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MEXICO
IMMIGRATION
22 people killed in gun battle
Lending a hand BP agents to be sent to Valley to provide assistance By JASON BUCH
Shootout between armed group, Mexican soldiers By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICES
MEXICO CITY — A gun battle between Mexican soldiers and an armed group that attacked a convoy left at least 22 people dead on Monday in one of the bloodiest confrontations the military has had in the drug war. The military said the shootout occurred around 5:30 a.m. in Tlatlaya, about 150 miles southwest of here in Mexico state. The town is near the border with the states of Michoacán and Guerrero, two of the country’s most violent areas and a region largely in the grip of organized crime groups. The patrol was attacked as it came upon a warehouse with armed guards. In the firefight, 21 men and one woman were killed — all of them assailants, the military said — and one soldier was injured. Three women who had been kidnapped were freed, and a large cache of assault rifles, ammunition and a fragmentation grenade were seized. The military did not say what gang the group belonged to, but the area is a known stronghold of the Guerreros Unidos, or United Warriors, apparently an offshoot of the Beltran Leyva gang, which the authorities have said largely crumbled after its leader was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines in 2009. Much of the increase in violence in the region has been attributed to the Guerreros Unidos. Two weeks ago, two soldiers were killed by members of the gang in Mexico state near the scene of Monday’s firefight. Alejandro Hope, a security analyst and a former Mexican intelligence official, said such confrontations may increase as President Enrique Peña Nieto turns to the military to put down violence, much as his predecessor, Felipe Calderón, did. Both presidents were forced to use federal forces because local and state police departments were too corrupt and largely paid off by the gangs, Hope said. Peña Nieto, he said, is under additional pressure because he won the 2012 election on promises to tamp down the kind of violence that left tens of thousands dead during Calderón’s term. Recently, Peña Nieto sent troops to Tamaulipas state, along the border with Texas, to take over much of the work from state institutions. The military and federal police officers also were sent in large numbers to Michoacán to disarm, and to some extent patrol with, heavily armed members of vigilante groups who had emerged to drive out the gangs. “The policy of sending in troops will probably lead to more armed confrontations,” Hope said. “This administration has mostly used the same logic as Calderón.”
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Speaking to reporters Monday in McAllen, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said President Barack Obama is redeploying Homeland Security and Department of Justice resources to the border from the interior of the country. He said another 150 Border Patrol agents will be sent to the Rio Grande Valley and said FEMA and Coast Guard personnel have already been moved there,
but he didn’t elaborate. Johnson toured the McAllen Border Patrol station with Health and Human Resources JOHNSON Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland. Johnson said it’s his third visit to McAllen since becoming DHS secretary six months ago. When asked what additional re-
sources Border Patrol needs, he responded: “I need to know, are we diverting Border Patrol resources off their core mission on the border? That’s the first question I want to ask. That’s the first answer I want to know. I’m pleased that the assessment is we’re generally keeping our eyes on that ball because of the additional resources we’ve added to the sector.” That explanation is at odds with state leaders, who say the Border Patrol isn’t able to protect the border. They’ve ear-
marked $30 million for additional state troopers in the region. Johnson said he’ll be traveling to Guatemala next week, one of the countries along with Honduras and El Salvador that has been sending the vast majority of the tens of thousands of children and families who are crossing the Rio Grande and turning themselves in to Border Patrol. He warned people in those countries about sending chil-
See ASSISTANCE PAGE 10A
IMMIGRATION OVERLOAD
HEALTH CONCERNS
Courtesy photo
Immigrants sit on the floor inside the Laredo Transit Center terminal with their family and belongings, in mid-June.
Overcrowding, lack of resources pose health risk By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photos of the interior of the facilities where immigrants are being held have been circulating the Internet and reveal why government officials have deemed the situation a “humanitarian crisis.” In the photos, facilities are overcrowded with individuals who have been traveling
for days and weeks at a time. The facilities have been set up by agencies trying to accommodate the sudden amount of mass immigrant arrivals. The overcrowding and a lack of resources poses the potential risk for a public health issue, and the U.S. government has responded to address the issue. Craig Fugate, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was
appointed by the Obama administration to organize the efforts to care for the 60,000 unaccompanied minors that have arrived. Fugate has enlisted the assistance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, State, Defense and the General Services Administration to help service the minors in finding housing, medical treat-
See HEALTH PAGE 10A
WASHINGTON
US: Highway crisis looms as soon as August By JOAN LOWY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Gridlock in Washington will lead to gridlock across the country if lawmakers can’t quickly agree on how to pay for highway and transit programs, President Barack Obama and his top officials warned Tuesday. States will begin to feel the pain of cutbacks in federal aid as soon as the first week in August — peak summer driving time — if Congress doesn’t act, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a letter to states. That’s because the balance in the federal Highway
…The balance in the federal Highway Trust Fund is dropping and will soon go below $4 billion …The cuts will vary from state to state, but will average about 28 percent … Trust Fund is dropping and will soon go below $4 billion, the cushion federal officials say is needed for incoming fuel tax revenue to cover outgoing payments to states. The cuts will vary from state to state, but will average about 28 percent, Foxx said at a breakfast with reporters. By the end of August, the trust fund’s balance is forecast to fall to zero
and the cuts could deepen. A second deadline is coming on Sept. 30 when the government’s authority to spend money on transportation programs expires. As many as 700,000 jobs could be at risk, Obama told a crowd of about 500 gathered on a sweltering day beneath the Key Bridge that spans the Potomac River and joins the District of
Columbia with Virginia. “That would be like Congress threatening to lay off the entire population of Denver, Seattle or Boston,” he said. Revenue from federal gas and diesel taxes continues to flow into the trust fund, but the total is expected to be about $8 billion short of the transportation aid the government has allocated to states this year. Over the next
six years, a gap of about $100 billion is forecast if transportation spending is maintained at current levels. At the same time, transportation experts and industries that depend on the nation’s highways to get their products to market are calling for greater spending on transportation to shore up aging roads, bridges and tunnels and to accommodate population growth. “Right now there more than a hundred thousand active projects across the country where workers are paving roads and rebuilding bridges and modern-
See CRISIS PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Thursday, July 3
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. TAMIU Planetarium shows. “Zula Patrol: Down to Earth,” 2 p.m.; “The Little Star that Could,” 3 p.m.; “Star Signs,” 4 p.m.; “Black Holes,” 5 p.m. Call 956-326-3663 for more information. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 7270589 for more information.
