Page 2674 – Texas Weekly Online

Ram Temple Consecration: List of celebs, industrialists, sportspersons who attended Pran Prathishtha ceremony today

Actor couple Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt also made an appearance as part of the contingent from the Indian film industry at the ceremony.

Trump says he’ll get DeSantis voters’ support: ‘He fought hard’

Former President Donald Trump suggested in an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday that he’ll get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ voters’ support ahead of the New Hampshire primaries. Trump, speaking with Fox News’ Lawrence Jones, said he was “honored” to be endorsed by DeSantis, saying both men had similar platforms. “I think it sort of magnifies, if I can say that, because he and I – look, I want strong borders, he wanted strong borders. I wanted low taxes. I gave you the largest tax cut in history, nobody ever, bigger than the Ronald Reagan tax cut, he wants that. I want a strong military. He wants that. He doesn’t want wars, although I may be a little bit moreso on that, not wanting wars,” Trump said on Sunday, comparing himself with DeSantis. “We have wars in places that nobody ever heard of before. And we’re losing, you know you talk about blood and wealth, we lose so stupidly. And a lot of the things he wanted, I wanted. In fact, I noticed people’s commentary, they’re saying well all of those people that would be for him, would be for Trump.” FLORIDA GOV RON DESANTIS DROPS OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, ENDORSES TRUMP “And so I was honored that he endorsed me this quickly. It’s not easy. Look, it’s not easy. He fought hard, spent a lot of money, and a lot of people thought he’d do well,” Trump said of the Florida governor. “You know I was leading from the beginning, just so you understand. And I did very well in Florida, more votes in Florida than anybody ever got. But he was doing well, and I think he did the right thing. I mean, look, I could talk about somebody else’s campaign. I didn’t see a path. I don’t see a path for her at all.” “I think those people will all come to me,” he said, referring to DeSantis supporters. In his message backing out of the race Sunday, DeSantis deemed, “Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear,” while also taking a parting swipe at Nikki Haley. DESANTIS TAKES PARTING SHOT, SAYS HALEY REPRESENTS ‘WARMED-OVER CORPORATISM’ “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said. Meanwhile, Haley, who remains in the race against Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primaries Tuesday, told Fox News of DeSantis’ supporters, “I think his supporters are up for grabs. Think about it. His supporters love America, and they wanted a new generational leader. We give them that.” In the interview, Trump addressed how given he endorsed DeSantis for governor, he was “disappointed” when DeSantis first teased he’d enter the 2024 presidential race. Of the prospect of naming DeSantis his vice presidential running mate or to another cabinet position, Trump said, “Well, it’s probably unlikely, but I have to be honest, everything’s a possibility, but I think it’s highly unlikely. I have a lot of great people, and I have great people who have been with me right from the beginning.” Jones also asked Trump if he would consider Haley as a potential running mate. “I don’t know, I mean, I just can’t say it, but I don’t want to rule people out. There’s no reason to rule people out, but I think it’s highly unlikely. Um, I will say this. A lot of people in the base, MAGA is 90, 95%. You have some RINOs left, but they’re like, on a resuscitator, you know what a resuscitator is? You probably don’t, but they’re, you know, barely breathing. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “I think that we’re going to have a tremendous Tuesday and we’re going to have a great result, just like we did in Iowa.” “I would say that with Nikki, I haven’t done anything. I’m very upset with her. She said ‘I would never run. He was a great president.’ I would know she worked for me, like, for two and a half years. And she was okay, not great. She was okay. But she said to everybody, in fact, when she left, ‘I would never run against the president. He was a great president,’” Trump added. Trump also went after President Biden, referencing how Biden recently admitted to Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich that he does not believe the border is secure. “Isn’t amazing that Biden for three years has been trying to justify the invasion of our country, the destruction of our country. And you know what? Yesterday, for the first time, I said, did you see this interview? Because, you know, when he gets up to interview people, he has not too much idea where the hell he is, but he actually said, no, the border is not safe,” Trump said. “I couldn’t believe it. He finally said that after 15 million people poured into our country. Because I think the real number is probably– it’s going to be 15 million by the time he’s finished destroying our country, and we’re going to have the largest deportation because you cannot –there’s just no way it can be justified, Lawrence. There’s no way it’s sustainable. It is not a sustainable situation. Our border is the worst border in the history of the world, I believe. I believe it’s the most unsafe border. There’s never been a border in history for any country, including third world countries and banana republics. So that’s again, that’s a stage beyond third world, okay, that’s been anywhere near this. This is a disaster for our country.”

