Gov. Abbott signs law allowing Texas to arrest migrants: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 19, 2023

THE TEXAS GOVERNOR SIGNS A LAW ALLOWING STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ARREST MIGRANTS SUSPECTED OF CROSSING THE BORDER ILLEGALLY

AND — GOOGLE HAS AGREED TO PAY 700 MILLION DOLLARS WITH SOME MONEY GOING TO CONSUMERS

THE MORNING RUNDOWN STARTS NOW.

TODAY IS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19TH

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I’M KARAH RUCKER.

TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT HAS TAKEN ANOTHER STEP TO CHALLENGE PRESIDENT BIDEN’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES AMID A RECORD NUMBER OF MIGRANTS CROSSING INTO THE U.S. — BY SIGNING A MEASURE KNOWN AS S-B-4 INTO LAW ON MONDAY.

SB4 ALLOWS TEXAS LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES TO ARREST MIGRANTS SUSPECTED OF CROSSING THE BORDER FROM MEXICO ILLEGALLY.

DURING THE BILL SIGNING EVENT – THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR CALLED OUT THE PRESIDENT – AS NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE IN CONGRESS OVER STRICTER BORDER MEASURES.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT | TEXAS (R): “Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself. The authors of the United States Constitution foresaw a situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced challenges at their borders and in response, they inserted Article one, Section ten, to the United States Constitution to empower states to take action to defend themselves. And that is exactly what Texas is doing.”

UNDER THE NEW LAW – ILLEGAL CROSSING WOULD BE TREATED A MISDEMEANOR – UP TO 180 DAYS IN JAIL FOR THOSE ARRESTED.

ILLEGAL RE-ENTRY INTO TEXAS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A FELONY – WITH A SENTENCE OF UP TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON.

IN BOTH FISCAL YEARS OF 2022 AND 2023 — U.S. BORDER PATROL AGENTS HAVE APPREHENDED MORE THAN 2 MILLION MIGRANTS ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER – WHICH IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL ON RECORD.

WHILE ABBOTT AND PROPONENTS ARGUE SB4 IS NEEDED TO DETER ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS, — THE GOVERNOR SAYING HE EXPECTS “A DRAMATIC DROP” — CRITICS OF THE BILL SAY IT COULD LEAD TO “RACIAL PROFILING” AND “FEAR IN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES” ACROSS THE STATE.

SOME BORDER SHERIFFS ALSO SAY IT COULD OVERWHELM THE LOCAL JAILS AND COURTS.

AS LAWSUITS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE LAW — THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS DECLINED TO COMMENT.

THOUGH A WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON SAID THE NEW LAW WILL MAKE COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS LESS SAFE.

THE LAW IS SET TO TAKE EFFECT IN MARCH 2024.

CHINA IS RECOVERING AFTER THE NATION’S DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKE IN A DECADE STRUCK ONE OF ITS POOREST REGIONS.

CHINESE STATE MEDIA IS REPORTING AT LEAST 1-HUNDRED AND 26 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED AND MORE THAN 500 ARE INJURED.

THE 6-POINT-2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HIT A MOUNTAINOUS AREA IN NORTHWEST CHINA JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT LOCAL TIME — DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF HOMES.

SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS ARE ONGOING BUT HAVE BEEN CHALLENGING AS THE EARTHQUAKE HAS DESTROYED ROADS, TRIGGERED MUDSLIDES, AND BURIED AT LEAST ONE VILLAGE. RESCUE WORKERS ARE ALSO DEALING WITH SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES AS THEY TRY TO FIND SURVIVORS.

FOLLOWING A SERIES OF EARTHQUAKES IN ICELAND – A VOLCANO ERUPTED SENDING A RIVER OF LAVA TOWARD SURROUNDING TOWNS.

VIDEO SHOWS LAVA SPEWING ACROSS A PENINSULA  — LOCAL AUTHORITIES DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY AND TOURIST LOCATIONS ARE CLOSED.

WITH VOLCANIC ACTIVITY DETECTED AND CLOSELY BEING MONITORED FOR WEEKS BY OFFICIALS —  THE ERUPTION WAS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED.

IN NOVEMBER — MORE THAN 3-THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED FROM A FISHING TOWN THAT SITS LESS THAN 2 MILES FROM THE VOLCANO  FOLLOWING SEISMIC ACTIVITY.

WHILE SCIENTISTS SAY THE ERUPTION ON MONDAY WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE THREE PREVIOUS ONES —  AND HAPPENED UNUSUALLY FAST  — REPORTS SAY THE LAVA NOW SEEMS TO BE FLOWING AWAY FROM TOWNS AND INFRASTRUCTURE – BUT UNTIL IT FULLY STOPS — SCIENTISTS WARN THERE IS A CHANCE THE FLOW COULD CHANGE.

