Border Patrol halts tweets from agency’s West Texas region
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has deactivated the agency’s Twitter account for the West Texas region after it retweeted posts criticizing President Joe Biden’s border policies and liked posts that made gay slurs against U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus posted a tweet late Saturday saying the agency “has become aware of unauthorized and inappropriate content” that was posted on the @CBPWestTexas Twitter account.
The agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate, Magnus said.
“This must not happen again,” his statement said.
On Saturday, the account retweeted posts by Stephen Miller that criticized Biden’s immigration policies and claimed the government was ignoring violent crime. Miller was the architect of former President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies.
“The tweets do not reflect the values of this administration and our work to rebuild a humane, orderly and secure immigration system,” Magnus said in a statement.
A human rights advocate and a former immigration attorney posted tweets Saturday noting the account had retweeted Miller’s criticisms and then looked back and found other posts the account had liked.
Western wildfires: Firefighters made progress against a huge Northern California wildfire that was still growing and threatening thousands of mountain homes while crews also battled major blazes Sunday in Oregon and Washington.
The Mosquito Fire in foothills east of Sacramento spread to nearly 65 square miles, with 10% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
“Cooler temperatures and higher humidity assisted with moderating some fire activity,” but higher winds allowed the flames to push to the north and northeast, according to a Cal Fire incident report Sunday.
More than 5,800 structures in Placer and El Dorado counties were under threat and some 11,000 residents of communities including Foresthill and Georgetown were under evacuation orders.
In Southern California, cooler temperatures and rain brought respite to firefighters battling the massive Fairview Fire about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles after sweltering heat last week. The 44-square-mile blaze was 45% contained Sunday.
Okinawa governor: Okinawa’s incumbent governor who opposes an ongoing U.S. Marine base relocation forced by Japan’s central government and calls for a further reduction of American troops on the southern island secured his reelection Sunday despite concerns of escalating tensions between China and nearby Taiwan.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, backed by opposition parties, was certain to win his second four-year term, according to exit polls by major Japanese media, including NHK national television and Kyodo News agency. Polls were held Sunday before his first fouryear term is to end later this month.
Tamaki and his supporters declared his victory and celebrated with the chants of “banzai” soon after the exit poll results showed he
beat two contenders — Atsushi Sakima, backed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing bloc and another opposition-backed candidate Mikio Shimoji.
Final vote counts are expected early Monday.
Tamaki’s victory could deepen tensions between Okinawa and the central government.
Colorado officer killed: A police officer in the Colorado city of Arvada was killed during a shooting as officers were trying to break up a large family disturbance, the Arvada Police Department said Sunday.
The suspect and another person injured in the shooting early Sunday were hospitalized and expected
to survive, police said.
Officer Dillon Michael Vakoff, 27, and another officer were trying to separate “several belligerent and uncooperative individuals” when the suspect shot a female victim, police said in a statement. The officers and the suspect then exchanged gunfire.
Vakoff was declared dead at a hospital.
Vakoff was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for six years, before joining the Arvada Police Department in 2019. He was training to be a SWAT officer, police said in a statement.
Vakoff graduated from high school in Arvada in 2012.
“This is a tragic loss to this community, to this department, but most significantly to his family and loved ones,” the police department said in a social media post. “His service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Grand Canyon water issues:
The South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing in greater water restrictions and conservation measures because of a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline, park officials said Sunday.
Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, officials say the park will remain in conservation mode.
In addition to the new changes, all existing conservation measures remain in place for both the North and South rims.
Park officials also said that hikers in the backcountry should plan to carry all their water or methods to treat water.
Novelist Marias dies: Javier Marias, Spain’s most prestigious novelist of the past half century, has died, his publisher said Sunday. He was 70.
Spanish news agency EFE reported that Marias died in a hospital after not recovering from a lung infection.
Marias was the author of 15 novels, translations and collections of his weekly newspaper columns.
His best known novels include “Corazon tan blanco” (“Heart So White”), “Todas las almas” (“All Souls) and “Manana en la batalla piensa en mi” (“Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me”).
Many of his works have been translated into English and other languages.