SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - A young girl in Alabama started a lemonade stand this week for a special cause.

Emouree Johnson, 7, spent her Friday after school selling lemonade at a homemade stand not to get a new toy or the latest clothing trend but to help raise money for a headstone for her mother.

Emouree’s mother, Karli Bordner, died unexpectedly in March, according to the family.

Jennifer Bordner, Emouree’s grandmother, said the young girl came up with the idea of raising money on her own.

“Emouree is so special. If a lady over here was hurt, she would take something to help her,” Jennifer Bordner said.

When a social media post spread about Emouree’s cause, members of the community flocked to her stand to help.

Neighbors, firefighters, nurses and deputies stopped by for a cup at $1 each, but many gave a bit extra as a tip for her hard work.

At one point in the afternoon, Johnson received multiple $100 bills from community members.

“I’ve just been amazed. Cried happy tears,” Jennifer Bordner said.

According to the family, Emouree’s fundraising effort helped raise nearly $10,000.

And after hearing the family’s story, monument companies have also stepped forward to donate headstones for Karli Bordner. The money raised can now go toward other expenses the family is handling.

“Like she knows that mommy is OK now. She knows that she’s going to be OK, and everybody cares and loves her,” Jennifer Bordner said. “All these people showing all this and trying to help, it’s actually helping heal the whole family.”

Emouree said her mother would be proud, “Yeah. She would say I’m doing good.”

The family has a GoFundMe account to further help with funeral expenses.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Laredo’s once-popular Zacate Creek is getting another infusion of funds to clean up the border trail and waterfall area.

The City of Laredo this week announced that $7.6 million in additional funds from local, state and federal agencies will go to improve the land and access to Zacate Creek, which is located on the banks of the Rio Grande across from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

According to the city, the Zacate Creek cleanup effort was one of 14 projects chosen nationwide as part of the National Park Service’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program.

The federal program matches state and local grants. City officials say grants also come from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, as well as the City of Laredo, Webb County, and private investors.

The City of Laredo has pledged $1.8 million; Webb County has pledged $2 million to meet the required local match of $3.8 million. The National Park Service will match it for a total of $7.6 million.

The funds will be used to develop the 22-acre Zacate Creek Green District Corridor, which will include new hike and bike trails, shared-use paths, a new trailhead entrance, parking an open-air visitor center, bike and kayak rental station, a pedestrian bridge, a community garden, as well as restoration of the existing amphitheater.

The mayor’s office told Border Report on Thursday that Zacate Creek restoration is important because of its location on the Rio Grande and will set the framework for future restoration of the border area as part of the city’s binational river park project that is being developed with Nuevo Laredo.

This new infusion of funds comes after $8.6 million was announced last summer for Zacate Creek restoration funds that the City of Laredo, Webb County, and the Department of Interior culled together. This includes some land pledged by the city and $2 million pledged by the county.

Zacate Creek includes a stunning ancient waterfall area surrounded by rocks, but it largely has been abandoned by the public because it is across from a dilapidated sewage facility in Nuevo Laredo that has long spewed toxic waste into the Rio Grande and has fouled the area.

Mexico’s federal government received an $81 million loan from NADBank to repair the sewage facility and Border Report was told that construction repair efforts have already begun.

In August, Laredo City Councilwoman Melissa Cigarroa told Border Report that the Zacate Creek Restoration Project is a “pilot program” for the binational river park project that leaders from both countries are trying to develop.

The nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center will be helping with the reforestation and revegetation as well as removing invasive species, said Cigarroa, the former board president for the organization that studies the Rio Grande watershed.

LAREDO, Texas (Border Report) — Colin Allred says “crisis” is an acceptable term to describe the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Democratic congressman from Dallas, who is challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for his seat in November, was in Laredo, Texas, on Friday, to meet with border officials and nonprofits that assist asylum-seekers.

After touring the Rio Grande, he said he was “frustrated” by current immigration policies and he wants to see real change by Congress to stop the flow of migrants illegally crossing from Mexico.

“The term ‘crisis’ is applicable when you have a record number of crossings, which we did in December,” Allred said in response to a question from Border Report.

Allred said he’s calling it as he sees it.

“Let’s not make it a partisan term. Let’s just say that we have to respond to it,” he said. “My family is from the (Rio Grande) Valley and I recognize the burden it places on border communities when we don’t have the policies in place to deal with this. I’m incredibly frustrated right now.”

Allred toured a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose hometown is Laredo and whose district extends to the Rio Grande Valley.

Both Allred and Cuellar are members of the new Democrats for Border Security Task Force, which formed earlier this year to try to change the narrative about the border and border communities.

Allred says he grew up spending summers in Brownsville, Texas, across from Matamoros, Mexico. His grandfather was a U.S. Customs officer and he says he has fond memories of running and playing in the streets and neighborhood near his grandmother’s house.

