Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has stopped putting new money toward building a U.S.-Mexico border wall, shifting course after installing only a fraction of the hundreds of miles of potential barrier that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set out to construct four years ago.
State lawmakers this month approved a new Texas budget that does not include continued funding for the wall, which had been a multibillion-dollar priority for Abbott as part of a sprawling immigration crackdown. He even took the unusual step of soliciting private donations for construction, saying in 2021 that many Americans wanted to help.
On Tuesday, Abbott's office said President Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to curb immigration allowed the state to adjust.
The halt in funding was first reported by The Texas Tribune.
'Thanks to President Trump's bold leadership, the federal government is finally fulfilling its obligation to secure the southern border and deport criminal illegal immigrants,' Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said. 'Because of these renewed federal assets in Texas, our state can now adjust aspects of state-funded border security efforts.'
The state has completed 65 miles (104 kilometers) of border wall since construction began. The Texas border with Mexico is roughly 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers).
The wall has gone up at a slow pace as the state has navigated the drawn-out process of buying private land and confronting local opposition in some places. Abbott announced plans for the wall at a time when large numbers of migrants were showing up at the border, saying in 2021 that he believed a combination of state-owned land and volunteered private property would 'yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall.'
The number of migrant crossings has fallen dramatically this year.
'There was no need for it in the first place,' said Scott Nicol, a board member for Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, a habitat preservation group in the Rio Grande Valley. He has criticized the wall as ineffective.
'The only thing that's changed is the political dynamic,' he said.
The new budget approved by Texas lawmakers allocates about $3.4 billion for border security for two years. That amount will not be used to build out new projects for the wall and instead go to the Texas Department of Safety and the Texas National Guard, the main agencies responsible for Operation Lone Star, Abbott's key immigration program launched in 2021 during the Biden administration.
The money allocated for border security is nearly half the $6.5 billion that was dedicated to immigration efforts the last time lawmakers earmarked the state budget two years ago.
Funds previously allocated for the wall will allow work on it to continue through 2026 and 'will set the federal government up for success,' said Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, the lead budget writer in the state Senate.
The agency responsible for constructing the wall has about $2.5 billion remaining in funding to cover up to 85 additional miles (85 additional kilometers) of the wall by 2026, according to a statement made in April by Texas Facilities Commission executive director Mike Novak, whose agency is overseeing construction of the project.
'This wall should have never been built, it's useless,' said Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. 'It divides our community.'
___
Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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What to know about the Iranian nuclear sites that were hit by US strikes

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The U.S. and Iran had been in talks that could have resulted in the U.S. lifting some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium. Until Saturday, Washington had helped shoot down Iranian strikes on Israel but had not launched direct attacks on Iran. Here's a look at the sites Trump said the U.S. struck and their importance to Iran's nuclear program. Natanz enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site and had already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60% purity at the site — a mildly radioactive level but a short step away from weapons grade — before Israel destroyed the aboveground part of the facility, according to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Another part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. The IAEA has said it believes that most if not all of these centrifuges were destroyed by an Israeli strike that cut off power to the site. The IAEA said those strikes caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. Fordo enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big as Natanz. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the IAEA, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Military experts have said it could likely only be targeted by 'bunker buster' bombs — a term for bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding — such as the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000 pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels. The U.S. has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver that bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman, meaning that Washington would have to be involved in such an operation. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Israel has struck buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site, among them a uranium conversion facility. The IAEA said there has been no sign of increased radiation at the site. Other nuclear sites Iran has several other sites in its nuclear program that were not announced as targets in the U.S. strikes. Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA. 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Guide to dollar-cost averaging: Use this strategy to build wealth over time

