Southwest
Arizona rancher suffering in Dems' border crisis says Trump DHS pick Noem should immediately do 4 things
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security is being welcomed by law-and-order advocates and southern border stakeholders as she prepares to meet with the Senate on Friday for a confirmation hearing.
President-elect Trump announced her as his choice on Nov. 12, just days after beating Vice President Harris in the election, who was widely condemned as ineffective on border security under President Biden.
“She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times,” the Trump transition team noted in a statement announcing her nomination. “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”
Trump made combating migrant crime central to his campaign, an important issue for voters that went largely ignored by Democrats, who dismissed congressional hearings involving testimony from victims’ families as politically motivated.
TRUMP SELECTS SOUTH DAKOTA GOV KRISTI NOEM TO RUN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem visits FOX Business Network’s “Varney & Co” at Fox Business Network Studios on May 7, 2024, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
“I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful nomination,” said Jim Chilton, an Arizona rancher whose property straddles the end of one section of border wall.
“Last year we had three people die on the ranch, two evidently with dehydration, one was evidently murdered by a cartel,” he told Fox News Digital over the phone. “One of my cowboys found his body and his head cut off.”
Five miles of his 50,000-acre property are protected by the wall, he said, but thousands of people have crossed his property on another half-mile that is left exposed by incomplete construction. In April alone, he said, more than 5,600 people crossed his property around the end of the barrier.
“The solution is to finish the wall, put the Border Patrol on the wall, arrest anybody trying to climb over or cut through the wall, and prevent anybody from coming into the United States without proper documentation,” he told Fox News Digital.
NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF
This photo shows migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona. (U.S. Border Patrol)
Cartel scouts, he said, control the high ground, patrolling the mountains above his ranch and watching for Border Patrol agents, relaying information via satellite and radio to their smuggler counterparts.
Authorities have thwarted their efforts when possible, however.
RACHEL MORIN’S MOM CALLS OUT BIDEN-HARRIS FOR IGNORING FAMILY AFTER MIGRANT MURDER
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is pictured with his head down and his eyes closed during congressional testimony from the mothers of murder victims whose suspected killers were illegal immigrants on Sept. 10, 2024. (Cathie Groenewold)
“Last month, Border Patrol apprehended a group on my ranch, and they had an AK-47 and 100 pounds of cocaine,” Chilton said. “It’s just outrageous.”
As for the agents themselves, they are looking forward to getting back to work under a supportive White House, according to Hector Garza, a member of the force for more than 20 years and the president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 in Laredo.
“We’re excited for the new Border Patrol leadership,” he told Fox News Digital. “For us as agents, it means border security – and it also means safety.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, he said, agents have suffered from a lack of manpower and equipment.
BIDEN-HARRIS OPEN BORDER POLICY FREED ILLEGAL 3 WEEKS BEFORE JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER, MOTHER SAYS
Arizona rancher Jim Chilton speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
“We had an open border, where our agents were so busy processing family units and unaccompanied children,” he added. “Meanwhile, all of these dangerous criminals were eluding law enforcement, and what that means is many criminals have entered the U.S. and are now living in our communities.”
Those threats include members of the violent, transnational gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
“They are terrorizing our fellow citizens in the U.S.,” Garza said. “Now we’re going to have a very difficult job to undo everything that the Biden administration has done.”
Hector Garza speaks during a news briefing alongside then-President Trump on Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
However, he said, he is confident they can get the job done with the backing of Trump, Noem, Homan, Customs and Border Protection commissioner nominee Rodney Scott and supportive members in Congress.
“President Trump can’t do it alone,” he said. “Congress is a very important piece of the puzzle.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)
Noem, who has advocated for stronger border measures for more than a decade, has vowed to both secure the border and “restore safety to American communities” – many of which have been plagued by migrant crime in recent years. Before she won election to the South Dakota governor’s office, she served in the House of Representatives and as a state lawmaker.
Shocking slayings have victimized women and girls around the country, in Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts and elsewhere, repeatedly grabbing national attention during the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump has invited some of the victims’ families to attend his inauguration to a second term on Monday.
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Southwest
Family of Brianna Aguilera sues over alcohol service ahead of death
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The family of Brianna Aguilera, the Texas A&M student who fell to her death from a high-rise apartment in November, is suing two organizations for allegedly overserving alcohol ahead of the 19-year-old’s death.
Attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday announced a $1 million wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Travis County against the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Economics and Business Association.
“It is illegal to serve minors any amount of alcohol in the State of Texas. It is reckless and irresponsible to grossly over-serve a group of minors at a University of Texas football tailgate to the point where those minors lose their physical faculties and ability to control themselves,” the lawsuit states.
Aguilera died when she fell from an Austin high-rise apartment following a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football tailgate at around 1 a.m. Nov. 29, according to police.