Georgia lawmakers consider measures to curb soaring property taxes as home values rise

With a runup in home values sparking higher property taxes for many Georgia homeowners, there is a groundswell among state lawmakers in this election year to provide relief. Georgia’s Senate Finance Committee plans a hearing on Monday on a bill limiting increases in a home’s value, as assessed for property tax purposes, to 3% per year. The limit would last as long as the owner maintained a homestead exemption. Voters would have to approve the plan in a November referendum. Meanwhile, Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington proposes doubling the state’s homestead tax exemption, a measure likely to cut tax bills by nearly $100 million statewide. GEORGIA GOV. KEMP PREDICTS FISCAL GROWTH WHILE STATE ECONOMIST WARNS OF RECESSION But Georgia is far from the only state where lawmakers are reacting to voter discontent over higher levies. “Property taxes are likely to be the biggest tax issue in many states this year,” said Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation, a group that researches taxes and is often critical of increases. In Texas, voters in November approved a plan cutting property taxes by $18 billion. Kansas’ Democratic governor and its Republican-majority legislature are both endorsing larger exemptions for homeowners to cut taxes by $100 million annually. Colorado lawmakers meeting in a November special session approved higher residential deductions and a lower assessment rate. Pennsylvania is using lottery proceeds to cut property taxes and subsidize rent for seniors and people with disabilities. GEORGIA FUEL TAX ROLLBACK ALLOWS DRIVERS TO TEMPORARILY AVOID PAYING STATE TAXES ON GASOLINE In Georgia, supporters say a cap on homes’ taxable value would keep school districts, cities and counties from increasing tax revenues by relying on rising values. Republicans have long pushed local governments to roll back tax rates to keep bills level, even requiring advertisements labeling a failure to do so as a tax increase. Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, the Rome Republican sponsoring Senate Bill 349, says many school districts and governments are instead pocketing higher revenues based on value. “I’ve seen some increases where, just in a couple of years, their collections have gone up 40%,” Hufstetler told The Associated Press on Friday. “And they haven’t dropped the millage rate and they are using it for a backdoor tax increase. And I think there needs to be some moderation on that.” Statistics show overall property tax collections rose 41% from 2018 to 2022 in Georgia. During that same period, total assessed value of property statewide rose by nearly 39%. Those Georgia Department of Revenue figures represent not only existing property but also new buildings. So they don’t clearly state how much valuations rose on existing property. Many governments and school districts have spent the windfall from rising values to increase employee pay and cover inflation-swollen expenses. A 3% cap could mean that governments would have to raise tax rates instead. In states including California and Colorado, property tax limits have been blamed for hamstringing local governments. Already, at least 39 Georgia counties, 35 cities and 27 school systems have adopted local laws limiting how much assessed values can rise, according to the Association of County Commissions of Georgia. Some of those limits only benefit homeowners 65 or older. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is backing Hufstetler’s bill, saying it will prevent “large surprise increases in home values.” It’s also supported by at least one Democrat, Atlanta Sen. Jason Esteves. “A key piece of this bill is trying to ensure that people are able to stay in their home,” Esteves said, saying higher taxes are forcing owners to sell and move. But state House leaders are cool toward imposing valuation caps statewide, saying that choice should be left to local communities. They instead back Burns’ increased tax exemption. “Our hope is to preserve local control,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Shaw Blackmon, a Republican from Kathleen, said Friday. GEORGIA BEGINS ISSUING SECOND YEAR OF INCOME TAX REFUNDS Because the caps could hold down values more the longer someone owns a home, they could result in long-term residents paying lower taxes than newcomers. That’s already the case in some Georgia communities with local caps. Suzanne Widenhouse, chief appraiser of the Muscogee County Board of Assessors, told a House committee in October that one Columbus homeowner paid $7.79 in property taxes last year, while a more recently arrived neighbor in a similar house paid $3,236.19. That owner would have paid more except for a $950 million property tax rebate championed by Gov. Brian Kemp. More than $2 billion in property value in Columbus is shielded from taxation by homestead exemptions which don’t allow for any rise in value. That shifts the tax burden commercial and industrial property owners, as well as renters, Widenhouse said. “Any time that you start capping values, you create inequality,” Widenhouse said.