He urged Senate leaders to bring to a vote the Senate Border Security Bill — the same bill that President Joe Biden pushed when he visited Brownsville on Feb. 29.

“We have this bill that would provide billions of dollars to secure the border for additional personnel, to raise the standard on asylum, to really help in a fundamental way. No state would benefit more than Texas,” he said. “But for some reason, we have some people who have chosen not to support it and I think mostly that’s because of the politics.”

Allred accused Republicans of delaying immigration reform until after the November elections to give them a controversial issue to run on, and one that is one of the most divisive in the nation.

Cruz has opposed the Senate border bill and says it is not strong enough and does not provide for the building of more federal border wall, which he deems necessary to stop illegal immigration.

A Cruz spokesperson told Border Report on Friday that immigration and border security is a leading issue of concern for the senator.

“Securing the border is Sen. Cruz’s top priority. His record is clear: He has been the leading fighter for a secure border and has worked day in and day out to pressure the Biden administration to close the border and protect Texas,” the spokesperson said. “Allred has been a consistent vote for Joe Biden and his open-borders agenda.”

The spokesperson criticized Allred for not speaking out on the recent death of nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of a man illegally present in the U.S., or “on the increase in drug and human trafficking, on the destruction of South Texans’ private property and on the overwhelming strain on law enforcement.”

The proposed Senate border bill would add 1,500 CBP officers, 4,300 asylum officers and 100 immigration judges, and raise the number of U.S. detention beds to 50,000.

Cuellar is the only Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. He said funding bills passed last month and signed by Biden for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 raise the number of detention beds to 41,500 — up from 40,000 — and provide enough funds to add 22,000 new Border Patrol agents.

Cuellar said it also raises the amount of money the Department of Homeland Security has for deportation flights to send back migrants who do not qualify for asylum.

He said an estimated “87% to 94% will be ejected because they don’t qualify.”

At the Holdings Institute nonprofit in Laredo, which assists asylum-seekers, officials told the congressmen that they are currently receiving about 100 migrants per day whom DHS releases while they await their immigration proceedings.

Cuellar said that affects the “morale” of Border Patrol agents, and he chastised the administration’s current “catch and release policy” that he says undoes the hard efforts of agents who patrol the U.S. borderlands.

He agreed with Allred’s assessment and said the word “crisis” is apt.

“Sometimes Democrats have hesitated to describe this as a crisis,” he said.

Cuellar added that he believes Mexico is working to stop illegal immigration from its border and praised CBP data that showed a drop in illegal crossings in February and March.

(NEXSTAR) – If you’re suffering from allergies right now, we’ve got some bad news for you. Chances are you live in a city where the allergy season is growing longer and worse.

That’s because as the climate has warmed, there are fewer days with hard freezes. That gives pollen producers, grasses and weeds a longer period of time to thrive (and make your eyes water). The 2024 season has kicked off especially early, experts say.

It’s not just that allergy season is growing longer – there’s also evidence it’s getting more intense. One study looked at the impact of increased carbon dioxide on ragweed plants. It found that with more carbon dioxide in the environment, ragweed plants grew larger and produced significantly more pollen.

Climate Central, an organization of scientists and journalists that studies the impacts of climate change, analyzed data from nearly 200 U.S. cities to determine where the allergy problems are growing worse. They found that since 1970, the allergy season has grown longer in 164 cities.

One Texas city in particular has seen its allergy season grow dramatically. El Paso finished eighth, as the city has seen its allergy season grow roughly 47 days longer.

Several other Texas cities fared a bit better, but are still seeing their allergy seasons growing. Dallas, Fort Worth, and Sherman each have added about 17 more days. Tyler wasn’t far behind with 15 days, while Odessa finished with 11. Wichita Falls and Amarillo each finished with 10 and 8 days more in their allergy seasons when compared to 1970.

Cities in neighboring New Mexico didn’t do too well either, with Las Cruces finishing second on the list with an extra 65 days of allergy season. Albuquerque/Santa Fe finished 13th in the country with 37 more days.

On average, the cities analyzed around the country saw allergy season lengthen by 19 days.

The full list of cities where allergy season lengthened the most since 1970 were:

1. Reno, Nevada: 95 days longer

2. Las Cruces, New Mexico: 65 days longer

3. Medford, Oregon: 61 days longer

4. Boise, Idaho: 51 days longer

5. Tupelo, Mississippi: 50 days longer

6. Missoula, Montana: 48 days longer

7. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: 48 days longer

8. El Paso, Texas: 47 days longer

9. Toledo, Ohio: 45 days longer

10. Eugene, Oregon: 40 days longer

11. Helena, Montana: 40 days longer

12. Concord, New Hampshire: 39 days longer

13. Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico: 37 days longer

14. Roanoke, Virginia: 37 days longer

15. Manchester, New Hampshire: 35 days longer

16. Duluth, Minnesota: 34 days longer

17. Atlanta, Georgia: 33 days longer

18. Lansing, Michigan: 33 days longer

19. Minneapolis/St. Paul: 33 days longer

20. Madison, Wisconsin: 32 days longer

While 164 U.S. cities were found to have their allergy seasons growing longer, about 30 cities saw the opposite trend: shorter allergy seasons since 1970. Chief among them was Ottumwa, Iowa, where the allergy season is about 19 days shorter than it used to be.