POLICE SHOULD BE TAKING ‘CLOSER LOOK’ AT COLLEGE STUDENT’S DEATH AFTER MOTHER’S ALLEGATIONS: FORMER PROSECUTOR
An image provided by the family of the young Texas A&M student, Brianna Aguilera, found dead in Austin over the weekend. (GoFundMe)
A police investigation later determined Aguilera died by suicide despite her family’s claims that she was killed.
Brianna Aguilera was found dead in an apartment hours after attending a tailgate party. (Facebook/Brie Aguilera)
According to the filing, the alleged “egregious over-serving of minors” led to Aguilera’s death. Witnesses described her behavior over several hours as “shifting from upbeat to disoriented and ultimately grossly intoxicated,” the suit says.
Brianna Aguilera holds a sign congratulating her on her acceptance to Texas A&M. (Instagram/brie.aguilera)
TEXAS A&M STUDENT BRIANNA AGUILERA’S FALL DEATH SPARKS POLICE RESPONSE TO FAMILY’S EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS: REPORT
Buzbee said the lawsuit is also intended to support the ongoing investigation into the events of that night by allowing the firm to seek phone and text records, documents and data and to compel witness testimony.
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The lawsuit requests a jury trial.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Key red state could decide US gas prices as Venezuelan oil hits the market
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Nobody handles oil quite like Texas and a fresh supply of Venezuelan crude could soon be headed to the Lone Star State’s coast.
The first barrels of thick, tar-like crude could arrive as soon as next week at ports across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where dense clusters of refineries are built and bred to process heavy oil.
The development follows President Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement that Caracas will transfer up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S., worth about $2.8 billion at current market prices.
WE’RE GOING TO LET THE OIL FLOW: ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS US WILL OVERSEE VENEZUELAN OIL SALES
Venezuelan children swimming near an oil tanker docked at a pier near the refinery of the state oil company PDVSA. (Jesus Vargas/picture alliance/Getty Images)
“The Gulf Coast concentrates most of our refining capacity, and those refineries were built or revamped over the years to process extra-heavy crude similar to what is produced in Venezuela,” explained Jaime Brito, executive director of refining and oil products at OPIS.
“From a market perspective, additional volumes of extra-heavy crude entering the U.S. refining system would be an extraordinarily positive development,” Brito said. “It would allow refiners to operate more efficiently, something they haven’t been able to do for years and could help keep gasoline and diesel prices at better levels because refiners would have access to cheaper crude and more optimal operations.”
‘WE BUILT VENEZUELA’S OIL INDUSTRY:’ TRUMP VOWS US ENERGY RETURN AFTER MADURO CAPTURE
He added that tankers could arrive within five to six days if they leave Venezuelan waters on Thursday.
Because Gulf Coast refineries supply a large share of the nation’s fuel, shifts in how efficiently they operate can ultimately ripple through to prices paid by U.S. consumers.
Texas oil refineries are poised to benefit from additional crude oil supplies. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The arrival of 15 to 25 oil tankers carrying up to 50 million barrels of crude is only a fraction of what Venezuela could ultimately supply.
With more than 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, it holds the world’s largest oil endowment — eclipsing long-standing energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.
Despite its vast reserves, U.S. sanctions have effectively blocked most Venezuelan crude from reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast, leaving Chevron — operating under a special authorization — as the sole exporter of limited volumes.
US NOW IN CONTROL OF VENEZUELA’S OIL RESERVES, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD
A Chevron Corp. flag flies on the drilling floor of a Nabors Industries Ltd. drill rig in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, on March 1, 2018. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
That disruption has been felt most acutely in Texas, which anchors the nation’s refining hub and hosts several of the country’s largest heavy-crude refineries.
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A renewed flow of Venezuelan barrels could also intensify competition in the heavy-crude market, particularly between Venezuela and Canada, Brito said.
“You’re going to have fierce competition between Canada and Venezuela, which benefits American refiners and gives them more flexibility to potentially lower fuel prices,” he said, adding that he was speaking strictly from an oil-market perspective.
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Southwest
Security guard fatally shot outside Houston restaurant after confrontation with suspect
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A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said.
The shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. outside Connie’s Seafood Market Restaurant, the Houston Police Department said.
Police told reporters that the security guard, who was working for the restaurant, was standing in the parking lot when a fight broke out between him and another man, FOX26 Houston reported.
Police said the security guard was shot at least once. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
OFF-DUTY DEPUTY SHOT AND KILLED WHILE WORKING SECURITY JOB IN TEXAS, SUSPECT REMAINS AT LARGE
A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said. (Houston Police Department)
Authorities did not immediately release the name of the victim.
The suspect was last seen running away from the parking lot after the shooting.
The security guard was working for the restaurant at the time of the shooting. (Google Maps)
BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTER CONFESSED IN VIDEOS TO PLANNING ATTACK FOR LONG TIME, SHOWED NO REMORSE: DOJ
No details about the suspect or the circumstances that led to the altercation have been released as of Thursday morning.
Houston police were reviewing surveillance footage as they search for the shooting suspect. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle, File)
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Officials said investigators were reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses to get a description of the suspect.
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