Former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy's wife Kimberly Van Gundy was a social activist and known for her love for animals

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said his administration will deploy an “inflatable border” composed of floating barriers along the Rio Grande as part of its bid to deter migrants from attempting illegal crossings into the state. The new policy was quickly slammed by some mocking the idea and others who said that Texas taxes could be better spent on other initiatives. The barriers, seen in concept art presented at the state Capitol in Austin on Thursday as the governor signed six new border security bills into law, are effectively a string of interconnected buoys that spin when someone attempts to scale them, making them difficult to pass. Below the waterline, a web of netting weighed down by anchors will prevent anyone from simply swimming underneath The barriers will be placed along known hotspots for attempted crossings, with the first 1,000 feet to be situated near Eagle Pass, where Texas National Guardsman Bishop E Evans, 22, tragically drowned last year while attempting to rescue migrants from the river. The governor’s office said in a statement that the strategy was intended to “proactively prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry by making it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border”. Continuing to blame President Joe Biden for the perceived failure to secure the US-Mexico border, Governor Abbott said his latest package of bills is aimed at ensuring his state can “hold the line” against illegal immigrants, drugs and weapons entering the United States from the south. They grant the Texas military the authority to use unmanned aircraft in search and recovery missions, authorise trained US Border Patrol agents to carry out arrest, search and seizure operations at checkpoints and compensate rural landowners whose property is damaged by illegal immigration-related activities. They also designate Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organisations and increase the penalties for those caught destroying illegal drugs and those who operate stash houses. Speaking at Thursday’s signing, Governor Abbott said: “Thanks to the leadership and hard work of [Texas Department of Public Safety] Director [Steve] McCraw, General Thomas Suelzer and their teams, Texas has pushed back against the swell of migrants and held the line to keep people out of Texas – but there’s more that needs to be done. “The Texas Legislature has stepped up to make sure we continue to robustly respond to President Biden’s growing border crisis, including allocating $5.1bn for border security. “Today, I am signing six bills from this year’s regular session to ensure that Texas can continue to do even more to stop illegal immigration at our southern border and provide new tools to the brave men and women along the southern border to protect Texans and Americans from the chaos and crisis of the border.” Regarding the barriers specifically, the governor said: “What we’re doing right now, we’re securing the border at the border. “What these buoys will allow us to do is to prevent people from even getting to the border.” Director McCraw added: “We don’t want people to come across and continue to put their lives at risk when they come between the points of entry.” He explained that the barriers are currently being tested by specialists and will be moveable so that they can be quickly relocated to new areas as needed. Of their role as a deterrent, he said: “You could sit there for a couple of days and hold onto it, but eventually you’re going to get tired and want to go back. You’ll get hungry.” Rodolfo Rosales, director of the Texas chapter of the League of United Latin Americans Citizens has condemned Mr Abbott’s latest approach to the situation as inhumane. “We view it as a chilling reminder of the extreme measures used throughout history by elected leaders against those they do not regard as human beings, seeking only to exterminate them, regardless of the means employed,” he told CBS. “It is with profound horror and shame that we bear witness to the consideration of these measures, which are evidently intended as political theatre but will undoubtedly result in the loss of innocent lives among the refugees seeking asylum in the United States.” Social media users were quick to respond to Mr Abbott on Twitter. “Texas will deploy new marine floating barriers to deter illegal border crossings between ports of entry. We continue to hold the line in Biden’s absence,” the governor tweeted on Friday. “You know they can swim under it right?” one Twitter user said. The director of the Central America and Mexico Policy Initiative at the Strauss Center at The University of Texas at Austin, Stephanie Leutert, wrote: “Some places of the Rio Grande will be shallow enough that this won’t be effective. And smugglers moving people across in rafts will quickly figure out how to cut these apart or hoist people over them from raft to raft. But... they will 100 percent cause more drowning deaths.” “I bet they didn’t think about sharp objects that can penetrate said buoys or holding ones breath. Also this seems like a waste of money, time & labor,” one account holder added. Several Twitter users compared the barrier to objects used in the NBC show American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout on TBS. “Welcome to Wipeout: Illegal Immigration special!” one Twitter user said. Gustaf Kilander contributed to this report Read More Texas businessman tied to impeachment of attorney general Ken Paxton to appear in federal court Texas camp teens airlifted to hospital after elevated walkway collapses in Surfside Beach photo Mexico charges migrant in detention center fire that killed 40 Analysis: What makes a fair election? Recent redistricting the most politically balanced in years New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections Homeland Security names Border Patrol veteran Jason Owens to lead the agency

