Welcome again, astronauts!
There’s one thing stunning about watching astronauts come dwelling.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian House Company) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10, 2026, off the coast of San Diego, finishing their practically 10-day celestial journey.
Their journey across the moon, which took them farther than the Apollo 13 mission did in 1970, has been an indelible milestone within the lengthy historical past of mankind.
Individuals throughout the globe cheered them on for his or her grit and intelligence, however above all, their humanness.
Koch being greeted on the door by her canine, Glover speaking to his neighbors who gathered round his home to provide him a hero’s welcome, Wiseman naming a moon crater after his late spouse Carroll, and Hansen making it again to earth simply in time to have a good time his marriage ceremony anniversary, remind us that we’re all united in our lived experiences.
From area, they may not see the colour of individuals’s pores and skin. All they may see was, as Glover places it, a “spaceship referred to as Earth.”
In Houston, a metropolis that lives and breathes area exploration, the welcome felt extra private…there was aid behind the reunions I noticed on display. We went to mattress figuring out {that a} as soon as unimaginable feat is now full and mankind has taken one other “large leap.”
Metropolis Council passes immigration ordinance after heated debate
Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to drag $110 million from Houston’s public security grants, following a Metropolis Council choice to restrict Houston cops’ interactions with federal immigration brokers final week. Whitmire is now suggesting repealing the ordinance and has referred to as a particular council assembly on April 17 to debate it.
Regardless of voting “sure” on the coverage, he mentioned he warned the ordinance sponsors, Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin, and Edward Pollard concerning the “authorized and monetary dangers related to this method.”
“It is a disaster state of affairs. The potential lack of state funding poses actual challenges for the Houston Police and Fireplace Departments and can affect public security providers throughout our metropolis, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Safety Division,” he mentioned. “Our public security departments depend on a mixture of native, state, and federal assets to function successfully. We’ve important work forward and I’m contemplating all choices.”
The ordinance Whitmire desires to wipe off the books says that routine visitors stops can’t be extended past the time wanted to finish their “lawful objective” and to attend for ICE. This successfully overturns a March 11 HPD directive that gave ICE half-hour to reach on the scene if a background examine revealed an immigration warrant throughout a cease and a sergeant confirms the warrant is legitimate.
Council members who supported the ordinance framed it as a public-safety measure.
Salinas, who proposed the ordinance, mentioned the purpose to cut back cooperation with ICE was a “naked minimal” transfer and a “optimistic step ahead”. She is now urging Whitmire and the Metropolis Legal professional to instantly file a Non permanent Restraining Order (TRO) by the State’s April twentieth deadline to stop Abbott from withdrawing funds. Salinas additionally proposed searching for a “declaratory judgment affirming that this ordinance is lawful.”
Not everybody was satisfied. Some council members argued the change is generally symbolic, noting that solely a small variety of circumstances truly begin with HPD. Others fearful it might undermine officer discretion or public security.
“Whereas all of us need insurance policies that promote security and equity, we’re significantly involved that inserting a nationwide highlight on our metropolis will create unsafe conditions for our neighborhood and exacerbate the stress positioned on regulation enforcement,” mentioned at-large council member Twila Carter.
Final week, Whitmire warned the council, “the legislature’s watching”. And certain sufficient, the town now faces a troublesome alternative between performing on neighborhood issues and a looming state deadline.
HISD’s quiet campus closure
Houston ISD’s quiet closure of Harper Disciplinary Various Training Program occurred with out a lot communication from the college district.
Highschool college students from this faculty have been moved to a different Secondary DAEP campus close to Fifth Ward.
This comes after HISD’s choice to consolidate 12 faculties earlier this 12 months.
However the choice to shut Harper was not put earlier than the Board of Managers for approval.
On the identical time, disciplinary incidents have fluctuated, and the district is making an attempt to cut back suspensions whereas managing rising wants amongst college students already pushed out of conventional school rooms.
