The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court and fully reinstated nine key provisions of Texas’s 2021 Election Protection and Integrity Act. That includes the requirement that mail ballot applications and envelopes carry a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number that matches the voter’s record, plus rules on curing defects and an oath for anyone assisting a voter.
Judge Andrew Oldham wrote that it has long been established that mail in ballots are prone to fraud and that this kind of voting jeopardizes election integrity. The court found most of the plaintiffs’ claims lacked standing. After the law partially took effect, rejection rates for missing or mismatched ID numbers dropped from 11–12% down to 2.7%. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called it a major win for preventing fraud.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs lifted her earlier stay, allowing the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. The decision follows the Supreme Court’s ruling that limited how far lower courts can go in blocking TPS terminations.
Homeland Security had determined that conditions in Somalia no longer met the legal standard for the program. The designation, which dated back to 1991, is now terminated and the related work permits are no longer valid. Estimates of the number of people affected ranged from about 1,100 approved holders to higher numbers when pending applications were included. The judge said the challengers were unlikely to win on the merits under the Supreme Court’s framework.
Governor Greg Abbott ordered a full review of state grants to the entities that run Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. He also referred both airports to the Department of Transportation and the FAA.
Abbott says DFW had planned to install Islamic wudu washing stations in Terminal D restrooms, while IAH already has an ablution facility connected to a prayer room stocked with Qurans, prayer rugs, and other religious items. He argues these are special accommodations for one religion at taxpayer supported, government owned airports and that they violate constitutional rules against government favoritism.
Shortly after his announcement, DFW said it would not move forward with the planned stations.
Five people were shot early Saturday outside residence halls at Virginia State University. This is an HBCU. One remains in critical condition. The other four have non life threatening injuries. At least one confirmed student has already been released from the hospital.
Officers responded around 1:30 a.m. University officials said multiple suspects were involved. No arrests had been announced at the time of the reports. The campus was locked down for several hours. The shooting happened just as students were moving in and right after a freshman welcome event, with classes set to start Monday.
President Trump has classified the White House East Wing ballroom construction as an integrated military project essential for national security. The plans include underground bomb shelters, a hardened hospital, command and control features, and other protective infrastructure meant to modernize aging presidential emergency facilities.
After an appeals court limited above ground work, the administration went to the Supreme Court seeking permission to continue the full project, which officials say is about 65% complete. Trump has called the court rulings a national security threat that puts presidents, their families, staff, and visiting leaders at risk. The above ground ballroom portion is privately funded.
Texas just got its mail ballot rules back. Somalia’s TPS is ending. A governor is pushing back hard on special Islamic facilities at major airports. A campus shooting wounded five people right as students were moving in. And the White House is fighting to keep building what it says is critical protective infrastructure.
Today I’m going to talk about these the way I see them. Just straight conversation. I think what Texas and Florida are doing with the airports is good. I’ll explain below in section 3. Let’s get into it.
I’ve been saying for years that mail ballots are the soft underbelly of election integrity. The 5th Circuit finally agreed in clear language. When a federal appeals court says out loud that mail voting is prone to fraud and that it jeopardizes democracy itself, that matters. Texas tried to put basic matching requirements in place and lower courts kept blocking them. Now those rules are back. As they should be.
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