news for you texas Men go to prison for guns
thebattalion ● thursday,
july 28, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
MCALLEN — A federal judge has given prison sentences to eight men who bought semi-automatic rifles in South Texas on behalf of organized crime in Mexico.The U.S. Attorney’s Office says U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Juan Manuel Barrientos Lopez, an illegal immigrant and alleged leader of the team of “straw buyers,” to five years in the prison. The sentence was the longest allowed by law for what was essentially lying about who was really buying the guns.
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$3.54 1900 Texas Avenue South and Holleman Drive Photos by RELATIVITY MEDIA
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Airlines to refund taxes DALLAS — The IRS is asking airlines to refund taxes to people who bought tickets before last weekend but are just now taking their trips. Those travelers might be owed a refund because Congress let the taxes expire. The Internal Revenue Service said on its website Wednesday that airlines can refund the taxes, just as they do when exchanging a refundable ticket that wasn’t used.
nation &world Atheists sue New York NEW YORK — A group representing atheists says the installation of a cross-shaped beam at the Sept. 11 museum is unconstitutional The American Atheists filed the suit in Manhattan State Supreme Court on Wednesday. The group says the museum is a public institution and should not reflect a specific religion. It asks for a judge to either order the cross removed or order that other religions be represented equally. Memorial President Joe Daniels says the museum’s mission is to tell the history of Sept. 11 through artifacts like the cross.
Mixed martial arts fighter and first-time action star Gina Carano fires away in Steven Soderbergh’s espionage thriller, Haywire.
Built Texas tough Dallas native Gina Carano kicks her way out of the ring and into movies Fighting record ◗ Carano, trained in Muay Thai and boxing, is 12-1-1 in her MMA career. The 5 foot 8, 145 pound fighter was formerly ranked No. 3 in the world.
Jared Baxter The Battalion
O
nce called the “face of women’s mixed martial arts,” fighter, model and actress, Gina Carano, looks to land a knockout blow with her first action film, Haywire. The director and cast were on hand last Friday to show exclusive footage of the fighter’s transition from the cage at San Diego’s Comic Con. Born in Dallas, Texas, the 29-year-old Carano stars alongside Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) and Ewan McGregor in director Steven Soderbergh’s female revenge movie. “I saw Gina fighting on TV. I tuned in out of curiosity, and
literally thought, ‘why doesn’t someone build a movie around her?’ I’d never seen someone fight like that in a cage! Then two years ago exactly I took the train here to meet her to talk about being in a movie,” Soderbergh said. That conversation took place shortly after Carano’s August 2009 defeat to Cristiane Santos on Showtime’s Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. The main
Haywire’s Comic Con teaser poster reveals the veteran supporting cast of Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas and Texas native, Bill Paxton.
See Fighter on page 4
Twilight star goes off script
world
Aggie helps sustain agriculture in Africa Natalee Blanchat
Associated Press Jared Baxter— THE BATTALION
Twilight’s Kristen Stewart let a curse word slip in front of underage audience members at San Diego’s Comic Con July 21, causing her to cover her mouth in embarassment. Stewart immediately apologized before continuing to answer questions on Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
The Battalion On August 2, after months of studying Swahili and learning variations of foreign culture, one former A&M student will embark on a nine month journey across the Atlantic Ocean, to a remote location in eastern Africa to help sustainable agricultural and income security. Wilson Alarcon, who graduated in the spring with a bachelor’s in agricultural economics, said he has had his fair share of hardships. Born in Torrance, California, at six years old his family moved to the remote mountain tops of Nayarit, Mexico off the pacific coast. During this time, he lived without a local grocery store where electricity or running water be off for days. After nine years of living in this rural environment, his family — in search of a more stable environment — moved back to the United States and settled in their current San Antonio residence where Alarcon graduated from Torrance High.
Giving back ◗ To find out more about the 2Seeds Network and follow Alarcon’s progress in Lutindi, Tanzania or to make a donation visit 2seeds.org/lutindi, thelutindiprogect. wordpress.com.
See Charity on page 4
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