LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Westcare Texas Inc. has been selected as the recipient of a $50,000 federal grant, according to an announcement made on Thursday by U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

Westcare Texas Inc. will receive the grant to further its efforts in creating drug-free environments and addressing the issue of substance abuse among young people. They are located at 2110 Lomas del Sur Boulevard, Suite 110 and their phone number is (956) 482-0226

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) provides the funding. It is made possible through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, legislation supported by Senator Cornyn that focuses on mobilizing communities to prevent and reduce youth substance abuse.

Senator Cornyn expressed the importance of utilizing all available resources to protect young Texans from the dangers of substance abuse. He stated, “I am proud to have played a role in securing this investment to prevent and reduce substance abuse in Laredo. It is crucial that we provide our communities with the necessary resources to support the health and well-being of our next generation.”

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) -The hottest of the desert air is becoming less pronounced as it moves far to our north and east into the mid Mississippi Valley. It is still influencing our weather with 100+F heat and only small cumulus clouds. The trend will be for the lower atmosphere to gradually become more moist over a deeper depth. This will being a glimmer of hope of a scattered shower chance out of the more moist air next week. 

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - Authorites need your help locating a man wanted for aggravated robbery.

Laredo Police are searching for Jose Casarez III, 42, who is roughly 5,9, and weighs about 240 pounds.

According to police, Casarez is believed to be the suspect tied to a robbery.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, you are asked to call Laredo Police at 956-795-2800 or Crime Stoppers at 956-727-TIPS.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - Former Border Patrol Agent Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles is currently on trial for the alleged murder of Grizelda Hernandez and her one-year-old son, Dominic.

Day four of the trial started with roughly four hours of interviewing two expert witnesses without jurors present.

On Thursday, two witnesses took the stand and were questioned if the cellphone data gathered the day of the murders would be shown to the jury.

FBI agent Andrew Masters was called to go over the data he gathered from cellphone towers on April 9 2018.

The state wants to prove that Burgos had taken Grizelda and Dominic’s phones after the murders by using the data masters had gathered from the towers.

The defense did not only dispute Agent Masters’ data, but they did question his background.

Masters said he did not have a bachelor of engineering, but had been trained extensively by the FBI.

The defense questioned the validity of technology used to gather the data.

The cross examination took nearly an hour.

The defense called Manfred Schenk from Cherry Biometrics, who is an expert in radio frequency and cellular technology.

Schenk claimed it would not be accurate to get an estimate of the cellphone signals based on the information Agent Masters gathered.

In the end, Judge Joe Lopez ruled to allow the state expert witness, which is to allow the jurors to hear Agent Masters’ findings.

At around 2 p.m. the jurors were finally called in.

The state alleged Burgos had Grizelda and Dominic’s cellphone after the murders happened.

The defense disputed the data.

The jurors were not in the courtroom on Thursday morning because the defense argued the methodology used to determine Burgos was in possession of the cell phones could not be determined.

The defense discredited the accuracy of the information; however, Judge Lopez allowed the testimony to be heard.

“I appreciate your argument. I don’t need a rebuttal from the state or a reply. Your motion to exclude Mr. Masters’ testimony as an expert in this particular narrow area will be denied. Your motion to exclude a portion of the testimony is also denied,” said Judge Lopez.

Jurors were shown the findings of FBI Agent Masters which included Burgos Google service location.

Jurors were shown a map of Burgos route his cellphone picked up on the day of the murders.

Agent Masters said the cellphone data collected also matches police dashcam footage and surveillance video of nearby businesses which backed up his claims.

The just said after Friday, the trial will break and resume on Wednesday July 5.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Border Report) — A bipartisan delegation of Texas lawmakers are so fed up with waiting for presidential permitting approval for new international bridges in South Texas, that it has reached out to the State Department for help to hasten the regulatory process.

Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, along with Democratic U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez, and Republican Reps. Monica De La Cruz and Tony Gonzales on Tuesday sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken a letter urging him to bypass environmental regulations that require a full environmental assessment before his agency issues a recommendation to the White House on whether or not to issue presidential permits for these three new international bridges:

• The Flor de Mayo International Bridge in Brownsville.

• The 4/5 Bridge in Rio Bravo, southeast of Laredo, Texas.

• The Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas.

They also want to expand the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, which is the largest inland port for commercial trucks in the United States.

“These cross-border bridges will expand such trade, creating vital jobs and economic opportunities in the Texas border region,” they wrote. “Infrastructure connections between Texas and Mexico play an essential part in our state’s and our nation’s economy.”

“Our nation depends on South Texas’s infrastructure and labor to successfully conduct trade with Mexico, one of our largest trading partners. These bridge projects are needlessly being put on hold while our communities and country continue to be negatively impacted,” Gonzalez said in a statement Thursday.

Gonzalez represents Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which would include the location for the new Flor de Mayor International Bridge.

“My colleagues and I agree that environmental studies are an important measure to mitigate negative impacts on our local ecosystems. However, there are other processes available that can provide a thorough environmental review without further delaying vital projects. In my district alone, the Flor de Mayo International Bridge Project has been delayed for years. We must eliminate bureaucratic red tape to ensure that South Texas’s infrastructure can meet the demand of trade and tourism for decades to come,” he said.

The State Department is the agency that recommends to the White House whether a new international bridge is warranted and in the best foreign-policy interests of the United States.

But the lawmakers point out that environmental regulatory requirements have “needlessly” delayed these projects. And they are asking for special permission to go forward as the environmental reviews are being done.

Plans “have been needlessly delayed because the State Department, after consultation with White House staff at the National Security Council and the Council on Environmental Quality, has told project sponsors that they must first complete a lengthy environmental assessment before a recommendation will be given. This additional bureaucratic hurdle should be eliminated because it is both unnecessary and ignores the positive cultural and economic impacts that make these projects in our foreign policy interest.

“We strongly urge you to ask the White House to remove the unnecessary requirement that
international bridge project sponsors complete a lengthy environmental assessment before the
State Department will make its recommendation to the president about a permit request,” they wrote.

They note that the president’s approvals could be conditioned on the bridge project sponsors completing environmental and all other permitting requirements prior to construction, consistent with how recent permits for cross-border bridge projects were approved previously in Laredo and Pharr, Texas, which is now the leading bridge for the fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico.

Cruz’s office tells Border Report that “he has been leading this effort.”

In a statement, Cruz said: “Many of the affected Texas communities routinely rank as some of the lowest-income towns in the state. They stand to benefit immensely from the expanded and efficient cross-border trade and tourism that these projects will bring.”

If approved, the Flor de Mayo International Bridge would be the fourth in Brownsville.

The Border Trade Alliance backs the plans and earlier this week sent Cruz a letter thanking him for his support on this issue.

“We agree with you that modernized border crossings are of national importance, as they are essential to maintaining the U.S.’ competitive standing and ensuring the country’s ability to efficiently process international trade and travel. Requiring Presidential Permit applications to be subject to an onerous and overly bureaucratic regulatory regime risks dramatically delaying the completion of needed projects along the border and drives up costs,” the Alliance wrote.

Cameron County Commissioner Sofia Benavides is on the Border Trade Alliance. She began working for the county in 1969, and she told Border Report that plans for the Flor de Mayo International Bridge have been in the works “since the ’80s.”

“It’s been in the works for a long time,” Benavides said. “We all know that these transactions don’t happen overnight, they’re long in coming.”