Sens Cruz, Lujan introduce bill to expedite permits for international bridges and ports of entry
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has put forth legislation amending the International Bridge Act of 1972 that would expedite the presidential permitting process for all international bridges and land ports of entry. The bipartisan bill from Cruz and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., will expand on legislation previously written by Cruz and passed into law that streamlined permits for international bridges in Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville. The new bill will streamline all permits for international bridges and ports of entry for Mexico and Canada. TED CRUZ MOCKS ‘CRAZY TOWN’ DEMS, AS MARYLAND SENATOR GETS DEFENSIVE ABOUT ADVOCACY FOR ALLEGED MS-13 MEMBER In a news release, Cruz discussed how this new bill has been a top priority for him. “This bill builds on and expands our success in securing presidential permits for four major international bridge projects in South Texas by streamlining the approval process for all future international bridges along the Texas–Mexico border,” Cruz said in a news release. Cruz strongly urged his colleagues “to pass this bill so it can be sent to the President for signature.” BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TARGETS BORDER HUMAN, DRUG TRAFFICKING WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY Lujan said in a news release that he was proud to introduce bipartisan legislation that would deliver real investments to New Mexico. “Ports of entry and international bridges are vital to the economic success of our border communities, supporting trade, business, and tourism,” Lujan said. “Yet, new border crossings are too often held up by the presidential permit process.” Dr. Victor Treviño, Mayor of the City of Laredo, thanked both senators for putting this bipartisan bill together that strengthens the northern and southern border. “This bill marks a critical step toward modernizing the development and expansion of cross-border infrastructure by bringing much-needed efficiency and predictability to the presidential permitting process—an essential reform for communities like Laredo, which continues to be on the front lines of international commerce as the #1 Port of Entry in the United States,” Trevino said in a news release. Trevino also urged Congress to pass this bill so that President Donald Trump can sign it. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The bill also includes a bar on future administrations from considering environmental documents, including documents created as part of the National Environmental Policy Act. Fox News Digital has reached out to Cruz’s office for comment.
Texas Republicans want to block cities’ gun buyback programs
Much of the debate focused on the tense relationship between cities and the Texas Legislature.
Remembering Rep. Charlie Rangel — and a voicemail I’ll never forget
I didn’t recognize the “917” New York number that called me. But there was no question about who phoned after they left a message. The caller on the voicemail was utterly unmistakable. They didn’t say their name. They didn’t have to. “Chad, you’re the only one who missed me,” croaked the voice. FORMER NY DEMOCRATIC REP CHARLIE RANGEL DEAD AT 94 It carried the sleekness of a stone crusher working over basalt in a West Virginia quarry. The voicemail was from the late Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. And he was essentially calling to assure me that he wasn’t dead. After all, I was apparently the only member of the congressional press corps who noticed that the New York Democrat hadn’t voted nor been anywhere near the U.S. Capitol in several weeks. There was no article in Roll Call. Nothing in Politico. No statement from his office. Rangel just wasn’t around. So I called and wound up speaking to his communications director Hannah Kim and chief of staff George Henry. I inquired if Rangel was all right. They assured me he was. But they didn’t quite give me the full story. That was for Rangel to do. And then Rangel himself called — from his sickbed — so I could hear his signature jackhammer-chopping-through-the-asphalt-of-Manhattan voice to prove to this reporter he was still among the living. “I wanted you to hear it from me,” said Rangel. EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE It was 2012. Rangel was out because of a back injury and a viral infection, which made it difficult for him to stand for long periods of time. From 2008 through late 2010, I dogged Rangel through the halls of Congress on a daily basis as the veteran congressman grappled with an ethics scandal. The ethics case culminated in the House censuring Rangel, permanently smudging his record as a war hero, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. First elected to the House in 1970, Rangel’s star had dimmed after the ethics scandal. But in 2012, any information about an elderly, legendary congressman like Rangel was newsworthy. So, as a reporter on the Capitol Hill beat, I appreciated the phone call as he described the excruciating pain that beset him. It’s possible the Ethics Committee investigation and censure by the House were more agonizing for Rangel than the back problem. Rangel was so confident that he didn’t violate House rules that he referred himself to the Ethics Committee. Rangel started to feel the ethics heat in 2008. He used his position as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee to solicit funds for a school in his name at City College of New York. He failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes or rental income on a villa he owned in the Dominican Republic. A rent-controlled apartment in Harlem doubled as a campaign office. He improperly parked his broken-down, 1972 silver Mercedes-Benz