Tag Archives: El Paso

Automobiles

Report: Ford blamed in drug mule lawsuit

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By Damon Lowney

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If a college student is caught smuggling drugs across the border, one might think the kid got what was coming to him. But when a Mexican student at the University of Texas in El Paso was caught by Border Patrol agents with duffel bags filled with marijuana in his trunk, the man used a classic excuse: He claimed they weren’t his.

While a claim like that is almost unbelievable, Ricardo Magallanes, the student, is now suing Ford for handling its vehicles’ key codes negligently enough to allow drug smugglers to break into his Ford Focus and stash the drugs, The Daily Caller reports. The twist here is that four other people who lived in Juarez and worked in El Paso were involved in the same type of scheme – allegedly unwittingly, just like Magallanes – and all the cars were Fords except one model from General Motors. FBI agents also found an employee at a Dallas Ford dealership that had accessed the key codes to all four of the cannabis-stuffed Fords.

While we all may not own Fords, the case still causes us slight paranoia. We’ll definitely be checking our trunks before we cross any more international borders.

Ford blamed in drug mule lawsuit originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

News, Politics, Government

KMP's No Longer Cheap After Piping Hot Growth

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By Trefis Team, Contributor

Quick Take KMP posts a strong set of Q1 numbers with revenues and earnings growing by 43% and 65% respectively year-over-year. Natural gas pipeline division displays the highest earnings growth (78%) with higher volumes and contribution from recently acquired assets. CO2 segment’s earnings remain flat compared to last year despite increased liquids production due to lower price realization. Canadian operations report marginal growth due to a better performance by the -Platte pipeline and the Puget Sound System of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Products pipeline segment sees its earnings grow with higher volumes on Cochin pipeline and higher trans-mix volumes.   Kinder Morgan Energy Partners released its Q1 2013 results April 17. The results were largely in line with our expectations and were driven by a strong performance from the recently acquired Tennessee Gas Pipeline and El Paso natural gas operations, higher coal exports and strong liquids production in the firm’s CO2 business. (Related read: Kinder Morgan Q1 Preview: Natural Gas Pipelines In The Spotlight) Quarterly revenues grew by around 43% over the last year to $2.66 billion while income from continuing operations grew by around 65% to $794 million.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/19/kmps-no-longer-cheap-after-piping-hot-growth/

News, Politics, Government

Trial to start in Zetas cartel racehorse case

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One of Mexico‘s most powerful and violent drug cartels intended a racehorse-buying operation to be a clandestine means of laundering its illegal proceeds in the United States, prosecutors say.

But the millions of dollars spent — sometimes in the form of duffel bags stuffed with cash — on horses named with names such as Number One Cartel and Mr. Ease Cartel, it wasn’t long before authorities learned of the alleged scheme and reined it in.

The federal investigation resulted in indictments last year against 18 individuals. Now, at least four of the accused in the money laundering scheme, including the brother of two of the top leaders of the Zetas drug cartel, are set to go on trial Monday in an Austin federal courtroom.

The trial, which could last up to six weeks, is expected to offer insight into the internal workings of the Zetas, as well as highlight what some cartel experts say was a rookie mistake by an organized crime outfit: drawing attention to yourself.

“It’s just sort of flashy, ostentatious behavior that is not smart if you are involved in organized crime,” Howard Campbell, a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso who has studied drug cartels, said of the racehorse-buying operation’s high profile.

Federal authorities have accused Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, believed to now be the leader of the Zetas drug operation, of setting up the horse operation that his younger brother, Jose Trevino Morales, ran from a sprawling ranch near Lexington, Okla. The operation spent millions of dollars buying horses in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, prosecutors said.

Authorities allege Jose Trevino Morales and his wife, who had lived in North Texas before moving to Oklahoma, did not have the means to support the ranch operation, which bought, trained, bred and raced quarter horses throughout the Southwest, and that drug money paid for everything.

Neighbors said those who worked with the ranch spent lots of cash, bought land and made improvements at a time when others in the industry were struggling financially.

