Tex's Place

By Susie Moore If not for the serious nature of the crimes of which he stands accused, one might almost be tempted to feel a bit sorry for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national whose deportation case has made him a cause célèbre. (Almost.) He might be feeling a bit like a Ping-Pong ball these days. And just when you think his saga can't get any more dramatic, it takes another whiplash-inducing turn.  Tennessee Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, who, a week ago, denied the government's motion for pretrial detention of Abrego while he awaits trial on two felony counts (Conspiracy to Transport Aliens and Unlawful Transportation of Undocumented Aliens), has now entered an order  granting  Abrego's emergency motion to delay issuing a release order.  That's right: The same judge who ruled that Abrego should be released pending his criminal trial is now agreeing to hold him — at his own behest.  So, how did we wind up here? Let's see if I can nutshell this:...

By Ben Weingarten If the second Trump administration fails to win court approval of its expected effort to exclude illegal migrants from the census, this time around, it will have backup. Following a years-long surge in illegal immigration, the Trump administration is poised to challenge a longstanding but legally fraught practice: counting illegal aliens in the U.S. census. President Trump tried to end the practice during his first term, but President Biden overturned his predecessor’s policy before it was implemented. Now, buoyed by red state attorneys general and Republican legislators, the second Trump administration is determined “to clean up the census and make sure that illegal aliens are not counted,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller  said  last month. What Miller didn’t mention are the political implications of the administration’s move. It could have significant political implications because the census count is used to apportion House...

SPICOLI NATION? Author argues artificial intelligence could wipe out students' ability to arrive at creative solutions – ironically, a crucial skill for deploying AI's highest and best uses. By Alyssa Finley Amazon CEO Andy Jassy caused a stir last week with a memo to his employees warning that artificial intelligence could displace them. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs," he wrote. Nothing in his memo was shocking. Technological advances as far back as the printing press have eliminated some jobs while creating many others. The real danger is that excessive reliance on AI could spawn a generation of brainless young people unequipped for the jobs of the future because they have never learned to think creatively or critically. As Mr. Jassy explained, AI advances mean employees will do less “rote work" and more “thinking strategically." Workers will need to be able to use ...

By Jennifer Van Vaar Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed suit against the City of Los Angeles related to its sanctuary city policies, arguing that they violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and is asking that they be enjoined/blocked from being enforced,  reports Fox News' Bill Melugin . In the suit, the U.S. Department of Justice states that sanctuary policies intentionally discriminate against the federal government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement agents: "Sanctuary City laws and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions. The Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally discriminate against the Federal Government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement agents through access restrictions both to property and to individual detainees, by prohibiting contra...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump, seen conversing during G7 summit earlier this month in Alberta, plan to complete a new economic deal within 30 days, Carney said. By Emily Crane Canada has abruptly scrapped its plan to enforce a new digital service tax on American tech firms – days after President Trump blasted the “foolish” move as a “direct and blatant attack” on the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney caved just hours before the new levy was slated to come into effect on Monday, as the country now scrambles to revive stalled trade negotiations ahead of a looming July 21 deadline. A fuming Trump had nixed the trade talks on Friday after Canada said it was sticking with its plan to slap companies — including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb — with a 3-percent levy on revenue from Canadian users. The tax would have been applied retroactively, leaving the companies with a $2-billion bill due in the US at the end of the mont...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) doesn't rule out speaking against Trump administration initiatives during the next 18 months. By Alex Miller Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the two Republicans to vote against advancing President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill," plans to retire from the Senate at the end of his term. The North Carolina Republican announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection in the 2026 cycle. Tillis would have been among the most vulnerable Republicans running next year and faced threats from Trump to face a challenger after his vote against the president’s agenda Saturday night. The lawmaker voted against advancing the bill and is likely to vote against final passage, because deep Medicaid cuts inside the colossal bill brought on changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate. Tillis railed against the slow death of bipartisanship in Washington in a statement. "In Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that lea...

By James Franey Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is being accused of lying to Congress after he denied that a $2.5 billion revamp of the central bank’s Washington headquarters will load the facility with lavish amenities — and some are demanding that he be punished, The Post has learned. Powell called  The Post’s exclusive report in April  about the bloated renovation project — which led Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to liken it to the “Palace of Versailles” during a grilling by the Senate Banking Committee last week — “misleading and inaccurate”. “There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble. There are no special elevators,” Powell insisted under questioning from the powerful panel on Wednesday. “There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.” But Powell — who is meanwhile facing heat from President Trump over a failure to slash interest rates — directly contradicted the project’s own planning documents, which were signed off by...

By Hans Von Spakovsky It is outrageous that local, state, federal, and postal authorities apparently did absolutely nothing to investigate what happened. “We know where you live. … In the dead of a cold winters [sic] night, this year, or next and beyond, there is no knowing what may happen. Your property, your family may be impacted, your cat may get shot. And more. … Your vote for this guy [Trump] is seen as treading on my rights. You tread on me at your peril, motherf-cker. We look forward to visiting in the future.” That is language from the nasty, vile letter that Pennsylvania voters received through the U.S. mail in October 2024, just prior to the presidential election. What was their crime? They had Trump signs in their yards. And what did local law enforcement, the Pennsylvania state police, the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service do about this intimidation and threats of violence against voters in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and various P...