Daily Briefing: Eagle Pass braces for its next conflict
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A Texas town has become the site where state officials face off with federal authorities over who will control international migration. Also in the news: Progressives say a new child tax credit doesn't go far enough for American families and what an apology from a tech CEO means.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. This year is the best time to see the Northern Lights in decades.
Here is the news to know Thursday.
Eagle Pass in the cross hairs of an Abbott-Biden border standoff
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could remove Texas' border wire. In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the court order, fueling a growing standoff over constitutional authority at the border.
Eagle Pass, Texas is bracing for whatever’s next as public city areas are overtaken with Abbott-sponsored border security initiatives and the White House scrambles to secure a legislative solution.
House Republicans are set to kill a border agreement senators have spent months negotiating. The president and his allies accuse GOP lawmakers of stonewalling bipartisan efforts.
Biden's struck a new, harsher tone on immigration: His legislative solution would be the most stringent set of border reforms in U.S. history and includes new presidential authority to "shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed."
Meanwhile, a militarized scene in Eagle Pass: The next move from the federal courts or the Biden Justice Department remains uncertain. But however the constitutional faceoff is resolved, the larger controversy has already transformed parts of Eagle Pass.
Related: Donald Trump has capitalized on the border controversy.
Iran-backed militia to suspend attacks on US military in Mideast
An Iraq-based, Iran-backed militant group announced it was suspending attacks on U.S. military installations in Iraq and Syria. The group is suspected of participating in the drone strike that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, after which President Joe Biden blamed Iran and swore the U.S. would "respond." Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of Kataib Hezbollah, said the militia’s fighters would adopt a “temporary passive defense" and warned against "hostile American action." Biden says he holds Tehran responsible for arming the militant groups but added that the U.S. was not looking for a war with Iran. Read more
Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis: Who are the Iran-backed groups in the Mideast?
More news to know now
A building collapse near Boise, Idaho, airport killed three people and injured nine others.
A new round of student loan relief talks are set for next month.
A pair of atmospheric rivers is slamming California with heavy rain and snow.
One year after a devastating train derailment, Norfolk Southern launched an anonymous federal safety hotline.
Hours of new footage of Tyre Nichols' beating paint a fuller picture of Memphis police's response.
On today's The Excerpt podcast, the Fed holds interest rates steady, while Wall Street takes a tumble. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
What to know about the expanded child tax credit
The House passed a sweeping, bipartisan tax bill this week that would expand the child tax credit for American families. The roughly $79 billion tax legislation passed Wednesday would not rise to the level of the boosted pandemic-era child tax credit, but would raise it to $1,900 per child in 2024. Progressive lawmakers said the bill doesn't go far enough, giving families "pennies" while including far greater tax breaks for businesses. The package faces a steep climb in the Senate, where Republicans are demanding the bill clear additional hurdles. Read more
Mark Zuckerberg 'sorry' to families of exploited kids
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO of Meta, which also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, faced critical Congressional questioning Wednesday in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing involving Big Tech and its impact on child exploitation. At one point, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told Zuckerberg that families of children and teens exploited on social networks were in attendance. Zuckerberg got out of his chair and turned and faced the crowd in attendance. “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” he said. Read more
Cyberscammers could come right to your door.
Keep scrolling
Welcome to Black History Month.
A spike of D.C. area carjackings pose a deadly threat.
Cuts to interest rates won't make borrowing easier anytime soon.
Margot Robbie reflected on the "Barbie" Oscars snubs.
Taylor Swift could win her fourth album of the year award at the Grammys this weekend.
"Capote vs The Swans" is deathly cold-blooded.
What would an obesity "bill of rights" include?
Russia and Ukraine swap POWs as war grinds on
Russia and Ukraine said they have exchanged about 200 prisoners of war, despite tensions stemming from last week’s crash of a military transport plane that Moscow claimed was carrying Ukrainian POWs and was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. An investigation continues into the jet crash that killed all 74 people aboard, including a reported 65 Ukrainians, in Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border last week. Read more
Photo of the day: Caitlin Clark is Big Ten's all-time leading scorer
Iowa's Caitlin Clark scored 35 points (3 points over her season average) in Iowa's 110-74 win over Northwestern University Wednesday night. The 22-year-old senior is only 243 points shy of Pete Maravich's NCAA all-time scoring record, which has stood for five decades. Read more
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Border, migrant, Biden, Trump, Iran, Israel, child tax credit, Meta, Russia, Ukraine, Caitlin Clark, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing
