Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2025

Homeless people can be removed from streets by cities, states in new Trump executive order

Homeless people can be removed from streets by cities, states in new Trump executive order

As part of his effort to “Make America Safe Again,” President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow cities and states to remove homeless people off the streets and into treatment centers.  Trump signed the order, “Ending Vagrancy and Restoring,” Thursday afternoon.  The order states that the “number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the Biden administration — 274,224 — was the highest ever recorded.”  It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees” stopping or limiting cities and states from removing homeless individuals from the streets and moving them to treatment centers.  SANTA MONICA BUSINESS OWNER OFFERING ONE-WAY FLIGHTS TO GET HOMELESS OUT OF CALIFORNIA Though it is unclear how much money will be allocated to the effort, Trump’s order redirects federal funds to ensure that removed homeless individuals are sent to rehabilitation, treatment and other facilities. Additionally, the order requires Bondi to partner with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to prioritize federal grants to cities and states that “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders,” according to USA Today.  The order also stipulates that discretionary grants for substance-use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery programs “do not fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use.”  DEMOCRATIC BILL WOULD BLOCK FEDS FROM CLEARING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS ON PUBLIC LAND Homelessness increased in the U.S. by 18% from 2023 to 2024, according to Housing and Urban Development’s annual homelessness assessment report released in January.  Trump has previously vowed to clean up American cities, especially the nation’s capital of Washington. TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDER PRAISES TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER HELPING HOMELESS VETS: THEY NEED OUR HELP Speaking in March, Trump said, “We’re going to have a crime-free capital. When people come here, they’re not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They’re going to have a crime-free capital again. It’s going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was. And it’s not going to take us too long.” 

Trump signs $9B rescissions package into law, revoking funding for foreign aid, NPR

Trump signs B rescissions package into law, revoking funding for foreign aid, NPR

President Donald Trump signed into law his roughly $9 billion rescissions package to scale back already approved federal funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting Thursday, after both chambers of Congress approved the legislation earlier in the month, sources familiar to the matter have confirmed.  The signing marks another legislative victory for the Trump administration just two weeks after the president signed into law his massive tax and domestic policy measure, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.”  The rescissions package pulls back nearly $8 billion in funding Congress already approved for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a previously independent agency that provided impoverished countries aid and offered development assistance.  However, USAID has faced layoffs and has been absorbed into the State Department amid concerns from the Trump administration that the organization did not advance U.S. core interests.  ‘LONG OVERDUE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS SLAM THROUGH TRUMP’S CLAWBACK PACKAGE WITH CUTS TO FOREIGN AID, NPR The rescissions package also pulls more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that provides federal funding for NPR and PBS. The total $9 billion cut is a fraction of a percent of the entire national debt, which currently sits at about $36.7 trillion as of Wednesday. The House previously approved its version of the rescissions package in June, and voted on the final version of the measure early Friday after the Senate narrowly approved the measure by a 51–48 margin early on the morning od July 17. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted alongside Democrats to oppose the package.  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that the measure aligned with other priorities to eradicate waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government and is a step in the right direction.  “I appreciate all the work the administration has done in identifying wasteful spending,” Thune said in a speech ahead of the vote. “And now it’s time for the Senate to do its part to cut some of that waste out of the budget. It’s a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.” SENATE MARCHES TOWARD PASSING TRUMP’S $9B CLAWBACK BILL AFTER DRAMATIC LATE-NIGHT VOTES Meanwhile, Democrats have said that the cuts to foreign aid are a win for China and Russia, and that the package puts national security at risk. Additionally, Democrats argue Republicans’ employment of rescissions sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize a host of programs down the line.  “If Republicans slash more American aid, it will create a dangerous vacuum that the Chinese Communist Party will continue to eagerly fill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said July 15 on the Senate floor. TRUMP’S $9 BILLION CLAWBACK PASSES FIRST SENATE TEST, WHILE MORE HURDLES AWAIT “They are using pocket rescissions to poison the bipartisan appropriations process, to break the law to steal funds that Congress appropriated, and they’re doing it at a party-line vote,” Schumer said. “Worse, they’re letting Donald Trump decide for himself which programs to defund, and that puts everything at risk – healthcare, education, food assistance, public health. Everything – everything – becomes at risk. That is what happens if a package like this is allowed to become law.”  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Although Trump previously attempted to advance a rescissions package in 2018 that also targeted foreign aid and public broadcasting funds during his first term, it failed to gain support in the Senate after Collins and then-Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., voted against it.  The last time Congress approved a rescissions package was in 1999.  Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report. 

