Redistricting Fight Escalates in Texas Capitol: Live Updates
What to Know:
Texas Republicans aim to pass a mid-decade map adding five GOP-friendly House seats
California Democrats plan to redraw their own maps to offset GOP gains
Trump is urging other red states to follow Texas's lead ahead of the 2026 midterms
Legal challenges are expected, with Democrats alleging racial gerrymandering
Texas Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered troopers to shadow lawmakers to ensure quorum
The proposed map targets Democratic strongholds in Austin, Dallas, and Houston
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9 minutes ago
- CBS News
Judge blocks Trump administration from expanding Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" over environmental concerns
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The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Pence calls for secondary sanctions on Russia
Former Vice President Pence urged the Senate on Thursday to pass a major sanctions bill against Russia, arguing that the hefty tariffs, along with continued military aid to Ukraine, provide the best 'pathway' to reaching peace in Eastern Europe. 'He's fully capable of doing the diplomatic thing and being friendly and shaking hands and at the same time saying, here's the economic consequences that are going to happen, unless you step forward,' Pence said of President Trump during his appearance on NewsNation's show 'The Hill.' 'If we pass those secondary sanctions, Vladimir Putin will understand that we could literally break their economy and by providing continued military support for Ukraine, that combination of efforts, I think, is the best pathway to peace,' the former vice president told host Blake Burman. The sanctions bill, which has been pushed by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), would impose 500 percent tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas. The measure has over 85 co-sponsors in the upper chamber, but the Senate left for recess before advancing the bill, deferring to Trump to give the green light. 'We propose in our bill 500 percent. If it's 250 percent, I could live with it. Even if it's 100 percent, possibly. But you ought to impose bone-crushing sanctions that will stop them from fueling Russia's war machine,' Blumenthal said earlier this month. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Monday that Trump should be 'commended' for his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and signaled the Senate is 'ready' to provide the president 'any economic leverage needed to keep Russia at the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.' Trump has pushed to end the three-and-a-half-year war, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with seven European leaders, on Monday at the White House. Since then, Russian officials have expressed doubt about the possibilities of a speedy peace deal with Ukraine, including agreeing on security guarantees for Kyiv and scheduling a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, for which the president has advocated for some time. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov questioned Zelensky's legitimacy on Thursday and stated the security guarantees under ongoing talks are 'hopeless.' Lavrov claimed that Putin is ready to meet with the Ukrainian president with the 'understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out.' Trump said Thursday that 'interesting times [are] ahead' and slammed his predecessor, former President Biden, over his administration's policy of barring Ukraine from using U.S. long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia. 'It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia,' the president said on Truth Social. Pence, in the interview with NewsNation, argued that one of the reasons why Putin did not invade Ukraine during Trump's first White House term is that the Trump-Pence administration 'had the credible threat of the use of force.' 'He saw us take action, unleashing our military to take down the ISIS caliphate,' Pence said on Thursday. 'Send cruise missiles into Syria to take down Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader.'
San Francisco Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday it is reviewing more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas for any violations that could lead to deportation, part of a growing crackdown on foreigners who are permitted to be in the United States. In a written answer to a question from The Associated Press, the State Department said all U.S. visa holders, which can include tourists from many countries, are subject to 'continuous vetting,' with an eye toward any indication they could be ineligible for permission to enter or stay in the United States. Should such information be found, the visa will be revoked, and if the visa holder is in the United States, he or she would be subject to deportation. Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has focused on deporting migrants illegally in the United States as well as holders of student and visitor exchange visas. The State Department's new language suggests that the continual vetting process, which officials acknowledge is time-consuming, is far more widespread and could mean even those approved to be in the U.S. could abruptly see those permissions revoked. There were 12.8 million green-card holders and 3.6 million people in the U.S. on temporary visas last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The 55 million figure suggests that some people subject to review would currently be outside the United States with multiple-entry tourist visas, said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute. She questioned the value of spending resources on people who may never return to the United States. The State Department said it was looking for indicators of ineligibility, including people staying past the authorized timeframe outlined in a visa, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity or providing support to a terrorist organization. 'We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility,' the department said. No more worker visas for commercial truck drivers The U.S. also will stop issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday on X. He said the change was effective immediately. 'The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,' Rubio posted. The Trump administration in the past months has taken steps to enforce the requirement that truckers speak and read English proficiently. The Transportation Department said the aim is to improve road safety following incidents in which drivers' ability to read signs or speak English may have contributed to traffic deaths. The State Department said later Thursday it was pausing the processing of these work visas to review its 'screening and vetting protocols.' 'Ensuring that every driver on our roads meets the highest standards is important to protecting the livelihoods of American truckers and maintaining a secure, resilient supply chain,' the department said. Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said foreign workers have helped address a labor shortage of commercial truck drivers. 'This action should be seen as part of a concerted effort by the administration to discourage American companies and other institutions like universities and hospitals from hiring and retaining foreign workers,' Alden wrote in an email. "The goal here is not to target specific classes of workers, but to send the message to American employers that they are at risk if they are employing foreign workers. The economic consequences will be far larger than just visas being stripped from foreign workers in a few job categories.' New review of all visa holders is a major expansion The administration has steadily imposed more restrictions and requirements on visa applicants, including requiring them to submit to in-person interviews. The review of all visa holders appears to be a significant expansion of what had initially been a process focused mainly on students who have been involved in what the government perceives as pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel activity. Officials say the reviews will include all visa holders' social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States. The reviews will include new tools for data collection on past, present and future visa applicants, including a complete scouring of social media sites made possible by new requirements introduced earlier this year. Those make it mandatory for privacy switches on cellphones and other electronic devices or apps to be turned off when an applicant appears for a visa interview. 'As part of the Trump Administration's commitment to protect U.S. national security and public safety, since Inauguration Day the State Department has revoked more than twice as many visas, including nearly four times as many student visas, as during the same time period last year,' the State Department said. The vast majority of foreigners seeking to come to the U.S. require visas, especially those who want to study or work for extended periods. Among the exceptions for short-term tourist or business visits are citizens of the 40 mainly European and Asian countries belonging to the Visa Waiver Program, which grants those nationals a stay of up to three months without having to apply for a visa. But large swaths of the world — including highly populated countries like China, India, Indonesia, Russia and most of Africa — are not part of the program, meaning their citizens must apply for and receive visas to travel to the United States. Earlier this week, the department said that since Trump returned to the White House, it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and violations of local, state and federal law, the vast majority of which were assault, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and support for terrorism. It said about 4,000 of those 6,000 were due to actual infractions of laws and that approximately 200 to 300 visas were revoked for terrorism-related issues, including providing support for designated terrorist organizations or state sponsors of terrorism. ___ Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed. ___
