Rep. Jasmine Crockett drops bid for influential post on House oversight panel
https://lemmy.world/post/31942151
Rep. Jasmine Crockett drops bid for influential post on House oversight panel - Lemmy.World
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett withdrew from the race to become the top Democrat on
the powerful House Oversight Committee, marking the Dallas Democrat’s second
defeat in her attempt to climb the ranks of congressional leadership. Crockett
confirmed her decision to bow out of the race in a text to The Texas Tribune
early Tuesday. House Democrats picked Rep. Robert Garcia as their ranking member
on the 47-person panel later Tuesday morning. The California Democrat defeated
his remaining rival in the race, Rep. Stephen Lynch, after winning the support
of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. The high-profile
Oversight Committee handles issues related to government efficiency and
accountability and would likely spearhead investigations into President Donald
Trump if Democrats gain control of the House in 2026. Crockett, who has
cultivated a large social media following and is widely seen as a rising star in
the party, officially jumped into the race to replace the committee’s former top
Democrat, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, after he died in May. In a
letter to colleagues announcing her bid, Crockett advocated for a more
aggressive Democratic response to the Trump administration. “Every hearing,
every investigation, every public moment must serve the dual purpose of
accountability and must demonstrate why a House Democratic majority is essential
for America’s future,” Crockett wrote. Many Democrats considered Crockett for
the post but found her messaging style to be overzealous. Crockett previously
faced criticism after referring to Gov. Greg Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels.”
For the past 40 years, Abbott has been in a wheelchair after being paralyzed by
a falling tree.
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program
https://lemmy.world/post/31570120
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program - Lemmy.World
Four years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas would be the first state to
build its own border wall, lawmakers have quietly stopped funding the project,
leaving only scattered segments covering a small fraction of the border. That
decision, made in the waning hours of this year’s legislative session, leaves
the future of the state wall unclear. Just 8% of the 805 miles the state
identified for construction is complete, which has cost taxpayers more than $3
billion to date. The Texas Tribune reported last year that the wall is full of
gaps that migrants and smugglers can easily walk around and mostly concentrated
on sprawling ranches in rural areas, where illegal border crossings are less
likely to occur. State leaders suggested the federal government could pick up
the effort. However, during President Donald Trump’s first term, when wall
building was his top priority, his administration completed just 21 miles in
Texas — about a third of what the state was able to build over the past four
years. The Tribune reported last year that the state’s wall program would take
around 30 years and more than $20 billion to complete.
After years of tension, Texas House emerges as cooperative partner for Dan Patrick and his conservative agenda
https://lemmy.world/post/30242723
After years of tension, Texas House emerges as cooperative partner for Dan Patrick and his conservative agenda - Lemmy.World
>A 2024 war among Republicans tilted the House to the right. Now more closely
aligned with the Senate, Speaker Dustin Burrows has accelerated action on bail,
school vouchers and social issues. >With tensions boiling over in the final days
of the 2021 Texas legislative session, Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican
and a top House lieutenant, went out of his way to throw shade at the Senate and
its leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, for letting too many House bills languish.
>From the back microphone on the House floor, Burrows rhetorically asked
then-Speaker Dade Phelan if he was aware that “less than 50% of the House bills
that we sent over were passed by the Senate” — much worse than the success rate
for Senate bills sent to the lower chamber. It came shortly after Patrick had
flayed the House for killing several of his top conservative priorities. >Four
years later, Burrows’ first session wielding the speaker’s gavel is winding down
with little of the same inter-chamber acrimony. Conservative priorities that had
failed in session after session in the House, from private school vouchers to
stricter bail laws, have cleared the Legislature with time to spare. So have
once-thorny issues, like property tax cuts, school funding and immigration, that
in years past had generated bad blood between the chambers and needed overtime
sessions to address. >Many of those now-imminent laws were in the sweeping
agenda Patrick unveiled near the start of the session in January, marked by
several issues that Gov. Greg Abbott also championed as “emergency items.” All
but a handful of Patrick’s priorities — from conservative red meat to top
bipartisan priorities to the lieutenant governor’s own pet issues — have made it
across the finish line or are poised to do so in the closing days of the
session, which ends June 2. >The lack of discord reflects the collegial
relations Patrick and Burrows have worked to maintain from the start; Burrows’
apparent desire to avoid drawing Patrick’s wrath and the political damage it
inflicted upon his predecessors; and the reality that the House, thanks to the
turnover wrought by a bruising 2024 primary cycle, is now more conservative and
more receptive than ever to Patrick’s hard-charging agenda.
Exclusive: Pakistan's Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft, US officials say
https://lemmy.world/post/29344092
Exclusive: Pakistan's Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft, US officials say - Lemmy.World
>ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter
plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two U.S.
officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter
jet. >An Indian Air Force spokesperson said he had no comment when asked about
the Reuters report.
