Lebanese migrant caught sneaking over the border admitted he’s a member of Hezbollah and hoped to make a bomb

Hamas-Migrant-in-US

Important Takeaways:

  • A Lebanese migrant who was caught sneaking over the border admitted he’s a member of Hezbollah, he hoped to make a bomb, and his destination was New York
  • Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, was caught by the US Border Patrol on March 9 near El Paso, Texas
  • Ebbadi said in a sworn interview after his arrest that he had trained with Hezbollah for seven years and served as an active member guarding weapons locations for another four years
  • Ebbadi’s training focused on “jihad” and killing people “that was not Muslim,” he said.
  • Border agents continue to see a surge in migrants whose names appear on the terror watchlist entering the US illegally as crossings continue at record levels.
  • Border agents recorded 98 encounters with terror watchlisted individuals at both the northern and southern borders in fiscal year 2022, and almost twice as many, 172, in fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30.
  • So far, in the first four months of 2024, 59 people have been apprehended, according to federal data.
  • “The federal government has failed to enact border security measures, and the state of Texas, through Gov. [Greg] Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, will continue to take unprecedented action to help secure the border,” DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez said.

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Number of American farms in rapid decline; without support they may not come back

Farm-with-Silos

Important Takeaways:

  • Over 140,000 Farms Lost in 5 Years
  • Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%, according to USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, released on Feb. 13. Acres operated by farm operations during the same timeframe declined by 20.1 million (2.2%), a loss equivalent to an area about the size of Maine. Only 1.88% of acres operated and 1% of farm operations were classified under a non-family corporate farm structure.
  • While the number of farm operations and acres operated declined, the value of agricultural production increased, rising from $389 billion in 2017 to $533 billion in 2022 (40% nominally and 17% adjusted for inflation).
  • Between 2017 and 2022 all states but five (Alaska, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island) lost farms. Texas had the largest numerical loss – nearly 18,000 farm operations – followed by Oklahoma (-8,153) and Missouri (-7,433).
  • The challenges faced by farms of all sizes has raised calls for a robust and comprehensive farm bill that could provide support to the operations most at risk and to those providing the lion’s share of the American food supply, helping both to navigate economic uncertainties and regulatory complexities, to undertake innovative and sustainable practices, and to promote the long-term viability of a diverse agricultural landscape across the nation. The Census of Agriculture paints the picture of what we have lost, and of what more could be lost without firm support.

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Updates on Texas wildfires

Smokehouse-Creek-Fire-damage

Important Takeaways:

  • Texas wildfires map: Track latest locations of blazes as dry weather, wind poses threat
    • Texas wildfires have been burning for 5 days
    • The wildfires were ignited in the panhandle on Monday Feb. 26. The flames continued to spread throughout the state as dry, warm and windy weather conditions created obstacles for rescue crews to contain the fire.
    • The Smokehouse Creek Fire, about 60 miles northeast of Amarillo, is the largest reported fire in state’s history and has burned over a million acres of land.
    • Where are the Texas wildfires?
    • 687 Reamer — Hutchinson County, 2,000 acres, 10% contained
    • Grape Vine Creek — Gray County, 30,000 acres, 60% contained
    • Magenta — Oldham County, 3,297 acres, 85% contained
    • Smokehouse Creek — Hutchinson County, 1,078,086 acres, 60% contained
    • Windy Deuce — Moore County, 142,000 acres, 60% contained

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Texas Smokehouse Creek Fire 15% contained with over a million acres torched

Smokehouse-Creek-Fire

Important Takeaways:

  • Firefighters battling ‘monster’ Texas wildfire contend with strong winds and heat as residents grapple with lost homes
  • The biggest inferno in Texas history is being fueled by winds and high temperatures as it rages Sunday, threatening to incinerate more buildings, cattle and livelihoods across the Texas Panhandle while residents sift through ashes of what used to be homes.
  • Critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue Sunday in the area, with strengthening winds gusting to 50 mph and dry conditions combining to set the stage for rapid wildfire spread, the National Weather Service warned.
  • The Smokehouse Creek Fire has been burning for nearly a week and has torched more than 1 million acres in Texas alone, making it the largest fire on record in the state – and it is only 15% contained.

