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- Mo News: The Bitter Border Security Fight Escalates
Mo News: The Bitter Border Security Fight Escalates
Mosheh Oinounou
September 19, 2022
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Hi everyone!
Red state governors are not backing down in their fight to ship migrants to blue cities and states despite some legal questions;
The funeral for Queen Elizabeth II takes place today - and every detail in the elaborate timeline of events has been years in the making;
Hurricane Fiona knocks out power to all of Puerto Rico;
World leaders gather in NY this week for the United Nations General Assembly;
Putin facing pressure from India, China to end war in Ukraine;
How a historic experiment is bringing cheetahs back to India, 75 years after extinction;
And as always, Good Mood Monday to start the week right.
I will see you tonight at 9pmET on our regular Mondays with Mosh Instagram Live, where I'll take all your questions.
~ Mosh
🚍 BORDER WARS
An escalating battle has erupted between Republicans sending planeloads and busloads of migrants north and Democrats calling on them to stop what they view as political ploys. Republicans believe Democrats are turning a blind eye to the border and want them to deal with the direct consequences of lax immigration policies. Democrats say Republicans are purposely mistreating migrants as part of cynical, election-year politics.
The Latest: Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) sent 50 additional migrants to VP Harris’ home in Washington, DC early Saturday morning. A video taken at the scene shows migrants carrying pillows as they walk off the bus, into a city that’s declared a public health emergency over the influx of migrants. It comes after Abbott sent two buses of migrants to Harris' residence on Thursday.
Migrants are dropped off at the Naval Observatory, the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris, on Saturday. | ABC News
Why the VP’s Residence? Abbott began targeting the Vice President's residence after she said the border was secure last week. Harris was put in charge of immigration issues by the White House 18 months ago, but only visited the border once.The move comes after Florida Governor Ron Desantis sent a planeload of Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to the resort island of Martha's Vineyard (where former President Obama has a home) last week.On Friday, Harris attacked Governors Abbott and Desantis for playing games, and responded to claims of her absence on the crisis: "We're looking at the cause… I’m in charge of coordinating what we call a ‘root causes strategy.’” She says her focus is on the issues that are forcing people to leave countries in Central and South America. ~ Vice News
Governor Abbott and the city of El Paso bused more migrants to New York City on Saturday and Sunday, too. ~ Fox NewsNew York City has a policy to grant shelter to anyone who needs it within its borders, but its shelters are at their breaking point. Mayor Eric Adams floated the idea of lifting that policy as the city struggles to keep up with the number of migrants arriving on buses.Adams accused Abbott of declining to collaborate on efforts to transport the migrants. "We've reached out and stated that, 'Let's coordinate and work together so we can deal with this crisis together. They refused to do so," Adams said on Sunday, adding, "I don't think it was politically expedient for them to coordinate. It was more to do this, basically, showmanship."
Republican Governors say they won’t stop until President Biden does more to secure the border.“These are just the beginning efforts,” Florida Governor DeSantis said. “There’s going to be a lot more that’s happening.” He said he will use “every penny” of the $12 million his state budgeted to relocate migrants "to protect Florida."Texas Gov. Abbott echoed those calls: “The Biden-Harris Administration continues ignoring and denying the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for almost two years… Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C. until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs."
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, the migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard Thursday by DeSantis were bussed to Joint Base Cape Cod, where Governor Charlie Baker has set up a shelter.
New York Post
Church leaders, housing advocates, government officials and residents on Martha’s Vineyard came together to provide shelter, food, clothing and other items for the migrants, who were staying at a church in Edgartown. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) is activating up to 125 National Guard soldiers to assist in the relief effort. ~ Axios
A migrant being greeted in Martha's Vineyard on Friday | Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/ABACA via REUTERS via The Texas Tribune
Point made, or political stunt? Republicans want to draw attention to the immigration issue and spotlight inadequate efforts from the administration on border security. But Biden and Democratic leaders are sharply criticizing the move as an inhumane stunt that’s using migrants as political pawns. The White House is now discussing "litigation options" to stop the relocations.