Today is Wednesday, July 2, the 183rd day of 2014. There are 182 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress. On this date: In 1714, German composer Christoph Willibald Gluck was born in Erasbach. In 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure establishing the National Statuary Hall inside the former House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol. In 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; Garfield died the following September. (Guiteau was hanged in June 1882.) In 1926, the United States Army Air Corps was created. In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-theworld flight along the equator. In 1943, Bing Crosby and the Ken Darby Singers recorded “Sunday, Monday or Always” for Decca Records. In 1961, author Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. In 1979, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was released to the public. In 1982, Larry Walters of San Pedro, California, used a lawn chair equipped with 45 helium-filled weather balloons to rise to an altitude of 16,000 feet; he landed eight miles away in Long Beach. In 1994, a USAir DC-9 crashed in poor weather at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, killing 37 of the 57 people aboard. Colombian soccer player Andres Escobar, 27, was shot to death in Medellin, ten days after accidentally scoring a goal against his own team in World Cup competition. Ten years ago: Elijah Brown, 21, described by police as a disgruntled employee, went on a shooting rampage inside a ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Kansas City, Kansas, killing five co-workers before taking his own life. Five years ago: Thousands of U.S. Marines poured into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan in the first major operation under President Barack Obama’s strategy to stabilize the country. One year ago: The Obama administration unexpectedly announced a one-year delay, until after the 2014 elections, in a central requirement of the health care law that medium and large companies provide coverage for their workers or face fines. Today’s Birthdays: Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 85. Jazz musician Ahmad Jamal is 84. Actor Robert Ito is 83. Actress Polly Holliday is 77. Racing Hall of Famer Richard Petty is 77. Former White House chief of staff John H. Sununu is 75. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox is 72. Thought for Today: “No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” — Thomas Carlyle, Scottish critic and historian (1795-1881).
Saturday, July 5 Used book sale, hosted by First United Methodist Church. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents. Photo by LM Otero/file | AP
Monday, July 7 Laredo Soups monthly microfinance dinner. 6:30-9 p.m. Holding Institute, 1102 Santa Maria Ave. $5 for soup, salad, bread and a vote to micro-fund a community project. Four presentations. Contact tfriar@gmail.com or 771-9671.
Mosquitoes are sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. A cooler-than-normal spring has slowed the breeding season for mosquitoes, but experts warn this doesn’t mean that Texans should let down their guard when it comes to protecting themselves from the West Nile virus.
Virus threat unknown By BETSY BLANEY
Tuesday, July 8
ASSOCIATED PRESS
“The Calling” series of Bible talks. 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Laredo Church of Christ Chapel, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 340. Contact Miguel Zuñiga at 286-9631 or mglzuñiga@yahoo.com.
LUBBOCK — A cooler-than-normal spring has slowed the breeding season for mosquitoes, but experts warn this doesn’t mean that Texans should let down their guard when it comes to protecting themselves from the West Nile virus. The threat of West Nile virus this summer is unknown. So far, the state’s health department has had no reports of it in humans, though mosquitoes with the virus have been found in Harris, Montgomery and Dallas counties. Even though breeding is a month behind schedule, a good amount of rainfall after several dry years means the threat is there. West Nile virus, which mosquitoes spread from birds to people, was first diagnosed in Uganda in 1937, but no cases were reported
Thursday, July 10 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 7270589 for more information.
Friday, July 11 Free Chick-fil-A at Chick-fil-A North Laredo (Loop 20). Visit the restaurant and dress up like a cow July 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. to get free food.
Tuesday, July 15 “The Calling” series of Bible talks. 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Laredo Church of Christ Chapel, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 340. Contact Miguel Zuñiga at 286-9631 or mglzuñiga@yahoo.com.
Thursday, July 17 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 7270589 for more information.
Tuesday, July 22 “The Calling” series of Bible talks. 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Laredo Church of Christ Chapel, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 340. Contact Miguel Zuñiga at 286-9631 or mglzuñiga@yahoo.com.
in the U.S. until 1999 in New York. The virus gradually spread across the country. Only about 1 in 5 infected people get sick. Early symptoms can include fever, headache and body aches. But 1 in 150 infected people will develop severe symptoms including coma and paralysis. In 2012, the virus killed 89 people in Texas and sickened 1,868. Last year, there were 14 deaths and 183 cases of illness. The southern house mosquito, which carries West Nile, will be around at dusk and dawn but is most active from 9 p.m. to midnight, said Joon Lee, a medical entomologist at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. To decrease the threat, health officials recommend draining standing water around homes and businesses, donning long pants and sleeves, and using insect repellant.
AG: Texans can ask ‘any plant’ about chemicals
1 dead, 2 hurt in tank explosion at farm
Survey: Grouse numbers up 20 percent from 2013
AUSTIN — Attorney General Greg Abbott has decided previously that the state doesn’t have to disclose what potentially dangerous chemicals plants around Texas store. But he now clarifies that ordinary Texans are free to ask the plants on their own. The Republican on Tuesday said the Department of State Health Services can keep locations of facilities with possibly dangerous chemicals confidential. He added that anyone can ask companies what they’re storing.
MOODY — One Central Texas man has been killed and two others hurt when a tank holding agriculture chemicals exploded in a machine shop at a farm. Chief Deputy Joe Blakley says authorities are trying to determine what caused the explosion. Blakely says there was no fire but at least one victim suffered burns.
LUBBOCK — An aerial survey shows good rains in parts of the five-state range of the federally threatened lesser prairie chicken have brought a 20 percent increase in the grouse’s population from last year. A release Tuesday from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies says there were 22,415 lesser prairie chickens in this year’s survey, up from 18,747 last year.