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Texas home to Wildfires, Snow, and Earthquakes

Texas-Wildfire-Earthquake

Important Takeaways:

  • Texas earthquakes and wildfires are rivaling those of California
  • February was a wild time for Texas, with potentially record-breaking earthquakes in South Texas, record-setting fires blazing the Texas Panhandle while snow blanketed the region, and dry and unseasonably warm conditions for much of the state.
  • In just the last month, Texas saw two earthquakes reach a Magnitude 4 or higher. In fact, the February 17 earthquake that shook South Central Texas — there were reports even in San Antonio despite the epicenter being tied to Falls City — was a Magnitude 4.7
  • Rubinstein told MySA this would be the largest human-induced earthquake in U.S. history if it’s tied to the fracking industry. That determination could take up to six months to make.
  • While wildfires certainly get a lot more attention in California… Texas really has much larger and more frequent wildfires according to data compiled by their respective state agencies.
  • According to data compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there were about 137 wildland fires so far this year, which have burned a total of 265 acres, and a total of 235 in last year which ignited 89 acres. This pales in comparison to the sheer volume of fires burning Texas plains in February alone
  • As of Friday, March 1, the deadly and devastating Smokehouse Creek Fire has nearly ignited 1.1 million acres in the Texas Panhandle, breaking not only the record for the largest fire in Texas history but surpassing California’s largest fire on record — the August Complex Fire which burned 1,032,648 acres in 2020, according to data from Reuters.
  • And that’s not the only notable fire that ignited in February.
    • In fact, data from the Texas A&M Forest Service shows there were a whopping 12,411 wildfires in Texas in 2022 that burned more than 650,000 acres. In 2023, there were 7,530 that charred over 205,000 acres.

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Wildfire in Texas: Conditions are ripe with winds over 40mph and unseasonably warm

Flower-Mound-Texas-wildfire

Important Takeaways:

  • Out-of-control wildfires scorch Texas Panhandle and briefly shut down nuclear weapons facility
  • A series of wildfires swept across the Texas Panhandle early Wednesday, prompting evacuations, cutting off power to thousands, and forcing the brief shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.
  • Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as the main blaze, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, swelled into the second-largest wildfire in the state’s history. The main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal paused operations Tuesday night but said it was open for normal work on Wednesday.
  • Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties set amid vast, high plains punctuated by cattle ranches and oil rigs.
  • The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings and fire danger alerts for several other states through the midsection of the country, as high winds of over 40 mph (64 kph) combined with warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation to make conditions ripe for wildfires.

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Georgia Gov. sending troops to Texas stating crisis has intensified to the point “every state is a border state”

Kemp-sends-troops-to-Texas

Important Takeaways:

  • Georgia Governor sending troops to Texas because Biden won’t act: He could ‘fix this’
  • President Biden’s continued inaction against the deluge of illegal immigration at the Mexican border spurred Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to act, the Republican told Fox News after publicly pledging more than a dozen guardsmen to be deployed to Texas.
  • Kemp said the deployment will not happen, however, until a formal request is sent to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
  • Despite Mexico being 1,000 miles from the Chattahoochee River at Georgia’s westernmost boundary, Kemp said the crisis has intensified under Biden to the point “every state is a border state.”
  • Kemp told “Your World” Tuesday that Georgia guardsmen will set up a forward command post to assist the Texas National Guard’s efforts.

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Terrorist opens fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church; Police act quickly ending what could have been much worse

Joel-Osteen-Church-Shooting

Important Takeaways:

  • Pro-Palestine gunwoman, 36, shot dead in Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Texas had ‘Free Palestine’ scrawled on her AR-15 – as harrowing new footage shows little kids fleeing the attack
  • The female shooter who opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church on Sunday had a pro-Palestine message written on her weapon, per a new report.
  • The message on the shooter’s AR-15 read ‘Free Palestine,’ according to CNN.
  • The footage captured the horrifying seconds after a woman in a trench coat shot up the Houston megachurch of the celebrity pastor – before being killed by two off-duty cops.
  • The suspect entered the building during a Spanish-language sermon with a five-year-old boy shortly before 2pm and the child was shot and critically injured.
  • Images from the scene show the chaotic moment terrified congregants run to safety after hearing several shots fired.
  • Chief Finner said after the woman began shooting, both officers ‘engaged’ her and the woman was killed.
  • He praised the officers for quickly confronting the woman, adding, ‘She had a long gun, and it could have been a lot worse.’
  • The child was in critical condition after being taken to a hospital. The man who was wounded in his hip was stable.
  • The shooting happened between services at the megachurch that is regularly attended by 45,000 people every week, making it the third largest megachurch in the U.S., according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Osteen´s televised sermons reach about 100 countries.
  • It was not clear where Osteen was at the time but he joined police at a news conference afterward and said the church is ‘devastated.’

