Free Republic

A federal judge ordered 26-year-old Sergio Rodriguez to spend the next 14 years in prison Monday for “lasing” a police helicopter as a national crackdown on people who point lasers at aircraft intensifies. Rodriguez was arrested in 2012 and convicted in December 2013 of attempting to interfere with the operation of an aircraft, which comes with a maximum 20-year sentence. His girlfriend Jennifer Coleman, now 23, was convicted of pointing a laser at an aircraft, a federal crime established months before the Clovis, Calif., couple’s arrest that’s punishable by five years in prison. She will be sentenced May 12. The...

Remap pits Democrat against pal SAN ANTONIO — They were buddies as Texas House freshmen in 1987. But lately, there's bad blood. One wants the other's job. Ciro Rodriguez, 57, of San Antonio went on to Congress in 1997. Henry Cuellar, 48, of Laredo stayed in the House. But he endorsed Republican Gov. George W. Bush for president in 2000. And on Jan. 2, 2001, he became secretary of state, the first appointee of Republican Gov. Rick Perry, another 1980s House buddy when Perry was still a Democrat. Rodriguez, a devout Democrat, remained friends with Cuellar. He welcomed him back...