Harris

Sen. Kamala Harris aggressively challenged Joe Biden on his nostalgic comments about working with segregationists and his record on school integration during an often contentious debate between Democratic presidential candidates.

“It was actually very hurtful to hear you talk about the reputation of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country,” Harris said, her voice thick with emotion, to the former vice president and senator. She noted she was the only black person on the debate stage and drew on her own experiences.

“You also worked with them to oppose busing,” the California senator said. “And there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public school, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.”

The exchange between two Democrats fighting to occupy the same lane in the presidential nominating contest was a pivotal moment in Thursday’s debate from Miami, the second night of the event.

Harris was referring to the Biden’s remarks this month about lost “civility” in the nation’s capital, including being able to work with segregationist Sens. James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, even though he disagreed with them.

Biden said his position was being mischaracterized, that he did not praise racists; he pointed to his work with President Obama without mentioning him by name.

This is not your father’s Democratic Party: Debate shows how leftward it has moved »

Biden also said he did not oppose busing, but rather believed it was an issue that should be handled by the states rather than the federal government.

“You would have been able to go to school the same exact way because it was a local decision,” he said.

Harris noted that such states’ rights arguments were used to fight integration in certain parts of the country.

“That’s why the federal government must step in,” Harris said. “That’s why we have the Voting Rights Act, that’s why we have the Civil Rights Act, that’s why we need to pass the Equality Act. That’s why we need to pass the ERA, because there are moments in history when states fail to preserve the civil rights of all people.”

Biden noted his support for the Equal Rights Amendment and the Voting Rights Act before noting that he had run out of time.

Harris clearly came prepared to go after Biden on this issue. Her campaign tweeted a picture of her as a schoolgirl shortly after the exchange.

Davey Harris of Windward finally scored his first points in high school basketball Monday night after waiting two seasons to recover from a knee injury. He scored 21 points in a 66-51 win over Knight at Chaminade.

The 6-foot-4 Harris is no ordinary junior. Coach DJ Gay said Harris picked up 10 scholarship offers just from his summer performances, with recruiters seeing a hint of his potential. He’s the younger brother of former Windward standout JJ Harris, a Loyola Marymount commit.

Harris said he felt well and is looking forward to being 100% later this season. Amare Larane scored 19 points for Knight.

Santa Paula 75, Garden Grove Santiago 35: Andrew Valdovinos made eight three-pointers and finished with 24 points. David Alvarez added 19 points.

Chatsworth 62, Burroughs 32: Aaron Krueger had 24 points for Chatsworth.

Canyon Country Canyon 74, Victor Valley 49: Isaac Yuhico scored 36 points for the Cowboys.

Granada Hills 61, Gardena Serra 52: Jacob Bautista finished with 20 points for Granada Hills.

Rolling Hills Prep 60, West Torrance 48: Kawika Suter had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Welch Jr. added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Loyola 69, Palisades 58: Mattai Carter led Loyola with 17 points. Freshman Phillip Green had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Palisades.

Girls basketball

Sage Hill 64, Harvard-Westlake 29: Sage Hill showed why it will be an Open Division team, routing the Wolverines in a Redondo Union tournament game. Texas-bound Amalia Holguin was making threes from NBA range. She had 19 points. Kamdyn Klamberg had 21 points.

Etiwanda 98, Santa Maria St. Joseph 31: The Eagles (2-0) received 22 points from Chasity Rice and 21 points from Arynn Finley at Redondo Union.

Nov. 11 (UPI) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Harris County for allocating $1.35 million to help fund legal defense of those facing immigration deportation hearings.

Harris County, which includes Houston and forms the core of the Greater Houston Area, has historically ranked among the top U.S. counties for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers, according to reporting by The Texas Tribune.

Paxton accused the Harris County Commissioners Court of illegally allocating more than $1.35 million in taxpayer funds to “radical-left organizations” that use the money to “oppose the lawful deportations of illegal aliens.”

He called the fund “blatantly unconstitutional” and “evil and wicked” in a news release announcing the lawsuit Tuesday.

“We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump administration,” Paxton said Tuesday in a news release.

“Millions upon millions of illegals invaded America during the last administration,” Paxton said. “They must be sent back to where they came from.”

He said the Harris County Commissioners Court recently voted 4-1 to allocate $1.35 million to several non-governmental organizations that are “dedicated to fighting the deportation of illegal aliens.”

Recipients include the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Justice for All Immigrants, Kids in Need of Defense, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and BakerRipley.

The allocations serve no public purpose and amount to illegal grants of taxpayer dollars to pay for the legal defense of those who should not be in the country, Paxton said.

He said the Texas Constitution prohibits allocating taxpayer funds to individuals or groups that do not serve the public interest and filed the lawsuit in the Harris County Judicial District Court on Monday.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said the county will oppose the state’s lawsuit in court, The Texas Tribune reported.

“This lawsuit is a cheap political stunt,” Menefee said in a prepared statement.

“At a time when the president has unleashed ICE agents to terrorist immigrant neighborhoods, deport U.S. citizens and trample the law, it’s shameful that Republican state officials are joining in instead of standing up for Texans.”

Although Menafee accused the Trump administration of deporting U.S. citizens, the Department of Homeland Security said that is a false accusation and no U.S. citizens have been deported.

“We have said it a million times: ICE does not arrest or deport U.S. citizens,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Oct. 1 in response to a New York Times article accusing ICE of deporting citizens.

Before becoming the Harris County attorney, Menafee’s biography says his private practice “focused heavily on pro bono work, including advising the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, advising immigrants and their families at Bush Intercontinental Airport during the ‘Muslim ban’ and working with Texas Appleseed on expanding alternatives to involuntary commitment for the mentally ill.”