1. NATION & WORLD
washington» After a storied ca-
reer that spanned the 1991 Persian
Gulf War, Bosnia and the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, the United States’
fleet of Humvees is entering its twi-
light — and they’re being sold to the
highest bidder by the dozen for about
$7,000 each.
The Humvee made its military de-
but in the 1980s, and the United States
still has more than 160,000 in its fleet.
But now the Army wants a tougher,
yet nimble vehicle, light enough so
that a helicopter could fly it around,
but resilient enough to withstand
bomb blasts.
In one of the most important — and
lucrative — contracts awarded by the
Army in years, three major defense
firms are competing for the $30 bil-
lion prize to build 55,000 vehicles,
called the Joint Light Tactical Vehi-
cle.
The JLTV is the mating of a Jeep
with a tank, designed for front-line
combat as well as ferrying supplies.
The Washington Post
laredo, texas» Ever sure of him-
self, Donald Trump paid a visit to the
Mexican border Thursday and pre-
dicted Hispanics would love him —
“they already do” — because as presi-
dent he’d grab jobs back from over-
seas and give more opportunity to
those who live in the U.S. legally.
“I’ll take jobs back from China. I’ll
take jobs back from Japan,” Trump
said. “The Hispanics are going to get
those jobs, and they’re going to love
Trump.”
Trump, a businessman and reality
TV host, set up a dramatic scene in
advance of his own campaign trip,
saying he was putting himself in
“great danger” by coming to the bor-
der area across from the volatile
Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. But,
he said, “I have to do it. I have to do
it.”
Trump traveled in a massive po-
lice-escorted motorcade on roads
closed for his entourage.
The Associated Press
B B B
The Humvee, like this National
Guard vehicle in Frederick, Md., is
being discharged. Associated Press file
B B B
video: Donald Trump at the U.S. border
with Mexico. »denverpost.com/nationalpolitics
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Today is Friday, July 24, the 205th day of
2015. There are 160 days left in the year.
IN THE NATION
1866: Tennessee became the first state
to be readmitted to the Union after the
Civil War.
IN THE WORLD
2005: Lance Armstrong won his seventh
consecutive Tour de France. (He was
later stripped of all his titles after ad-
mitting to doping). F
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
Comedian Ruth Buzzi is 79. Actor Dan
Hedaya is 75. Actor Chris Sarandon is
73. Comedian Gallagher is 69. Actor
Robert Hays is 68. Actress Lynda
Carter is 64. Movie director
Gus Van Sant is 63. Sen.
Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is
62. Country singer Pam Tillis
is 58. Basketball Hall of Fam-
er Karl Malone is 52. Actress-
singer Kristin Chenoweth is
47. Actress Rose Byrne is 36.
Actress Elisabeth Moss is 33.
Actress Anna Paquin is 33. TV
personality Bindi Irwin is 17.
The Associated Press
HUMVEES ON THEIR
WAY OUT, MAKING
WAY FOR THE JLTV
DESPITE “DANGER,”
TRUMP VISITS BORDER
House votes to punish
U.S. “sanctuary cities”
Action comes in wake of criminal immigrant’s alleged slaying of woman
By Mike Debonis The Washington Post
washington» The House of Repre-
sentatives on Thursday voted to punish lo-
cal jurisdictions that defy federal immigra-
tion authorities to protect immigrants liv-
ing illegally in the United States.
The 241-179 vote, which was backed by
Republican leaders and occurred largely
along party lines, is the most dramatic ac-
tion taken by Congress against so-called
“sanctuary cities” after a spate of new at-
tention on illegal immigration sparked by
the July 1 killing of a 32-year-old California
woman.
The shooting of Kathryn Steinle on a San
Francisco pier, allegedly at the hands of an
immigrant in the U.S. illegally and who was
released from local police custody despite a
detention request from federal authorities,
has sparked a national debate — one that
has been turbocharged by the remarks of
Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump.
Steinle’s father testified before a Senate
committee Tuesday and again before a
House committee Thursday, calling on
Congress to take action. Her accused killer,
Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, has seven
felony convictions since 1991 and has been
deported five times from the United States
to Mexico.
Under the legislation voted on Thurs-
day, cities that do not comply fully with
federal immigration authorities would be
ineligible for various Justice Department
law enforcement grants, including a pro-
gram that reimburses local jurisdictions
for the cost of detaining immigrants in the
U.S. illegally who are accused of or con-
victed of crimes.
