Discovery of 11-year-old boy’s body in Texas draws attention to perils
of child immigration ADVERTISING Discovery of 11-year-old boy’s body in Texas draws attention to perils
of child immigration EDINBURG, Texas — When authorities found the body of an 11-year-old boy in
Discovery of 11-year-old boy’s body in Texas draws attention to perils
of child immigration
EDINBURG, Texas — When authorities found the body of an 11-year-old boy in South Texas, a phone number for his brother in Chicago was scribbled on the inside of his belt buckle.
The boy, wearing “Angry Birds” jeans, black leather boots and a white rosary around his neck, had come from his home country of Guatemala and apparently got lost in the Texas brush, just a few miles from the border with Mexico and less than a mile from the nearest home.
While hundreds of immigrants die crossing the border each year, the discovery of Gilberto Francisco Ramos Juarez’s decomposed body in the Rio Grande Valley earlier this month highlights the perils unaccompanied children face as the U.S. government searches for ways to deal with record numbers of children crossing into the country illegally.
Separately Monday, President Barack Obama announced that he will no longer wait for Republicans to act on immigration and will move on his own to make policy changes in what has been a top second-term priority of his presidency. Obama said he decided to bypass Congress after House Speaker John Boehner informed him last week that the House would not vote on an immigration overhaul this year.
General Motors recalls another 8.2 million cars for ignition switch problems as crisis grows
DETROIT — General Motors’ safety crisis worsened on Monday when the automaker added 8.2 million vehicles to its ballooning list of cars recalled over faulty ignition switches.
The latest recalls involve mainly older midsize cars and bring GM’s total this year to 29 million, surpassing the 22 million recalled by all automakers last year. The added recalls also raise questions about the safety of ignition switches in cars made by all manufacturers.
GM said the recalls are for “unintended ignition key rotation” and cover seven vehicles, including the Chevrolet Malibu from 1997 to 2005, the Pontiac Grand Prix from 2004 to 2008, and the 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS.
The company is aware of three deaths, eight injuries and seven crashes involving the vehicles, although it has no conclusive evidence that faulty switches caused the accidents.
CEO Mary Barra said the recalls stem from an extensive safety review within the company.
Ukrainian president ends unilateral ceasefire in ongoing conflict with pro-Russian separtists
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he was abandoning a unilateral cease-fire in the conflict with pro-Russian separatists and sending military forces back on the offensive after talks with Russia and European leaders failed to start a broader peace process.
Poroshenko’s decision, announced shortly after the much-violated 10-day cease-fire expired, raises the prospect of renewed escalation of a conflict that has killed more than 400 people.
A grave Poroshenko made a televised address early Tuesday vowing that “we will attack, and we will free our country.” The cease-fire expired at 10 p.m. Monday.
There was no immediate sign of a response from Russia early Tuesday.
The idea behind the truce announced June 20 was to give pro-Russian rebels a chance to disarm and to start a broader peace process including an amnesty and new elections. Poroshenko, a wealthy candy magnate elected May 25, had already extended the cease-fire from seven days.
But rebels did not disarm, and the cease-fire was continually violated, with both sides blaming each other. Rebels called the cease-fire fake and did not yield to Poroshenko’s latest push to get them to turn over key border crossings with Russia and permit international monitoring.
“The unique chance to put the peace plan into practice was not realized,” Poroshenko said. “This happened because of the criminal actions of the fighters.” He said the militants violated the truce “more than a hundred times.”
By wire sources