Michael O’Neill admitted poor defending cost Northern Ireland dear in a damaging 4-2 defeat to Slovenia but it was another game of fine margins in Ljubljana. Northern Ireland ended the night having created more chances than their hosts but on the wrong end of the scoreline as they struggled to contain Slovenia’s strike pairing of Benjamin Sesko and Andraz Sporar. Isaac Price’s first international goal had cancelled out Sporar’s third-minute strike but all too quickly Northern Ireland were behind again when Petar Stojanovic’s strike deflected off Jonny Evans in the 17th minute, with Sesko giving Slovenia breathing space before the break. Although Evans got O’Neill’s side back into it in the 53rd minute, almost immediately Sporar settled it to deliver what is surely a fatal blow to Northern Ireland’s hopes of progressing from Group H as they lost for a fourth straight match. But although they conceded four, O’Neill could be happy with the attacking intent showed by his side, with Conor McMenamin carrying the threat after getting the nod on the right wing. “It was a game full of incident clearly, six goals,” O’Neill said. “I thought we played very well in the game. We defended poorly at times, we struggled to deal with Sesko and Sporar who we knew would be the biggest threat and they proved to be that. “But we did a lot of good things in the game. Some of the attacking play was very very good, we created a lot of chances and that was the best attacking play we’ve had in the campaign so far. Playing with two wingers helped us with the chances we created. “The most disappointing thing in the game is how we managed the period in the game from 1-1 to 2-1, I think that was the period where we needed to be stable and we weren’t. Also from 3-2 to 4-2, we conceded too early after the game went to 3-2. “We were trying to find a way back in the last 15 minutes and asked some questions and again the goalkeeper makes two or three good saves. It was an open game. I was disappointed to lose the game but pleased with a lot of aspects, some of the younger players were terrific.” There were late chances for McMenamin and substitutes Josh Magennis and Paul Smyth, but although Northern Ireland had more possession and more chances than their hosts, they lacked the sort of firepower offered by RB Leipzig’s Sesko and Sporar of Panathinaikos. After coming out on the wrong end of three consecutive 1-0 defeats, this was a very different result, but a similar story of Northern Ireland not being outplayed. “The biggest difference in the game was probably the front two,” O’Neill said. “It’s a big part of the team. I don’t think we saw a lot between the teams on the night but they were clinical. “Both Sorpar and Sesko were a threat all night. Some of our players were excellent as well and the chances we created, we’re probably disappointed we only scored twice in the game. We have to accept the defeat and move on.” McMenamin was the brightest spark, with the 28-year-old showing the confidence gained from his summer move from Glentoran to St Mirren. “Conor had a great game, he was very, very positive from the outset,” O’Neill said. “He’s a player who has come late to international football, late to professional football. “In the summer he got his first move into the Scottish Premiership and I think he’s made great strides in the space of six to eight weeks he’s been in the there so there’s a lot more in Conor.”

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Liverpool forward Luis Diaz was left out of the squad for Sunday's Premier League home game against Nottingham Forest after his parents were kidnapped in Colombia, with manager Jurgen Klopp saying everyone at the club was worried. Colombia President Gustavo Petro said late on Saturday that Diaz's mother had been rescued after they were kidnapped in northern Colombia, but officials were still searching for his missing father, who may have been taken to Venezuela. “The game preparation was the most difficult I’ve ever had in my life. I didn’t expect that, I wasn’t prepared for it,” Klopp said after the 3-0 victory. “I don’t want to make the game bigger than it was, but definitely, we tried to help Luis with the fight we put in because obviously we want to help and we cannot really help. “So the only thing we can do is fight for him and that’s what the boys did.” Liverpool secured their fifth straight home Premier League win to move three points behind leaders Tottenham. But Klopp said: “How can you make a football game really important on a day like this? It’s really difficult. I’ve never struggled with that in my life. “We heard late last night about it. We spoke to Luis, he wanted to go home...Then we got the news with his mum, which is fantastic, and since then nothing really. We are obviously the first people to get involved and we try to have knowledge of everything as much as we can, but we don’t want to disturb in any way the important people there, we just want to support, that’s it.” Earlier, Liverpool issued a statement saying they were aware of the situation involving Diaz's family and were focusing on the player's welfare. Diaz, who has played 43 times for Colombia, was signed by Liverpool in January last year in a deal reported to be worth 45 million euros ($47.5 million). He has scored three times for Liverpool in all competitions this season. Colombia's Attorney General Francisco Barbosa on Sunday said it was possible that Diaz's father was being taken to Venezuela, and ordered an investigation to look into the motives of the kidnapping and find those responsible. "We have information that he could, at some point, be in Venezuela. If he ends up crossing the border and he's in Venezuela, we have to ask [Colombia] President Gustavo Petro ... to help us with freeing Luis Diaz's father," Barbosa told reporters. Colombia's national police also announced payment of $48,500 (£40,000) for any information leading to his rescue. Reuters, further quotes from PA Read More Nunez scores as Liverpool show support for Luis Diaz in win over Forest Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Liverpool forward Luis Diaz’s parents kidnapped by gunmen in Colombia

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