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The Biden administration says it is using executive power to allow border wall construction in Texas

FILE – A border wall section stands on July 14, 2021, near La Grulla, Texas, in Starr County. On Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, the Biden administration announced that they waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction, marking the administration’s first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency. The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement with few details outlining the construction in Starr County, Texas. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP, File)

The Biden administration announced they waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction on Wednesday, marking the administration’s first use of sweeping executive power to pave the way for building more border barriers — a tactic used often during the Trump presidency.

The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement on the U.S. Federal Registry with few details outlining the construction in Starr County, Texas, which is part of a busy Border Patrol sector seeing “high illegal entry.” According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded in this region during the current fiscal year.

“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, stated in the notice.

The Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act were some of the federal laws waived by DHS to make way for construction that will use funds from a congressional appropriation in 2019 for border wall construction. The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws.

Although no maps were provided in the announcement, a previous map shared during the gathering of public comments shows the piecemeal construction will add up to an additional 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the existing border barrier system in the area.

“The other concern that we have is that area is highly erosive. There’s a lot of arroyos,” said Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the highest-elected official in the county, pointing out the creeks cutting through the ranchland and leading into the river.

Starr County is home to about 65,000 residents spread over about 1,200 square miles (3,108 square kilometers) that includes ranchland and part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/border-wall-biden-immigration-texas-rio-grande-147d7ab497e6991e9ea929242f21ceb2

Texas airport worker dies after being sucked into plane engine

The employee, who has not been named, was “ingested” into an engine at San Antonio International Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.

The incident involved a Delta plane. File pic: AP

An airport worker in the US has died after being sucked into a plane engine, officials have said.

The employee, who has not been named, was “ingested” into an engine at San Antonio International Airport in Texas on Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.

The incident happened at 10.25pm local time when a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles taxied to its gate on one engine.

It is not clear how the person was sucked into the engine and the NTSB is investigating the incident.

According to the Federal Aviation Authority, the employee was a ramp worker.

In a statement, the airport said: “We are deeply saddened by this incident and are working with authorities as they begin their investigation.

“We will share more information as details become available.”

Delta Air Lines said it was “heartbroken” over the incident and the loss of a member of its “aviation family”.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/texas-airport-worker-dies-after-being-sucked-into-plane-engine-12909535

Texas becomes largest state to ban transgender care for minors

Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a news conference. U.S. May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a bill that bans transgender healthcare including puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors, making Texas the largest of the 20 states to have outlawed gender-affirming care.

Republican lawmakers across the country have promoted similar bills, saying they mistrust the consensus among major medical associations that endorse gender-affirming care as needed and even life-saving for trans youth after extensive evaluation.

Texas, the second most-populous U.S. state, has an estimated 29,800 transgender youth aged 13 to 17, according to the Williams Institute of UCLA.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have pledged to fight the law in court, as they have similar legislation in other states.

“They (Texas lawmakers) are hellbent on joining the growing roster of states determined to jeopardize the health and lives of transgender youth, in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence,” the ACLU said in a statement when the bill passed the legislature.

The Texas law creates exceptions for minors who began treatment before June 1 or for those who attended 12 or more sessions of mental health counseling or psychotherapy for at least six months.

But those patients “shall wean off the prescription drug over a period of time,” the law says.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-becomes-largest-state-ban-transgender-care-minors-2023-06-03

Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, but no new cars

Elon Musk revealed the third part of Tesla’s “Master Plan,” in which the company will lead the global effort to eliminate fossil fuels and convert the world to sustainable energy. The plan was outlined during an investor event Wednesday held at the company’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.

Master Plan 3 includes adding renewable power to the existing grid, producing more electric vehicles, installing heat pumps in homes and buildings, using high-temperature heat delivery and hydrogen for industrial applications, and building sustainably fueled planes and boats. Musk’s plan is to create “a sustainable energy civilization.”

Tesla projects it will take $10 trillion in investments to bring about this sustainable future powered by renewable energy. Musk said it’s “not a big number relative to the global economy.”

Tesla projects it will take $10 trillion in investments to bring about this sustainable future powered by renewable energy

“There is a clear path to a sustainable energy on Earth,” Musk said. “It doesn’t require destroying natural habitats. It doesn’t require us to be austere and stop using electricity and sort of be in the cold or anything.”

A big part of achieving that vision involves expanding the world’s energy storage capacity by up to 240TWh. During the course of the event, Tesla executives said this can be accomplished without needing to mine a significant amount of ore. Musk claimed that it would only need less than 30 percent of all nickel in the Earth. It would also need iron, but Musk isn’t concerned, saying that it’s the most abundant metal on the planet.

Musk adds that the infrastructure needed for this, including wind and solar, will take “less than 0.2 percent” of the Earth’s surface. The details are still light on how all this is supposed to come to fruition, but Musk promised to release a white paper outlining the plan soon.

Musk adds that the infrastructure needed for this, including wind and solar, will take “less than 0.2 percent” of the Earth’s surface

“I really wanted today to be not just about Tesla investors who own stock, but really anyone who is an investor in Earth,” Musk said optimistically.

The nearly three-hour-long event didn’t include any specific information about new vehicles. The company did tease two mystery vehicles that remained under wraps in the presentation images — including one that is clearly a smaller car and the other that looks like a small commercial truck.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/1/23620698/tesla-master-plan-3-elon-musk-ev-solar-fsd-gigafactory-investor-day