NEWS AND OPINION:
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin has spent many long days on the southern U.S. border, his time spent monitoring and reporting on the crowds of illegal immigrants who continue to arrive — and arrive and arrive.
Mr. Melugin is also in touch with members of both the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has shared some terse insight from those who continue to man the front lines.
“Here’s some texts from Border Patrol and ICE contacts after I asked for their response to $95 billion in foreign aid passing the House, but nothing in this package for U.S. border security as border numbers begin to rise again,” Mr. Melugin said in an item posted to X on Sunday.
And here are those telling responses from his border security contact, just as he listed them:
“Unbelievable.”
“We’re screwed.”
“So messed up.”
A LETTER OF NOTE
A coalition of 42 “conservative movement leaders” has signed a letter urging the U.S. House to oppose a vote on the motion to vacate the chair and remove Speaker Mike Johnson.
“We the undersigned conservative organizations and individuals write to oppose a vote on the motion to vacate the chair or any effort in which Republican lawmakers would vote with Democrats to remove Speaker Johnson,” the letter states.
“Maintaining the Republican House majority is vital to any organization or individual focused on advancing conservative policy priorities and delivering wins on the Reagan-Trump agenda. We are just one House seat away from united Democrat rule in Washington and an unchecked return to the disastrous policies of the Biden administration. This cannot be allowed to happen,” the letter states.
“Vacating a Republican Speaker distracts and undermines all progress on conservative issues while weakening the Republican majority in the House. We therefore urge you to reject any vote on a motion to vacate the chair,” the letter concludes.
The wide-ranging group of signers include — and in no particular order — Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Rep. Bob McEwen of Ohio; Ken Blackwell, Council for National Policy Action chairman; Marjorie Dannenfelser, SBA Pro-Life America president; Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president; Kris Ullman, Eagle Forum president; and Ginni Thomas, Liberty Consulting president.
“Vacating a Republican Speaker distracts and undermines all progress on conservative issues while weakening the Republican majority in the House. We therefore urge you to reject any vote on a motion to vacate the chair,” the letter advises.
A REAGAN MOMENT
“In America, religious beliefs are central to our founding principles,” President Reagan told the nation on April 17, 1981, in a public address to mark the beginning of Passover, which began the next day that year.
“We draw special strength from our unity as a people who trust in God, and from the lessons for us and our children in our rituals. Saturday night, Jewish people everywhere will sit with their families and friends for the celebration of Passover — a celebration of freedom,” the 40th president said.
“Beginning with the traditional Seder meal, Passover is rich with tradition and symbolism. Its observance reminds us that the fight for freedom and the battle against oppression, waged by Jews throughout their history, is one of which all free people are a part,” Reagan advised.
This year’s Passover begins Monday.
SCIENCE CORNER
“One third of China’s urban population is at risk of city sinking, new satellite data shows,” advises a new report from scientists released Friday by scientists at the University of East Anglia in England and Virginia Tech.
“The research paper examined 82 cities with a collective population of nearly 700 million people. The results show that 45% of the urban areas that were analyzed are sinking, with 16% falling at a rate of 10mm a year or more,” noted ScienceDaily.com in a summary of the very complex findings.
“Nationally, roughly 270 million urban residents are estimated to be affected, with nearly 70 million experiencing rapid subsidence of 10mm a year or more. Hotspots include Beijing and Tianjin,” the summary said.
“Shanghai — China’s biggest city — has subsided up to 3m over the past century and continues to subside today. When subsidence is combined with sea-level rise, the urban area in China below sea level could triple in size by 2120, affecting 55 [million] to 128 million residents. This could be catastrophic without a strong societal response,” the summary noted.
“The subsidence is mainly caused by human action in the cities. Groundwater withdrawal that lowers the water table is considered the most important driver of subsidence, combined with geology and weight of buildings,” the summary said.
Japan is already addressing this issue in two major cities.
“In Osaka and Tokyo, groundwater withdrawal was stopped in the 1970s and city subsidence has ceased or greatly reduced, showing this is an effective mitigation strategy. Traffic vibration and tunneling is potentially also a local contributing factor,” the summary said.
POLL DU JOUR
• 66% of U.S. adults think they have “a personal responsibility to help do something about climate change even if it’s in a small way.”
• 49% of Republicans, 62% of independents and 86% of Democrats agree. 46% of conservatives, 73% of moderates and 87% of liberals also agree.
• 69% of women and 62% of men also agree.
• 34% of U.S. adults say they do not think that they have a personal responsibility on climate change.
• 51% of Republicans, 38% of independents and 14% of Democrats agree. 54% of conservatives, 27% of moderates and 13% of liberals also agree.
• 31% of women and 38% of men also agree.
SOURCE: A CBS News poll of 2,219 U.S. adults conducted April 16-19.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.