Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is standing by his congressional testimony that he believes the United States has operational control of the southern border. Congress has received conflicting information on the subject from career officials and political appointees in the Biden administration.  Under the bipartisan Secure Fence Act of 2006, ‘‘operational control’’ means the prevention…

America’s top trading partner is also one of its biggest sources of cocaine. For years, Mexican drug cartels have been sending their profits to the United States. In some cases, they have done this through a “sophisticated network of warehouses and front companies” turning “dirty cash” into legal U.S. dollars. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter…

The speaker of the House and the chamber’s Democratic leader made separate trips down to the border. Both visits were described as educational, so lawmakers could learn about the challenges border communities are facing.  Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was in Laredo, home of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. Jeffries and Cuellar received a briefing on…

President Joe Biden gave his State of the Union Address to the nation Tuesday night; the earthquake in Turkey is now the deadliest in more than a decade; three tons of cocaine was confiscated in the middle of the ocean; and a new NBA scoring champion is crowned. These stories and more highlight the daily…

Two Border Patrol chiefs appeared before the House Oversight Committee and described the extraordinary challenges the agency is facing on the southern border. They said cartels are going to great lengths to avoid apprehension, that includes using drones and camouflage. In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, cartels are using drones to pinpoint agents’ locations, hoping it…

ESPN sued over its vaccine mandate, Chicago’s mayor’s office under fire; Nebraska senator appointed; and inflation is still going down. These stories and more highlight the midday rundown for Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. U.S. saw deflation in December In December, the U.S. economy saw deflation for the sixth month in a row. Consumer prices came…

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection exchanged gunfire with suspected smugglers on Thursday. At least one agent was killed and two others were seriously wounded. The incident happened about 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. A unit from CBP’s Air and Marine Operations was on a routine patrol in a…

For the second year in a row, life expectancy in the United States has dropped. Now, across all 50 states, life expectancy is set to swing lower, with rates declining differently across race and ethnic groups. Surely, COVID-19 played a role, but the NCHS Mortality Statistics Chief, Robert Anderson, cited another unintentional injury – drug…

WNBA star Brittney Griner learned her fate Thursday as a Russian court found her guilty of drug smuggling with criminal intent. The judge sentenced Griner to nine years in a Russian penal colony. Griner was arrested Feb. 17 at the Sheremetyevo International Airport after Russian authorities found THC vape cartridges in Griner’s luggage. She was…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia has been given a prisoner swap offer for WNBA star Brittney Griner. It would bring Griner home along with another jailed American, Paul Whelan. The U.S. government proposed trading convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in return. Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” is one of…