Workers at the Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino in New Mexico said Jose Trevino Morales‘ stables were known as the “Zetas’ stables.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio, which is handling the case, declined to comment

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/stmmW-fgX1g/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The 10 Best-Paying Cities for Women

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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​Methodology: 24/7 Wall St. identified the metropolitan areas that have the smallest pay disparity between men and women by comparing the median earnings for the past 12 months of both men and women working full-time, year-round in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas. We also reviewed employment composition in different sectors and the wages for both men and women in each. All data was from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2011, the most recent period available.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Cops Hunt 2 Gang Members in Colo. Prison Chief Murder

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By Mark Russell A new alert issued by the El Paso, Colo., Sheriff’s Department provides fresh details on the hunt for those behind the March 19 killing of state prison chief Tom Clements . As the Denver Post reports, investigators are trying to track down two members of the white supremacist gang 211 Crew—… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

News, Politics, Government

Texas mother, son indicted in 1977 murder of Army officer

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The wife and stepson of a decorated Army officer killed in a decades-old cold murder case have been charged with his death, the El Paso Times reported.

Roger Evan Garrett, 54, and his mother, Lisbeth Ann Garrett, 74, were indicted on murder charges in the Jan. 3, 1977, killing of Army Maj. Chester Garrett, according to the newspaper.

West Texas investigators said in February they had solved the murder of the Army Green Beret, who was found with a fractured skull and stab wounds in an El Paso County desert 35 years ago.

Roger Garrett was extradited from Knoxville, Tenn., where he had been living, to El Paso, the newspaper reported. Both Roger and Lisbeth Garrett are being held in the El Paso County Jail on $1 million bonds.

The 35-year-old major’s bloody body was found in the back seat of his 1972 Volkswagen in the desert east of El Paso. Investigators say he’d been stabbed 10 times but died of a skull fracture.

At the time of his death, investigators found footprints and a set of tracks belonging to a different car in the area, but no signs of a struggle, according to the newspaper.

The case eventually went cold after all leads became exhausted. The investigation was not reopened until 2006.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Anonymous threat prompts evacuation at University of Texas at El Paso

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The University of Texas at El Paso is being evacuated due to an anonymous threat.

UTEP said in a statement Tuesday that it had ordered a campus-wide evacuation and canceled evening classes. Students were seen hurrying away from buildings Tuesday afternoon.

UTEP Police Chief Cliff Walsh said about an hour after the threat that the campus was considered safe.

The El Paso Times reports that students and staff received a text message at about 2 p.m. saying: “The university has a bomb threat please evacuate the university campus.” Police were seen swarming the school.

UTEP officials would not comment on the details of the threat or when it was received.

El Paso is a U.S.-Mexico border city in far West Texas. UTEP has more than 22,000 students enrolled.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Articles of Interest

Alma Dominguez’s Lost Dog, Leia, Found After 2 Years And 700 Miles; Owner And Pet Reunited

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

When Alma Dominguez’s beloved dog, Leia, went missing from El Paso, Texas, during a rainstorm, Alma and her husband, Alberto, were devastated. The couple searched for their lost dog for more than two years, and had almost given up hope of ever finding her. Then a phone call changed everything.

In this clip from the OWN series “Lost and Found,” Annmarie Anderson — a dog rescuer in Denver, Colorado — recounts the amazing phone call she received from Alma. “She said, ‘You might have my dog,’” remembers Annmarie. But was it really the same Leia, two years and 700 miles away?

After looking at the Dominguez’s pictures of Leia on Facebook, Annmarie put Alma on speakerphone so the dog could hear Alma’s voice. “[Her] little tail was wagging and she was doing the little cry in her throat,” Annmarie says. “We realized right away that we had the right owner and dog.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

El Paso murder case could put ICE on trial

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A murder-for-hire trial starring two alleged members of a Mexican drug cartel turned messy for the federal government when word emerged that both were informants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ruben Rodriguez-Dorado, 34, is charged with capital murder for his role in the 2009 shooting of Jose Daniel Gonzalez-Galeana. Both have not only been identified as members of the Juárez Cartel, but also as ICE informants who reportedly had the same handler.

Now, amid speculation ICE agents may have known about the hit in advance, the agency is refusing to cooperate with attorneys – possibly putting the prosecution of Rodriguez-Dorado, who allegedly hired two men for the killing, in jeopardy.