As of Thursday evening, aides to U.S.
Rep. Diana DeGette said the Denver Demo-
crat still was investigating how much the
legislation would affect the city and neigh-
boring jurisdictions — although it ap-
peared likely the measure would have some
impact.
DeGette voted against it and afterward
criticized the bill’s intent.
“Instead of solving our underlying immi-
gration issues, this bill would stoke fear and
uncertainty within our community,” she
said in a statement.
By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press
cape canaveral, fla.» Scientists
have identified a “close cousin” to Earth
that’s orbiting a sun-like star and might
harbor life.
“It is the closest thing that we have to
another place that somebody else might
call home,” said Jon Jenkins from NASA’s
Ames Research Center in California.
The researchers announced their dis-
covery Thursday based on observations
from NASA’s Kepler space telescope.
This older, bigger cousin to Earth is
called Kepler-452b. What makes this
planet remarkable is that it orbits its star
at about the same distance that Earth or-
bits the sun. What’s more, its home star
looks to be similar to our sun. Based on
what scientists know today, Jenkins noted
it’s the nearest thing to another Earth-sun
twin system.
“Today the Earth is a little less lonely
because there’s a new kid on the
block,” Jenkins said during a news
conference. He led the team that dis-
covered Kepler-452b.
The last Kepler discovery that had
scientists gushing was just over a year
ago. That close-to-Earth-size planet,
Kepler-186f, also was in the habitable
zone of its star. But that faint dwarf
star was unlike our sun.
John Grunsfeld, NASA’s science mis-
sion chief, emphasized that the exoplanet
system identified Thursday — “a pretty
good close cousin to the Earth and our
sun” — is the closet so far. “And I really
emphasize the ‘so far.’ ”
The planet-hunting Kepler will keep
churning out new discoveries, Grunsfeld
noted, and possibly find even better
matches for “Earth 2.0.”
Kepler was launched in 2009 and has
nearly 5,000 potential exoplanets to its
credit — worlds beyond our solar system.
Boulder-based Ball Aerospace & Tech-
nologies Corp. built Kepler for NASA and
still runs its operations in space, with
support from the Laboratory for Atmo-
spheric and Space Physics at the Univer-
sity of Colorado.
Grunsfeld said thanks to Kepler’s latest
finding, we’re taking “one small step in
answering that question today.”
While scientists are uncertain whether
Planet452bisrockylikeEarth,theybelieve
there’s a better-than-even chance it is.
As for the age and size, it is about 6 bil-
lion years old, 1.5 billion years older than
Earth, and 60 percent larger in diameter
than our home planet.
Its star, Kepler 452, is also older and
bigger, as well as brighter than our sun.
Earth’s cousinNASA’s Kepler telescope discovers a planet, sun similar to ours
Earth
Age: 3.5 billion years
Orbit: 93 million miles
from the sun; it takes
365 days for a complete
trip
Gravity: Nearly half of
Kepler’s, meaning you
weigh about half of
what you would on the
Kepler planet
Mass: Smaller than
Kepler-452b
Kepler-452b
Age: 6 billion years
Orbit: About 5 percent
farther away from its
sun, taking 385 days
Gravity: At about 60
percent larger in
diameter than Earth,
about twice as much
Mass: Five times larger
than Earth
Distance from Earth:
1,400 light-years
Comparing the planets
Source: NASA The Washington Post
The habitable zone
Kepler-452b is the right distance from
its star for liquid water to pool, not
too hot or cold. Scientists call this
“the habitable zone.” Kepler-452b
occupies a similar position as the
habitable zone to Earth’s. Although
it’s a bit farther from its star, it gets
about 10 percent more energy
because its sun is about 10 percent
bigger in diameter and 20 percent
brighter than ours.
Kepler-452b orbits a sun
similar to Earth’s
Surface temperature of sun
(In Celsius)
Optimistic
habitable zone
Habitable
zone
3,500
4,500
5,500
6,500
Earth MarsVenus
Other Kepler planets found
452b
in coupon
savings!
Year-to-date savings: $22,440
$558PLUS
In this Sunday’s Denver Post:
■ Meryl Streep & Kevin Kline
The two actors discuss their 30 years
of film, family and friendship.
14A» NEWS friday, july 24, 2015 B denverpost.com B the denver post 6