Biden campaign attack ad blames Trump for Dobbs abortion decision

President Biden’s presidential campaign released a new attack ad on Sunday attempting to blame former President Donald Trump for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as the Biden-Harris ticket seeks to make the abortion issue front and center. The ad features Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB/GYN and mother of three in Dallas who says she was forced to leave the state of Texas to get an abortion after at a “routine ultrasound” she learned “that the fetus would have a fatal condition” and “that there was absolutely no chance of survival.” “Having this beautiful, messy, chaotic, but wonderful family, it’s the joy of my life,” she says. “I never thought that I would need an abortion for a planned pregnancy. But I did. Two years ago, I became pregnant with a baby I desperately wanted,” Dennard says. “In Texas, you are forced to carry that pregnancy. And that is because of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade. The choice was completely taken away. I was to continue my pregnancy, putting my life at risk. It’s every woman’s worst nightmare, and it was absolutely unbearable. We need leaders that will protect our rights, and not take them away. And that’s Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.” The ad ends with two still images of Biden and then Biden and Harris, with the president voicing over, “I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message.” The Biden campaign captioned the ad on X, writing, “Because of Donald Trump, Dr. Austin Dennard was forced to flee Texas to get the heath care she needed to save her life. It’s simply outrageous.” ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JANUARY 22, 1973, SUPREME COURT ISSUES LANDMARK ROE V. WADE DECISION Monday marks the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision on Roe v Wade. The landmark decision was overturned in June 2022 – during Biden’s term – in the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. Trump, who claimed responsibility for the overturning of Roe after adding conservative justices to the court during his administration, has described himself as the most “pro-life president” but took some criticism from conservatives in September after criticizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s six-week ban. Trump vowed to come to a compromise on how long into pregnancy to ban abortion outright, potentially around 15 weeks, and condemned late-term abortions. The vice president is expected to deliver remarks in Big Bend, Wisconsin, on Monday, as part of her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, and per Harris’ office, will speak about how she “will also hold extremists accountable for proposing a national abortion ban, call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe, and outline steps the Administration is taking to protect access to health care.” Biden, meanwhile, will convene the fourth meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, “where agencies will announce new actions to protect access to reproductive health care,” the White House said. PRO-LIFE VOTERS REVEAL HOW THEY REALLY FEEL ABOUT TRUMP’S STANCE ON ABORTION In a statement released by the White House on Monday, Biden said he and Vice President Kamala Harris “are fighting to protect women’s reproductive freedom against Republicans officials’ dangerous, extreme, and out-of-touch agenda. We stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose, and continue to call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe in federal law once and for all.” “Fifty-one years ago today, the Supreme Court recognized a woman’s constitutional right to make deeply personal decisions with her doctor—free from the interference of politicians,” Biden said. “Then, a year and a half ago, the Court made the extreme decision to overturn Roe and take away a constitutional right. As a result, tens of millions of women now live in states with extreme and dangerous abortion bans. Because of Republican elected officials, women’s health and lives are at risk. In states across the country, women are being turned away from emergency rooms, forced to go to court to seek permission for the medical attention they need, and made to travel hundreds of miles for health care.” “Even as Americans—from Ohio to Kentucky to Michigan to Kansas to California—have resoundingly rejected attempts to limit reproductive freedom, Republican elected officials continue to push for a national ban and devastating new restrictions across the country,” the statement added. Harris on X also wrote, “We trust women to make decisions about their own body and their own future.”

DeSantis takes parting shot, says Haley represents ‘warmed-over corporatism’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley one last time as he dropped out of the presidential race this week. DeSantis blasted Haley as a representative of “corporatism” and emphasized his endorsement for former President Trump. Haley is now the sole remaining challenger to Trump in the GOP primary. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear – a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism – that Nikki Haley represents. The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over,” DeSantis said. DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday, just two days before the New Hampshire primary. THIS 2024 GOP CANDIDATE WAS TARGETED BY WAY MORE ATTACK ADS THAN ANY OTHER HEADING INTO THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS The Florida governor announced his decision to suspend his campaign in a social media video on X, formerly known as Twitter. TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SOARS AS FORMER PRESIDENT CONSOLIDATES SUPPORT “If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said in the video. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.” “Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” said DeSantis, who was a distant third in the single digits in the latest polls in New Hampshire. DeSantis highlighted that he’s had “disagreements” with Trump but believes that the former president is a better leader than Biden. “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.” CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY Trump himself said on Sunday that he is “honored” to receive DeSantis’ endorsement. “Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.” Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Paul Steinhauser, Brooke Singman and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report