in the garage of the Rayburn House Office Building. The House prohibits lawmakers from using the garage for storage. The Benz lacked plates, wasn’t registered and apparently hadn’t been driven in about four years. A Falls Church, Virginia, towing company lugged the car out of the garage on Sept. 19, 2008. Video of the tow-truck hauling away the Mercedes-Benz from Rayburn would have made a juicy story the next morning on TV. But Rangel caught a break. Sort of. VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC REP GERRY CONNOLLY DEAD AT 75 Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., summoned then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Capitol Hill that night. The U.S. economy teetered on the verge of an epic financial collapse. By nightfall, it was clear just how bad the nation’s economy was. Everyone temporarily forgot about Rangel. In fact, the inoperable Benz may have been in better shape than some American car companies at that moment. But the House Ethics Committee was investigating Rangel. An inquiry started in 2009 and culminated in his censure on the House floor in 2010. The House voted 333-79 to discipline Rangel. A somber Rangel presented himself in the well of the House chamber, hands folded in front of him as though he were about to receive Communion. Pelosi doled out her admonition from the dais and lightly rapped the gavel. “He violated the public trust,” said then-Ethics Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. It was the first censure of a House member in 27 years. Years later, I half-jokingly told Rangel that he could blame me for his problems with the Ethics Committee. As stated earlier, it was Rangel who believed his actions were beyond reproach. So he sent himself before the Ethics Committee to review his conduct. I entered the Capitol one morning in 2008 and discovered his longtime aide, Emile Milne, wandering the basement. I asked Milne what he was looking for. He waived an overstuffed envelope at me. “The Ethics Committee,” said Milne. DEMOCRATS’ BOILING POT: A LOOK AT THEIR 2026 GAME PLAN This was the actual “self-referral” to the Ethics Committee. And Milne was the courier of a dossier Rangel would use to defend himself. I knew exactly where the Ethics Committee was located in those days in the Capitol catacombs. So I escorted Milne to the door. As I said, I told Rangel he could blame all of his problems on me. Between 2008 and 2010, I staked out Rangel somewhere at the Capitol nearly every day. The day Pelosi summoned him to her office. The day Pelosi removed him as Ways and Means Committee chairman. The day he spoke at length on the House floor to defend himself against the allegations after the ethics panel formalized its inquiry. One night, a scrum of reporters caught Rangel in the hallway off the House floor and pelted him with a barrage of questions. Rangel briefly answered. Then deflected. He then decided he had enough as scribes fired questions at him with the speed
Trump pardons former Virginia sheriff convicted of taking $75K in bribes
President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he will pardon a former Virginia sheriff convicted of taking more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Scott Howard Jenkins, 53, of Culpeper, Virginia, was supposed to report to jail Tuesday but “instead will have a wonderful and productive life.” Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County, was convicted last year of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. He was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison. JD VANCE SPELLS OUT WHAT TRUMP’S PROCESS TO ‘RECTIFY’ ‘UNFAIR’ JAN 6 PROSECUTIONS COULD LOOK LIKE In his post, Trump said the former sheriff and his wife have been “dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden” Justice Department. “In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade,” Trump wrote. “As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence.” “This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,” he added. “He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead.’ This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon.” HOW MY JAN. 6 CLIENTS WERE ROBBED OF FAIRNESS IN DC BENCH TRIALS Federal prosecutors alleged Jenkins accepted cash bribes and bribes in the form of campaign contributions from co-defendants Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner and James Metcalf, as well as at least five others, including two FBI undercover agents. In exchange, Jenkins appointed the people paying the bribes as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, a sworn law-enforcement position, and issued them official Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and credentials, authorities said. None of the payers were trained or vetted and did not render any legitimate services to the sheriff’s office, prosecutors said. In April, Jenkins said he hoped that Trump would intervene in his case. “I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration and lay out some facts with my attorney and I really believe if they could hear the other side which I couldn’t get in front of the jury — I believe wholeheartedly in the president,” he said during a webinar hosted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. “I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story.”
Proposal to automatically deny bail to repeat offenders falls in Texas House
Democrats declined to support Senate Joint Resolution 87, which sprinted through the Senate and needed 100 votes to clear the lower chamber.
Bill that would increase oversight of Texas’ largest energy users gets initial approval in Texas House
The proposal is meant to help the state better manage its electric supply during times of high demand. Critics say the oversight would discourage some companies from doing business in Texas.