HUNTER BIDEN IS SET TO MAKE HIS INITIAL COURT APPEARANCE IN LOS ANGELES ON NINE TAX-RELATED CHARGES ON JANUARY 11 – ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS FILED ON MONDAY.

THE PRESIDENT’S SON WILL BE ARRAIGNED ON THE THREE FELONIES AND SIX MISDEMEANORS FILED AGAINST HIM IN FEDERAL COURT EARLIER THIS MONTH.

SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS HAS ACCUSED HUNTER BIDEN OF NOT PAYING ONE POINT FOUR MILLION DOLLARS IN TAXES OVER FOUR YEARS AND FILING FALSE RETURNS TO EVADE A TAX ASSESSMENT.

HUNTER BIDEN WILL FORMALLY ENTER A PLEA AT THE ARRAIGNMENT.

HIS LAWYERS HAVE CALLED THE CHARGES POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.

HUNTER BIDEN FACES A MAXIMUM OF 17 YEARS IN PRISON.

GOOGLE HAS AGREED TO PAY 700 MILLION DOLLARS AND ALLOW FOR GREATER COMPETITION IN ITS APP STORE AS PART OF AN ANTITRUST SETTLEMENT WITH ALL 50 U.S. STATES DISCLOSED ON MONDAY.

THE SETTLEMENT — REACHED IN SEPTEMBER AND STILL NEEDING A JUDGE’S FINAL APPROVAL — WILL SEE GOOGLE PAYING 630 MILLION DOLLARS INTO A FUND FOR CONSUMERS AND 70 MILLION DOLLARS INTO A FUND THAT WILL BE USED BY THE STATES.

THIS MEANS ELIGIBLE CONSUMERS WILL RECEIVE AT LEAST TWO DOLLARS – AND MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR MORE – BASED ON THEIR SPENDING ON THE GOOGLE PLAY APP STORE BETWEEN AUGUST 2016 AND SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

U.S. STATES ACCUSED GOOGLE OF ABUSING ITS POWER IN THE ONLINE MARKETPLACE BY OVERCHARGING CONSUMERS AND FORCING STRICT TERMS ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS.

AS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT – GOOGLE WILL ALLOW DEVELOPERS TO CHARGE CONSUMERS DIRECTLY –

AND SIMPLIFY HOW USERS CAN DOWNLOAD APPS FROM DEVELOPERS WITHOUT GOING THROUGH ITS GOOGLE PLAY STORE.

THE TERMS OF THIS SETTLEMENT COME A WEEK AFTER GOOGLE LOST A SEPARATE ANTITRUST LAWSUIT FILED BY EPIC GAMES – THE MAKER OF FORTNITE – WHERE A JURY RULED THE APP STORE WAS AN ILLEGAL MONOPOLY.

EPIC IS EXPECTED TO MAKE ITS SUGGESTED CHANGES TO GOOGLE’S APP STORE NEXT YEAR.

FINALLY THIS MORNING – THE INTERNET IS FULL OF CAT VIDEOS – BUT NONE ARE QUITE LIKE A 15-SECOND CLIP STARRING A FELINE NAMED TATERS.

UNLIKE MOST — THIS VIDEO WASN’T JUST UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE – IT WAS SENT TO EARTH FROM MILLIONS OF MILES AWAY BY A LASER.

NASA ANNOUNCED THE RECORD-SETTING TRANSMISSION ON MONDAY.

THE VIDEO OF THE ORANGE TABBY CAT CHASING –  A RED DOT FROM A LASER POINTER — WAS UPLOADED TO NASA’S PSYCHE (SIGH-KEY) SPACECRAFT BEFORE IT LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER – ON ITS MISSION TO A METAL ASTEROID 2.2 BILLION MILES AWAY.

USING A FLIGHT LASER TRANSCEIVER, NASA BEAMED THE VIDEO FROM PSYCHE ON DECEMBER 11TH. THE SIGNAL TOOK 101 SECONDS TO REACH EARTH FROM 19 MILLION MILES AWAY.

NASA SAYS THIS TECHNOLOGY PAVES THE WAY FOR SENDING ADVANCED COMMUNICATION DURING FUTURE INTERPLANETARY MISSIONS.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES FOR THIS TUESDAY.

YOU CAN NOW CONNECT WITH THE MORNING RUNDOWN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS — INCLUDING SUBSCRIBING TO OUR PODCAST OR SIGNING UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER.

JUST GO TO SAN DOT COM SLASH RUNDOWN FOR MORE DETAILS.

UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS. THAT’S STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.

WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.

UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER. HAVE A GREAT DAY!