Washington state to consider ban on hog-tying after Manuel Ellis’ death

Washington state lawmakers are expected to consider a proposal Monday to prohibit police from hog-tying suspects, nearly four years after Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died facedown with his hands and feet cuffed together behind him in a case that became a touchstone for racial justice demonstrators in the Pacific Northwest. The restraint technique has long drawn concern due to the risk of suffocation, and while many cities and counties have banned the restraint technique, it remains in use in others. Democratic Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, who sponsored the bill, said she doesn’t want anyone else to experience the “dehumanization” Ellis faced before his death. WASHINGTON STATE JUDGE DENIES EFFORT TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM BALLOT “How do we move through the need for folks to enforce the laws, but do it in a way where they’re treating people the way we expect, which is as human beings?” she said. In the last four years, states across the U.S. have rushed to pass sweeping policing reforms, prompted by racial injustice protests and the death of George Floyd and others at the hands of law enforcement. Few have banned prone restraint, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California prohibited law enforcement in 2021 from using techniques that “involve a substantial risk of positional asphyxia,” in which the body’s position hinders the ability to breathe. That same year, Minnesota banned correctional officers from using prone restraint unless “deadly force is justified.” The U.S. Department of Justice has recommended against the practice since at least 1995 to avoid deaths in custody, and many local jurisdictions bar it. The attorney general’s office in Washington recommended against using hog-tying in its model use-of-force policy released in 2022. At least four local agencies continue to permit it, according to policies they submitted to the attorney general’s office that year. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said it still allows hog-tying but declined to comment on the bill. One of the department’s deputies was involved in restraining Ellis, whose face was covered by a spit-hood when he died. Ellis was walking home in March 2020 when he passed a patrol car with Tacoma police officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, who are white. Burbank and Collins said Ellis tried to get into a stranger’s car and then attacked the officers when they confronted him in the city about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Seattle. Witnesses said the officers jumped out of their car as Ellis walked by and knocked him to the ground. He was shocked and beaten. Officers wrapped a hobble restraint device around his legs and linked it to his handcuffs behind his back while he remained in the prone position, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington attorney general’s office. After the hobble was applied, Ellis stopped moving, the statement said. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by lack of oxygen. Collins, Burbank and a third officer, Timothy Rankine, were charged with murder or manslaughter. Defense attorneys argued Ellis’ death was caused by methamphetamine intoxication and a heart condition, and a jury acquitted them in December. Trudeau, who represents Tacoma, said she made sure Ellis’ sister, Monet Carter-Mixon, approved of her efforts before introducing the bill. Democratic Sen. John Lovick, who worked as a state trooper for more than 30 years, joined Trudeau in sponsoring the bill. Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, a member of the House public safety committee, said she looked forward to learning more about the legislation. “If it does turn out that this form of restraint for combative detainees is dangerous in any way, then I think the state should put together a grant and some money to buy and train on alternative methods to make sure that the officer and the person arrested is safe,” she said. The bill comes a few years after a wave of ambitious police reform legislation passed in the state in 2021. The legislation included requirements that officers could use force only when they had probable cause to make an arrest or to prevent imminent injury, and required them to use appropriate de-escalation tactics if possible. The following year, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee approved bills fixing some elements of that legislation, including making it clear officers may use force to help detain or transport people in behavioral health crises.

Migrant caravan from Honduras dissolves before reaching US border, Guatemala says

A caravan of over 500 migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. dissolved before reaching the border, Guatemalan officials said Monday. The caravan originated in Honduras but dissolved shortly after crossing the border into Guatemala on Sunday, the Guatemalan Migration Institute says. Guatemalan authorities stopped the caravan a few miles after it entered the country and returned those without proper documentation to Honduras. Those who had documentation were allowed to continue on, though Guatemala did not offer details on how many of the migrants had such documentation. Several similar caravans have crossed into the U.S. illegally in recent months. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION SOARS UNDER BIDEN: GOVERNMENT DATA BIDEN ADMIN EYES MORE DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO VENEZUELA AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SHATTER RECORDS The failed Honduran caravan comes roughly a month after a caravan of roughly 8,000 people made its way through Mexico toward the U.S. in late December. President Biden’s administration has sought to downplay record-high levels of illegal immigration seen in the late months of 2023. As many as 10,000 migrants were arrested daily at the southwest U.S. border in December, but the White House sought to pass it off as a seasonal surge. There were 242,418 migrant encounters at the southern border in November — the highest November on record and the third-highest month ever. MIGRANT CRISIS INCREASING STRAIN ON BORDER OFFICIALS, IMMIGRATION COURTS WITH MASSIVE NUMBERS When asked about the November figure, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the increases in numbers are “not unusual.” “What we’re seeing here at the border, the increased migration flow, certainly, it ebbs and flows,” Jean-Pierre said. “And we’re at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border. And it’s not unusual. This is an immigration system that has been broken for decades. And the president has taken this very seriously to try to do more. That’s why we have the comprehensive immigration policy legislation that the president put forth on day one.” In the past, Mexico has let migrants go through their southern border, trusting that they would tire themselves out walking along the highway. This has historically been the case as, according to The Associated Press, no migrant caravan has walked the entire 1,000 miles to the U.S. border. However, in recent years, migrants have secured access via buses, trains and other transportation to get them to the border. Fox News’ Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Author: