Texas must move a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that drew backlash from Mexico, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to one of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive measures aimed at stopping migrants from entering the U.S. illegally. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requires Texas to stop any work on the roughly 1,000-foot (300-meter) barrier and move it to the riverbank. The order sided with a lower court decision in September that Abbott called “incorrect” and had predicted would be overturned. Instead, the New Orleans-based court handed Texas its second legal defeat this week over its border operations. On Wednesday, a federal judge allowed U.S. Border Patrol agents to continue cutting razor wire the state installed along the riverbank, despite the protests of Texas officials. For months, Texas has asserted that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws protecting navigable waters. But the judges said the lower court correctly sided with the Biden administration. “It considered the threat to navigation and federal government operations on the Rio Grande, as well as the potential threat to human life the floating barrier created,” Judge Dana Douglas wrote in the opinion….

A Texas attorney has been accused of using work-related visits to a county jail to smuggle in legal paperwork laced with ecstasy and synthetic marijuana to inmates over the past several months, authorities announced Monday. Ronald Lewis, 77, was arrested on Friday after arriving at the Harris County Jail in Houston to visit an inmate, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a news conference. This booking photo provided by the Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, shows Ronald Lewis on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. Authorities have accused the Houston attorney of using work-related visits to a county jail to smuggle in legal paperwork laced with ecstasy and synthetic marijuana to inmates over the last several months. Lewis was free on bond on Monday, Nov. 20, after being arrested Friday at the Harris County Jail in Houston while trying to visit an inmate. (Harris County Sheriff’s Office via AP) During his arrest, Lewis had 11 sheets of paper believed to be laced with narcotics, according to authorities. Lewis has been charged with two counts of bringing a prohibited substance into a correctional facility. He is free after posting bonds totaling $15,000. An attorney for Lewis did not immediately return a call seeking…

As major repairs continue on the historic Battleship Texas, plans are being finalized for the ship’s permanent home. The Battleship Texas Foundation announced this week that it is working on a deal to bring the ship to the Pier 21 waterfront development in Galveston. Texas is the last surviving battleship that served in both World Wars. She is in dry dock in Galveston. “This ship is in a hospital. We are doing major surgery on the ship,” said Travis Davis, Vice President of Ship Operations for the Battleship Texas Foundation. The State of Texas, which owns the ship, had considered scrapping her. The 111-year-old battleship was taking on 2,000 gallons of water a minute at her longtime home near the San Jacinto Monument outside Houston. Pumps kept the Texas afloat. “There was definitely a chance we were going to lose the ship,” Davis said. Fifteen months ago, Battleship Texas was towed to the Gulf Copper shipyard and lifted out of the water. Dozens of workers are slowly reversing decades of decay. Fixing the leaks is top priority. “The work that we’re doing to the ship is very critical,” Davis said. The severely weathered wooden deck will also be replaced to make…