The first of 64 gargantuan wind turbines is up and spinning under its own weight in the North Sea, promising the first 15 megawatts of what will become around 1,000 MW which could power a medium-sized city. EnBW is one of Germany’s largest energy companies, and the He Dreiht offshore wind farm, translated as the […] The post Capable of Powering 1.1 Millon Homes, the First of 64 Offshore Wind Turbines Rises Above the North Sea appeared first on Good News Network.

With a stroke of his pen this Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott will make every school-aged child in Texas eligible for education choice. It’s a historic victory for education freedom, long sought after by the school choice movement. Following Idaho, Indiana, Tennessee, and Wyoming this year, Texas is now the 16th state to enact a “universal” education choice policy for which every K-12 student is eligible. It’s also a tipping point. More than 1 in 10 U.S. students live in Texas. Now that they are all eligible for an education savings account, half of America’s children now live in states where they are eligible for education choice. However, universal eligibility does not imply universal access. Although every K-12 student in Texas is technically eligible, only a small number will actually get access to the accounts. The Legislature allocated $1 billion, which is barely 1% of the $97.1 billion in state K-12 education funding. That is enough funding for only about 1.5% of Texas students to receive an education savings account. Because funding is limited, access will be rationed. Of the roughly 100,000 account available, 80% must go to children from low- or middle-income families. Moreover, higher-income families are only eligible if their child is switching from a public school. Texas-based economist Vance Ginn called that restriction “a slap in the face to families already sacrificing for private or home education.” As Ginn noted, the taxpayers already “fund these families to go to government schools at a higher expense per student, so why wouldn’t everyone interested be able to receive an [education savings account]?” Texas families deserve better. The aim of public education is that every single child gets access to the learning environment that best meets their individual learning needs. District schools aspire to fulfill that aim and are therefore funded via a formula so that every school-aged child receives funding. However, one size does not fit all. No school is the best fit for every child who just happens to live nearby. Education savings accounts provide families with a much greater degree of freedom and flexibility to choose the learning environments that work best for their children, hence they come closer to fulfilling the promise of public education than district schools—but only if every child actually has access to an education savings account. It can be done. Eight states offer truly universal education choice. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia all have education choice policies where every K-12 student is eligible, and every eligible student is funded. It’s time for the school choice movement to raise the bar on what counts as “universal.” That’s why The Heritage Foundation’s Education Freedom Report Card scores states based on the expansiveness of their education choice policies’ eligibility as well as what proportion of eligible students are funded, among other factors. Similarly, EdChoice’s new Friedman Index scores states on three dimensions—eligibility, allowable uses, and funding—with the highest scores going to states that are universal across all three categories. Texas lawmakers—particularly Abbott—deserve credit for their historic accomplishment. They have every right to brag that they have enacted the largest first-year education savings account program in the nation. But no one should rest on their laurels. When it comes to empowering families with education choice, Texas is still miles behind at least half a dozen states. The promise of education choice is freedom, flexibility, and fairness for all families—not just the fortunate few. If Texas wants to lead the nation in education freedom, it needs to finish what it started. The post Texas and the Promise of ‘Universal’ School appeared first on The Daily Signal.

