicle burglaries in Rusk County has forced local authorities to ask the public for help. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) received several reports of vehicles being burglarized Wednesday night just south of Henderson. Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said patrol deputies began compiling the reports for investigators in the southern part of the county, but with no further leads, they need the public’s help. The vehicle in question was described as a white Ford 4-door truck. Anyone with information is being urged to contact sheriff’s office or report via the Rusk County Crime Stoppers online tip form.
DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have moved about 300 endangered sea corals from South Florida to the Texas Gulf Coast for research and restoration.
Nova Southeastern University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi researchers packed up the corals Wednesday at the NSU’s Oceanographic Campus in Dania Beach. The sea creatures were then loaded onto a van, taken to a nearby airport and flown to Texas.
Researchers were taking extreme caution with the transfer of these delicate corals, NSU researcher Shane Wever said.
“The process that we’re undertaking today is a really great opportunity for us to expand the representation of the corals that we are working with and the locations where they’re stored,” Wever said. “Increasing the locations that they’re stored really acts as safeguards for us to protect them and to preserve them for the future.”
Each coral was packaged with fresh clean sea water and extra oxygen, inside of a protective case and inside of insulated and padded coolers, and was in transport for the shortest time possible.
NSU’s marine science research facility serves as a coral reef nursery, where rescued corals are stored, processed for restoration and transplanted back into the ocean. The school has shared corals with other universities, like the University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University and Texas State University, as well as the Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys.
Despite how important corals are, it is easy for people living on land to forget how important things in the ocean are, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi researcher Keisha Bahr said.
“Corals serve a lot of different purposes,” Bahr said. “First of all, they protect our coastlines, especially here in Florida, from wave energy and coastal erosion. They also supply us with a lot of the food that we get from our oceans. And they are nurseries for a lot of the organisms that come from the sea.”
Abnormally high ocean temperatures caused widespread coral bleaching in 2023, wiping out corals in the Florida Keys. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi turned to NSU when its partners in the Keys were no longer able to provide corals for its research. Broward County was spared from the majority of the 2023 bleaching so the NSU offshore coral nursery had healthy corals to donate.
“We’re losing corals at an alarming rate,” Bahr said. “We lost about half of our corals in last three decades. So we need to make sure that we continue to have these girls into the future.”
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is using some of these corals to study the effects of sediment from Port Everglades on coral health. The rest will either help the university with its work creating a bleaching guide for the Caribbean or act as a genetic bank, representing nearly 100 genetically distinct Staghorn coral colonies from across South Florida’s reefs.
“We wanted to give them as many genotypes, which are genetic individuals, as we could to really act as a safeguard for these this super important species,” Wever said.
LINDALE – Lindale’s only newspaper, the Lindale News and Times, is coming back to the town in print and online with a new name, the Lindale News. According to our news partner KETK, the good news about the Lindale News comes after the former owner and publisher, Jim Bardwell, announced that the paper was closing down after 124 years but now its being saved thanks to a nonprofit from Irving.
