Esteban Torres, congressman who pushed Latino rights, dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Esteban Torres, who emerged from the Chicano civil rights movement in California and went on to serve eight terms in Congress pushing for social and economic change to help empower Latinos, has died. He was 91. Torres died Jan. 25 of natural causes, according to a family statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times. A labor organizer and anti-poverty activist in East Los Angeles, Esteban became a union leader and then served in President Jimmy Carter’s administration before running for office. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla called Torres “a pathbreaking public servant and a lifelong fighter for the common good.”