State retail gasoline prices down 2 cents IRVING — Retail gasoline prices across Texas have slipped 2 cents this week. AAA Texas on Tuesday announced the average price statewide was $3.50 per gallon. Nationwide prices are down a penny to settle at $3.67 per gallon.
Man guilty in country club embezzlement case FORT WORTH — A North Texas man has been convicted of evading taxes on more than $250,000 he’s accused of embezzling from a local country club. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Jeffery James was convicted Monday evening of tax evasion. James was accused of embezzling money from the Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, a Dallas suburb, while he was the director of club accounting.
Ring lost for 60 years turns up in Texas lake LUBBOCK — An 84-year-old Washington state woman will soon be reunited with her 1953 university class ring after someone found it in West Texas lake. Elizabeth Clark’s daughter says the ring means the world to her mother because she worked so hard to become the lone child out of 16 to finish college. — Compiled from AP reports
Thursday, July 24 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 7270589 for more information.
Friday, July 25 Alumni night for 25th reunion of J.W. Nixon High School Class of 1989. 8 p.m. to midnight. LIFE Fairgrounds and Branding Iron. $25 per person. Facebook: J.W. Nixon Eightynine.
Saturday, July 26 Dinner and dance for 25th reunion of J.W. Nixon High School Class of 1989. 8 p.m. to midnight. Embassy Suites. $30 per person. Facebook: J.W. Nixon Eightynine. Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative.
AROUND THE NATION Ahead of July 4th, a tropical storm off Florida SAVANNAH, Ga. — With the July Fourth weekend on the horizon, the Atlantic hurricane season’s first named storm plodded off Florida’s coast Tuesday, though Arthur wasn’t yet spooking too many. “I think everybody’s keeping one eye on the weather and one eye on the events this weekend,” said Joe Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah, the city’s tourism bureau. A tropical storm watch was in effect for a swath of Florida’s east coast. The National Hurricane Center urged those as far north as parts of Virginia to monitor Tropical Storm Arthur’s path. The center said Arthur was becoming better organized and predicted it would become a hurricane by Thursday. On Tuesday evening, forecasters said the storm was meandering about 80 miles (130 km) off
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Lifeguard Gabrielle Porter raises flags Tuesday, at the Red Cross lifeguard station in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The red flag was raised in anticipation of rip currents and high waves from a tropical depression forming off Florida’s coast. the coast of Cape Canaveral, moving about 5 mph (7kph) with maximum sustained winds about 40 mph (65 kph). Off Florida’s Space Coast beaches — the closest to Arthur — the sky was cloudy and winds fairly normal, said Eisen Witch-
er, assistant chief of Brevard County Ocean Rescue. Red flags warned of rough surf, and beachgoers were advised to get into the water only in areas with staffed lifeguard stands. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Local lands role on NBC By JEANNE JAKLE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Courtesy photo
Patrons watch a movie in an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Cinema coming soon Laredo to get Alamo Drafthouse by spring 2015 By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Property has been closed on, and construction on the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will commence in July, with doors expected to open in spring 2015. After plans for the construction of an Alamo Drafthouse in Edinburg fell through, Laredo’s location would be the first of its kind on the South Texas border. “The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas provides a unique combination of theater and restaurant, showing first-run and independent films and special programming events with an extensive menu made from scratch in a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen. Customers order all food and drinks from servers who quietly attend them throughout the movie,” states a press release from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The 32,000 square foot dinner and movie theater will be located on 11210 East Point Drive in the San Isidro development in North Laredo, near International Boulevard and Bob Bullock Loop. The location is in the same area as the H-E-B Plus and Doctors Hospital. “We took our time in looking at different options for the location. We were very impressed by what the San Isidro development had done so far, and we were so impressed with the development in the area that we wanted to be a part of that,” Brandon Arceneaux, co-owner of the Alamo Drafthouse, said. Arceneaux said that the recent growth in the area prompted him to decide on the location because he foresees more northward expansion in Laredo. According the press release, the facility will house eight screens with a screen size relative to room ratio. Additionally, there will be no “front
row” seats, ensuring that no one strains there neck, and that every seat allows for a pleasurable viewing experience. A lounge called Glass Half Full will be housed in the facility where beer, wine and food can be purchased. Access to the lounge will be open to both movie-goers and nonmovie goers alike. One of the characteristics unique to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise is the no talking, no texting policy. It is a zero tolerance policy, which gives managers the right to eject patrons who either talk or text during movie screenings. It is a policy created to accommodate those who get distracted by others who decide to answer a phone call or text on a brightly lit cell phone. A reminder of the policy is displayed prior to every screening at the theater. “Every manager enforces those policies. It’s a conversation that we always have because it’s such a part of the movie-going experience,” Arceneaux said. The theater is estimated to generate about 100 jobs, and Arceneaux said the majority of the positions will be open to local residents. “One of our big priorities is to be a community theater,” Arceneaux said. He said the theater would be available for any community organization that would like to host an event, such as a film festival or meeting, on the premises. He also said the franchise hosts fundraising programs such as fundraising screenings where proceeds from a screening will go towards a cause or community group. “We’re very committed to staying consistent with what the brand offers and making it a household name,” Arceneaux said. (Gabriela A. Treviño may be reached at 956-728-2579 or gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
An engaging actor whose youth was divided between San Antonio and Laredo has a regular role in a new NBC-TV series. Yet Raul Casso’s part in “Taxi Brooklyn” is anything but regular — at least for a prime-time network drama. He plays Ronnie, whom Casso described as “a cross-dressing war veteran and taxi driver.” “He’s sort of androgynous. His sexuality is fluid. He’s not anchored in any gender norms,” said the actor, who attended Reagan High School and San Antonio College. His father is Raul Casso, City of Laredo attorney. When he auditioned for the part, he said, “I wanted to look as feminine as possible — with heels and a skirt.” So he reached out to a friend whose roommate was a gay burlesque dancer. “He knew everything about heels and makeup and how to walk and what to do,” said Casso, 29. “He lent me shoes, a dress, showed me how to do my makeup ... and I went in and got the part.” You can watch his entertaining take at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on NBC. The series, “Taxi Brooklyn,” a lighthearted police drama based on Luc Besson’s 1998 movie “Taxi,” debuted on NBC on June 25. As we learn in the pilot, Casso’s cabbie rooms with one of the two leads, a fellow taxi driver named Leo Romba
CASSO
