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President Trump offers short-term DACA deal Border wall funding requested in exchange By Justin Sink BL OOMBERG NEWS
Evan Vucci / AP
President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he reviews border wall prototypes Tuesday in San Diego.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has offered to drop demands for changes to legal immigration preferences to ease the way to a deal providing new temporary protection to young undocumented
immigrants in the country in exchange for border wall funding, said a person familiar with the offer. Trump had insisted on a broader agreement that also would end immigration preferences for relatives of legal U.S. residents and eliminate visas awarded by lottery to
applicants from underrepresented countries, a demand that Democratic leaders rejected. White House officials have shared the potential new offer with Republican congressional leaders, the person said. The shift brings the two sides closer to a deal that would fund construction for early phases of Trump’s promised border wall and temporarily restore protections against deportation for
young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, a group advocates have dubbed "dreamers." In September, Trump canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by former President Barack Obama, though the deportation protections remain in place under a temporary court order amid a lawsuit over the action. DACA continues on A5
341ST AND 406TH DISTRICT COURTS
VETERANS TREATMENT PROGRAM Duval, Jim Hogg, Jim Wills, Starr, Zapata counties included By Joana Santillana LA R ED O MORNI NG T IME S
V
eterans who are struggling with alcoholism, drug addiction or post-traumatic stress disorder can find comfort in the Veterans Treatment Program, which has recently expanded to other surrounding counties, including Zapata. The most recent graduation saw two men successfully complete the program. The Veterans Treatment Program was created to help the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces, and have a pending crim-
inal case, overcome their addictions and avoid a conviction on their record. Director Paul Torres, a veteran himself, told LMT that he was proud that the program had recently expanded to serve veterans not only in Webb County, but also in the counties of Duval, Jim Hogg, Jim Wills, Starr and Zapata. With 11 graduation ceremonies under its belt, the program has yielded 57 graduates since its inception in 2013. 341st District Court Judge Beckie Palomo and 406th District Court Judge Oscar J. Hale Jr., who oversee and support the program, hosted the Veterans continues on A5
Courtesy photo
The Veterans Treatment Program recently saw two men successfully complete the program. A ceremony was held for them in the 406th District Court.
MEXICO CITY
STATE OF TEXAS
Appeals court backs gun-rights activist ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Ivan Israel Orozco / AFP / Getty Images
Police guard a Jalisco state road where 15 officers were killed in a 2015 ambush by the "Jalisco New Generation Drug Cartel." 18 alleged cartel members were arrested Thursday in connection with the abduction of two prosecution agents.
18 arrested in kidnapping, killing of federal agents A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities arrested 18 people Thursday in the abduction of two prosecu-
tion agents forced to appear on a video by a drug gang before they were slain, the Attorney General’s Office said. Those arrested included
members of the local police force in Puerto Vallarta who allegedly provided protection and intelligence for the unidentified drug Agents continues on A5
DALLAS — A Texas appeals court has ruled in favor of a gun-rights activist who had complained that county officials were illegally barring firearms from a public building. The Court of Appeals for the 1st District of Texas found in favor of Terry Holcomb Sr. by ruling, in part, that Waller County had no standing to sue Holcomb in 2016 because a complaint he lodged should have been heard by the state attorney general’s office. Thursday’s opinion reversed a lower-court ruling, with justices also Court continues on A5
Loren Elliott / AFP/Getty Images
A man handles a gun during a rifle and pistol show in Sweetwater, Texas. A state appeals court ruled in favor of a gun-rights activist who complained that Waller County illegally barred firearms from a public building.