For now, the heavy equipment set to take on border construction projects inside Big Bend National Park has gone silent.

Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott paused work to carry out what he calls a personal evaluation and to talk with those he describes as stakeholders in far west Texas.

A hearing is set for next week on multiple requests for an emergency restraining order to shut down the project amid a flurry of lawsuits.

But those with perhaps the biggest stake here have already been clear about how they feel.

Laiken Jordahl used to work in Big Bend National Park. Now he's one of those leading the effort to save it.

"We will fight this project until these contracts are canceled for good. None of it is justified or justifiable," Jordahl said.

MORE ON THE PROJECT | Trump administration pauses contentious border construction in Texas' Big Bend National Park

Critics say there are already deep scars in parts of the desert, where native plants and animal habitats have been destroyed.

The Big Bend sector is the longest section of the president's southern border security project, at more than 500 miles, but according to Customs and Border Patrol data, it has the fewest illegal crossings, at around 1%.

And so advocates continue to fight with the same grit and toughness as this place they're trying to protect. Like the land here, their struggle and emotions can be raw.

"Some of us have not stopped fighting it since February and now it's here and it's happening and there's so many people that care so much about this place," Natalie Newman said on Instagram.

Indigenous groups, local businesses and residents are all a part of the legal challenge to stop the project.

Growing frustration and protests are spreading in and around Big Bend National Park in far west Texas, where locals are demanding crews stop work on border security projects they say are unnecessary and destroying a national treasure.

The projects are part of the broader southern border barrier initiative that received $46.5 billion under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."

More than 800,000 acres of rugged beauty line the border between the U.S. and Mexico inside the park. But now, the natural rhythm of Big Bend National Park is giving way to the rumble of bulldozers, backhoes, and outrage from those who call the area home.

One protestor shouted, "We're at war with these people."

That "war" is against work that has already started on a group of Trump administration projects to build 200 miles of border wall, mostly just outside of Big Bend, while carving out hundreds of miles of patrol roads, installing cameras, sensors, and lighting systems, along with 17 miles of 4-to-6 foot vehicle barriers inside Texas' most popular national park at a cost of more than $7 billion.

"This has nothing to do with border security, and everything to do with corruption," another protester said.

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The Department of Homeland Security has waived the requirement for contractors to comply with dozens of laws, including the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, saying enhanced security is necessary in a park where Customs and Border Patrol statistics show around 1% of nationwide illegal border crossings occur.

Bob Krumenaker, a former Big Bend National Park superintendent, said the projects represent a fundamental breach of trust.

"This a betrayal of the United States government against its citizens, who thought that they were setting aside one of the most beautiful, and pristine and biologically important places in the United States."

Many in the area worry the construction is leaving unnecessary scars, on once-protected lands, that may never heal.

President Donald Trump's executive order directing that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine eventually be split into three separate shots and that childhood vaccines be given at separate medical visits is drawing sharp criticism from doctors and politicians on both sides of the aisle.

For parents, the changes could eventually mean more trips to the doctor's office if vaccines currently administered together are instead spread across separate appointments.

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Public health experts say the proposed changes are not backed by science and would create a logistical challenge that could increase the risk of children becoming infected with vaccine-preventable diseases before returning for a follow-up visit.

"This executive order is not really based on science and evidence," Scripps News medical contributor Dr. Omer Awan said. "We know if we take a look at the MMR vaccine that we were just talking about, for example, we know decades of research has shown that this vaccine is safe and effective and splitting it up into individual vaccines or shots is not going to make any of them more safe or more effective."

WATCH | Doctor pushes back on Trump's vaccine executive order

Doctor pushes back on Trump's vaccine executive order

Awan also noted a practical barrier to carrying out the order.

"We currently don't have formulations for the individual measles, mumps or rubella," Awan said. "It exists as a combination vaccine."

The executive order has also drawn pushback from within the Republican Party. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician, said the order would only force children to receive more shots for the same protection the MMR vaccine already provides.

"I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong," Cassidy said in a statement. "The President does not have the expertise to make these changes. Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism."

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The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to link a rise in autism diagnoses in the U.S. to vaccines. Health experts say there is no data to support that connection and warn that the false information could convince parents to keep their children from getting needed vaccinations.

"The connection between the MMR and autism was raised decades ago by a physician who has been since discredited, and it's been addressed in study after study and there is no connection between the MMR vaccine and autism," said Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "And the idea that this vaccine is so safe and so effective is now going to get divided into three separate shots. Again, it makes no sense."

Trump's executive order is not law. States, not the federal government, hold authority over vaccine requirements for school-aged children. Trump has also said vaccine decisions will remain up to parents.

While the tropics are expected to remain quiet for the next few weeks, Colorado State University scientists are maintaining their forecast for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters predict 9 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and at least 1 major hurricane reaching Category 3 or higher.

Two named systems have already formed this season Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha both of which quickly developed in the warm waters of the Gulf, bringing strong winds and heavy rain from Texas through Mississippi.

Forecasts from NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are along the same lines as the CSU projection: between 8 and 14 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes, and up to 3 major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

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Meteorologists and scientists across the country have raised concerns about major federal cuts over the last year or so. Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars have been cut at NOAA and the National Hurricane Center agencies that play a critical role in accurate forecasting and warning the public about storms.

Both agencies are pushing back, saying they are ready. They point to updates in tracking technology, enhanced aircraft reconnaissance, and updated forecast models new weapons ready as we move closer to peak hurricane season in early September.

NASA scientists believe remnants of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket slammed into the moon overnight, resulting in a massive explosion and debris field.

The high-speed crash has not been officially confirmed, but experts say it was inevitable that the leftover rocket segment plowed into the moon Wednesday after drifting off course over the past year.

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The upper section of the rocket, roughly the size of a five-story building and weighing nearly 9,000 pounds, is believed to have crashed at a speed of over 5,000 miles per hour. SpaceX launched the rocket last year, but the company says a combination of solar activity and gravity put it on a collision course with the moon.

The moon took the hit this time, but that is not always the case. Ten to 20 tracked objects plummet into Earth's atmosphere every week due to an explosion of missions into low Earth orbit, which now includes private space companies and tens of thousands of satellites.

SpaceX debris crashes into moon

According to the European Space Agency, more than 170 million pieces of "space junk" are currently orbiting Earth. Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said the situation reflects a broader, unresolved challenge.

"All the different things that go up there, inevitably, gravity really works and it does come back eventually," O'Keefe said.

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O'Keefe noted there is a growing need for a global strategy to deal with the issue.

"It's something that has gotten some attention and there's a lot of talk about it, but there really isn't a fixed protocol to make that work," O'Keefe said.