Biden administration clears way for border wall construction in South Texas
CBSN
McAllen, Texas — The Biden administration announced it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction on Wednesday, marking the administration's first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency.
The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement on the U.S. Federal Registry with few details outlining the construction in Starr County, Texas, which is part of a busy Border Patrol sector seeing "high illegal entry." According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded so far this fiscal year in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, which contains 21 counties.
"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, stated in the notice.
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The U.S. military scrambled fighter jets Saturday to intercept three civilian planes flying near President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). All three aircraft had violated temporary flight restrictions in the area, the command said.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, voiced support for the measles vaccine Sunday amid a deadly outbreak in the Southwest, mainly in Texas.
In early January, an endangered 2-year-old Florida male panther known as UCFP479 became the first to die this year in a vehicle collision along a rural southwestern Florida road. Two weeks later, a 10-year-old female panther was fatally struck by a car about 70 miles away.
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Multiple U.S. officials tell CBS News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive to U.S. Cyber Command to pause planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.
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It's Oscar night, and TV funnyman Conan O'Brien is taking the stage as host of the 97th annual Academy Awards as the 2025 nominees compete for top honors.