Jennifer DeStefano answered the phone, hearing her daughter’s voice on the other end: “Mom, I messed up.” Her daughter’s voice was followed by a man’s; he made it clear that if she ever wanted to see her daughter again, she needed to cough up $1 million. It was a fake—a deepfake. The voice on the...
The coyote—a human smuggler—armed with what appeared to be an AR-style rifle, directed migrants as they crossed the river between Piedras Negras, Mexico, and Eagle Pass, Texas. Scanning the shore and the brush beyond, he ensured his charges were across, then he slipped back into Mexico. This is what drone footage captured on Aug. 2...
Tarrant County residents could soon be the envy of taxpayers across the state. Last week, the county commissioners’ court gave its initial approval to the FY 2024 budget, and there was much to applaud. Here’s more from Tarrant County Tim O’Hare: For those unfamiliar with the no-new-revenue (NNR) tax rate, it is “the tax rate...
A major fiscal crisis looms over the Bayou City. In just a few short years, experts expect that the city of Houston will have to wrestle with a “structural budget deficit of up to $300 million.” To close a budget hole of that size, officials will likely have to use some combination of tax hikes,...
Last week, several House Democrats finally visited the U.S. Southern border. But it was not to witness the ongoing crisis; rather, it was to see the buoy barrier that was put in place by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to deter illegal crossings from Mexico into the U.S. via the Rio Grande River. They were quick...
Incarceration devastates thousands of Texans every year with consequences rippling through an individual’s entire family, as a mother of three recently testified before the Texas House Corrections Committee. “Once you lose your kids, it’s hard to find anything else to fight for,” said Maggie Luna, a formerly incarcerated woman who spoke in favor of legislation that would...
It is the responsibility of the U.S. government to secure the border and protect American citizens. After years of inaction by the Biden administration, the state of Texas has utilized its authority to respond to the crisis. In June, Gov. Abbott directed that a marine barrier be placed in the Rio Grande to deter migrant...
U.S Congressman Greg Casar recently went on a food and “thirst strike” for eight hours, for which he was mocked relentlessly online. As many people rightly pointed out, most people go without food and water for this long every 24 hours; it’s called sleeping. Nevertheless, Casar fasted to make a point—that House Bill 2127, a...
Along the coast of Rhode Island, a 10-story steel tube is being hauled on the first trip to the construction site. A ship hauls a monopile, weighing more than 700 tons, 15 miles offshore. The massive metal structure is hammered into the seabed with the assistance of a jack plate barge. The ship then returns...
In Austin, one team remains undefeated. Not the Longhorns—rather, city officials’ propensity to spend Other People’s Money as though it were a professional sport. And while it might make progressives on City Council temporarily feel good, their excesses come with a big price tag. In fact, the average Austin homeowner paid $9,219 in property taxes...
The courthouse is a very bleak house, indeed. Injustice makes it so—especially when it’s justice for some, but not for all. One judge I know says she looks forward to the adoptions she officiates: “An adoption is just about the only time people come to the courthouse and everyone leaves happy,” she told me. “For...
$2,800 is how much energy costs spiked for an average family per year, thanks to Bidenomics While jetting across the country trumpeting the supposed success of “Bidenomics,” Vice President Kamala Harris had this to say, “Most Americans are a $400 unexpected expense away from bankruptcy.” What’s not to love? The White House must not be seeing the...