Dollar-cost averaging is a popular investing strategy that entails buying new investments at regular intervals, such as once a month. If you have a 401(k), you're already dollar-cost averaging with every paycheck. But you can also use the practice in a typical brokerage account, individual retirement account (IRA) or any other type of investing account. You can implement the strategy manually or set your brokerage account to automatically invest at regular intervals. Dollar-cost averaging is one of the easiest techniques to boost your returns without taking on extra risk, and it's a great way to practice buy-and-hold investing. Dollar-cost averaging can be especially beneficial for people who want to set up their investments and deal with them infrequently. Here's what dollar-cost averaging is and how to use it to maximize your investment gains. Dollar-cost averaging is the practice of putting a fixed amount of money into an investment on a regular basis, such as monthly or even bi-weekly. Over time, the strategy allows you to spread out when you buy — which means you'll do so at market lows and highs — averaging your purchase prices. Because you're always investing the same amount of money, when prices are lower, you'll buy more shares, and when they're higher, you'll buy fewer shares. It's the opposite of timing the market, which entails trying to predict in which direction prices are headed next risking losses if stock prices fall. By setting up a regular buying plan when the markets (and you) are calm, you'll avoid this psychological bias and take advantage of falling stock prices when everyone else becomes scared. If you have a 401(k) retirement account, you're already practicing dollar-cost averaging, by adding to your investments with each paycheck. You're also already using the strategy if you reinvest your dividends, since those payouts are invested back into the market at regular intervals, likely each quarter. Imagine an employee who earns $3,000 each month and contributes 10 percent of that to their 401(k) plan, choosing to invest in an S&P 500 index fund. Because the price of the fund moves around, the number of shares purchased isn't always the same, but each month $300 is invested. The table below shows this example over a 10-month period. Month Contribution Price of fund Shares bought Shares held Total value 1 $300.00 $100.00 3 3 $300.00 2 $300.00 $97.50 3.08 6.08 $592.80 3 $300.00 $101.30 2.96 9.04 $915.75 4 $300.00 $85.45 3.51 12.55 $1,072.40 5 $300.00 $91.23 3.29 15.84 $1,445.08 6 $300.00 $93.20 3.22 19.06 $1,776.39 7 $300.00 $96.50 3.11 22.17 $2,139.41 8 $300.00 $100.54 2.98 25.15 $2,528.58 9 $300.00 $101.43 2.96 28.11 $2,851.20 10 $300.00 $105.00 2.86 30.97 $3,251.85 You can see that the value of the employee's investments went up 8.4 percent on their $3,000 in total contributions, despite the fund only increasing 5 percent over the period. That's because the employee was able to buy a greater number of shares when the price was lower, taking advantage of the market volatility. MORE: Bankrate's list of the best online brokers It can depend on your specific situation, but dollar-cost averaging has been a successful way for many people to invest over time. 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In a market that generally rises over time, you'll likely be better off being fully invested as soon as possible. But because most people are saving and investing as they earn money, dollar-cost averaging is the next best option. Your investment choices determine performance. If you're dollar-cost averaging into a poor investment, the strategy in which you bought in (dollar-cost averaging) won't be able to boost your investment's performance. The approach works best with broad-based funds such as an S&P 500 index fund, which has performed well over long time periods. There are two ways that you can set up dollar-cost averaging for your account: manually and automatically. If you opt for the manual route, you'll just pick a regular date (monthly, bi-weekly, etc.) and then go to your broker, buy the stock or fund and then you're done until the next date. If you opt to go the automatic route, it requires a little more time upfront, but it's much easier later on. Plus, it will be easier to continue buying when the market declines, since you don't have to act. While setting up your automatic buying may seem like a chore, it's actually easy. Almost any broker can set up an automatic buying plan, so use Bankrate's reviews of the major players to find brokers that provide other features such as great customer service and educational tools. Here are the steps to make dollar-cost averaging fully automatic. First, you'll want to determine what you're buying. Do you want to buy stock? Or will you go with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or mutual fund? If you opt to buy an individual stock, it's more likely to fluctuate significantly than a fund is. But it may be difficult to find a brokerage that allows you to buy stocks on autopilot. If you buy a fund, it should fluctuate less than an individual stock and it's also more diversified, so your portfolio likely won't drop as much if any single stock in the fund declines a lot as it would if you only invested in that stock. Less-experienced investors usually opt for a fund, and some of the most diversified funds are based on the Standard & Poor's 500 index. This index includes hundreds of companies across all major industries, and it's the standard for a diversified portfolio of companies. If you want to buy an S&P index fund, here are some of the top choices. In either case, you'll need to note the ticker symbol for the security; that's the short-hand code for the stock or fund. So, you've made your choice of investment. Now see if your broker will allow you to set up an automatic purchase plan for that investment. If so, then you're ready to move on to the next step. However, some brokers allow you to set up an automatic plan only with mutual funds. In that case, you might consider opening another brokerage account that allows you to do exactly what you want. There are other solid advantages to having multiple brokerage accounts, too, and you can usually get a lot of value by having multiple accounts. Now that you've got a broker who can execute your automatic trading plan, it's time to figure out how much you can regularly invest. With any kind of stock or fund, you want to be able to leave your money in the investment for at least three to five years. Since stocks can fluctuate a lot over short periods, try to allow the investment some time to grow and get over any short-term declines in price. That means you'll need to be able to live only on your uninvested money during that time. So starting with your monthly budget, figure how much you can devote to investing. Once you have an emergency fund in place, how much can you invest and not need? Even if it's not a lot at first, the most important point is to begin investing regularly. Dollar-cost averaging is now cheaper than ever, since all major brokers now charge no commissions on stock and ETF trades and the best brokers for mutual funds allow you to skip the fees for thousands of mutual funds. That means you really can start with any amount of money and begin building your nest egg. You can set up the automatic trading plan at your broker using the ticker symbol for the stock or fund, how much you want to purchase on a regular basis and how often you want the trade to execute. The exact process for setting this up varies by broker, but these are the basics that you'll need in any case. If you have further questions, your broker can help. And if your stock or fund pays dividends, it can be a good time to set up automatic dividend reinvestment with your broker. Any cash dividend will be used to purchase new shares, and you can often even buy fractional shares — putting the whole value of the dividend to work, rather than having it sit for a long time in cash earning little or next to nothing. So even as soon as the next dividend, your dividend will be earning dividends. MORE: Bankrate's list of the best robo-advisors Dollar-cost averaging is a simple way to help reduce your risk and increase your returns, and it takes advantage of a volatile stock market. If you set up your brokerage account to buy stocks or funds automatically and regularly, then you can sit back and do the things you love, rather than spend your time investing. In investing, you can often get better results with less effort. Note: Bankrate's Brian Baker and Mallika Mitra contributed to an update of this article. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

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Trump Threatens Iran With 'Many' More Bombings After U.S. Attack

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