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BREAKING: Two more ports of entry have (or will) shut down tonight as a result of
@GovAbbott
’s mandate that DPS inspect all commercial trucks crossing into Texas.
Anzalduas bridge has shut down, and Brownsville is next, according to a source.
One trucker I spoke with said he was about to run out of diesel to power the refrigeration unit keeping his cargo of pork safe. He’s been waiting to carry the cargo into Mexico since Friday. He’ll run out of diesel tonight, he said.
All commercial traffic both into and out of Mexico has been halted at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge — the third busiest land port of entry in the country — due to
@GovAbbott
’s declaration that trucks be inspected by DPS after crossing & passing thru CBP inspections.
All commercial traffic both into and out of Mexico has been halted at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge — the third busiest land port of entry in the country — due to
@GovAbbott
’s declaration that trucks be inspected by DPS after crossing & passing thru CBP inspections.
Me: *gets to federal court*
Security guy at the metal detector: Do you have your tortilla thing? Can you take it out, please?
Me, laughing: Sure.
2nd security guy, on the other side of the X-Ray scanner: I thought that was really a taco!
1st guy: She got me last time!
🤣🤣🤣
🧵🪡 NEW: Delia’s Tamales allegedly maintained 2 sets of books to track both legitimate payroll & illicit cash payments to overworked employees, according to new details revealed in a federal wage theft lawsuit against the popular
#RGV
chain.
FULL STORY:
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: FBI agents are currently at various Delia’s Tamales locations conducting “court authorized” law enforcement activity.
The company is currently embroiled in a wage theft civil suit, but it appears fed law enforcement is also investigating.
The DPS inspection station, which is just a few hundred yards from the bridge, sits empty (except for DPS vehicles) because of the closure.
A lone, previously inspected truck could be seen in the lot getting some repair work done.
@LidiaTerrazas
Is this a state or federal case against the man? And what is his name? Full legal name. Need that to determine what legal venue this is in.
Seen on Reddit today. An
@CBPRGV
Border Patrol agent and three men, presumably in custody for crossing the border, viewing today’s solar eclipse. A similar post on Facebook claims the photo was taken in La Joya.
Hi! I live in the Rio Grande Valley and also report on border wall issues.
This is flat out false.
Work is currently underway to repair flood control levees left breached by wall construction.
My story here:
SpaceX is miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, and far from where migrants (rarely) try to make entry via the mouth of the Rio Grande.
And no, you absolutely will not encounter a cartel presence on THIS side of the border if you decide to drive down Highway 4 to visit Starbase.
SECURITY WARNING to Employees at
@SpaceX
@elonmusk
@SpaceX
is in RGV (Rio Grande Valley) immediately on the border. I been there many times tracking aliens.
Border Patrol now: “Starting this morning in RGV McAllen station: All BP details are cancelled. 90% of each shift
I don’t think people here in South Texas truly grasp the seriousness of the water crisis that is coming our way over the next couple of decades.
But I’ll keep reporting on it, because the warning signs are already flashing bright.
My latest:
Berman is the Acting U.S. Attorney by dint of a *judicial* appointment.
There’s a pretty good argument that, per the plain language of 28 U.S.C. § 546(d), he gets to keep serving in that post until the *vacancy* is filled (through Senate confirmation of a permanent successor).
🚨BREAKING: The municipal water system of Reynosa—the largest city in the border Mexican state of Tamaulipas (pop: 704,000+)—just announced water rationing cycles that will hit different areas of city for 24 hours at a time. The utility cites low levels at Anzalduas reservoir.
#RGV
💧 update: The small relief from June/July rains is over. Data released today show combined US storage of water at Amistad & Falcon reservoirs has begun to drop again after levels bumped up to 19.78% on Aug. 3 from June’s historic low of 18.14%.
We’re now at 19.56%.
@Karnythia
Look at any of the relationship subreddits and you’ll find a thousand stories exactly like this. Dude wants to open the marriage/relationship, then goes all Shocked Pikachu when the woman finds a partner who legit cares about her. It’s the perfect encapsulation of FAFO.
@mollycrabapple
This has always been my issue with Latinx, too. It imposes an English-language convention (the X) on something that is inherently not English. Latine weaves in Spanish’s use of vowel endings perfectly, and as you say, is pronounceable.