There isn’t one clear cause for why that may be the case, explained Climate Central meteorologist Lauren Casey. While global warming is happening globally, the impact at the local level isn’t always clear-cut and predictable.

“I think of global warming as a big umbrella. We’re seeing our global average temperatures increasing over time due to carbon pollution, but the effect of that is climate change. And that doesn’t always necessarily just mean warming in a given location. It has all sorts of different and cascading effects,” Casey said.

Lubbock saw its allergy season drop two days and Waco saw a significant change with their season behind shortened by 18 days.

Several other cities in the south stood out as well with Tulsa, Oklahoma; Macon, Georgia; and Mobile, Alabama, all seeing their allergy seasons cut down, according to the analysis.

It can also be harder to analyze the length of allergy seasons in the South and Southeast, Casey said, because some of the cities never drop below freezing, or only do so rarely.

Another recent report, released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, focused on where allergy sufferers have it worst overall. They found cities in the South and Midwest tend to have the worst allergy conditions. Wichita, Kansas, topped the list, followed by Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Greenville, South Carolina.

HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — The filmmakers and subjects of a documentary that chronicled migrant disappearances and deaths near the border will be touring several cities in Texas.

The film, “Missing in Brooks County,” is slated to show at the following events and venues:

• 6:30 p.m., April 16 at the Latin American and U.S. Perspectives Symposium at Baylor University in Waco.

• 1 p.m., April 17, at the Texas State Capitol Auditorium in Austin.

• 6 p.m., April 17, at the Univesity of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin.

• 8 p.m., April 18 at the Entre Film Center in Harlingen.

• 8 p.m., April 19 at the Hidalgo Pump House at the border wall in Hidalgo (outdoor).

• 7:30 p.m., April 20 at the Freeman Ranch/Texas State University Human Decomposition Lab in San Marcos (outdoor).

Co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss started their documentary about South Texas in 2015. They spent four years reporting it, and the film was finally released in the summer of 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple previously told Border Report.

The 81-minute-long film has since garnered several awards, and is the most-watched documentary on PBS’ “Independent Lens,” Bemiss said.

Appearing for the showings will be several people who featured prominently in the film, including the two co-directors; Eddie Canales, of the South Texas Human Rights Center, which helps to assist families of missing migrants; Dr. Kate Spradlin, an anthropology professor at Texas State University and the director of the university’s Operation Identification program; and Priscilla Lugo of the Texas Immigration Law Council.

“We decided to tour with the film due to a total lack of empathy right now around the topic of migrants and immigration,” Molomot said.

The film shows the harsh and unforgiving terrain of Brooks County, about 80 miles north of the border with Mexico. That’s where hundreds of migrants go missing each year and many die after illegally crossing the border and trying to walk around a heavily armed U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Brooks County in the small town of Falfurrias.

“We believed if people could meet the families of the missing, they would feel differently about the border policies they are supporting,” Bemiss said.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The Laredo Police Department was called to the Siesta Motel on San Bernardo Avenue around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5 after reports of a shooting.

According to authorities, one man has been confirmed injured in the incident. Details surrounding the shooting, including the circumstances leading up to it and the severity of the victim’s injuries, remain under investigation.

No further information has been released at this time.

Updates will be provided as more details emerge.

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Violence continues to plague Juarez, Mexico, despite the recent arrival of 2,100 soldiers and last month’s transfer of gang leaders from various state prisons.

Five men were killed early Friday, bringing the total to 21 homicide victims in the first five days of April. Two victims were shot in broad daylight inside a blue Jeep on a street corner in the densely populated Zaragoza neighborhood near the U.S. border.

Police said assailants shot the driver of the idling vehicle at point-blank range, then chased a passenger down the street and gunned him down. A few minutes later, police and members of Mexico’s National Guard searched a nearby home where several people allegedly were being held against their will.

Other witnesses told police they saw three men escort several people with their heads covered into the residence two days earlier, the report states. The residents did not report the incident out of fear for their lives.

Authorities said they rescued from the home one man who self-identified as a migrant. Later, they received a report of a second man who also had managed to escape and immediately exited Juarez. No arrests had been reported as of early Friday afternoon.

Border Report is waiting to hear from the mayor of Juarez and various police officials holding their weekly public safety meeting on Friday.