DAILY ROUNDUP PAGE 2A CASH FIVE | 2,3,16,20,24 LOTTERY MEGA | 7,39,41,48,53 21 PICK 3 | DAY: 7,4,8 NIGHT: 8,8,1 AROUND TEXAS | IN BRIEF DAILY CALENDAR Register online for Fall 2007 at Texas A&M International University. Registration continues today at uonline.tamiu.edu.Don’t delay; prepare now and make an appointment to see your adviser. For more information,call the Office of the University Registrar at 326-2250 or e-mail [email protected]. Late applications are still being accepted for the Texas A&M International University College Readiness Program. This program is free and open to LISD and UISD high school senior only who passed the English language arts and math portions of the TAKS, but whose scores do not reach a scaled score indicating college readiness. Late applications will be accepted through July 9 or until all 75 slots have been filled. The Program runs from July 9 to Aug. 10. For more information,call Julio F. Madrigal at 326-2700. Make a splash this weekend at the Laredo Community College swimming pool. The pool is now open on Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free with a valid LCC ID card. Up to two guests are allowed per college student or employee. For more information, call 721-5326. Visit the Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and watch “Kaluoka’hina, The Enchanted Reef”at 5 p.m.,“Black Holes”at 6 p.m. and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” at 7 p.m. General admission for “Black Holes”is $4 and $3 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Tickets for the other two premium shows are $1 more. Buy a ticket for any second show on the same day and save $2. Don’t forget to register for the “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” Spanish voiceover raffle. For more information,contact the LBV Planetarium at [email protected] or call 326-2444. The 2008 Summer Enrichment in Piano Studies begins Session II today at the Vidal M.Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts 1701 Victoria St. Schedule: July 16-20, 1-2:30 p.m.–beginners; 2:304:30 p.m.–intermediate/advanced. For more information call Mary Grace Carroll at the school at 795-3325,or check the link at http://vmt.elisd.org. SUNDAY,JULY 15 Make a splash this weekend at the Laredo Community College swimming pool. The pool is open on Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free with a valid LCC ID card. Up to two guests are allowed per college student or employee. For more information, call 721-5326. THURSDAY, JULY 19 The Laredo Music Theater International, Inc. will be holding its production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast from July 19 through July 22, 2007 at the Martinez Fine Arts Center at the Laredo Community College. Showtimes are 8 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 22. Tickets are on pre-sale. Call 285-5705 for ticket information. SETTING IT STRAIGHT The caption under a photograph of the Webb County Veterans Service Office, which was published on page 1A of Thursday’s edition, contained incorrect information. In fact, it is Ernesto Sanchez, president of the local Korean War Veterans Association, who is straightening a photo of a Vietnam veteran on a wall in the office. DO YOU KNOW JANIE ROMANO? A housewife, she enjoys spending time with her children, listening to music and talking to people. Photo by Larry Kolvoord/pool | AP A military honor guard carries Lady Bird Johnson’s casket to the LBJ Library in Austin, on Friday, where she will lie in repose. The former fist lady died Wednesday at the age of 94. See related photo, page 6A. Ceremonies to honor Lady Bird Johnson begin in Austin By KELLEY SHANNON ASSOCIATED PRESS USTIN — Family prayer services and a huge public outpouring Friday ushered in three days of memorial ceremonies honoring the late Lady Bird Johnson, an environmentalist first lady who clung to her Texas roots. Johnson made a final trip to her beloved wildflower center, where friends and family gathered for a private religious service Friday morning accented by some of her favorite flowers and other aspects of nature. Afterward, the family greeted her casket once it was moved across town to the LBJ Library and Museum at the University of Texas at Austin. Surrounded by historical documents and mementos of Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, the former first lady’s oak casket, draped in an Episcopalian pall, was placed in the exact spot where her husband lay in state when he died in 1973. Lady Bird Johnson died Wednesday of natural causes. A “My mother had 94 delicious years. She lived them to the fullest,” daughter Luci Baines Johnson said Friday before greeting visitors at the library. She said despite her mother’s medical problems, she recently toured a university art museum and delighted over a pasture of wildflowers in the nearby Hill Country. The former first lady will lay in repose for 22 hours, until 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Then there will be an invitation-only televised funeral. She will be buried Sunday next to her husband at the LBJ Ranch. Anyone may visit the library to pay respects. As admirers — some of whom had been waiting in line hours — were let inside, Luci Baines Johnson moved to the