Legal battles are beginning to take shape. Some of the migrant families flown to Martha’s Vineyard say they were promised housing and other opportunities if they agreed to take the flight. Many also say they were not told where they were heading.DeSantis disputed this claim Friday, saying the families signed a waiver to participate: “It’s all voluntary.”But attorneys representing some of the migrants flown to Massachusetts asked the state's attorney general to open criminal investigations into the flights. The migrants' attorneys said that their clients were not aware that they were being taken to Martha's Vineyard. ~ CNNIn the fallout from Thursday’s migrant chaos, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) demanded the DOJ investigate Abbott and DeSantis for kidnapping charges.FL Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) shot back, saying Newsom's hair gel is “interfering with his brain function” on immigration… so, Newsom took to twitter to ramp up the war of words:
Crisis by the numbers: Arrests at the U.S. southern border are on track to break another record. That comes as Biden reportedly is taking issue with suggestions from the Department of Homeland Security on how to handle the soaring numbers. ~ NBC NewsNew figures are expected to show arrests at the southern border will surpass 2 million for the fiscal year ending in September – the highest number ever.About 60% of immigrants caught by the U.S. Border Patrol come from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. ~Dallas NewsOthers are seeking refuge from:Venezuela: 130,000 through July – nearly triple the amount from last year. (The UN and other officials are comparing the refugee situation in Venezuela to Ukraine.)Cuba: 180,000Nicaragua: 134,000Fox News spotted lines of migrants flooding across the border illegally in Eagle Pass, Texas – one of the worst hit areas of the migrant crisis. Watch the video here.
Fox News
In the last week:
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande valley sector arrested 14 gang members, two sex offenders, and a migrant previously convicted of possession, theft, and driving while intoxicated.Border Patrol agents in the Uvalde Station of the Del Rio Sector arrested a man convicted of murder, shortly after he illegally entered the United States.Officers seized $2.3 Million in Methamphetamine arriving from Mexico via the Pharr International Bridge.
👑 QUEEN ELIZABETH II FUNERAL DETAILS
An elaborate plan fit, quite literally, for a Queen is in place for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II today. The service will take place at London’s Westminster Abbey starting just after 5amET, before her coffin is buried at Windsor Castle. Here’s everything you need to know. ~ TIME
How To Watch/Stream The Funeral. ~Deadline
Thousands of police, troops, army officials, and heads of state from around the globe will be on scene. It will be the biggest gathering of world leaders in years. And with an expected TV audience of several billion, it could be the most-watched broadcast in television history. ~ Daily Mail
Daily life is largely expected to pause in honor of the Queen. Today was designated a public holiday in Britain – sporting and cultural events will shift their plans, flights in and out of London’s Heathrow International Airport will be changed to limit noise during the funeral, and some hospitals are rescheduling non-urgent surgeries.
The funeral follows four days of the Queen lying in state. Mourners waited in lines that stretched miles, some as long as 24 hours, to pay their respects to the Queen. David Beckham was spotted visiting her coffin Friday.
Getty Images
Here’s an abbreviated version of the official schedule for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral.6:30 a.m. [local] (1:30 a.m. ET): Westminster Hall, where Queen Elizabeth II has been lying in state, closes to the public.10:44 a.m. (5:44 a.m. ET): The royal procession leaves from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey. The state gun carriage will carry Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin. Members of the royal family, including King Charles III and Prince William, will follow behind the carriage.10:52 a.m. (5:52 a.m. ET): Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrives at Westminster Abbey.11 a.m. (6 a.m. ET): The ceremony begins.11:55 a.m. (6:55 a.m. ET): There are two minutes of silence within the Abbey and across the UK.Noon (7 a.m. ET): The funeral ends with reveille, the UK national anthem (‘God Save the King’), and a lament by the queen’s piper. The coffin will go on another procession through the streets of London as Big Ben tolls continuously.1 p.m. (8 a.m. ET): The coffin arrives at Wellington Arch in London, where it is loaded into a hearse, and is taken to Windsor Castle.3:06 p.m. (10:06 a.m. ET): The state hearse arrives in Windsor, where it will join a procession heading up Albert Road.4 p.m. (11 a.m. ET): The Committal Service begins at St. George’s Chapel.7:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET): Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest in a private ceremony in King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. She will be buried with her late husband, Prince Philip.
🗞 THE SPEED READ
Powerless in Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona causes territory-wide blackout (AccuWeather)(More from Axios)
A fragile power grid in Puerto Rico in the path of Hurricane Fiona has created an island-wide crisis, as the territory's entire electrical system went completely out of service after being pummeled by Fiona. On Sunday afternoon, a transmission grid knocked out 1.4-million tracked residents of the island, according to PowerOutage.US.
