Just a month ago, Marianna Treviño-Wright, the executive director of the National Butterfly Center, scoffed at the mere suggestion that President Donald Trump's border wall threatened the 100-acre preserve. Now she isn't so sure. In search of wildlife during a recent stroll through 70 acres of the center, south of a levee that cuts through the property, Treviño-Wright found construction crews clearing trees and brush. "I'm stunned," she said. "It's such a punch in the gut." Earlier this month, t...
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Varios legisladores demócratas de Texas desean más detalles sobre los planes preliminares para construir una sección del muro con México en un refugio federal para la fauna, ya que consideran que ello podría dañar gravemente el medio ambiente. Autoridades federales les han dicho a los propietarios de tierras y a funcionarios locales que planean construir el muro en unos cinco kilómetros (tres millas) del dique del río que pasa por el Refugio Nacional de la Fauna Santa Ana. El gobierno del presi...
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President Donald Trump's long-proposed wall along the Mexico-U.S. border has hit more than a few bumps along the road to its construction. Resistance from Congress to expedite the billions in federal dollars needed to start construction. Strong opposition from bipartisan lawmakers representing border communities. A leaked conservation between Trump and Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto, where the newly-elected U.S. president begs Peña Nieto to stop telling the press Mexico wouldn't pay for the...
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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and the City of Laredo announced Thursday that the Laredo Fire Department is now able to hire 24 new front-line firefighters thanks to a $3.3 million federal grant. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's SAFER grant is very sought-after, officials said, with cities around the country applying for funds. "This is a competitive grant," Cuellar said. "So when my hometown of Laredo gets this, I'm very proud." With the $3,276,320 award and a $2,036,632 investment by the Cit...
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The Laredo Fire Department received more than three million dollars in federal funding to help cover the salaries for 24 new firefighters. Congressman Henry Cuellar made the announcement on Thursday morning at the Laredo Fire Department headquarters. The grant comes in as the fire department seeks to increase its response rates to emergencies. The city says they are very excited that they have been awarded the highly competitive FEMA “Safer” grant for a third time. The City of Laredo was previou...
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Local reaction to preliminary border wall construction As members of the United States House of Representatives prepare to vote on a bill that could add $1.6 billion for construction of the border wall, a local nature center has gained national attention as it joins two other local attractions that could be affected by construction of the border wall. Last week, Marianna Treviño-Wright, executive director for the National Butterfly Center, said she found a work crew on the butterfly center’s pro...
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El congresista Henry Cuellar dice que él apoyó el Obamacare pero reconoce que necesita modificaciones. Agregó que espera ver una reforma migratoria y dijo que el muro es "una solución del siglo XIV, muy simple y que cuesta mucho".
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Amid a contentious debate in Congress over funding for a border wall, U.S. Rep. Will Hurd and a cadre of border state congressmen are bringing out a new plan for a far less-expensive “smart” wall that draws on virtual reality research in Silicon Valley. Hurd, R-San Antonio, Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and several others intend to introduce shortly what they are calling the "Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology Act," or SMART Act, which they say would cost around $500,000 a mile rather tha...
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Someone wandering along the banks of the Rio Grande, on the American side, in the summer of 2009 might have been startled by a small cardboard box plummeting to the ground. Neatly sealed with blue packing tape, its paper wrapping crisp and clean, the box would have felt light, even empty. But then, on further inspection, an observer would have noticed the platoon of tiny black insects exiting a slit on one end. Slightly larger than a gnat, the insects would have buzzed off, one by one, into the ...
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