front door to greet them after urging that they be allowed in a few minutes early. “My mother wouldn’t want people standing in the heat out there. She would want them to come in. This is their library,” she said referring to the crowd of about 600 who waited and helped themselves to bottled water placed in ice chests outside. Teen girl rejects plea agreement in death Amarillo teacher says he released TAKS info Prosecutor criticizes DeLay court ruling HOUSTON — A 17-year-old girl accused of fatally stabbing a member of the notorious MS-13 gang during a brawl in a city park last year rejected a plea agreement Friday and now faces another trial after the first ended in a hung jury. “Reject it,” Ashley Benton told state District Judge Devon Anderson during a court hearing Friday after the teen was asked if she was going to accept or refuse a plea agreement offered by prosecutors. See story, page 6A AMARILLO — By volunteering on a committee that helps select questions for the state’s standardized test, an Amarillo teacher said he was able to leak writing topics to colleagues so their students could fare better, according to a state report. Elementary bilingual teacher David Tamez told investigators he merely followed the lead of other committee volunteers who routinely smuggled test secrets back to their districts. See story, page 6A AUSTIN — A Texas prosecutor said in court filings Friday that the state’s highest criminal appeals court created a “separate — but not necessarily equal — system of justice” by refusing to reinstate a conspiracy charge against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle wants the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider its decision. See story, page 6A — Compiled from AP reports TODAY IN HISTORY ASSOCIATED PRESS Today is Saturday, July 14, the 195th day of 2007. There are 170 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 14, 1789, during the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside. On this date: In 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a federal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writing about the United States government. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry relayed to Japanese officials a letter from President Millard Fillmore, requesting trade relations. (Fillmore’s term of office had already expired by the time the letter was delivered.) In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias “Billy the Kid,” was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, N.M. In 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb. In 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed. In 1958, the army of Iraq overthrew the monarchy. In 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the Red Planet. In 1966, eight student nurses were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory. In 1978, Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky was convicted of treasonous espionage and anti-Soviet agitation, and sentenced to 13 years at hard labor. (Sharansky was released in 1986.) Ten years ago: The international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Dusan Tadic, a Bosnian Serb, to 20 years in prison for turning on his Muslim and Croat neighbors in a deadly campaign of terror and torture. O.J. Simpson’s California mansion was auctioned off for $2.6 million. Five years ago: A gunman tried but failed to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac during a Bastille Day parade. Joaquin Balaguer, ruler of the Dominican Republic for 22 years, died at age 95. One year ago: Israel destroyed the home and office of Hezbol- “I WILL START A CHAIN OF TERRORISM IN THE WORLD.” 15 YEAR OLD | 10A SAY WHAT? AROUND THE NATION | IN BRIEF Doctors use robots to visit patients Few children who live near school walk,bike BALTIMORE — Has it come to this? Robots standing in for doctors at the hospital patients’ bedside? Not exactly, but some doctors have found a way to use a videoconferencing robot to check on patients while they’re miles from the hospital. One is at Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital. Outfitted with cameras, a screen and microphone, the joystick-controlled robot is guided into the rooms of Dr. Alex Gandsas’ patients where he speaks to them as if he were right there. See story, page 9A ATLANTA — Fewer than half of American children who live close to school regularly walk or ride a bike to classes, according to a new study that highlights a dramatic shift toward car commuting by kids. Children in the South did the least hoofing and pedaling, partly because of safety concerns, experts believe. The issue is important because it’s linked to escalating rates of childhood obesity. Many schools have been cutting back on recess and physical education, the study’s lead author. See story, page 10A Solons say key papers held in Tillman’s death Some say Padilla court case weak SAN FRANCISCO — Two influential lawmakers investigating how and when the Bush administration learned the circumstances of Pat Tillman’s friendly-fire death and how those details were disclosed accused the White House and Pentagon on Friday of withholding key documents and renewed their demand for the material. The White House and