Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A team of U.S. officials led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken are scheduled to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on border and immigration issues: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/us/politics/blinken-mexico-migrant-caravan.html

...While a scary interaction with Operation Lone Star agents experienced by an El Paso family provide a preview of likely outcomes of SB-4 should it be allowed to take effect in March: https://elpasomatters.org/2023/12/22/operation-lone-star-mistaken-stop-on-border/

...And the elimination of DEI offices at state public universities is creating new challenges to DACA recipients: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2023/12/26/how-texas-dei-ban-is-tripping-up-efforts-to-help-undocumented-students/

The Texas economy faces "mixed signals" as a new year approaches: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2023/12/26/mixed-signals-texas-economy-exists-in-two-realities-heading-into-2024/

A lawsuit against a bitcoin mining company based in Channing, Texas provides insight into clandestine Chinese investment in that industry: https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-mine-texas-lawsuit-links-to-chinese-investors-2023-12

The skirting of federal environmental regulations, under the gaze of TCEQ, has become common practice in Texas: https://houstonlanding.org/major-problem-in-texas-how-big-polluters-evade-federal-law-and-get-away-with-it/

And news of a robot attack at Tesla's Austin-area Gigafactory seems all too fitting in the universe of Elon Musk: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tesla-engineer-robot-attack-texas-factory-b2469777.html

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