NATIONAL NEWS

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift halt on Big Bend border wall

Oct 21, 2026, 1:13 PM

A portion of border wall is under construction in the Big Bend region, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, n...

A portion of border wall is under construction in the Big Bend region, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, near Sierra Blanca, Texas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Credit: AP Photo/John Locher

(AP Photo/John Locher)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let it resume building a border wall project through the Big Bend region of Texas.

The government filed an emergency appeal asking the justices to lift a lower court decision halting construction. That ruling marked a setback to one of President Donald Trump’s signature projects.

The administration has been racing forward with construction on a border wall and other infrastructure from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

But in the Big Bend region, the administration has run into opposition from ranchers, residents, business owners and environmentalists who argue the projects are a waste of money in an area of historically low illegal immigration and say construction could harm the region’s beautiful landscapes.

Opponents have filed numerous lawsuits seeking to stop the project, which in the Big Bend consists of a mixture of walls, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.

National News

This photo made with a smartphone shows U.S. Coast Guard officer Josh Law, left, and lieutenant Miy...

Associated Press

AP Interview: Coast Guard swimmer says he fought waves, darkness to rescue 16 people from ocean

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Strapped into a harness, Josh Law was lowered from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter into the rough Pacific Ocean in the pitch black night, far off the Mexican coast. The force of the helicopter blades pummeled the water, whipping up spray and turbulence. The Coast Guard rescue swimmer couldn’t hear anything […]

3 minutes ago

Police tape is placed outside Silver Rail Elementary school, where a shooting took place, on Thursd...

Associated Press

Oregon man who killed school shooter says he regrets there were children he didn’t save

The Oregon man who fatally shot a teenage gunman to end a deadly rampage at an elementary school last week says he was the children’s “last line of defense” and that he regrets not arriving soon enough to save them all. Kaylub Giamanco, whose two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary, where the Oct. 15 attack […]

40 minutes ago

FILE - Senior hurricane specialists Eric Blake, left, and Richard Pasch, right, work at the Nationa...

Associated Press

With hurricane off Mexico sharing name with Vice President JD Vance, the social media memes fly

As Vice President JD Vance travels the U.S. supporting Republican candidates in next month’s election, another Vance is on a whirlwind tour off Mexico’s Pacific Coast. The storm named Vance that strengthened into a hurricane on Friday is not actually named after the vice president, despite a flurry of social media comments linking the two. […]

1 hour ago

This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, a...

Associated Press

What’s going on with Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? The Alaska Senate litigation, explained

President Donald Trump’s administration has taken its first step to block the results of a midterm election, and it’s all about the fact that there are two Dan Sullivans on the Alaska Senate ballot. One of them is a Republican and ally of the president. The other is a retired school teacher whom Republicans accuse […]

2 hours ago

A plume of smokes rises from MC Tank Transport Inc., where a chemical tank exploded overnight, prom...

Associated Press

Toledo, Ohio, mayor says employee error caused chemical leak, lifts remaining evacuation orders

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Officials in northeast Ohio said Friday that a chemical tank leak earlier in the week was caused by a chemical reaction resulting from an employee error and lifted all remaining evacuation orders. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a news conference that the venting of the tank that ruptured at MC […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Severe flooding in the Four Corners region triggers rooftop rescues and evacuation orders

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Severe flooding in the Four Corners region on Friday led to water rescues — some from rooftops — and impassable roads, with some residents being told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others advised to shelter in place until water levels go down. It followed several […]

3 hours ago

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift halt on Big Bend border wall