Trump honors fallen American heroes, praises God in Memorial Day address: ‘Great, great warriors’
President Donald Trump honored fallen American heroes and praised God during a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Monday, vowing to “fix” the republic founded nearly 250 years ago. “We gathered today to honor the incredible service members who rest in glory in this cemetery and burial grounds around the world, and in a thousand lonely places known only to God in every hour of peril and every moment of crisis,” Trump said. “American warriors have left behind the blessings of home and family to answer their nation’s call. They’ve offered all that they had within them and given their last breaths to each and every one of us, that we might live safe and breathe free. “This morning we pay tribute to their immortal deeds. We share in the sorrow of their beloved families, and as one nation, we give thanks for the ultimate gift they have so selflessly given to all of us, these warriors. And that’s what they are as great, great warriors picked up their mantle of duty and service, knowing that to live for others meant always that they might die for others.” TRUMP FIRES OFF MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE TARGETING ‘SCUM’ WHO SOUGHT TO ‘DESTROY’ THE US The president said Memorial Day 2025 “is especially significant as we commemorate 250 years since the first American Patriots fell on the field of battle two and a half centuries ago.” “At Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, Bunker Hill, brave minutemen and humble farm boys became the first to give their lives for a nation that did not yet have a name,” Trump said. “Those young men could never have known what their sacrifice would mean to us, but we certainly know what we owe to them. Their valor gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth.” He added: “A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through. Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders unchecked. People doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss, but the republic, that is now doing so very well. We’re doing so very well right now, considering the circumstances, and we’ll do record-setting better with time. “We will do better than we’ve ever done as a nation, better than ever before. I promise you that.” Trump recognized the surviving family members in attendance of several fallen soldiers who he mentioned by name, including veterans who died in the line of duty in Vietnam, Iraq and Syria. TRUMP ACCUSES HARVARD OF BEING ‘VERY SLOW’ TO TURN OVER FOREIGN STUDENT INFO In remembering their stories, the president also promised a “big, big celebration” next year commemorating the 250th anniversary of the nation and thanked God that he would be in office to celebrate the significant milestone. “These extraordinary American heroes and their immense and ultimate sacrifices. They offer only the faintest glimpse at the infinite grace we have received from all who laid down their lives for America over the past 250 years. We’re going to have a big, big celebration. As you know, 250 years,” Trump said. “In some ways, I’m glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn’t be president for that,” he added, drawing some laughter. “Most important of all, in addition, we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine? I missed that four years. And now look what I have. I have everything amazing. The way things work out.” “God did that. I believe that too. He did that,” Trump said, crediting divine intervention after he lost re-election in 2020 and later was reelected in 2024. “In any corner of this cemetery, at any resting place for our war dead, anywhere on Earth, you’ll find untold stories of equal heroism, heroism and heartbreak, unmatched patriotism and devotion, and acts of selflessness and courage so enormous they defy comprehension,” Trump said. “We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America’s destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer and greater than ever before. “May God bless our fallen heroes. May God bless our Gold Star families, and may God bless the United States of America.”