Alina Habba defiant after judges vote against her in New Jersey: ‘I don’t cower to pressure’

Alina Habba defiant after judges vote against her in New Jersey: ‘I don’t cower to pressure’

Alina Habba signaled Thursday that she does not plan to leave her role as the temporary U.S. attorney of New Jersey, announcing she does “not cower” to pressure after federal judges voted against extending her term. Habba, a former personal defense attorney to President Donald Trump, wrote in a statement online that she has been appointed the “acting” U.S. attorney, a shift from her prior job title. “Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Habba wrote. “I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.” A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman told Fox News Digital that Habba was now serving as the acting U.S. attorney, rather than the “interim” position that she previously held. DOJ SWIFTLY FIRES ALINA HABBA’S COURT-APPOINTED REPLACEMENT The maneuvers by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to keep Habba as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey are governed by a set of arcane federal vacancy laws. Those same laws also gave the New Jersey district court judges the authority to vote on whether to extend Habba’s 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney or to replace her. In a rare move, they chose to replace her with Habba’s No. 2, Desiree Grace, but Bondi promptly fired Grace, leaving open the question of who would take the role. ALINA HABBA SAYS AMERICA WAS ‘OFF‑TRACK’ FOR A LONG TIME The DOJ has said Habba’s term as “interim” U.S. attorney expires Friday. Fox News Digital learned that Habba resigned before that expiration day and that she was re-appointed as acting U.S. attorney, which has a 210-day term limit. According to the judges’ appointment, Grace would take over come Saturday, but it is unclear if the judges’ vote is valid now given the changes to Habba’s job, and it is possible that the legal confusion could lead to a court fight. Grace, a career prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office since 2016, wrote in a LinkedIn post after she was fired that it “has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the United States and to serve the people of New Jersey” and that she planned to be sworn in on Saturday. WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AT DEM MAYOR SUING US ATTORNEY AFTER ICE ARREST: ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ “Yesterday the District Judges for the District of New Jersey selected me to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Grace wrote. “It will forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit, and I’m prepared to follow that Order and begin to serve in accordance with the law.” Trump has also nominated Habba to serve the full, four-year role as the permanent U.S. attorney, but that position requires Senate approval and Habba has no clear path to confirmation. New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, are currently holding up her nomination through the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, and a person familiar with the matter said the Trump administration has not submitted any material for the Senate to vet Habba’s nomination in any case. Booker said in a statement after Grace’s firing that the Trump administration has violated the law. “The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn’t agree with them and undermine judicial independence,” Booker wrote on social media. “This Administration may not like the law, but they are not above it.”