This story—that sadly has a tragic ending—began 15 years ago when an immigration court looked at the case of a Guatemalan national named Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj. He was arrested in Oklahoma in 2023—13 years after he had been deported. “A check of records confirmed Paxtor’s identity and confirmed he is an alien who was ordered removed by an Immigration Judge on June 29, 2010, and previously removed from the United States to Guatemala on July 9, 2010,” said an affidavit attached to a criminal complaint filed on Dec. 1, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. This complaint alleged Paxtor had committed “Illegal Reentry After Removal from the United States.” How did he reenter? “Paxtor also stated that he last entered the United States illegally in 2011 with the help of a coyote, whom he paid $500,” said this affidavit executed by a special agent for the Department of Homeland Security. What did he allegedly do here? An indictment filed in another case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Feb. 25 made charges against Paxtor and three others, including Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Helmer Obispo-Hernandez. “The Renoj-Matul transnational criminal organization (‘Renoj-Matul TCO’) operated for at least a dozen years and specialized in the smuggling of illegal aliens from Guatemala to the United States, the transportation and movement of those illegal aliens within the United States, and the harboring, concealing, and shielding of illegal aliens within the United States,” alleges this indictment. “As such, it was one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States, moving approximately 20,000 illegal aliens from 2019 through July 2024.” “Defendant Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj … was a driver for the Renoj-Matul TCO,” this indictment alleges. “Defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj is a citizen and national of Guatemala and is illegally and unlawfully in the United States.” “Defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj and other coconspirators would drive illegal aliens already in the United States throughout the United States in exchange for a fee,” it alleged. It also included a subsection with this heading: “Transportation of Illegal Aliens Resulting in Death on Nov. 21, 2023.” “Prior to Nov. 20, 2023, defendant Obispo-Hernandez instructed defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj to transport six illegal aliens … from New York to Los Angeles and one illegal alien … from Oklahoma to Atlanta, Georgia, via Los Angeles,” it says. “On Nov. 21, 2023,” it says, “in the area of Elk City, Oklahoma, while transporting illegal aliens K.X.F.C, G.C.S., C.V.X.C, A.A.E.C.T., R.E.T.X., E.V.X.X., and J.M.L.A., and while en route to Los Angeles, defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj caused a vehicle collision that killed illegal aliens …” The previously deported Paxtor-Oxlaj, who survived, took pictures of the vehicles involved. “On Nov. 21, 2023, after the vehicle collision,” says the indictment, “defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj took photos of the aftermath of the collision and the victims, including the following …” The indictment then shows two photographs of two smashed up vehicles embedded in each other. “On Nov. 21, 2023, defendant Paxtor-Oxlaj and defendant Obispo-Hernandez had two WhatsApp video calls following the accident, and defendant Obispo-Hernandez received the preceding two photographs,” the indictment said. The affidavit that was filed with the criminal complaint against Paxtor-Oxlaj for “Illegal Reentry After Removal” in the Western District of Oklahoma explains what happened next. “Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) arrested Paxtor on manslaughter charges in violation of Oklahoma State Law, and transported Paxtor to the Beckham County Jail,” it said. A Homeland Security special agent informed Paxtor of his Miranda rights, but he “waived his rights, and agreed to speak with the investigators.” “Paxtor stated that earlier in the day (on Nov. 21, 2023) he had been driving passengers in the vehicle from New York to Los Angeles and charged them $300 per person, which he would be paid upon arrival in Los Angeles. Paxtor stated all the passengers in the vehicle were Guatemalan except for one passenger who was Mexican,” said the affidavit. “Since Paxtor was previously removed,” it alleged, “he knowingly came back to the United States without proper authorization.” This week, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma issued a press release stating that Paxtor-Oxlaj “has pleaded guilty to illegally reentering after removal from the United States.” “Six individuals would be alive today, including five children, and another would not have been critically injured, if this defendant did not illegally reenter the United States after his deportation,” said Western Oklahoma U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “In Beckham County District Court, Paxtor-Oxlaj was convicted of six counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of causing accident with great bodily injury without a valid driver’s license,” said the U.S. attorney’s release. “His failure to comply with our immigration laws has resulted in horrific and tragic consequences which can never be undone,” said Troester. While this individual was failing “to comply with our immigration laws,” those same laws were being generous to people who obeyed them. In the last eight fiscal years for which the Department of Homeland Security has published complete numbers (2016 through 2023), the United States has granted “lawful permanent resident status” to 8,078,056 immigrants. They have come from all over the world—including, for example, 15,380 from Guatemala in 2023 alone. The judge who ordered Paxtor deported was justly enforcing a just law. The failure to prevent this man’s illegal return resulted in an injustice. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post America’s Immigration Laws Are Just appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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Small, efficient cars are increasingly rare, thanks to overly aggressive fuel-economy standards.

The fraud on his watch represents one of the greatest failures of a public official in the state’s history.

The twisted morality of sanctuary policies.

Their positions keep shifting depending on where Trump is.

Will Canada suffer through even worse federal policy than it did with Justin Trudeau over the past ten years?

Superbly restored rooms, a show on the art of vodou, and energy and élan at a New England treasure.