(Jacky Ido, “Inglourious Basterds”). The basic plot: It’s discovered that Leo, who’s from France, lied on his immigration form and is in danger of being deported. He hopes that police detective Caitlyn “Cat” Sullivan (Chyler Leigh), whom he runs into during one of her criminal pursuits, can help him stay in the United States. In return, Leo will drive her free of charge anywhere she wants to go. Cat’s road recklessness, you see, has led to her boss revoking her driving privileges on the job. So she opts to join up with Leo and they end up solving cases together. The two develop a barbtrading camaraderie, similar to, as Leo himself mentions in the pilot, David and Maddie in “Moonlighting.” Ronnie serves up advice to both, Casso said. “I help Leo to navigate through his life and also become a kind of anchor to Kat,” he said. “Ronnie’s a whimsical
character but has a wise side that helps them.” It’s a character not commonly seen on broadcast television, and Casso said he’s worked hard to do it justice. “It was very educational, helped me learn about a demographic I wasn’t really aware of,” he said. “I’ve been a thug, a musician, the son of an Argentine diplomat, a kid from Long Island whose father is a plumber. This is the first time I’ve worn heels.” Casso’s journey into acting wasn’t, as he explained, a direct one. The Dallas native tried business, but a highly respected drama teacher at Laredo Community College put him on the acting path. His most decisive move, however, was in San Antonio, where his mom and younger brother still live. At San Antonio College, he auditioned for the French farce “A Flea in Her Ear” and won the role of a hotel proprietor/pimp. His father saw it, Casso said, and told him: “I think you should start taking this seriously.” He applied to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York (his idol, Marlon Brando, studied under Adler) and was accepted. Eventually, he landed a variety of parts — guest roles in CBS dramas “Unforgettable” and “Blue Bloods” and a small part in the movie “That Awkward Moment.” But this one, in “Taxi Brooklyn,” may be his most challenging — and rewarding.
KGNS adds network SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
KGNS-TV launched ABC on Tuesday, adding a new member to its family of networks. ABC is a top ranking network, with No. 1 rankings in news, and offering popular primetime programming such as “Dancing with the Stars,” “Modern Family,” “Nashville” and “Once Upon a Time.” Currently, the networks
that are being broadcast by KGNS-TV are NBC, Telemundo and The CW. KGNS-TV is no longer The CW affiliate for this market. This isn’t, however, the first time KGNS has been home to an ABC affiliate. When KGNS-TV first went on the air, in January 1956, it broadcasted NBC, ABC and CBS programming. KGNS-TV said it was proud to have all three networks then, and it is equally proud to re-introduce
ABC to Laredo, Zapata and the rest of South Texas in July. KGNS (ABC Laredo) staff is already planning several community initiatives and developing events that will inspire and grow with the great community, KGNS-TV said in a news release. KGNS-TV is owned and operated by Gray Television Inc. Gray owns and operates stations in 42 markets across the country.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
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EDITORIAL
OTHER VIEWS
What the Hobby Lobby case is about CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“What this law basically says is that the government should be held to a very high level of proof before it interferes with someone’s free exercise of religion.” — President Bill Clinton, at his signing ceremony for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Nov. 17, 1993 Since March 2010, as the Obama administration turned the Affordable Care Act into federal regulations, few provisions grew as controversial as the mandate that most employers provide insurance coverage for contraceptives. The most disputed implication of that mandate, and the one at issue in a major Supreme Court ruling Monday, demanded coverage of contraceptives some employers view as tantamount to abortion because those methods can stop fertilized embryos from implanting in the womb. For many Americans, this so-called Hobby Lobby case (the plaintiffs include that retail chain) is about whether employees have a right under the health care overhaul to employer-provided contraception. Other Americans see the case as a test of whether the government can require companies to be indirectly complicit in abortions. For still others it’s about attacking or defending the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. Five U.S. Supreme Court justices chose a different battleground. In the first sentence of a 49-page opinion, they framed the case as asking whether
the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act lets the government demand that closely held corporations “provide health-insurance coverage for methods of contraception that violate the sincerely held religious beliefs of the companies’ owners.” In the very next sentence, the justices ruled that the RFRA’s protections of religious exercise outlaw the Obamacare regs that require such employers to provide the coverage. In short, then, this case is about government reach and religious convictions — and circumstances when the latter should trump the former: “We doubt that the Congress that enacted RFRA — or, for that matter, ACA — would have believed it a tolerable result to put family-run businesses to the choice of violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or making all of their employees lose their existing healthcare plans,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote. The court majority essentially cited the Obama administration for a failure of imagination: The feds could have found ways of achieving contraception coverage without forcing religious objectors to be middlemen. This ruling doesn’t undermine Obamacare — the law or the coverage scheme. It does, though, eliminate one of Obamacare’s signature and most symbolic mandates. It gives opponents of Obamacare new routes to attack how the administration is enacting the statute.
COMMENTARY
Catching up to ‘Star Trek’ technology By VIVEK WADHWA SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
In a distant part of the galaxy, 300 years in the future, Starship Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk talks to his crew via a communicator; synthesizes food and physical goods using his replicator; and travels short distances via a transporter. Kirk’s successors hold meetings in virtual-reality chambers, called holodecks, and operate alien spacecraft using displays mounted on their foreheads. All this takes place in the TV series “Star Trek,” and is of course science fiction. This science fiction is, however, becoming science reality. Many of the technologies that we saw in “Star Trek” are beginning to materialize, and ours may be better than Starfleet’s. Best of all, we won’t have to wait 300 years. Take Captain Kirk’s communicator. It was surely an inspiration for the first generation of flip phones. These have evolved into smartphones, far more advanced than the science-fiction communicator. Kirk’s device didn’t receive email, play music, surf the Web, provide directions or take
photos, after all. We already have “Star Trek” and “Jetsons”-like video-chat capabilities. Rather than require the large, clunky monitors that we saw George Jetson and Captain Kathryn Janeway use, ours use free Facetime and Skype apps that run on smartphones and laptops. Holodeck-type video conferences have also been possible for several years. Scientists recently announced that they had made breakthroughs in quantum teleportation. They were able to show a promise of quantum information transmission — showing the duplication in the spin state of an electron between one place and another, through quantum tunneling — without transmitting matter or energy through the space intervening. This led to hopes that we might one day see a Star Trek-like transporter that can beam our atoms from one place to another. I am not waiting for this one, however, as there is no way that I will willingly allow my atoms to be disintegrated in one location and reassembled in another. I would worry about a software bug or a hardware crash.
COMMENTARY
50 states and immigration States, cities have shaped immigration policy and can continue doing so By CRISTINA RODRIGUEZ SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — It’s official: Congress won’t take up immigration reform this year. This week, President Barack Obama said he’ll use executive actions to change policies unilaterally. It’s a disappointing, if unsurprising, outcome. But advocates for reform have reason to hope. States and cities long have shaped the country’s immigration policy, and can continue to do so. Take New York. Just last week, the New York City Council made a splash in the immigration world by allocating $4.9 million to free legal assistance for non-citizens in deportation proceedings. It also created a municipal identification card available to everyone, regardless of immigration status. In Albany, advocates introduced a bill that goes further, granting unauthorized immigrants the right to vote and sit on juries. Although that measure is probably aspiration more than reality, it provides a counterpoint to the Arizona-style enforcement crackdowns. Such immigration federalism necessarily will entail ideological battle, between pro-enforcement and pro-integration strategies. But partisans on both sides should be willing to let states and localities take immigration policy in different directions. State and local authority in this domain is limited,
but it exists. When it comes to enforcement, state and local police historically have played a role alongside the federal government. In 2012, the Supreme Court trimmed this role by striking down most of Arizona’s notorious Senate Bill 1070. But the court also left space open for local immigration policing. As the administration emphasized throughout the litigation, the federal government depends on cooperation from state and local police. Nothing in the court’s decision precludes Congress from authorizing greater state and local involvement. And the court recognized police authority to inquire into immigration status, subject to civil rights constraints. States also have considerable authority to define the parameters of their own political communities, as well as significant freedom to use their resources to benefit immigrants, regardless of status. Given these parameters, what should immigration federalism look like today? On the enforcement end, where enthusiasm for enforcement remains, states should focus on combating racial profiling and curbing distrust of police in immigrant communities. This should be complemented by training for police in the details of immigration law and in how to interact with immigrant communities. At the same time, some jurisdictions have rejected enforcement cooperation altogether. States such as California and Connecticut, and cities such as Chicago
and Washington, D.C., actively resist federal requests for assistance. State and local ordinances constraining police cooperation continue to proliferate, especially as controversy over federal enforcement builds. Enforcement enthusiast should acknowledge these moves as legitimate, too. Critics might worry that this localized activity is creating an incoherent patchwork; no doubt the federal government prefers not to be challenged from both directions. But in reality, these mixed agendas offer examples of how state and local action can contribute to the national debate over immigration enforcement by highlighting what is at stake in concrete terms. Like Arizona’s law, the antienforcement measures reflect a rejection of current federal policy and may well force the federal government to rethink its enforcement strategies. There is no “final” answer to the enforcement question — only an ongoing debate. Today, numerous states and localities practice an affirmative integrative federalism. Republican and Democratic states alike make available in-state tuition to unauthorized college students. Municipal identification cards such as the one recently adopted in New York enable even unauthorized immigrants to open bank accounts, sign leases, get library cards and access other services. State and local bureaucracies are also interested in and capable of implementing the immigration
laws, and they could be enlisted productively not just in enforcement, but also in future legalization and integration programs, and even in the process of selecting and admitting immigrants. For example, the Republican governor of Michigan and Utah’s state legislature have floated the idea of recruiting immigrants to help revitalize local communities. Though this idea would require federal authorization and may prove to be misguided, it reflects the possibilities for reform that open up when we recognize states and localities as legitimate players, rather than label them as out of their league. Immigration federalism will ultimately be a limited tool and cannot substitute for a federal policy. Only Congress (not the states, or even the president) can provide today’s unauthorized population with the ultimate security of legal status (or adopt direct means of restricting immigration). And in some cases a uniform immigration policy will be necessary. But because the United States consists of overlapping political communities with varied views on immigration, federalism offers a framework for productive debate, as well as a set of institutional mechanisms for working toward compromise. When imagining a better system, we should take advantage of these alternative forms of lawmaking to channel the complexity of the immigration question, even if it means embracing contradictions.
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National
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
New York City showmen gain new audience By JENNIFER PELTZ AND TOM HAYS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The underground acrobats who flip, somersault and poledance among New York City subway riders as trains roll are drawing a new audience — police officers. The New York Police Department is cracking down on the subway showmen who use the tight quarters of the nation’s busiest transit system as moving stages for impromptu — and illegal — pass-the-hat performances. More than 240 people have been arrested on misdemeanors related to acrobatics so far this year, compared with fewer than 40 at this time a year ago. Police Commissioner William Bratton acknowledges he is targeting subway acrobats as part of his
embrace of the “broken windows” theory of policing — that low-grade lawlessness can cultivate a greater sense of disorder and embolden more dangerous offenders. “Is it a significant crime? Certainly not,” Bratton said recently. But the question is, he added, “Does it have the potential both for creating a level of fear as well as a level of risk that you want to deal with?” The subway acrobats say they’re just out to entertain, make a living and put a little communal levity in New York’s commuting. “We all, as New Yorkers, get these force fields around us. We just try to go inside the train and change the vibe,” said a performer named Besnkheru, who, because of the crackdown, spoke on the
condition that his full name not be used. Hopping on and off trains one recent afternoon, Besnkheru sang to amplified recordings ranging from Michael Jackson to Latin jazz while his performance partner, Domingo, danced, clowned and used the car’s bars and poles like playground equipment. Sometimes, he dangled upside down with his head within a foot or two of a rider’s face. The pair got some glares but many smiles — some from passengers who initially seemed determined not to look — and several dollars. “It’s such a part of New York culture,” said rider Joli Tribuzio, an actress. But other passengers resent becoming a captive audience for acrobats and break-dancers in a
cramped subway car. “I don’t like all that action right in front of my face,” rider Kesia Hudson said. Police believe most riders agree with Hudson. And though no injuries have been reported, they also insist the showmanship is a safety issue. “If the dancers make a mistake, someone could get hurt,” said Chief Joseph Fox, head of the NYPD’s Transit Bureau. “The dancers themselves could get hurt.” Police have responded by studying passenger complaints to determine when and where to put plainclothes officers on trains to nab acrobats. The arrests are usually uneventful but can turn nasty. An acrobat who was being arrested spit on one officer.