EXCLUSIVE: Alton native
@MichelleVforTX
is launching a new run for Texas’ 15th congressional district in November 2024, challenging Republican Monica De La Cruz, whom she says is part of “far-right extremist” GOP.
My exclusive interview here:
Times when the
#RGV
puts aside its hyperlocal municipal pride & instead comes together to speak w/ 1 regional voice:
• 3rd/4th round football playoff games
• getting funding for drainage issues
• school districts telling
@GovAbbott
to take his mask prohibitions & shove it.
BREAKING: An
#RGV
sector Border Patrol agent shot and killed a man in Hidalgo today, near the Rio Grande. No word on what prompted the agent’s lethal use of force. But it took Border Patrol 8 hours to confirm the man’s death.
Some bittersweet professional news:
I just put to bed the very last edition of the Mid-Valley Town Crier. After nearly 55 years, we are ceasing publication, effective Wednesday.
El Extra will expand coverage into the area & I will continue as a
@monitornews
reporter full-time.
State officials have deployed over 600 medical personnel to various hospitals in the
#RGV
since June 29. The largest # — 354 people — were sent to DHR in Edinburg. State is also sending more ventilators & ambulances. 10 ambulances arrived earlier this week. Here’s the breakdown:
Aron Peña III has just shown up to the Monica de la Cruz watch party at the Radisson Hotel in McAllen.
Peña, who stepped down as a staffer on Mayra Flores campaign, is the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a teen who says he assaulted her.
🧵🪡This week was a crazy week. Perhaps the biggest story happened Wednesday, when I broke news that the FBI was raiding Delia’s Tamales restaurants. I was ONLY reporter on scene when agents arrived.
But that wasn’t the only news I wrote about this week. Click below to see more.
@FionaSnp
@faboomama
@michaelwhitney
Texas here. Home to Ken Paxton, the state AG under indictment for securities fraud & currently under fed. investigation for using his office to advantage political donors. And despite that, this Philly race is everything.
Once again,
@HidalgoCountyTX
is seeking to withhold public records from me & is seeking a
@TXAG
opinion to do so.
What did I request? Payments to contractors that were normally part of meeting agenda packets until I started reporting on construction projects delayed by years.
BREAKING: With 8 confirmed cases as of today, Hidalgo County Judge
@JudgeCortez
is issuing a countywide shelter in place order effective at 11:59pm TOMORROW night. Effective until 11:59pm April 10. Says will extend order if necessary.
#RGV
#COVID19
@monitornews
The COVID-19 crisis continues to ravage the Rio Grande Valley. Over 100 death notices will be printed in The Monitor tomorrow.
Stay home, people. For the love of God. For the love of all the people in your life whom you love.
Photo courtesy
@bnibert78539
Seven months after President Biden was sworn into office & still nobody seems to know what’s going on with 100+ land condemnation suits here in the
#RGV
, nor what appears to be new border wall construction.
My story here:
The Rio Grande Valley lost a good one last night. One of the very best.
It was my humble honor to speak with some of the people who knew
@cityofedinburg
Fire Chief Shawn Snider best and share their stories of him.
RIP, Chief.
Mom and I are about to start our annual pan de polvo baking. Somehow, she found one of my old Starbucks aprons just for the occasion, lol. I love it!
🎄🎄🎄
Today,
@monitornews
ran a 16-page special section. What was it? The federal government, via
@USAO_SDTX
, filed notice via publication of some 149 border wall land condemnation lawsuits.
Here’s the list and cause numbers for all 149 suits (pages 1-3 of the 16-page notice):
My daddy lost his battle with leukemia on Thursday.
He was the best. I know everyone always says that, but he really was. The kindest, funniest, hardest working man I’ve ever known. A man of faith who wasn’t afraid of showing how much he loved us.
@ByAndyMcCulloch
Except their actions have repercussions that extend beyond just them. Repercussions that extend to their parents, siblings, elder relatives, their coaches, their coaches’ kids and elder relatives, etc. That’s how pandemics work. Ripples. Deadly ripples.
NEW: “It’s pretty bleak.”
Could
#RGV
residents see the day that nothing comes out of the taps when they try to turn their water on? With reservoir levels below 20% & still falling,
@NWSBrownsville
& local water experts say it’s a possibility.
