Immigration Failures: Couple suspected of killing their 4-year-old son

9/6/2014

The district attorney in Beaver County, Okla., is pursuing charges against a Turpin, Okla., couple suspected of killing their 4-year-old child.

TURPIN, OKLA. --The district attorney in Beaver County, Okla., is pursuing charges against a Turpin, Okla., couple suspected of killing their 4-year-old child.

On Aug. 27, county attorney Mike Boring said an officer with the Liberal Police Department notified the Beaver County Sheriff's office that a child was dead in the emergency room at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal.

Boring said the sheriff's office then requested assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

"They did go to the hospital in Liberal, where they did determine that there was a 4-year-old child that was deceased," he said. "They began investigation, and in the early morning hours of the next morning, they made arrests on allegations of child abuse of Yasmani Rodriguez and Silvia Vargas, the natural mother of the child."

The child has been identified as Noel Vargas, and the couple has been in custody since those arrests.

"We have them," Boring said. "Ms. Vargas is appearing [Sept. 3] for initial appearance for formal charges being filed against her for enabling child abuse. That is the only charge we anticipate filing at this point. There's a potential for other charges to be filed."

Boring said Rodriguez is likewise facing charges, with two counts in the case.

"Count one is murder in the first degree," the district attorney said. "The second account is child abuse. I anticipate he will be formally arraigned or do an initial appearance in district court in Beaver County tomorrow."

Boring said investigations are not complete at this time and are just in the initial phase of the case.

"It is ongoing," he said. "I anticipate that will continue for some time. We will do a complete backgrounds investigation, and we do not have a formal written report from the medical examiner's office in Oklahoma at this point. I do not know when we will receive that. I'm hopeful we will get an ME report sometime in the next week to 10 days."

Boring said the injuries sustained by the child were at the family's home in Turpin.

"The family has lived there a short while," he said. "Previously, they lived in Liberal. I think they've been in Turpin in this home for approximately a month. That's a part of our investigation that's not been completed. The mother was employed in Liberal and worked at a restaurant there."

Boring said with the type of charges being filed against the couple, a trial is several steps down the road.

"We will go through initial phases in the proceedings here that will involve making sure that Mr. Rodriguez and Miss Vargas both have counsel to represent them," he said. "At that point, a determination will be made with respect to whether or not they wish to have a preliminary hearing. I would expect that would be at least a couple months down the road."

Boring added a trial date also depends on factors such as court schedules and when the couple can secure counsel for their cases.

"There are a number of variables in that, so it's virtually impossible to give you a timeline on the preliminary hearing phase," he said. "After that, it would be set on the next felony docket if they're bound over at preliminary hearing."

A Rosary and vigil for Vargas is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Liberal. There will be a funeral mass at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the church, with burial to follow at Restlawn Cemetery.

In the boy's obituary from Brenneman's, it listed his father as "Gustavo Vargas, of Mexico," and his mother, "Silvia Diaz of Turpin." It also noted he is survived by four brothers and one sister.

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Immigration Update: Man with gang tattoos injures woman, toddler in drunken crash

9/6/2014

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A man is now out on bond after he was allegedly driving drunk and crashed into another vehicle, injuring a woman and a two-year-old little girl.

Edinburg police arrested Lorenzo Garza after he was involved in an accident Sunday after 9 p.m. on the 700 block of east Champion Street in Edinburg.

Officers first responded to calls on a man driving recklessly in a blue Mustang.

As authorities arrived at the scene, Garza, the driver of the Mustang crashed with a silver Buick Century.

Garza reportedly tried to flee on foot once he saw police, but he was soon taken into custody.

Investigators said Garza was drunk during the time of the accident.

The woman and a two-year-old girl from the Buick suffered injuries from the crash.

Garza was charged with accident involving injury, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

Garza is out of the Hidalgo County jail on a $10,000 bond.

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The current state of the US economy in one chart

9/6/2014

The chart above helps explain the current state of the US economy:

1. Measured by the output of real goods and services, the US economy has made a full and robust recovery from the Great Recession, and we are now producing 7.65% more output in Q3 (based on the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast of 3.6% for real GDP growth in Q3) than in the fourth quarter of 2007. In inflation-adjusted dollar terms, the US economy today is $1.14 trillion larger than in Q4 2007 (in 2009 dollars).

2. From the peak level of civilian employment of 146,595,000 jobs in November 2007, the US employment level in August of 146,368,000 is still 227,000 jobs below that pre-recession peak.

Bottom Line: The US has been producing new record-high levels of GDP in almost every quarter since Q3 2011, and we are now producing 7.65% (and $1.14 trillion) more real GDP today than in late 2007. But we are producing that record-setting level of real output with a quarter-million fewer workers than in 2007. One explanation for America’s record-high output with 227,000 fewer workers is that the Great Recession facilitated what might be one of the greatest expansions of worker productivity in US history. The fact that we’ve been able to greatly expand national output with fewer inputs (workers) represents a huge increase in economic efficiency, but has also left us with a lingering “jobless recovery” and an economy that is struggling to create new, post-recession employment opportunities for millions of Americans.