Photo by Bebeto Matthews | AP
Dashawn Martin, center, a member with the dance troupe W.A.F.F.L.E., which stands for We Are Family For Life Entertainment, performs on a subway, in New York, on Thursday, June 17.
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera Enfrenta reclamos
MIÉRCOLES 2 DE JULIO DE 2014
REFORMA MIGRATORIA
Agenda en Breve ROMA
07/04— Celebración del Día de la Independencia, a partir de las 6 p.m. en Roma Municipal Park. Habrá comida, carnaval, música, y fuegos artificiales. Entrada gratuita.
LAREDO 07/03— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta, “Zula Patrol: Down to Earth” a las 2 p.m.; “The Little Star that Could” a las 3 p.m.; “Star Signs” a las 4 p.m.; y, ”Black Holes” a las 5 p.m. Costo: 3 dólares para niños y 4 dólares para adultos. 07/04— AVISO: El servicio de El Metro y El Lift operarán con el horario de Domingo/Holiday durante el Día de la Independencia. Las oficinas administrativas y de servicio al cliente estarán cerradas. El horario regular de El Metro y El Lift regresará el sábado, aunque las oficinas abrirán hasta el lunes. 07/04— AVISO: En honor al Día de la Independencia, las oficinas del Laredo Community College permanecerán cerradas, ni tampoco habrá clases o campamentos de veranos en los campuses Fort McIntosh y South durante este día. Los servicios tampoco estarán disponibles el sábado 5 de julio, y se reestablecerán hasta el sábado 12 de julio, de 10 a.m. a 3 p.m. en el Campus Fort McIntosh. El colegio volverá a abrir el lunes 7 de julio. 07/04— La Ciudad de Laredo invita a los festejos por el 4 de julio, de 5 p.m. a 12 a.m. dentro del Estadio Uni-Trade, 6320 de Sinatra Parkway. Habrá música, concursos, juegos, entre otras actividades. Entrada gratuita. 07/05— Venta de libros usados en First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave., de 8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m. Libros de pasta dura a 1 dólar; pasta blanda a .50 centavos; revistas y libros infantiles a .25 centavos. 07/05— La Asociación Laredo Northside invita al Mercado de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el área de juegos del North Central Park. Habrá venta de productos naturales, de jardinería, comida, manualidades y organizaciones comerciales y sin fines de lucro.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 07/07— Cine Club presenta “Nosotros los Nobles” a las 6 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra. Entrada gratuita. 07/07— Miércoles de Baile Popular a las 7 p.m. en la Plaza 1º de Mayo (frente a Estación Palabra). Entrada gratuita. 07/03— Jueves de Teatro presenta “Luna para Dos” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco. Entrada gratuita. 07/03— Cine en tu Barrio presenta “Kon-Tiki: Un Viaje Fantástico” a las 5 p.m. en Maquila Creativa. Entrada gratuita. 07/04— Programa “¡A qué la Canción!” con coros de Jardines de Niños de la Zona Escolar 95, a las 9 a.m. en el Teatro de la Ciudad ‘Adolfo López Mateos’, Netzahualcóuotl esquina con Lauro Aguirre, en la colonia Viveros. 07/05— Estación Palabra invita a diversas actividades: ‘Bazar de Arte’ a las 10 a.m.; ‘Te Leo a la Una: Sinjao’ a la 1 p.m.; ‘Festival Infantil’ a las 2 p.m. Entrada gratuita a todos los eventos. 07/05— Talles ‘Vitrales’ para niños, impartido por Blanquet Blanco, todos los sábados de julio, de 4 p.m. a 6 p.m. en el Museo Reyes Meza. Abierto a niños de 5 a 12 años. Inscripciones abiertas en el (867) 717-5960.
POR JIM KUHNHENN Y ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — El presidente Barack Obama enfrentaba reclamos el martes de detener las deportaciones de inmigrantes en situación irregular, un día después de declarar que la reforma inmigratoria estaba muerta y anunciar planes de proceder por su propia cuenta. Al mismo tiempo, crecía la oposición republicana a la estrategia del presidente, lo que daría lugar a un choque sin desenlace previsible en este año electoral. Este se desarrollará contra el trasfondo de una crisis en pleno desarrollo en la frontera con Méxi-
co, donde han arribado miles de niños centroamericanos no acompañados por adultos que huyen de la violencia en sus países, un hecho imprevisto que ambas partes tratan de aprovechar en beneficio político propio. Obama dice que la presencia masiva de niños en la frontera constituye un poderoso argumento a favor de la reforma, en tanto los republicanos argumentan que las políticas de Obama causaron el problema. En un panel sobre inmigración en la sede de la AFL-CIO el martes, el presidente de la federación sindical, Richard Trumka, dijo que la próxima tarea es exhortar a Obama a tomar medidas para frenar las deportaciones, que han alcanza-
do cifras récord durante su gobierno. “Si nos mantenemos unidos y actuamos con audacia, yo creo que el presidente actuará con audacia, y esas medidas audaces, hermanos y hermanas, elevarán nuestra economía y volverán a nuestro país más justo”, dijo Trumka. “Tenemos mucho trabajo por delante, sugiero que empecemos”. Los panelistas se comprometieron a castigar políticamente a los republicanos por no abordar el proyecto de ley de inmigración aprobado por el Senado, de mayoría demócrata, hace un año, pero detenido en la Cámara de Representantes. “Nos aseguraremos de hacer sa-
ber a todos que la responsabilidad corresponde directamente a los legisladores republicanos y al presidente (de la cámara baja John) Boehner”, dijo Janet Murguía, titular del Consejo Nacional de La Raza. Por su parte, Boehner y los legisladores republicanos han anunciado planes para demandar a Obama por tomar medidas ejecutivas, y han dicho que nuevas medidas de ese tipo endurecerán la oposición. “Si el presidente insiste en declarar una amnistía por orden ejecutiva, enfrentará sin duda una demanda y se encontrará nuevamente en violación de la constitución y la ley”, dijo el representante republicano tejano Lamar Smith.
