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2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Promise, pitfalls Cruz marks first week as a candidate By KATIE ZEZIMA THE WASHINGTON POST
Photo by Matt McClain | Washington Post
Cevin Hynes, left, and Gary DiPiero, left center, listen to potential presidential candidate, United States Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as he makes an appearance on March 15 in Barrington, New Hampshire.
MERRIMACK, N.H. — When Sen. Ted Cruz finally made it to the primary season campaign trail Friday, more than four full days after officially announcing his presidential bid, he said he felt good. Really good. “I am amazingly, powerfully, profoundly optimistic,” Cruz (R-
Tex.) said here, telling the crowd that the reaction to his campaign announcement had been “breathtaking.” “I’m optimistic because of each of you, the men and women in this room who will not let freedom go.” On the ground in chilly New Hampshire, it seemed he had some reason for the sunny outlook, with his Granite State appearances this weekend greeted
enthusiastically by rowdy crowds. “Cruz missile!” one man with a thick New England accent yelled out during the Rockingham County Republican Committee and Republican Women’s brunch in Greenland Saturday morning. Still, Cruz’s New Hampshire debut, much like the rest of his first week as a candidate, demon-
See CRUZ PAGE 11A
MEXICO
TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER
BORDER SURGE EFFECTS Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP
A supporter of fired journalist Carmen Aristegui holds a sign that reads in Spanish: "I’m with Aristegui" outside the area where she planned to give a press conference in Mexico City, March 19.
Journalistic freedom scrutinized Firing of Carmen Aristegui causes growing anger across country Photo by Eric Gay | AP file
In this Sept. 5, 2014 file photo, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine agent looks for signs along a trail with assistance from agents in a helicopter near the Texas-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. Officials in counties across the state say they’re seeing fewer troopers to assist them.
Fewer arrests recorded across the rest of Texas ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — State police agencies are making fewer arrests and fewer traffic stops than the same period a year ago, a dropoff that local officials attribute to sending hundreds of troopers to help secure the Texas-Mexico border. The Dallas Morning News reports Highway Patrol citations have fallen 14 percent from the previous year, new investigations started by the
state criminal investigations division have fallen 13 percent and Texas Rangers arrests have fallen by 25 percent. The Texas Department of Public Safety acknowledges it has taken agents from other parts of the state to patrol the border as part of a security mission started last year. Officials in counties across the state say they’re seeing fewer troopers to assist them. Denis Simons, the county judge in Jackson
County, southwest of Houston, said the number of troopers sometimes falls from three or four to just one for his county and others nearby. “It puts a little more burden on our local law enforcement,” he said. DPS said in a statement that it has already acknowledged some of the troopers now on the border were to come from other parts of the state, “and that we would work to minimize the impact to other areas or services.”
Former Gov. Rick Perry directed hundreds of troopers and National Guardsmen to the border with a stated mission to bolster surveillance. While top state officials have said that increase has improved security at border crossings, some lawmakers are skeptical or concerned about the surge’s impact elsewhere. “The truth is the rest of Texas is just a tad bit less safe,” said State Rep. Den-
See SURGE PAGE 11A
TEXAS FARM BUREAU
Food prices drop slightly SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
WACO —Retail food prices decreased slightly during the first quarter of 2015, with a basket of 16 staple items at the grocery store totaling $49.04, according to the latest Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Grocery Price Watch survey. “Down nearly three percent from last quarter at $50.48, lower food prices are good news for Texas families, taking a little bit of pressure off tight budgets,” TFB President Russell Boening said.
Although prices for most food items fell, beef prices remain on the rise. Top sirloin steak increased to $7.08 per pound, up by 3.51 percent from the last quarter. Lean ground beef rose 1.34 percent to $4.54 per pound. “Ranchers are still feeling the effects of a multi-year drought,” Boening said. “The U.S. and Texas cow herds fell to their lowest numbers during those extremely dry years. It takes time to rebuild.” While beef prices are expected to remain high through 2015,
shoppers are finding lower prices for other meats, including pork, chicken and turkey. Increased pork supplies and lower grain prices have pushed pork chop prices down to $4.50 per pound, a 5.86 percent decrease from last year. Prices for boneless chicken breasts dropped to $3.31 per pound, a 1.49 percent decrease, while sliced turkey prices fell to $4.79, a 4.58 percent decrease. “Texas shoppers are noticing
See FOOD PAGE 11A
By ELISABETH MALKIN NEW YORK TIMES
MEXICO CITY — When Carmen Aristegui, Mexico’s most famous radio personality, was abruptly fired this month, nobody expected her to go quietly. But anger over her dismissal has been rising steadily, and it has turned up the heat in this country’s charged political atmosphere. Conspiracy theories have abounded since a dispute between Aristegui and her employer, MVS Communications, ended in her departure. She has become an emblem of press freedom under siege, and social media has lighted up with demands for her return to the airwaves.
Even her critics, who point to a lack of reportorial rigor in many of her stories, argue that her dismissal removed one of the few broadcast journalists in Mexico who openly challenge authority. Many journalists contend that Aristegui’s case is part of a broader attempt by the government to check aggressive news coverage. "Today we have radio that is less plural than it was two weeks ago," said Raul Trejo, a media expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. "I have been very critical. But I think her voice is very healthy for Mexican society." Aristegui leads a
See FREEDOM PAGE 12A