“We’ve been trying unsuccessfully to obtain testimony and document evidence from ICE in regards to their involvement in this case,” said Leonard Morales, Rodriguez-Dorado’s defense attorney.

ICE has repeatedly refused to comply with subpoenas filed by Morales. What little documentation he has received from ICE was heavily redacted and provided scant information, he said.

“Without ICE‘s support in state court there’s certainly going to be a difficult time prosecuting this case,” Morales said.

Perhaps most troubling is speculation that ICE officials in El Paso may have been aware of the hit on Gonzalez-Galeana before it happened and did not intervene. Authorities believe the hit was ordered after cartel bosses learned he was working with ICE. The murder occurred at his El Paso home just yards from the residence of the city’s chief of police.

“There’s violence that occurs on the border but this is one of the few cases that you can point a finger and say this was part and parcel of the Drug War,” said Leonard Morales, Rodriguez-Dorado’s defense attorney.

Gonzalez-Galeana was in so tight with ICE that he was in the country on a special visa as being contracted and protected by ICE. According to the El Paso Times, word of Gonzalez-Galeana’s shooting got out so fast to local ICE agents that they arrived at the scene almost simultaneously with El Paso police.

Morales, who said he must honor the gag order imposed by one of the earlier district court judges who handled the case that included three other defendants, said the court has received virtually no assistance from ICE and that is impeding the progress of the case and, according to a judge, is violating his constitutional rights.

The El Paso Times reported March 1 that during a motion hearing the previous day, a furious Judge Gonzalo Garcia chastised ICE for not complying with the subpoenas and said there is a risk of the charges being dropped against Rodriguez-Dorado.

But ICE officials say they are cooperating.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement‘s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) supports and works closely with its state and local law enforcement partners on many levels, and is attentive to their requests for disclosure of information,” said Leticia Zamarripa, the agency’s spokesperson for the El Paso Office. “HSI is currently working with its state and local law enforcement partners to resolve this issue and ensure justice is served.”

Rodriguez-Dorado was in the country legally …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Conifer Health Solutions to Present at the American College of Healthcare Executives' 2013 Congress

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Conifer Health Solutions to Present at the American College of Healthcare Executives’ 2013 Congress on Healthcare Leadership

FRISCO, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Conifer Health Solutions, a leader in healthcare business process management services, announced that the company will present at the American College of Healthcare Executives‘ 2013 Congress on Healthcare Leadership. Janie Patterson, senior vice president of Revenue Cycle Management at Conifer Health, and J. Eric Evans, FACHE, market chief executive officer at Sierra Providence Health Network, will be speaking at the conference for healthcare leaders on Wednesday, March 13, in Chicago, Ill.

J. Eric Evans, FACHE, is the market chief executive officer at Sierra Providence Health Network in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Business Wire)

Patterson and Evans will present on the topic, “Traits of a Great Revenue Cycle Leader.” During the session, they will identify current revenue cycle challenges that healthcare organizations face today and examine the leading solutions available to address these imperatives. They will also define the key traits of a great revenue cycle leader and present examples of what it takes to successfully drive an organization to achieve results through revenue cycle management.

Patterson has served as a senior vice president at Conifer Health since 2008 and has worked for Conifer Health and its predecessor company since 1990. In her current role, she leads more than 3,500 employees who work in centralized and hospital operations for more than 130 clients. Evans has served as the market chief executive officer for Sierra Providence Health Network in El Paso, Texas, since September 2012. Previously, he was the chief executive officer at Lake Pointe Health Network in Rowlett, Texas, and in other leadership roles for Tenet Healthcare, a leading healthcare services company.

About Conifer Health Solutions

Conifer Health Solutions is a leading healthcare business process management services provider working to improve operational performance for more than 600 clients so they can support financial improvement, enhance the patient experience, and drive value-based performance. Through our revenue cycle management, patient communications, and value-based care solutions, we empower healthcare decision makers — hospitals, health systems, physicians, employers, and payers — to better connect every point of patient engagement.

Conifer Health processes 10 million patient accounts annually, manages $21 billion in annual patient revenue, and provides technology and health management services to support care management for more than three million lives. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Inside Kinder Morgan: Natural Gas Pipelines

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By Aimee Duffy, The Motley Fool

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Based on combined enterprise value, Kinder Morgan is the third largest energy company in North America. We tend to associate the giant with its 75,000 miles of pipelines, but in reality, its operations are incredibly diverse. Over the next few days, I’ll take a closer look at each of the midstream company’s five distinct business units. I’ve already tackled the terminals segment, and today we’ll break down the partnership’s natural gas pipeline business.