Iranian helicopter confronts US warship approaching territorial waters

Iranian helicopter confronts US warship approaching territorial waters

Iranian state media describe the confrontation as ‘tense’, while US military says the encounter was ‘professional’. Iran has said it warned a United States Navy destroyer to change course as it approached Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, but the US has claimed the confrontation was “professional” and had “no impact” on its naval mission. Iranian state media published video and images of Wednesday’s incident – the first direct encounter reported between Iranian and US forces since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June – taken from a helicopter dispatched to confront the USS Fitzgerald guided missile destroyer. “US destroyer ‘Fitzgerald’ attempted to approach waters under Iran’s monitoring, in a provocative move”, Iranian state television said. In video footage of the reported encounter, a helicopter is seen flying in close proximity to the warship and an Iranian crew member can be heard issuing what appeared to be a radio warning in English to the warship, ordering it to change course as it was approaching Iran’s territorial waters at about 10am local time (06:00 GMT). Iranian state media have described the encounter as a tense exchange. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News on Wednesday released footage it claimed showed an Iranian navy helicopter forcing the USS Fitzgerald, a US guided missile destroyer, to alter its course. The report said the warship had approached waters under Iran’s supervision in the Sea of Oman. pic.twitter.com/gcfMQ23K6f — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 23, 2025 The US destroyer reportedly responded by threatening to target the Iranian aircraft if it did not leave. The vessel eventually departed the area upon continued warnings from the Iranian military. Advertisement US Central Command disputed the Iranian account of tension, calling the incident a “safe and professional interaction”. Asked about the encounter, a US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity with the Reuters news agency, also downplayed its seriousness. “This interaction had no impact to USS Fitzgerald’s mission, and any reports claiming otherwise are falsehoods and attempts by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to spread misinformation,” the official said. The official, who said the interaction took place entirely in international waters, identified the aircraft as an Iranian SH-3 “Sea King” helicopter. The US military inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran last month when it bombed Iranian nuclear sites. US President Donald Trump hailed the strikes as a “spectacular” success that “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme. But media reports in the US, citing intelligence assessments, suggest the campaign was only partially successful, with just one of the three Iranian nuclear sites – the Fordow facility – reportedly destroyed. In an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was committed to continuing its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, and that his country is prepared for any future war that Israel might wage against it. He added that he was not optimistic about the ceasefire between the countries. Adblock test (Why?)

Thailand, Cambodian troops trade heavy fire in latest border dispute clash

Thailand, Cambodian troops trade heavy fire in latest border dispute clash

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Two civilians reported killed in Cambodian shelling of Thailand as Southeast Asian neighbours clash over long-running border dispute. At least two civilians have been reported killed in Thailand and two Thai soldiers injured in heavy clashes with Cambodian troops at a disputed area of their shared border. Thailand’s military said on Thursday that Cambodian troops had opened fire earlier in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple – located in a border area in northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, and intense fighting was ongoing. Thailand’s military said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area, adding that Cambodian forces had then opened fire with heavy weapons, including artillery and long-range BM21 rockets. At least two Thai soldiers have been injured, Royal Thai Army spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, a district chief in Thailand’s Surin province, told the Reuters news agency that two people were killed and others injured by Cambodian shelling on Thursday morning. Some 40,000 Thai civilians from 86 villages along the border have also been evacuated to safer locations, the district chief said. Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence issued its own statement on Thursday, accusing Thailand of attacking first. According to the statement, Cambodian troops retaliated after coming under attack from Thailand’s army and had only acted in self-defence. The country’s influential former prime minister, Hun Sen, said in a post on social media that Thailand’s military had shelled two Cambodian provinces bordering Thailand, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear. Advertisement Hun Sen said that “the Cambodian army has no choice but to fight back and counterattack”. He also called for the public to remain calm and not panic-buy rice and other food supplies. “Please carry on normal business in all sectors and everywhere except the border areas,” he said. The Royal Thai Embassy in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, said the situation on the border had “continuously escalated” and, with clashes likely to “be prolonged and expand”, urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible”, unless they had urgent reasons to remain. Shortly after the Thai embassy’s announcement, Thailand’s military said it had deployed an F-16 jet fighter for combat action against Cambodian forces along the border. Thai soldiers inspect an area in the Ubon Ratchathani province, which borders Cambodia, where the Thai army said two antipersonnel landmines were found [Handout/Royal Thai Army via AP] Thailand, Cambodia downgrade diplomatic relations The latest fighting comes after a Thai soldier sustained injuries on Wednesday and lost his right leg in a landmine explosion, which authorities in Thailand have blamed on Cambodia. Three Thai soldiers were also injured by a mine blast while on a patrol along the disputed border area on July 16. Cambodia has denied planting mines, and claims that Thai soldiers have veered off agreed jungle paths and triggered long-buried mines left behind from Cambodia’s decades of civil war. Following the latest landmine incident, Thailand’s governing Pheu Thai Party said it had recalled Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia and would expel Cambodia’s ambassador from the country. Thailand has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Cambodia, the party said. In response, Cambodia said that it would withdraw all of its diplomats from Thailand and ordered all Thai diplomats to leave the country. The Cambodian government has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to the “lowest level”, reducing it to the rank of “second secretary”, according to local news outlet the Phnom Penh Post. In May, the long-running border dispute between the two countries boiled over into military clashes that left one Cambodian soldier dead. Border tension has soured relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours, with the two sides trading barbs and tit-for-tat retaliatory measures, including the closure of border crossings. Cambodia has also blocked imports of fuel and gas, as well as fruit and vegetables, from Thailand. Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border. Adblock test (Why?)