LUMA Energy, the private company that handles the transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico, said full power restoration could take several days "due to the magnitude and scope of the blackout.”
After two years of virtual and hybrid summits, the world’s leaders will reconvene in New York today at the U.N. General Assembly. The summit began as a way to uphold peace that followed World War II – but this year’s session comes amid crises on nearly every front: Russia’s war in Ukraine, inflation and economic instability, terrorism and ideological extremism, environmental degradation and devastating floods, droughts and fires and the ongoing pandemic are just a few of the rampant perils. Speeches from the scores of attending leaders begin tomorrow. Biden will speak Wednesday.
Pressure on Russian President Putin mounted on the battlefield and in the halls of global power as Ukrainian troops pushed their counteroffensive Saturday to advance farther into Ukraine’s partly recaptured northeast. At a high-level summit, Putin vowed to press his attack despite recent military setbacks but also faced concerns by India and China over the drawn-out conflict. The hurried retreat of Russian troops this month from parts of a northeast region they occupied early in the war, together with the rare public reservations expressed by its key allies, underscored the challenges that Putin faces on all fronts.
Iranian media on Saturday published photographs and video of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a religious ceremony in Tehran, amid speculation about his health. Khamenei’s health has declined in recent weeks, rekindling talk in Iran’s ruling circles about a succession plan. The 83-year-old leader’s medical condition is treated like a state secret in Iran. There has been no official confirmation that he has had recent medical problems, but he is known to have had heart and prostate problems in the past.
The newly appointed special master who will review the documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago directed lawyers for former President Trump and the Department of Justice to meet with him in New York on Tuesday for their first conference. Judge Raymond Dearie, who was appointed as special master in the case on Thursday, called on Friday for a meeting and invited the two parties to suggest items for discussion, according to a court filing. Dearie has until Nov. 30 to complete his review of the documents.
As Western Alaska storm weakens, damage assessments begin across hundreds of miles of coastline (Anchorage Daily News)
Typhoon Merbok has been battering western Alaska since Friday. Powerful flooding uprooted buildings and forced residents to evacuate, with devastating rains hitting the coast and filling streets with water and debris. Water was still surging Sunday, with levels expected to peak above the high tide line of 3-5 feet at Deering, 4-6 feet at Kotzebue, and 5-7 feet at Shishmaref and Kivalina, according to the National Weather Service. Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a disaster Saturday.
The U.S. Coast Guard has recovered nearly 30,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana, valued at more than $475 million, after seizing the drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean near Miami Beach. “The drugs seized through this coordinated effort will result in significantly fewer drug-related overdoses.” said Cdr. Jeremy M. Greenwood. The Coast Guard said that fighting cartels and criminal organizations that traffic drugs takes a lot of unity at different phases of the process.
Cheetahs return to India after going extinct there over 70 years ago (New York Times)
Cheetahs once roamed India among lions, tigers and leopards. But for 75 years — the entirety of its existence as an independent nation — India has been bereft of cheetahs, the world’s fastest land animal. That changed on Saturday, when eight cheetahs arrived in central India, initiating a great experiment for the world: whether a top predator population can be brought back to life in a place where it was long ago hunted into extinction. With habitat loss and other dangers leaving cheetahs vulnerable to extinction in Africa, many conservationists argue that it is wise to resettle some of the animals.
This year, taxpayers could see some of the biggest changes in decades due to the hottest inflation since the early 1980s, tax experts say. While the IRS will likely officially announce these changes in October or November, the tax agency relies on a formula, based on inflation data, for calculating the new tax brackets and other limits. The IRS makes these changes to avoid "bracket creep" from the rising cost of living. Without such adjustments, workers who received pay increases to keep up with inflation would be bumped into higher tax brackets, even though their standard of living remained the same.
☀️ GOOD MOOD MONDAY
Germany's iconic Oktoberfest has reopened after two years! With three knocks of a hammer and the traditional cheers of "O'zapft is" (meaning, "It's tapped"), Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap in the first keg on noon Saturday, officially kicking off the festivities after a two-year break forced by the coronavirus pandemic. 🍻🇩🇪
Getty Images
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