Background on the assets
Kinder Morgan, together with its master limited partnerships Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and El Paso Pipeline Partners , operates an impressive 62,000 miles of natural gas pipeline, making it the largest natural gas transporter in the United States. The pipelines reach natural gas plays and serve major consuming markets from coast to coast but are concentrated heavily along the southern border of the U.S., from Arizona to Florida. Texas is the epicenter of the partnership’s footprint, yet it’s the company’s East region that’s expected to generate the largest percentage of earnings for the segment in 2013.

Source: Kinder Morgan.

The East segment includes roughly all of Kinder Morgan‘s pipes east of the Mississippi River, from Florida to New Hampshire, while the midstream segment designates the Texas intrastate system. West denotes everything west and north of El Paso, while Central includes everything west of the Mississippi and north of the Texas/Oklahoma border. You can check out the whole map here.

Overall, the segment grew 64% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $474 million in earnings. Much of that growth can be attributed to the booming Eagle Ford Shale play, and the increase of natural gas used for power generation. Kinder Morgan hopes to continue to drive success here and is in the midst of investing $2.7 billion in its natural gas pipeline assets.

A look ahead
A big part of that investment capital is headed straight for two shale plays: the Marcellus and the Eagle Ford. We’ll get to Texas in a minute, but first let’s tackle the Marcellus, where Kinder Morgan has two of similar looping projects on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline system coming online by the end of November.

The first project is the Marcellus Pooling Point project, an $86 million pipeline expansion that will loop a line in northwest Pennsylvania with 7.9 miles of 30-inch pipe. (Looping means that new pipe will be installed adjacent to the existing line.) It will also feature upgrades to four pumping stations. The new capacity comes in around 240,000 dekatherms per day, which is roughly equal to 2.3 million cubic feet of gas, and it will feed utilities and other connecting pipelines.

The second looping project is the Northeast Upgrade, and it is much more expensive at $450 million. This project will add about 40 miles of 30-inch looped line on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline system and will have a capacity of about 640,000 dekatherms per day, which …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why This Refining Stock Could See Further Gains

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By Arjun Sreekumar, The Motley Fool

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The U.S. Gulf Coast is about to be inundated with oil. But not foreign oil, as was often the case in the past. I’m talking about light, sweet crude oil produced right here in America. The reason?

A number of pipeline projects — some already in service and others expected to come on line this year — will provide a substantial boost to takeaway capacity from the Eagle Ford and the Permian Basin, both major oil plays located in Texas. When the crude oil deluge hits the Gulf Coast, analysts expect the regional benchmark price — Louisiana Light Sweet, or LLS — to fall substantially.

At the same time, the expansion of the Seaway pipeline and the start-up of the Keystone XL Gulf Coast extension project are expected to lead to a narrower spread between the main domestic oil benchmark — West Texas Intermediate, or WTI) — and the global crude oil benchmark, Brent.

These are both major changes with some major implications for different refiners. Let’s first look at the broad impacts on mid-continent and Gulf Coast refiners and then examine one refining stock that appears best positioned to capitalize on these trends.

Impact on mid-continent refiners
Over the past couple of years, mid-continent refiners with access to cheap WTI have enjoyed remarkable profits and soaring stock prices. As a whole, their net operating margins averaged $18.59 last year, significantly higher than margins in 2011.  

For instance, HollyFrontier , which operates five refining facilities in the mid-continent, southwestern, and Rocky Mountain regions, benefited tremendously from its access to crude oil flowing from North Dakota’s Bakken shale and Texas’ Permian Basin. In the fourth quarter, the company’s overall refining margins jumped to $24 a barrel, up from $15.32 a barrel in the year-earlier  period.

This favorable refining environment, along with an increase in production, contributed to the company’s record 2012 earnings. In the fourth quarter, HollyFrontier posted a profit of $391.6 million, or $1.92 a share, representing a whopping 75% increase over the year-earlier period.