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House Republicans unveiled two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his failure to secure the border

Razor-Wire-Texas

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Is this going to turn into a civil war?’ Texas’ Lt. Gov. slams Biden for failing to stop ‘invasion’ of migrants and calls them a ‘cartel army’ – as he’s asked if WAR could break out between Texas National Guard and Border Patrol
  • Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick warns the White House not to ‘confront’ National Guard
  • Maria Bartiromo also raised the prospect of ‘civil war’ if the stand-off escalates
  • The deputy to Texas governor Gregg Abbott has insisted his state has the right to defend America as he was challenged over whether its stand-off with the White House could plunge the country into civil war.
  • Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick urged Joe Biden to de-escalate the stand-off between federal immigration officers and the Texas National Guard facing an ‘invasion’ of migrants crossing the southern border.
  • The two sides are battling in the courts over the state’s recent seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass, the removal of razor wire erected by Texas, and the placement of buoys in the Rio Grande.
  • But US Border Patrol said last week there are currently ‘no plans’ to dismantle the razor wire.
  • It came as House Republicans unveiled two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his failure to secure the border.
  • Mayorkas has been accused of ‘willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law’ as hundreds of migrants continue to flood into the US every day.

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Pastor Jack Hibbs: “I’m sorry to tell you. The powers that are pulling the strings to this country are literally bringing us to a civil war”

Pastor Jack Hibbs

Important Takeaways:

  • Trusted Pastor Warns Biden’s Border Battle With Texas Could Be Deliberately Provoking Civil War
  • There have been an estimated 9 million illegal border crossings into the United States since the Biden administration took office. Taking a momentous step to halt this “invasion,” the Governor of Texas issued a statement on Wednesday invoking the state’s “Constitutional Right To Self-Defense” to protect its border.
  • The statement reads, in part:
    • “The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States.”
    • “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”
  • Jack Hibbs, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California and Founder of the Real Life Network informed his congregation about the situation developing, which he warned could result in civil war.
    • Many, especially young people, are not aware of the “incredible power” held by governors, Hibbs explained.
    • “The governor is like the president of a country,” he described. “The United States Air Force is made up of Air Forces from 50 different states. The United States Army is made up of soldiers or army personnel from each of the 50 states. Every state has a National Guard. So, for example, Gavin Newsom, as Governor of California, is the Commander in Chief of the California National Guard.”
    • “Our states are sovereign. The states agree to have the federal government rule over them. A governor can tell the federal government that they’re not going to do this or they’re not going to do that,” he explained. “A governor has incredible power.”
    • “We’re in a situation because Texas, the people of Texas, decided to shut the border down. Joe Biden deployed federal forces to literally cut the brand new fencing and barbed wire so that the invasion could continue,” Hibbs stressed. “You don’t want to pick a fight with Texas—and I’m not saying that as a joke. Their patriotism for their ‘country of Texas’ is not to be played with.”
    • “Texas’ constitutional authority, by the way, trump’s the federal constitution,” the pastor noted, highlighting that Texas has already left the United States twice, and the events unfolding could lead to a third departure.
  • Former President Donald Trump joined the growing course of more than 20 governors and republican leaders voicing their support of Texas’ action to protect its border.
  • Pastor Jack Hibbs underscored his belief [by saying]:
    • “I’m sorry to tell you. The powers that are pulling the strings to this country are literally bringing us to a civil war,” he asserted. “It’s the first time since 1861 where we’re looking at soldiers, possibly shooting at other soldiers on the same team—States.”
    • “I’m telling you, as an old guy, this is wild. Young people, you may be watching some history unfold that you didn’t plan on experiencing,” he underscored.
    • Hibbs ended his remarks by praying for the United States, “[our nation] is actually falling apart, and we’re watching it happen.”

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