CULTURA
TAMAULIPAS
IMPULSAN LECTURA
Lluvias otorgan abasto de agua TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía
El lunes por la mañana el Alcalde de la Ciudad de Roma, José Alfredo Guerra Jr., estuvo leyendo para varias personas presentes en la Biblioteca del Precinto 2 del Condado de Starr, en colaboración con el Departamento de Servicios de Salud del Estado.
ECONOMÍA
Estiman se impulsará agricultura TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
La oportunidad de llevar la agricultura del Norte de Tamaulipas hacia nuevos horizontes, es lo que traerá la activación del nuevo Centro de Distribución Regional y de Abasto de Amoniaco, en Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, México. El lunes, comenzó a operar el centro, que servirá como fuente industrial de fertilizantes, tales como amónico, sustancia que tiene además una gran lista de aplicaciones industriales no solo en el tema del campo. Entre los beneficios que traería la apertura están el de mejorar la rentabilidad del sector agrícola y la seguridad alimentaria de México, al aumentar los rendimientos de los cultivos y la generación de fertilizante de alta demanda. “Con este modelo empresarial cuyos efectos serán inmediatos, Tamaulipas y en particular la región norte será referente nacional en ma-
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
El lunes entró en función el nuevo Centro de Distribución Regional y de Abasto de Amoniaco, en Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, México. En la imagen se ve a autoridades de la región norte del vecino país junto a personal de la planta en un recorrido. teria de acopio y distribución de fertilizantes para generar riqueza y
prosperidad”, señala un comunicado de prensa.
Recientes lluvias registradas al norte de México, han traído beneficios al incrementar el abasto de agua potable para consumo y actividades de riego agrícola, anunciaron autoridades tamaulipecas. Las presas internacionales Amistad y Falcón han registrado un 4 por ciento más de agua almacenada, señaló Jaime Felipe Cano Pérez, Director general de la Comisión Estatal del Agua en Tamaulipas a través de un comunicado de prensa. Las lluvias que se presentaron en la cuenca del Río Grande a la altura del estado de Coahuila, México, dieron origen a que ingresaran hasta 70.000.000 de metros cúbicos al día en las presas internacionales, señala un comunicado de prensa. Actualmente las presas se encuentran en un 44 por ciento de su capacidad en cuanto a almacenaje, añade. En las regiones de Mante, Ocampo y Gómez Farías, así como San Fernando, Reynosa y Río Bravo y parte de Matamoros, México, también se reportaron beneficios. Protección Civil y a las autoridades municipales de las entidades afectadas por el exceso de lluvia ya están atendiendo a familias dañadas, indica el comunicado. “Otro de los beneficios es que en el área del Cuatro Distrito, en donde generalmente se presentan los primeros problemas de falta de agua en el estado en la época de estiaje, este año no han tenido necesidad de implementar un programa emergente para apoyar a las familias”, se lee en el comunicado.
COLUMNA
Descubren motivos en muerte de Gobernador Esta es la segunda parte de dos donde el autor describe la muerte del primer mandatario de Nuevo Santander, ahora Tamaulipas,Francisco Ixart.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
A media semana el palacio del gobernador de Tamaulipas amanece con un cadáver. Mayor sacudimiento produce saber que los
restos corresponden precisamente al principal inquilino del importante recinto. Francisco Ixart, Gobernador para 1802. El miércoles 18 de abril de 1804 aparece muerto. Descubren el cuerpo en la recámara del palacio. Con ventana al exterior, ocupa el ángulo suroeste del nivel bajo. Los testigos se impactan. El pecho tiene clavado filoso cuchillo, tendido Ixart sobre el piso, en medio de enorme
charco de sangre. Ante sospechas de homicidio, comienzan averiguaciones. El teniente Pedro de Alba las dirige. Cree posible el comandante Félix María Calleja que por venganza algún soldado perpetrara el crimen. Se prolongan varios meses las pesquisas. Todo queda paso a paso recogido en voluminoso expediente. Sale a relucir el carácter del occiso, sus perturbaciones. Se esclarece
que puertas y ventanas estaban cerradas desde adentro. Imposible que alguien entrara a los aposentos. Pruebas firmes en resumidos términos dejan al descubierto que el propio gobernador se arranca la vida, dándosele no obstante cristiana sepultura. Diputado a las cortes de Cádiz, Miguel Ramos Arizpe rememora los hechos con palabras que sirven de epílogo al episodio. “Don Fran-
cisco Ixart […] tomó por tema de su locura el repetir que no debía vivir un hombre que siendo gobernador de una provincia, no sabía las leyes por donde había de gobernar”, expresa Ramos Arizpe en la tribuna parlamentaria el jueves 7 de noviembre de 1811. Tamaulipas ensancharía los registros del escándalo político. (Con permiso del autor, según publicado en La Razón, Tampico, México)
National
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Ky.’s ban struck down Prohibition on gay marriage violates Constitution By BRETT BARROUQUERE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage on Tuesday, though the ruling was temporarily put on hold and it was not immediately clear when samesex couples could be issued marriage licenses. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn in Louisville concluded that the state’s prohibition on same-sex couples being wed violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating gay couples differently than straight couples. The ruling was the latest in a string of victories for gay marriage advocates across the nation, and marked the most recent conservative state to have its ban overturned. Heyburn previously struck down Kentucky’s ban on recognizing samesex marriages from other states and countries, but he put the implementation of that ruling on hold. That decision did not deal with whether Kentucky would have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Instead, Tuesday’s ruling dealt directly with that question. “Sometimes, by upholding equal rights for a few, courts necessarily must require others to forebear some prior conduct or restrain some personal instinct,” Heyburn wrote. “Here, that would not seem to be the case. Assuring equal protection for same-sex couples does not diminish the freedom of others to any degree.” Heyburn noted that every federal court to consider a same-sex marriage ban has found it unconstitutional. Gay rights activists have won 18 cases in federal and state courts since the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013 struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. During that time, only Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has argued for keeping a state ban on same-sex marriages. A total of 13 gay marriage cases are pending in
Photo by Brett Barrouquere | AP
Photo by Marc Schultz/The Daily Gazette | AP
Attorney Laura Landenwich and Timothy Love speak to reporters Tuesday, in Louisville, Ky. A federal judge struck down the state’s ban on same-sex couples getting marriage licenses.