Similarly, Western Refining , a company that struggled for years with heavy debt and poor refining margins, has also reaped the rewards stemming from its highly advantageous geographic position. The company’s 128,000-barrel-per-day refinery in El Paso, Texas, has capitalized on cheap crude flowing from the nearby Permian Basin, which has boosted overall margins and allowed the company to reduce its debt load and even raise its dividend.

Going forward, however, if the spread between WTI and Brent narrows significantly, it would lead to weaker refining margins for these companies. But for reasons I discussed in a separate article, I think there’s a good chance that this is unlikely and that the WTI-Brent spread will remain wide throughout the year.

Impact on Gulf Coast refiners
On the other hand, I’m more convinced that LLS prices will fall, which would be good news for Gulf Coast refiners. Analysts at Tudor Pickering, an integrated energy …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Enterprise Expert Jason McNicol Joins ABI Research

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Enterprise Expert Jason McNicol Joins ABI Research

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– ABI Research announces that enterprise authority Jason McNicol has joined the company in the position of senior analyst. In his role at ABI he will primarily focus on enterprise mobility management services and enterprise applications for smartphones and tablets. His research responsibilities will also include assessment of vertical markets, enterprise 4G services, and demand and supply side business model analysis.

Before joining ABI Research, Jason was a Senior Research Marketing Analyst at Cox Communications where he was responsible for deep market segmentation and company performance/forecasting analyses. Other experience includes assisting local start-ups with business plan assessments and teaching various university level business courses. Jason holds a BBA from Texas Tech University, and MBA and PhD from University of Texas at El Paso.

Enterprise practice director Dan Shey comments, “In a market with a complex array of devices, applications and services, Jason’s expertise will help suppliers and businesses identify the right opportunities to become more connected, smarter, and mobile.”

For more information about enterprise services covered by Jason, please visit ABI Research’s Enterprise Mobile Devices (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/enterprise-mobile-devices/), Enterprise Mobility Applications and Services (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/enterprise-mobility-applications-and-services/) and Mobile Enterprise Technologies Research Services (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/mobile-enterprise-technologies/) which include Research Analyses, Competitive Assessments, Insights, and Market Data products.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

ABI Research
Christine Gallen, +1-516-624-2542
pr@abiresearch.com

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News, Politics, Government

Kansas prosecutors want to try mom, son together in murder trial

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A Shawnee County prosecutor wants to try a mother and son together for the shooting death of the son’s estranged wife in Topeka.

Defense attorneys for 32-year-old Manuel Alcala of Topeka oppose the effort to try him along with his mother, 58-year-old Manuela Alcala, of El Paso, Texas. The two are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Ashley Alcala, who was shot at her Topeka home in October 2012.

Prosecutors argue that the two should be tried together because they face the same charges, which are based on the same acts, and both cases will require the same evidence and witnesses.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports a hearing to decide whether the two will be bound over for trial is scheduled for Thursday.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Articles of Interest

Mitchell Marcus, Special Needs Teen, Scores Basket In Final Game After Opposing Team Gives Up Ball (VIDEO)

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

A special needs student from a Texas high school scored a basket in the final game of the season after a player from the opposing team gave up the ball.

Mitchell Marcus, a teenage student at Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas, is the team manager for the Coronado Thunderbirds and an avid basketball fan. During the last game of the season on Feb. 12, Marcus, who has a “developmental disability,” was given the chance to play, according to Fox local affiliate KFOX 14 in El Paso. With 90 seconds left, Coach Peter Morales put Marcus into the game.

“Mitchell’s a great shot,” his mother Amy told KFOX. “He took his first shot and missed. It hit the rim. You just hear the whole crowd sighing. It went out of bounds and Franklin got it. We all knew that he wasn’t going to have his chance.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

Articles of Interest

Latino Literary Giant Offers Portrait Of El Paso, Texas Border Town

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

It’s time for Texas to get smart about its westernmost — and most ignored — city, where an old pass tracks the route of our future.