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NHTSA, NLRB, and OSHA Oh My! The Agencies ARE Ganging Up

9/6/2014

Feeling a bit paranoid these days, especially where government oversight or agency investigations are involved? Your perception of reality is probably being driven less by paranoia and more by the upticks in government activity, and that twitchy sense of more government scrutiny is actually well justified. Just when the Auto Industry was feeling the squeeze of recalls, NHTSA, and other safety related investigations from OEMs down to the lowest tier suppliers, now others are coming after the industry (and other industries). In addition to executive agency actions placing more requirements on contractors, government agencies are practicing sharing and cooperation – and in ways that may not have quite the positive results you might normally expect (or that you might have learned in kindergarten).

While it can be a common misconception to think that the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) deals only with union facilities (or those seeking to unionize), the agency’s reach has never really been that limited. In the past few years the NLRB has been much more assertive in both educating employees (everywhere) about protected concerted activity and aggressive in determining when companies cross the line of being too restrictive (think about narrow options to respond to social media posts, and limited ability to require “nice” behavior or confidentiality from employees).

Now, the NLRB is using another method to broaden its reach. In the most recent example, the NLRB is essentially coaching its staff to be on the look for violations of other laws. In aformal memorandum issued August 8, 2014, the Associate General Counsel suggested that investigations of NLRB charges may also reveal facts that indicate possible violations of other laws, especially the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) or Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”). The memo suggests that the investigator may run across information that would indicate concerns about unsafe work conditions, record keeping, child labor, or failure to properly pay minimum wage or overtime. In addition, the memo highlighted that investigators should be sensitive to information indicating that retaliation might have occurred in response to someone reporting a perceived violation of either OSHA or FLSA.

The NLRB has directed its staff to notify the “charging party that he or she (or their representative) has the right to file a complaint” with the responsible agency. And, if the NLRB learns of a “parallel” investigation, it should coordinate the investigation with the appropriate part of the Department of Labor. The NLRB did have one caution for its staff – noting that its personnel are not expected to be experts with regards to either FLSA or OSHA. Fear not, the Board decided – and proceeded to provide information about how its personnel could access the quick reference guides on the websites of other federal agencies.

Earlier, NLRB had made a point to let OSHA know that people who sought to file retaliation charges, but were out of time under OSHA, might still have time to file charges with the NLRB. And, as another example of why your concerns about increasing government scrutiny may be justified, the OFCCP has proposed a rule that would collect summary pay data from federal contractors – of course, this comes on the heels of the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.”

Just remember, it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.

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‘Squeegee Man’ busted for 226th time

9/6/2014

Gregg Washington is taken away in cuffs by two police officers.

The “Squeegee Man” of Midtown was busted again — his 226th arrest — for illegally washing car windows Friday evening, a law-enforcement source told The Post.

Gregg Washington, 40, was caught washing motorists’ windshields at the corner of West 42nd Street and 9th Avenue around 4:30 p.m., a source said.

“It appears as if he moved towards the West Side because of the heat he was getting [on the East Side],” another police source said.

Washington was booked at the Midtown South Precinct, just blocks away from where he was arrested.

“I’m being harassed!” he said as he was walked from the station house. It was his 179th arrest for illegally washing car windows.

The suspect was featured on the front page of The Post three weeks ago after cops arrested for the 178th time Aug. 10 for illegal window-washing.

He spent five nights in jail after cops found him washing windshields by East 37th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Friday’s arrest marks Washington’s 226th bust overall, including for marijuana possession and other non-violent crimes, sources said.

Washington and others have been targeted by cops amid Mayor de Blasio’s and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton”s quality-of-life ” crackdown.

Aggressive costumed characters in Times Square also have been in the NYPD’s crosshairs.

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100 Most dangerous cities in the United States

9/5/2014

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Obama Strategy Session

9/5/2014

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Bob Knight unhurt after car hits cow in Wyoming

9/5/2014

(WISH Photo/Phil Nardiello, file)

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Retired college basketball coach Bob Knight escaped injury when his vehicle struck a cow on a dark northern Wyoming highway.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the accident occurred about 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 22 on a remote section of state road known as the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway.

Trooper Brad McConnell says the impact caused the air bag on the 2012 Ford Expedition to deploy and severely damaged the front end. The vehicle was totaled.

Knight told McConnell that he never saw the cow, which was among several that wandered onto the roadway in an open range area.

Knight was traveling alone after a fishing trip in the Thermopolis area of central Wyoming.

Knight won 902 games and three national titles during his coaching career, mostly at Indiana.

