Confederate flag license plate battle reaches U.S. Supreme Court

(GNN) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday takes up a free speech case on whether Texas was wrong in rejecting a specialty vehicle license plate displaying the Confederate flag - to some an emblem of Southern pride and to others a symbol of racism.

The nine justices will hear a one-hour oral argument in a case that raises the issue of how states can allow or reject politically divisive messages on license plates without violating free speech rights. States can generate revenue by allowing outside groups to propose specialty license plates that people then pay a fee to put on their vehicle.

The group Sons of Confederate Veterans says its aim is to preserve the "history and legacy" of soldiers who fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War. Its proposed design featured a Confederate battle flag surrounded by the words "Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896." The flag is a blue cross inlaid with white stars over a red background.

The group's Texas chapter said its members' free speech rights were violated when the state rejected the plate. Several other states have approved similar plates.

When Texas rejected the proposal in 2010, the state said it had received public comments that suggested "many members of the general public find the design offensive" in large part due to the Confederacy being synonymous with the institution of slavery.

A black Texas Democratic state senator, Royce West, said in 2011, "Ill-intended or not, why would African Americans want to be reminded of a legalized system of involuntary servitude, dehumanization, rape and mass murder?"

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas officials did not have grounds to reject the plate, prompting the state to seek high court review.

The legal issue is in part whether messages on state-issued license plates represent speech by the government or an endorsement of a private message. If determined to be private speech, the state's rejection could violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment free speech guarantee.

Steven Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which backs the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said although the flag "served as a banner for those who supported slavery and segregation ... Texas cannot pick and choose the plates it approves on ideological grounds."

A ruling is expected by the end of June.

The case is Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 14-144.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

'American Sniper' murder trial to open in Texas

(GNN) - Lawyers for an Iraqi war veteran will argue at the start of his trial on Wednesday that he was insane when he fatally shot former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper."

Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is charged with murdering Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in 2013 at a shooting range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth. A jury of 10 women and two men will hear the case.

After opening arguments, Kyle's widow Taya is expected to be one of the first witnesses to take the stand. Legal experts have said it is a tough task to obtain a verdict of innocence by reason of insanity in Texas.

If prosecutors win a conviction, they said they will seek a life sentence, while the defense will argue that he was innocent due to severe post traumatic stress disorder caused by Routh's overseas tours of duty with the U.S. Marines.

Routh's relatives have said he was hospitalized for treatment of mental illness in the months leading up to the Feb. 2, 2013 shooting. He was taken to the range by Kyle, who had been helping fellow veterans heal the mental scars coming from combat.

The case will be heard at a court in rural Erath County.

Routh's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have the trial delayed, saying that having the movie in theaters nationwide and basking in the award season's glare makes it difficult for Routh to get a fair hearing.

Kyle, credited with the most kills of any U.S. sniper, has been lionized in his home state of Texas, where he is buried at the Texas State Cemetery alongside some of the state's acclaimed figures. He is seen by many as a symbol of dedication to country and fellow servicemen.

"American Sniper," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, has grossed more than $282 million since opening in mid-January and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture.

Routh is accused of stealing Kyle's truck after the killings and driving it to the home of Routh's sister, who said he confessed to the crimes. Routh was arrested that day and has been jailed in Erath County on $3 million bond.

(Reuters) (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Immigration activist Vargas released by U.S Border patrol: group says

(GNN) - Immigration activist and undocumented immigrant Jose Vargas was released by the U.S. Border patrol on Tuesday after being detained for several hours while trying to board a domestic flight leaving McAllen, Texas, an immigration rights group said.

United We Dream, a group with which Vargas had been working in the border region of Texas, said he had been released. U.S. Border Patrol officials were not immediately available for comment.

(GNN - Reuters - AIP)(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Key Republicans balk at White House border funds request

(GNN) - Leading Republican lawmakers balked on Sunday at supporting a White House spending request aimed at bolstering the U.S. border with Mexico, where thousands of children have crossed recently, while calling for changes in the law to allow faster deportations.

The White House has asked for $3.7 billion in emergency funds to help pay for border security, temporary detention centers and additional immigration court judges to process asylum cases.

The Obama administration warned lawmakers on Thursday that border security agencies would run out of money this summer if the request was not approved.

Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said when asked about the spending bill that the priority had to be stopping the flow of children and teenagers from Central America to the United States.

"The best way to do that is for planeloads of these young people to be returning to the country of origin," he told CNN's "State of the Union." "As soon as they (parents) see their money is not effective in getting their kids to this country, it will stop."

More than 52,000 children traveling alone from Central America have been caught at the U.S.-Mexico border since October, twice as many as the same period the year before.

U.S. immigration officials say the crisis is being driven by poverty and gang and drug violence in Central America, as well as rumors perpetuated by smugglers that children who reach the U.S. border will be permitted to stay.

House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers said last week that the Obama administration asked for "too much money" but declined to say what an appropriate figure would be.

Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, also declined to support the spending bill. "We're not going to write a blank check for over $4 billion," he told "Fox News Sunday." McCaul is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

McCaul said he would support changing a 2008 law that requires deportation proceedings for children that arrive from countries that do not share a border with the United States. This would allow authorities to quickly deport newly arrived Central American children, as they do Mexican children.

McCaul said that bill could see action this summer.

"It's a very tragic human crisis at the border, none like I've ever seen before. I think we have to act before the August recess," he said.

The bill saw opposition from one Democrat, Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas.

"That 2008 law, passed under George W. Bush, was passed for a reason," he told NBC's "Meet the Press." "Many people believe that these kids should have a chance to make their case for asylum. So I think we've got to be careful when we consider completely doing away with that law."

Texas Governor Rick Perry pressed the White House to send National Guard troops to the border to aid the border patrol, which has been stretched thin by the mass influx of minors.

"They need to be right there on the river because that's the message that gets back to Central America. It's important to do that because this flood of children is pulling the border patrol away from their normal duty of keeping bad people (out)," he told "Fox News Sunday."

Perry also said that conversations among Central Americans had been monitored.

"We listen to the conversations. Er, I should say that, the conversations are being monitored with calls back to Central America and the message is, 'Hey, c'mon up here. Everything is great. They're taking care of us,'" he said.

(Reuters)(AIP)(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Jim Loney and Cynthia Osterman)

Two dead, five hurt in Texas shooting spree

TEXAS: A gunman randomly firing from his pickup truck killed one person and wounded five, including the sheriff of Concho County, Texas, on Sunday before the suspect was killed in a shootout with law enforcement, officials said. Authorities recovered an assault rifle, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the suspect, who was said to be 23 years old and from North Carolina.

The name was withheld pending notification of relatives, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

The statement identified the dead victim as Alicia Torres, 41, who was shot dead in her car, the statement said.

The Texas Rangers, local law enforcement and Texas Parks and Wildlife were investigating multiple scenes in Concho County, about 250 miles southwest of Dallas, following the early morning shooting spree.

The first incident took place about 4:30 a.m. when the suspect opened fire on vehicle near Eden, wounding a woman, who was later hospitalized in San Angelo, the statement said.

The suspect wounded two more people a short time later as they sat in their vehicle outside a convenience store in Brady, and then returned to Eden, where he fired on another vehicle and wounded another person. Those three were treated and released.

About 6 a.m., Torres was found shot to death in her car in Eola.

Some 15 minutes later, Concho County Sheriff Richard Doane encountered the suspect on a highway north of Eden. The sheriff was wounded and taken to a San Angelo hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the statement said.

The gunman was killed in a shootout with a Highway Patrol trooper and game warden who arrived to assist the sheriff, the statement said. (GNN)