A thousand years ago, I was half of a young couple, attractive if I may be allowed, the happy parents of two handsome children, the big one still willing to hold the hand of his beautiful mom, the baby still in a four-wheel collapsible that was more a rolling hammock. We didn’t have much. A lousy “good” car, income to pay the monthly rent eleven months a year, a home with barely enough furnishings to look lived in. I knew a few who weren’t better off, but also a few who were, who made car payments, found steady employment that could turn out to be career choices, had newer clothes and cooler shoes. Did we have “ideals” that locked us down, explained why we were staying too poor and not running from poor El Paso? That’s not what I said then or would now. No ideals in my simple mind. True, I didn’t want my wife to work, because we had two small children who needed to be with their mom while they were so young. But aside from less favorable alternatives, that seemed naturally connected to the pregnancies themselves. False, that we had lots of better options. We’d recently moved back to El Paso from years in Los Angeles, unto, finally, we were happy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

2 arrested in 1977 cold case murder of Texas Army officer

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Investigators in West Texas say they’ve solved the murder of an Army Green Beret who was found with a fractured skull and stab wounds in an El Paso County desert in 35 years ago.

The El Paso Times reports thatLisbeth Garrett, 74, was arrested Thursday in El Paso and charged in the 1977 death of her estranged husband, Army Maj. Chester Garrett.

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office statement said that his stepson, 54-year-old Roger Evan Garrett, was arrested in Knoxville, Tenn.

The 35-year-old major’s bloody body was found in the back seat of his 1972 Volkswagen in the desert east of El Paso. Investigators say he’d been stabbed 10 times but died of a skull fracture.

At the time of his death, investigators found footprints and a set of tracks belonging to a different car in the area, but no signs of a struggle, the El Paso Times reported.

The case eventually went cold after all leads became exhausted. The investigation was not reopened until 2006, according to the paper.

“We’ve been working this case for many years,” sheriff’s Cmdr. Paul Cross told the paper. “The homicide guys did a tremendous job never quitting that case. It’s a great night, and hopefully this is the first step in getting justice for him and his family.”

Garrett, who was an executive officer of the student battalion at the Fort Bliss Air Defense School, also coached basketball and boys baseball at the school, according to the report.

Sheriff’s Capt. Mac Stout told the El Paso Herald-Post in 1977 described Garrett as a “Special Forces type” and said “[w]hoever got him must have been mighty tough, too, and probably more than one, and probably took him by surprise.”

Both Lizbeth Garrett and Roger Garrett are charged with murder and are being held on $5 million bond, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for more from the El Paso Times.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

AROUND THE COUNTRY

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Americans are weighing in from all corners of the country on President Barack Obama‘s second inaugural.

ST. LOUIS: At a Martin Luther King Jr. remembrance ceremony at Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus, Lynn Gray, a black 43-year-old English teacher for St. Louis Public Schools, reflects on the historic nature of the first black president being sworn in for a second term: “I always think about my grandmother (she died in 2004). She didn’t talk about race much but she had to go through a lot. We never even discussed the possibility that there could be a black president. The first time I saw his face on the TV screen and it said ‘president elect,’ I thought about my grandmother.”

EL PASO, TEXAS: In downtown El Paso, citizens talk in Spanish of their hopes for Obama‘s second term. Says housewife Gloria Martinez: “I like Obama. I know he’s going to do something great, but I also know that it depends upon the other guys.” Raymundo Smith, a 19-year-old student, adds: “It is a good thing that he is being sworn in for a second term. But he has to fulfill the promises he made and do what he has not done in the past four years, the immigration reform.” Roberto Guzman, an electrician, sounds a more dour tone: “Things are bad, there are no jobs. He should focus on doing something for the workers.”

MIAMI: A couple thousand people were at a viewing at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County of a live simulcast of the ceremony in Washington. It was a free event that also included performances of patriotic songs by local schools. Miami poet and playwright Tarell McCraney was preparing to reading the 2009 inauguration poem, “Praise Song for the Day” by his Yale professor Elizabeth Alexander. McCraney was as hopeful for Obama‘s second term as he was about the first, but the hope has a different focus than it did four years ago. “For me personally, it had less to do with him personally and more to do with what he asked of us — that we look to ourselves for change, that we look to ourselves and our neighborhoods and what we can do for change.”

— Jennifer Kay in Miami, Juan Carlos Llorca in El Paso, and Jim Salter in St. Louis.

___

Inauguration Watch follows the events of President Barack Obama‘s second inaugural. Look for short items and photos throughout the day.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News