Some news on the border wall with Mexico that went unnoticed ....
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Recent assaults by tactical teams on prototypes of President Donald Trump's proposed wall with Mexico found their imposing heights should stop border crossers, The Associated Press has learned, a finding that's likely to please security hawks but raise concerns about costs and environmental damage.
Military special forces based in Florida and U.S. Customs and Border Protection special units spent three weeks trying to breach and scale the eight models in San Diego, using jackhammers, saws, torches and other tools and climbing devices, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the rigorous testing told the AP on condition of anonymity because the information was not authorized for public release.
Each model was to be 18 to 30 feet (5 to 9 meters) high, and contractors built at or near the maximum, which is roughly twice as high as many existing barriers. Ronald Vitiello, the agency's acting deputy commissioner, said after visiting the prototypes in October that he was struck most by their height.
The highly trained testers scaled 16 to 20 feet (5 to 6 meters) unassisted but needed help after that, said the official, who described the assaults on the wall prototypes to the AP. Testers also expressed safety concerns about getting down from 30 feet.
Only once did a tester manage to land a hook on top of the wall without help, the official said. Tubes atop some models repelled climbing devices but wouldn't work in more mountainous areas because the terrain is too jagged.
The findings appear to challenge what Janet Napolitano, now chancellor of the University of California, often said when she was President Barack Obama's homeland security secretary: "You show me a 50-foot wall, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."
A Customs and Border Protection report on the tests identifies strengths and flaws of each design but does not pick an overall winner or rank them. The report recommends combining elements of each, depending on the terrain. The official likened it to a Lego design, pulling pieces from different prototypes.
The report favors steel at the ground level because agents can see what is happening on the other side through mesh, and damage can more easily be fixed than concrete, the official said. With concrete, large slabs have to be replaced for even small breaches, which is time-consuming and expensive. Topping the steel with smooth concrete surfaces helps prevent climbing.
Brandon Judd, who heads the union representing border agents, said the recommended height and steel-concrete design make sense. He said people have been able to scale the smaller border walls, which were not put to same degree of testing before construction.
"Not many people are going to attempt to go over 30 feet," said Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council. "I just don't see it happening."
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Denver woman accused of shooting at law officers during protests in North Dakota against the Dakota Access oil pipeline has reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid trial.
Attorneys for Red Fawn Fallis said the decision was based on anti-protester sentiment in the area and unsuccessful attempts to have a judge order the prosecution to turn over more information, including details about an FBI informant Fallis alleges seduced her and owned the gun.
"Red Fawn has been fighting an uphill battle at every stage of this case," her attorneys said in a statement late Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Chris Myers on Wednesday declined comment until after the case is resolved.
Fallis was to stand trial in federal court in Fargo beginning Jan. 29 on accusations that she fired a handgun three times during her October 2016 arrest. No one was injured. She earlier pleaded not guilty to civil disorder and weapons charges, including illegal possession of a gun by a convicted felon. She has a 2003 conviction in Colorado for being an accessory to a felony crime.
Fallis is now scheduled to plead guilty Monday in federal court in Bismarck to the civil disorder and gun possession counts. Prosecutors would drop a more serious weapons charge — discharge of a firearm in relation to a felony crime of violence — that carries a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and the possibility of life. Prosecutors also would recommend no more than seven years, according to Fallis' attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland must approve the plea deal, and he could sentence Fallis to up to 10 years.
"Red Fawn has made the very difficult decision to enter into a plea agreement that still risks significant prison time, but removes the mandatory minimum and the possibility of life imprisonment," her attorneys said.
The report favors steel at the ground level because agents can see what is happening on the other side through mesh, and damage can more easily be fixed than concrete, the official said. With concrete, large slabs have to be replaced for even small breaches, which is time-consuming and expensive. Topping the steel with smooth concrete surfaces helps prevent climbing.