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‘Missing voters’ up 62 percent in North Carolina

9/5/2014

Watchdog.org photo

SIGN AND DRIVE: Voter registration is up in North Carolina — and so is the number of inactive voters that an election-watch group labels as “missing.”

By Kenric Ward | Watchdog.org

RALEIGH, N.C. — “Alarming” numbers of inactive voters are fattening election rolls in North Carolina, an electoral group charges.

The Voter Integrity Project of North Carolina reports that voters classified as inactive grew from 460,065 in 2007 to 739,041 this year – a 62.3 percent increase.

VIP calls them “missing voters” who election officials can no longer locate.

AP file photo

TAR HEEL FIGHT: Voter Integrity Project president Jay DeLancy is fighting to find “missing voters” in North Carolina.

“This is worse than dead people (on the voter rolls) because you can’t find them,” said Jay DeLancy, executive director of VIP.

“The alarming recent growth in this voter category points to a more systemic problem,” he said

The only decline in North Carolina’s missing/inactive voters since 2007 occurred in 2012, when VIP discovered nearly 30,000 deceased people still registered to vote.

“In an artfully deceptive ploy, election officials name missing voters ‘inactive.’ This implies they just sat out an election or two, but these people are genuinely missing and the public has been kept in the dark,” DeLancy charged.

He noted that left-wing organizations such as ACORN and Ralph Nader’s Public Interest Research Group have staged voter-registration blitzes in North Carolina. AWatchdog report first highlighted the “inactive” issue in the state two years ago.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission estimates there are roughly 21 million inactive voters across the country.

A national election-watch group, True the Vote, says the expanding inactive list isn’t necessarily cause for concern.

Logan Churchwell, spokesman for Houston-based TTV, said having more inactive voters is not unexpected in a growing state like North Carolina.

Churchwell said alarm bells should go off when states fail to remove inactive voters within the eight-year window permitted by the National Voter Registration Act.

TTV sued Ohio and Indiana over failure to properly maintain voter rolls. Three Ohio counties had more registered voters than residents. More than 20 counties had registration rates between 95 percent and 99 percent.

TTV watches other states for unusual build-ups in inactive rolls – or where inactives are not listed at all.

“As long as inactives don’t stick around too long, that’s OK,” Churchwell told Watchdog.org. “You go to war if they’re not moved off the rolls.”

DeLancy says that’s what VIP is gearing up for.

North Carolina law requires election officials to complete two mailings to voters at their registration address without response before a process can begin to eventually remove inactive (missing) voters from the rolls.

“The law assumes that postal employees never make mistakes, so if the first letter is lost, thrown away or otherwise not returned, the person returns to ‘active’ status,” DeLancy said.

“Even if the first verification letter is returned undeliverable, election officials still can’t remove the voter,” he said.

Churchwell adds that how voters handle their mail is key.

“If the first mail attempt doesn’t bounce back (to the election office), you can stay whole forever,” he said.

To its credit, North Carolina makes its voter-registration lists available to the public for free. Others are far less transparent. Alabama, for example, charges $25,000 to access its voter data.

“There’s ridiculous disparity among the states,” Churchwell noted.

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ISIS THREATENS PUTIN From Top of Captured Russian Jet: “We Will Liberate Chechnya & Caucusus” (Video)

9/5/2014

ISIS Fighters Stand on Captured Jet – Threaten Putin
“We will liberate Chechnya and Caucasus”

In late August the ISIS terror group captured SA-16 Manpads, AIM-9 Sidewinder missilesand MiG-21B jets when they took control of the Raqqa airbase in Syria.

ISIS added MiG-21B Russian jets to their arsenal.

The terror group also collected several SA-16 Manpads. This missile features a new seeker and modified launcher nose cover.

The AIM-9 Sidewinder missile is a short-range air-to-air missile. The majority of Sidewinder variants utilize infrared homing for guidance.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS released a video from Taqba airbase in Syria.
The terrorists threatened Putin from on top of a Russian fighter jet:

Transcript via MEMRI:

ISIS Militant: The weapons of Bashar will be turned against Bashar. You’d better watch out, Bashar. Allah willing, we will be coming for you in planes. We’ll be coming for you from the skies, with these planes, Allah willing. Brace yourself for what is coming, you pig. With the grace of Allah, we will get onto your own turf.

ISIS Militant: This is Russian equipment captured by our brothers in the Caliphate.

ISIS Militant in car: I’d like to convey a message to Putin.

ISIS Militant: Yes, go ahead.

ISIS Militant in car: Vladimir Putin, these are the Russian planes that you sent to Bashar. Allah willing, we will take them back to your own turf, and liberate Chechnya and the Caucasus, Allah willing. The Islamic State is here to stay. It is spreading and has become a caliphate. Your throne is being threatened by us. Allah will grant us success. You can see the evidence for that in the Levant. There are consecutive conquests here. We are coming, Allah willing. Allah Akbar.

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