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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 122, No. 156 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

SNOWDEN TURNING INTO SIDESHOW? Whisked out of a luxury Hong Kong hotel, vanishing into the mysterious wing of a Moscow airport, Edward Snowden’s continent-jumping, hide-and-seek game seems like the stuff of a pulp thriller ... - PAGE B8

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Roswell Filmfest and Cosmicon • Former Roswell mayor helped city through ... • Cops ready to serve more than justice • Air conditioner, electrial cord taken • CC approves ...

June 30, 2013

Top U.S. House leader tours Roswell area

SUNDAY

www.rdrnews.com he said is a valuable part of the Republican House majority.

JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

Congressman Pete Sessions, RTexas, of Dallas spent Saturday touring Southeast New Mexico with the district’s Rep. Steve Pearce, R-NM, discussing issues that impact both influential U.S. House leaders before they return to a critical week in Washington. The Chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee granted an interview with the Daily Record before departing to discuss current pending legislation involving immigration reform, oil and natural gas proposals and party unity. Sessions spent time discussing regional issues with Pearce, who

“(Pearce) spends a great deal of time talking with other members about jobs, job creation and the energy industry that is a part of the value of New Mexico and really to our country,” Sessions said. “That’s why I’m here. “In difficult times, you need leaders and people who are willing to think, look and listen and don’t just immediately make a quick decision, but rather study the issues with a knowledge that we need to hear all sides,” Sessions said. “We need to make rational decisions then, we need to err on the side of how we produce a better country.”

Sessions handled legislation last week in the Rules Committee from the Natural Resources Committee regarding jurisdiction over natural gas and public lands. “The federal government and because of the activism of our president has taken those lands out of the ability for there to be production, and he is stopping and See TOP, Page A3 Courtesy Photo

RIGHT: Chairman of the House Rules Committee Rep. Pete Sessions, RTexas, of Dallas met with the Record Saturday following a tour of Southeast New Mexico with Rep. Steve Pearce, R-NM, of Hobbs.

Roswell Filmfest and Cosmicon

AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER

Actresses in formal dresses and actors in fancy ties make their way down the red carpet to the Roswell Filmfest and Cosmicon Gala as lights flash and cameras snap. A general murmur of conversation fills Pearson Auditorium at New Mexico Military Institute Saturday night as guests wait impa-

tiently for the crowning moment of RFC: the premiere and awards ceremony of the four sci-fi films that competed in this year’s Shootout.

As the lights dim the audience goes silent. Then out of the darkness, the stage rises to reveal QuiGon Jinn and Darth Maul, eyes locked and lightsabers drawn in preparation for battle. Their lightsabers flash back and forth, streaks of green and red, as they

Mark Wilson Photos

A film crew interviews R2-D2 during the Roswell Filmfest and Cosmicon at the Roswell Mall, Saturday.

INSIDE SPORTS

Swashbucklers engage in swordplay during the Roswell Filmfest and Cosmicon at the Roswell Mall, Saturday.

battle to the death. “Can you say alternate ending?” says Qui-Gon Jinn, aka Mark Vasconcellos, as the battle ends, and he finds himself miraculously alive and victorious. Vasconcellos, the master of ceremonies, cuts right to the chase: “I think we can get right to the movies,” he says. “Have I talked

Church on the Move feeds Veterans

long enough? Are you bored yet?” So he quickly reminds the audience to be courteous — “Turn off your cell phones, tur n of f your lightsabers” — and with that the first of four films begins. “Angels Over Roswell” takes a different look at the 1947 alien crash See RFC, Page A3

SERENA, DJOKOVIC ADVANCE LONDON (AP) — As the sun set on the opening week of Wimbledon, just about the only seeding that truly signified something was No. 1. That’s the number beside the names ... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES

• George Samuel Morley • Connie Vickers - PAGE B8

HIGH ...93˚ LOW ....67˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A7

INDEX

Lawrene Foster Photos

ABOVE LEFT: Church on the Move’s Lola Whitfield, standing, serves cake to veterans at the 8th annual Veterans Free Steak Dinner, Saturday. ABOVE RIGHT: Briana Dowdy, left, and Nic Zamora entertain the crowd at the 8th annual Veterans Free Steak Dinner. Whitfield, a church administrator for Church on the Move, said that nearly 650 people attended the event this year. “Our main goal is to honor God, but then we want to honor our veterans,” Whitfield said.

Tension rises ahead of Egypt protest CAIRO (AP) — Organizers of a mass protest against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi claimed Saturday that more than 22 million people have signed their petition demanding the Islamist leader step down, asserting that the tally was a reflection of how much the public has turned against his rule. The announcement adds to a sense of foreboding on the eve of opposition-led mass demonstrations that many fear could turn deadly and quickly spin out of control, dragging the country into a dangerous round of political violence. The demonstrations planned for Sunday reflect the growing polarization of the nation since Morsi took power, with the president and his Islamist allies in one camp and seculars, liberals, moderate Muslims

and Christians on the other. There is a sense among opponents and supporters of Morsi that Sunday’s rally is a make or break day. The opposition feels empowered by the petition, known as Tamarod, or Rebel, but it of fered no proof regarding the figures. If verified, it would mean that nearly double the number of people who voted for Morsi a year ago are now calling for him to step down. “Honestly, if (Sunday) is not a game changer, we might all just pack up our bags and leave,” said Mahmoud Salem, a prominent blogger known by his blog’s name Sandmonkey and a vocal critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails. While violence is likely in such a tense atmosphere, Salem said it would not

play out in favor of Morsi supporters because they will be outnumbered. “They have alienated everybody,” he said. Even if no violence breaks out, Salem said civil disobedience is expected in a movement designed now to “save the country.” Morsi’s supporters, on the other hand, question the petitions, saying his opponents are led by members of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak who are trying to orchestrate a comeback and are instigating violence. “Today and tomorrow will be the real birth of this nation,” said Hani Salaheddin, a presenter on the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated TV station Misr 25, predicting that Sunday will bring an end to the questioning of Morsi’s mandate. See EGYPT, Page A3

Momentous Supreme Court term ends with flourish

WASHINGTON (AP) — A historic Supreme Court term ended with a flourish of major rulings that marked a bitter defeat for racial minorities and a groundbreaking victory for gay rights, all in the space of a day. The justices struck down parts of two federal laws — the Voting Rights Act and the Defense of Marriage Act — that were passed with huge bipartisan majorities of Congress. Yet only one justice at the center of this conservativeleaning court, Anthony Kennedy, was on the winning side both times. Kennedy joined the four more conservative justices on voting rights and he was with his liberal colleagues in the gay marriage case. Just in that 24-hour span, the rulings demonstrated two truths about the court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts. The 58-year-old lawyer who cut his teeth in the Reagan administration put to rest any questions he may have raised about his conservative credentials a year earlier when he cast the deciding vote to uphold President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Roberts has shown himself to be a skillful judge who can get even ideologically differing colleagues to agree on narrow rulings that help form the basis for more See ENDS, Page A3


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