Far-right Israelis storm Al-Aqsa, UNRWA compounds amid Jerusalem Day march
Some Israelis chant, ‘Death to Arabs’ and ‘May your village burn,’ as they march through Jerusalem’s Old City. Right-wing Israelis in Jerusalem have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and a United Nations facility for Palestinian refugees as an annual march took place marking Israel’s conquest of the eastern part of the city. Some Israelis chanted, “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn,” as they marched through the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, going through the Muslim quarter to mark “Jerusalem Day”, which commemorates the Israeli occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. Thousands of heavily armed police and border police were dispatched in advance because settlers regularly assault, attack and harass Palestinians and shops in the Muslim quarter. The settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Groups of young people, some carrying Israeli flags, were seen on Monday confronting Palestinian shopkeepers, passers-by and schoolchildren as well as Israeli rights activists and police, at times spitting on people, lobbing insults and trying to force their way into houses. Advertisement Police detained at least two youths, according to AFP journalists at the scene. A small group of those rallying, including an Israeli member of parliament, stormed a compound in East Jerusalem belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. Israel has banned the agency from working in occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel, impacting the life-saving work that it has been carrying out for more than 70 years in areas that include the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip. UNRWA West Bank coordinator Roland Friedrich said about a dozen Israeli protesters, including Yulia Malinovsky, one of the legislators behind an Israeli law that banned UNRWA, entered the compound, climbing its main gate in view of Israeli police. Last year’s procession, held during the first year of Israel’s assault on Gaza, saw ultranationalist Israelis attack a Palestinian journalist in the Old City and call for violence against Palestinians. And four years ago, the march contributed to the outbreak of an 11-day war in Gaza. Earlier on Monday, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and other politicians were among more than 2,000 Israelis who stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and surrounding areas. Ben-Gvir released a video on his X account from the site – Islam’s third holiest – saying he “prayed for victory in the war, for the return of all our hostages, and for the success of the newly-appointed head of the Shin Bet – Major General David Zini”. Advertisement Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Vaserlauf and Knesset member Yitzhak Kreuzer were among those accompanying the ultranationalist minister. Backed by armed police, Ben-Gvir has carried out similar provocative moves in the compound before, often at sensitive junctures in Israel’s war on Gaza, to advocate for increased military pressure and to block all humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The Jerusalem Waqf – the Islamic authority that oversees the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) – decried the storming of the compound by Ben-Gvir and other members of the Israeli Knesset and called for a halt to all “provocative activities” in the area. Under the management of the Jordan-appointed Waqf, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the compound. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said the march is aimed at asserting Israeli dominance over the city. “Videos show Israeli citizens inside the Old City of Jerusalem attacking Palestinian shops and throwing objects at them,” Ibrahim said, reporting from Doha, Qatar as Al Jazeera has been banned from reporting in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem. “This is again a reminder that no one has immunity.” Adblock test (Why?)
Thousands of people celebrate toddler’s cancer recovery in Istanbul
NewsFeed After a long fight against leukaemia, three-year-old Ali Asaf Demir is now cancer-free. Thousands of people in Istanbul heeded his father’s call on social media to gather to release balloons in celebration of his return to health. Published On 26 May 202526 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
French farmers protest in Paris for law loosening environmental regulations
Farmers demonstrate against changes to legislation that would ease restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming. French farmers have disrupted highway traffic around Paris and rallied in front of parliament to protest against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on farming. Members of France’s leading farming union, the FNSEA, parked about 10 tractors outside the National Assembly on Monday to put pressure on MPs, who began debating the legislation in the afternoon. The legislation, tabled by far-right MP Laurent Duplomb, proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities, loosening restrictions around water use to promote irrigation reservoirs and reauthorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation that environmentalists say is harmful to bees. The proposed law is part of a wider trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation as farmers grapple with rising costs and households struggle with the cost-of-living crisis. More than 150 farmers from the Ile-de-France, Grand Est and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regions gathered peacefully in front of the National Assembly, drinking coffee and eating croissants, after blocking the main roads around the capital. Advertisement “This bill to lift the constraints on the farming profession is very important to us,” FNSEA Secretary-General Herve Lapie told the AFP news agency. “What we are asking for is simply to be able to work in a European environment: a single market, a single set of rules. We’ve been fighting for this for 20 years. For once, there’s a bill along these lines. … We don’t have the patience to wait any longer.” The FNSEA and its allies say the neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid, which has been prohibited in France since 2018 due to environmental and health concerns, should be authorised in France like it is across the EU because it is less toxic to wildlife than other neonicotinoids and stops crops from being ravaged by pests. Environmental campaigners and some unions representing small-scale and organic farmers say the bill benefits the large-scale agriculture industry at the expense of independent operators. President Emmanuel Macron’s opponents on the political left have proposed multiple amendments that the protesting farmers said threatened the bill. “We’re asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands,” Julien Thierry, a grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, told The Associated Press news agency, criticising politicians from the Greens and left-wing France Unbowed (LFI). Ecologists party MP Delphine Batho said the text of the bill is “Trump-inspired” while LFI MP Aurelie Trouve wrote in an article for the French daily Le Monde that it signified “a political capitulation, one that marks an ecological junction”. Advertisement FNSEA chief Arnaud Rousseau said protests would continue until Wednesday with farmers from the Centre-Val de Loire and Hauts-de-France regions expected to join their colleagues. Protests are also expected in Brussels next week, targeting the EU’s environmental regulations and green policies. Farmers across France and Europe won concessions last year after railing against cheap foreign competition and what they say are unnecessary regulations. Adblock test (Why?)