Defense Department have turned over nearly 10,000 pages of papers, but the White House cited “executive branch confidentiality interests.” See story, page 9A MIAMI — For a star defendant whose name is known around the world, Jose Padilla has become almost a bit player in his terrorism support trial — and some observers say the federal government may not have proved its case against him. Prosecutors rested their case Friday after nine weeks, 22 witnesses and dozens of FBI wiretap intercepts played at trial, most of them in Arabic with written translations for jurors. Defense lawyers for Padilla begin presenting their case next week. See story, page 10A — Compiled from AP reports SATURDAY,JULY 14 Registration is currently under way at Texas A&M International University for Men’s Soccer Camp for children ages 5 to 13. Camp fee is $100 for camper; family rate is $80 for child.TAMIU employees will also receive a $20 discount for dependents. Session II is scheduled for July 30 through Aug. 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Proof of medical coverage is required. For more information,call coach Claudio E. Arias at 326-2893 or e-mail [email protected] or contact Jerrod Idle at 326-2891 or [email protected]. SATURDAY,JULY 14,2007 lah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and tightened its seal on Lebanon, blasting its air and road links to the outside world. Spurred by Mideast fighting, oil prices rose to an intraday record $78.40 a barrel. Actress Carrie Nye died in New York at age 69. T o d a y ’ s B i r t h d a y s : Actor Dale Robertson is 84. Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 81. Actress Nancy Olson is 79. Actress Polly Bergen is 77. Former football player Rosey Grier is 75. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 58. Actor Jerry Houser is 55. Actordirector Eric Laneuville is 55. Actor Stan Shaw is 55. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 49. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 47. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 46. Actor Matthew Fox is 41. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 41. Rock singer-musician Tonya Donelly is 41. Actress Missy Gold is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 32. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 32. T h o u g h t f o r T o d a y : “The willing contemplation of vice is vice.” — Arabic proverb. AROUND THE WORLD | IN BRIEF Photo by Mikhail Metzel | AP Russian ballet dancers Svetlana Zakharova and Ivan Vasilyev, center, perform in the ballet “Class-Concert” during a dress rehearsal on the eve of its first night at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, on Friday. British cops putting video cameras on caps U.S.troops kill six cops thought to be militiamen LONDON — Britain is taking its surveillance to a new level, strapping video cameras to the helmets of its famed bobbies — a move the government says will cut down on paperwork and help prosecute criminals. By providing dramatic footage of victims, suspects and witnesses, judges and jurors will be able to “see and hear the incident through the eyes and ears of the officer at the scene,” Minister of State for Security Tony McNulty said. BAGHDAD — U.S. troops battled Iraqi police suspected of links to Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen, killing six in a rare firefight between American soldiers and their Iraqi partners. Friday’s clash underscored the deep infiltration of militants in the country’s security forces. The battle came a day after the Bush administration acknowledged that the Iraqi government was making “unsatisfactory” progress in its efforts to purge the police force. — Compiled from AP reports CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2501 Chief Accountant, Thelma Aguero . . . . . . .728-2553 Creative Services Director, Raul Cruz . . . .728-2596 Controller, Joe Vied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2502 MIS Director, Michael Castillo . . . . . . . . . . .728-2505 General Manager, Adriana Devally . . . . . . .728-2510 Editor, Diana Fuentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2581 Retail Adv. Manager, San Juanita Salas . . .728-2511 City Editor, Julie Daffern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2565 Classified Manager, Sandra Valderrama . .728-2525 Sports Editor, Salo Otero . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2576 Adv. 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ABOUT OUR MASTHEAD THEMEXICO,TIMES1821-1836; Published daily Monday through Sunday mornings in Laredo, Texas, by the Laredo Morning Times,a division of The Hearst Corporation,PO Box 2129,Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 7282500.Periodicals class postage paid at the Post Office in Laredo, Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1873. (USPS 305040) Post Master for address corrections: Please mail to: P.O. Box 2129 Laredo, TX, 78044 Registrado como articulo de segunda clase en la administracion de Correos de Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, fecha 26 de julio de 1928. Certificado de licitud de contenido No.3887. Certificado de licitud de titulo No. 5086. Reserva de derechos al uso exclusivo de titulo No. 427-90.