Gov. Greg Abbott showing no rush to replace late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner
https://lemmy.world/post/27419204
Gov. Greg Abbott showing no rush to replace late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner - Lemmy.World
“Republicans hold a tiny majority in the House, creating an incentive for Abbott
to hold off on calling an election for Turner’s seat, which would likely be
filled by a Democrat.” “Three weeks after U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death and
just over a month before the state’s next uniform election, Gov. Greg Abbott has
not yet called a special election to fill the seat representing parts of
Houston, a Democratic stronghold, in Congress. Turner, who previously served in
the Texas House for nearly three decades before becoming mayor of Houston, died
March 5, two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional
District. His funeral was held in Houston on March 15. Turner was elected to
Congress last year after his predecessor and political ally, former U.S. Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee, died in office after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Abbott
has the sole authority to call a special election to fill Turner’s seat for the
rest of the two-year term. State law does not specify a deadline for the
governor to order a special election. If called, the election must happen within
two months of the announcement. But the Republican governor has little incentive
to send another Democrat to Congress.”
In Texas, Christian right grows confident and assertive
https://lemmy.world/post/27182046
In Texas, Christian right grows confident and assertive - Lemmy.World
Emboldened by court rulings and election victories, the Christian right is
outspoken as it pushes its moral views through the Texas Legislature. Testifying
this month against bills that would put more Christianity in Texas public
schools, the Rev. Jody Harrison invoked the violent persecution of her Baptist
forefathers by fellow Christians in colonial America. Harrison hoped the history
lesson would remind Texas senators of Baptists’ strong support for church-state
separations, and that weakening those protections would hurt people of all
faiths. Instead, she was rebuked. “The Baptist doctrine is Christ-centered,”
Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, responded sharply. “Its purpose is not to
go around trying to defend this or that. It is to be a disciple and a witness
for Christ. That includes the Ten Commandments. That’s prayer in schools. It is
not a fight for separation between church and state.” Harrison was not allowed
to reply, but in an interview said she was stunned that a lawmaker would
question a core part of her faith. The exchange, she said, perfectly
encapsulated why she has fought to preserve church-state separations — the same
religious protections that Campbell said are a distraction from bills that might
bring school kids to Christ. “It was a wake up call,” she said. “I don’t think
people — even many churches — realize that this is going on right now, and that
is alarming.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz defeats Democrat Colin Allred
https://lemmy.world/post/21710003
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz defeats Democrat Colin Allred - Lemmy.World
>U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz easily defeated U.S. Rep. Colin Allred on Tuesday, defying
another spirited and well-funded effort to turn Texas blue and preserving his
status as a leading conservative voice in American politics. >“The results
tonight, this decisive victory, should shake the Democrat establishment to its
core,” he said in a speech to supporters at his campaign watch party in downtown
Houston. >The Associated Press called his victory after 10 p.m. as Cruz was
leading by more than double digits. >Shortly after, Allred told his supporters
at his election night party in Dallas that he had conceded to Cruz.
Mortgage rates were supposed to come down. Instead, they're rising. Here's why
https://lemmy.world/post/20984804
Mortgage rates were supposed to come down. Instead, they're rising. Here's why - Lemmy.World
“You might expect that mortgage rates would be falling right now after the
Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half-point last month. Instead, mortgage
rates jumped higher. The latest data from Freddie Mac showed that the average
30-year mortgage rate had increased to 6.4%, more than a quarter-point higher
than it was two weeks ago. The news is probably an unwelcome surprise to the
folks who had been hoping for lower interest rates to finally come off the
sidelines and start shopping for a home. Here’s what’s going on — and what it
means for those trying to buy a home now.”
How Israel’s bulky pager fooled Hezbollah
https://lemmy.world/post/20919275
How Israel’s bulky pager fooled Hezbollah - Lemmy.World
BEIRUT, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The batteries inside the weaponised pagers that
arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of an Israeli plot to decimate
Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles’ heel. The agents
who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge
of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray,
according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers, and
teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters. To overcome the weakness -
the absence of a plausible backstory for the bulky new product - they created
fake online stores, pages and posts that could deceive Hezbollah due diligence,
a Reuters review of web archives shows. The stealthy design of the pager bomb
and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, both described here for the
first time, shed light on the execution of a years-long operation which has
struck unprecedented blows against Israel’s Iran-backed Lebanese foe and pushed
the Middle East closer to a regional war.
Swing state map: Polls move in Trump’s direction, but the race remains tight
https://lemmy.world/post/20918991
Swing state map: Polls move in Trump’s direction, but the race remains tight - Lemmy.World
“Former President Donald Trump once again appears to be in the driver’s seat in
this presidential election. When looking strictly at the polls, Trump now has
the edge in two states and the other five most closely watched states are
toss-ups. At the end of August, Vice President Harris had leads large enough in
three of the seven states for them to lean in her direction, according to an NPR
analysis of polling averages at the time. Now, Trump has taken over the lead in
an average of the polls in the seven swing states for the first time since
Harris got in the race.”