Columbia University to pay $200m to settle anti-Semitism claims

Columbia University to pay 0m to settle anti-Semitism claims

Settlement marks victory in US President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert greater control over third-level education. Columbia University, one of the top educational institutions in the United States, has agreed to pay $221m to settle claims by US President Donald Trump’s administration that it failed to police anti-Semitism on campus. Under the agreement announced on Wednesday, Columbia will see the “vast majority” of $400m in federal grants frozen by the Trump administration reinstated, the New York-based university said. Columbia will also regain access to billions of dollars in current and future grants under the deal, the university said. Columbia said the agreement formalised reforms announced in March to address harassment against Jews, including the hiring of more public safety personnel, changes to disciplinary processes, and efforts to foster “an inclusive and respectful learning environment”. The agreement also commits Columbia to maintaining merit-based admissions and ending programs that promote “unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotas [and] diversity targets”. Under the agreement, Columbia will pay the federal government $200m over three years, in addition to a $21m payment to settle claims by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Claire Shipman, Columbia’s acting president, said that while the settlement was “substantial”, the university could not continue with a situation that would “jeopardize our status as a world-leading research institution”. “Furthermore, as I have discussed on many occasions with our community, we carefully explored all options open to us,” Shipman said in a statement. Advertisement “We might have achieved short-term litigation victories, but not without incurring deeper long-term damage – the likely loss of future federal funding, the possibility of losing accreditation, and the potential revocation of visa status of thousands of international students.” Shipman said Columbia did not accept the Trump administration’s findings that it had violated civil rights law by turning a blind eye to the harassment of Jews, but acknowledged the “very serious and painful challenges our institution has faced with antisemitism”. “We know there is still more to do,” she said. The settlement marks a victory in Trump’s efforts to exert greater control over third-level education, including campus activism in support of Palestine and other causes. Trump hailed the settlement as “historic” in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming,” Trump wrote. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student activist group, slammed the settlement as an effective bribe. “Imagine selling your students out just so you can pay Trump $221 million dollars and keep funding genocide,” the group said on X. Columbia was among dozens of US universities that were roiled by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza throughout the spring and summer of 2024. Many Jewish students and faculty complained that the campus demonstrations veered into anti-Semitism, while pro-Palestinian advocates have accused critics of often wrongly conflating opposition to Israel with the hatred of Jews. On Tuesday, Columbia University’s Judicial Board announced that it had finalised disciplinary proceedings against students who took part in protests at the university’s main library in May and the “Revolt for Rafah” encampment last year. CUAD said nearly 80 students had been expelled or suspended for between one and three years for joining the protests, sanctions it argued “hugely” exceeded the precedent for non-Palestine-related demonstrations. Adblock test (Why?)