FULL STORY:
Shoutout to all the first responders still working their tails off as
#Hanna
slowly dies down. And another shoutout to all the local officials manning EOCs throughout the
#RGV
. The next few days are gonna be a marathon, but your hard work is appreciated. Stay strong & stay safe!
In Texas, the city of Port Isabel claims that plans to construct 3 LNG export terminals at the Port of Brownsville, in the shadow of 3 primarily Latino communities which lie downwind from emissions, amounts to “environmental racism.” Port Isabel field 2 fed lawsuits to fight it.
This is one of the biggest losses to Rio Grande Valley journalism in DECADES.
Valerie is beyond talented. And how fitting that in her final week at the station, she put out one of the best pieces of investigative journalism this region has ever seen.
Old school hardcore.
As of today, I am no longer employed by KRGV-TV. About a month ago I was told they would not renew my contract. Instead of working hard at finding a new job, I just kept working hard — sometimes until 4 am.
Now, on my tenth anniversary working in broadcast news, I am unemployed.
In 2021,
@cityofedinburg
approved millions in debt, in part, to build a 3-story parking garage that would be used by courthouse staffers & others.
The problem? No one had bothered to analyze how many parking spaces will actually be needed.
A 🧵 & STORY:
@davidvienna
@shefalikulkarni
That’s a lot harder to do as a woman journalist. Because, like it or not, we have to deal with all the sexist stereotypes associated with doing that.
I definitely did NOT learn that the Bowie brothers, including James Bowie, of the “Bowie Knife” fame, was a human trafficker who sold and smuggled enslaved people, or that he was a fraudster, during my yearlong requirement to learn Texas history in 7th grade.
Apparently they got the money for their land speculation by smuggling enslaved persons from pirate Jean Lafitte’s hideout in Galveston to the United States and turning themselves in to the Custom House for the reward money. 😱
Aaaaaaand
@ValOnTheBorder
coming in clutch with the full story on this lethal force incident with Border Patrol. The man who was killed allegedly wielded a rock.
BREAKING: An
#RGV
sector Border Patrol agent shot and killed a man in Hidalgo today, near the Rio Grande. No word on what prompted the agent’s lethal use of force. But it took Border Patrol 8 hours to confirm the man’s death.
A candidate for
@ai6yrham
’s animal hour RTs. My newest baby. Rescued a week ago today and just the bestest girl. Her big brother is still a little unsure of her, though, lol.
BREAKING: Former STC math professor Reid Etheridge has been sentenced to life in fed prison for raping 2 children under age of 7, including a child of one of his former students. Etheridge groomed Alicia Cronkhite & convinced her to give him access to her tender age child.
I mean, he also shrugs off any questions about how the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica impacts the environment. It’s located next to a national wildlife refuge that is home to at least 8 federally endangered species & the sole remaining salt prairie (lomas) in the country.
Elon Musk laughed off a reporter’s question about the Tesla factory near Berlin facing local public resistance due to water concerns. The site partly overlaps a drinking water protection zone and borders on a nature reserve
Will the 1836 Project include lessons on La Matanza, when white Texans and Texas Rangers went on a decade-long lynching and killing spree of Mexicans and Latino Texans, including right here in the RGV?
(I shot this placard outside San Benito).
To keep Texas the best state in the nation, we can never forget WHY our state is so exceptional.
I signed a law establishing the 1836 project, which promotes patriotic education & ensures future generations understand TX values.
Together, we'll keep our rich history alive.
Shoutout to the Chick-Fil-A manager who just ran up to the drive-thru window while I was waiting for my order.
“Are you a reporter?” he asked.
“I thought so!”
He said he recognized me from seeing my stories on twitter. 🤣🕵🏻♀️📰👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽
I’ve lived in the Rio Grande Valley almost my entire life. Was born & raised here. I’ve NEVER felt afraid of my home, my neighbors or my community. Anyone who knows the RGV knows just meeting someone is enough to become their compadre & be treated like family. Así son mi gente!
BREAKING: In a news conference with a dozen state attorneys general from around the country,
@GovAbbott
calls for legal action against
@tiktok_us
for its role in allowing recruitment of human/drug traffickers.
BREAKING: The city of Mercedes has been served with a subpoena as the FBI looks into potential wrongdoing by former Mercedes City Attorney Juan R. Molina.
My story here:
BREAKING: Weslaco police are charging Deana Nicole Gonzalez, 26, with murder for the alcohol-fueled vehicular death of 18yo Jaime Garcia Jr.
Gonzalez struck Garcia’s car while fleeing from Progreso police.
“It was a senseless death,” Weslaco PD Chief Joel Rivera said.
One of these days, I’ll have the courage and fortitude to write about my dad’s last week of life. But today is not that day, so this person’s thread will have to do.
One of my most favoritest things in the world is introducing people to the food that makes the
#RGV
home & makes home amazing.
And yesterday, I got to introduce someone to huevos divorciados con chilaquiles, & menudo.
It made my foodie heart happy. 🥰
Gary Cooper said he came to the LUPE border wall protest to protest fascism. He said his parents fought fascism in WWII, and his grandparents before that.
A huge wrench thrown in the works of AG
@KenPaxtonTX
’s attempt to judge shop his lawsuit against Central Am. Minors Prog.—a refugee program for children. Instead of Trump appointed judge, he gets Clinton-era Barbara Lynn.
ICYMI: my previous reporting:
A twist! Texas et al.'s lawsuit was randomly assigned to Chief Judge Barbara Lynn, one of just two judges on NDTX appointed by a Dem.
Texas then belatedly claimed the case was "related" to the MPP case in an attempt to get reassigned to Kascmaryk—very likely a losing argument.
AMAZINGLY GOOD NEWS: Both my parents have secured appointments to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine! I am beyond ecstatic, happy and relieved. Can’t wait! 💗💗💗
In July 2019, when then VP Pence (along with a coterie of GOP senators) came to visit migrant holding facilities in McAllen & Donna, no local reporters were granted inside access. We have MANY Latino journos in
#RGV
. But 1 camera crew WAS allowed in. Parachute journos from WaPo.
BREAKING: Texas
@GovAbbott
has today extended the statewide disaster declaration he originally issued on March 13 due to COVID-19. It’s unclear how long the extension is for, since neither the news release nor proclamation mention an expiration date.
I got my first dose of the Moderna vaccine last week. I’ll STILL be wearing my mask even after I get my second dose later this month, because I know it’s important to protect those I love. Now is NOT the time to lift restrictions,
@GovAbbott
. This is a foolhardy decision.
@SolidEvidence
Wait, does this mean a single person has been shedding active virus for two years? Like a Typhoid Mary of COVID? Would they still be experiencing illness symptoms? And also, why hasn’t their body cleared the virus in so long?
It’s one of those small things that isn’t so small after all, but I am so thankful to ABC’s
@marcusmoore
for getting our names right while reporting on the Uvalde massacre.
So many journalists are getting the pronunciation of these Latino names wrong, but Moore isn’t.
The hearing is underway, with Harris County Attorney Christian Menafee arguing that
@GovAbbott
is acting *ultra vires* — or beyond his legal authority —by prohibiting local control on mask mandates.
Lots of attorneys in the hearing nodding their heads to his arguments.
UPDATE:
The lawsuit filed by a coalition of Rio Grande Valley school districts against Texas Gov.
@GregAbbott_TX
has been assigned to 345th state District Judge Jan Soifer.
It also has a name: La Joya ISD v. Abbott (D-1-GN-21-003897)
Background:
#rgv
Hilton confirms migrant children were being held by ICE at the McAllen Hampton Inn, which was the site of a civil rights protest yesterday. The hotel company has also strongly denounced the use of their hotels for such purposes.
An Edinburg resident has arrived at Edinburg City Hall to demand Mayor Richard Molina’s resignation and to start the process of seeking a recall election.
@monitornews
#RGV
I’ll be broadcasting live in a moment.
If you are — or know — the Border Patrol agent in this photo, DM me for my Signal. I’d love to know more about this moment.
Confidentiality will be respected.
Seen on Reddit today. An
@CBPRGV
Border Patrol agent and three men, presumably in custody for crossing the border, viewing today’s solar eclipse. A similar post on Facebook claims the photo was taken in La Joya.
Just learned that a stray bullet broke the windshield on my brother’s truck just as he & his wife were prepping to leave a family gathering. Luckily, they weren’t in the truck yet & no one was hurt.
People never learn, do they? What goes up must come down—at terminal velocity. 🤬
There’s more than a presidential visit going on today. Like COVID-19 vaccinations. This is 82-year-old Eunice Gomez, a former educator who could not be more excited to get her first dose of the Moderna vaccination.
#COVID
#RGV
My tortilla pen roll is becoming increasingly famous. Stopped at a local mom-n-pop plant nursery for just the 2nd time & the gardener’s daughter asked if I still had the pen roll w/ me cuz she wanted to show her husband. “Look hon! This is the lady I was telling you about!” Lol.
Woot! Shoutout to
@mySA
for the hat tip to my breaking news. Appreciate it! We small town journalists work HARD to develop sources & resources to break news before anyone else, so proper citation MATTERS.
Media outlets in San Antonio are reporting that agents have been seen at Delia’s locations there, too. Though they’re linking to RGV media that didn’t break the news. I was the ONLY reporter on scene when agents first showed up.
So,
@MonitorDelcia
& I are on the road working on another water scarcity story. Decided to introduce her to geocaching while on the way. She was blown away when we found this cache in rural Starr County.
This is what nearly 49 years of marriage looks like. A quietly held hand in the face of the unknown. In a battle being calmly met, with faith and hope.
I live in this supposed “war zone.
It’s so dangerous here that families fill our local parks with laughing children, people walk their dogs—at night, even! And I, a woman, feel completely fine doing a late night grocery run.
Guess that doesn’t sound warlike. Huh. Whodathunkit?
Noem: The border is a “war zone"
Records: SD Guard found no drugs or "transnational criminals" during their 2-month deployment
Also, the National Guard + a Thune aid questioned the legality of SD using a $1M private donation to help pay for the deployment
By
@stephengroves
It’s been seven months since I’ve gotten this dressed up. Figure I might as well share with the class, since it’ll likely be another seven months before it happens again.
BREAKING: Matthew Lee Sepulveda, the former Progreso cop who in March was convicted of violating the civil rights of 2 prisoners in his custody by sexually assaulting them, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
No,
@krgv
reporter, the border fence does NOT represent US-Mexico border. The land on the other side of the fence is still the US, & can be anywhere from 1/2 a mile to 3 miles away from the international border, which, by treaty, is defined by the centerline of the Rio Grande.
So, my electric bill just arrived. Sure enough,
@MagicValleyEC
is saying I used 81 kWh on Feb. 15 & 51 kWh on Feb. 17.
How? My power was out.
Also, how did I use more than 3 times my normal daily electric use on Friday, the 19th when I still had things unplugged? Answers, MVEC???
Media outlets in San Antonio are reporting that agents have been seen at Delia’s locations there, too. Though they’re linking to RGV media that didn’t break the news. I was the ONLY reporter on scene when agents first showed up.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: FBI agents are currently at various Delia’s Tamales locations conducting “court authorized” law enforcement activity.
The company is currently embroiled in a wage theft civil suit, but it appears fed law enforcement is also investigating.
@Michael_Yon
@WKRobinsonRN
Difficult to take seriously a person like you, who isn’t from here, doesn’t know or understand (or even want to) this region, its community or culture and who is just engaging in baseless fear-mongering. But you do you, boo. I feel sad for you.
ICYMI: The
#RGV
’s rainy season is only ~40 days long (Sept/early Oct), but mid-range climate models indicate the next 3 months will be hotter & drier. If the September rains don’t come, our water crisis will get worse. Way worse.
First time ever that I didn’t spend Father’s Day having lunch with my Dad & laughing at his never ending supply of corny jokes. The world has seemed darker, grayer ever since his smile & easy laugh left this world. Miss you, Dad.
Marianna Treviño Wright didn’t go looking for a fight. But she’s not the type to back down when a fight comes to her. For last 2 years, she’s been very public face speaking against border wall corruption. But things take a toll.
My exclusive feature here:
NEW:
@ERCOT_ISO
officials say Texas grid was “seconds and minutes” away from the type of catastrophic failure of the entire state grid that would have taken MONTHS to fix on Sunday, when it ordered transmission operators to kill circuits.