East Greenbush detectives work at the house in East Greenbush, N.Y., on Tuesday. A mother despondent over her son’s suicide killed her two young daughters and herself, authorities said.
state and federal appeals courts. Those rulings all are on hold pending appellate court decisions. Also on Tuesday, six couples sued to overturn Colorado’s gay marriage ban, a move that comes as the Republican attorney general urged Boulder officials to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Elsewhere, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ordered Indiana to recognize the marriage of a lesbian couple, one of whom is terminally ill, on an emergency basis. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled arguments on rulings from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee in a single session, on Aug. 6. Although the cases are unique, each deals with whether statewide gay marriage bans violate the Constitution. The Michigan case also dealt with a ban on stateissued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said the state will appeal Heyburn’s decision, though it’s not clear if the appeal will be heard alongside the others before the 6th Circuit. The lead plaintiff, Timothy Love, 55, of Louisville, Kentucky, said he was “ecstatic” about the decision and hopes to be able to marry his partner of 34 years, Larry Ysunza, once all the appeals are complete. “We wanted to see the entire ban struck down,” Love said. “Now, the headline is ‘Love Wins.”’ Dan Canon, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said he was excited about the ruling because the day will arrive soon when same-sex couples can get a marriage license in Kentucky.
“We believe the opinion forcefully lays to rest any notion that Kentucky’s anti-marriage laws are based on anything other than discrimination against homosexuals,” Canon said. In support of the ban, Beshear argued in part that Kentucky’s prohibition encouraged, promoted and supported relationships among people who have the “natural ability to procreate.” A stable birth rate ensures the state’s long-term economic stability, Beshear argued in court records. Heyburn, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, dismissed the governor’s argument because excluding same-sex couples from marriage does not change the number of heterosexual couples who choose to marry and have children. “These arguments are not those of serious people,” Heyburn wrote. Martin Cothran, a senior policy analyst with the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said Heyburn “has declared martial law on marriage policy” in Kentucky. “By taking another important area of policy out of the hands of voters, liberal judges have struck another blow against the separation of powers that is an underlying principle of our form of government,” Cothran said. Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, a group backing same-sex marriage, said the ruling shows the public is ready to remove the legal bans. “It is wrong for the government to deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry the person they love; a freedom that is part of every American’s liberty and pursuit of happiness,” Wolfson said.
Mom kills self, kids By JOHN KEKIS ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. — A mother despondent over her son’s suicide killed her two young daughters and herself early Tuesday using suffocating nitrogen gas at their home, about a week after a stay in a mental institution, authorities said. East Greenbush Police Chief Christopher Lavin said a 911 call at about 1:45 a.m. sent police to the town house in the Albany suburb of East Greenbush, where they found the mom and girls, ages 6 and 9, unconscious from exposure to the odorless gas in a firstfloor bedroom. Rescuers had to break down the door to the locked room and tried CPR for a half hour before the three were taken to Albany Medical Center, where they died. The mother, 47-year-old Angela Mtambu, was recently released from a Pennsylvania mental institution after being overcome with grief when her 23year-old son asphyxiated himself in the same home in April, authorities said. “I just think she couldn’t take it,” the woman’s brother, Bernard Pamberi, told reporters outside the home as he fought back tears.
Police said the father of the girls, Callidora and Eudora Thurston, has been notified. Angela Mtambu was a traveling nurse who was working in Houston this spring when she decided to return to the home she has owned for 12 years. A Texas relative who was concerned that the distraught Mtambu might be planning to kill herself and her daughters notified authorities in East Greenbush, and an Amber Alert was issued June 1. Mtambu was taken into protective custody in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and local social services took custody of the two girls, La-
vin said. Mtambu was kept nearly three weeks for psychiatric observation before being allowed to reunite with her daughters and no order of protection was issued. “She apparently did not exhibit behavior that is needed to trigger a preventative-custody arrest,” Lavin said. “I can’t think of anything under the law that we could have done.” Lavin said she rejoined her family last week, social services followed up with visits to check on the children’s welfare, and on Sunday night she was again allowed to sleep in the same room with her daughters.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA ALL-CITY TEAM
2014 WORLD CUP: BELGIUM 2, U.S. 1
Gridiron star Photo by Matt Dunham | AP
Even 16 saves from goalkeeper Tim Howard weren’t enough to keep the Americans’ World Cup dreams alive on Tuesday.
U.S. knocked out of Cup Belgium scores twice in extra time By RAF CASERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
Zapata fullback Mike Alvarez left a mark in his final year, finishing as the District 31-3A MVP and a first team 3A All-State choice.
Alvarez closes career with 5,137 yards, 56 scores By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Senior fullback Mike Alvarez has been the face of the Zapata football program for the past three years and took the team to new heights in his time suiting up for the Hawks. So it comes as little surprise that Alvarez has added another accolade to his distinguished career as a member of the Zapata Times All-City sports team for the third consecutive year. He made his first appearance as a sophomore. In three deep playoff runs with the Hawks, he racked up an array of accolades at the local and state level. Alvarez was the premier fullback in the District 31-3A every time he slipped into his uniform. He capped off his high school ca-
reer as Zapata’s backfield workhorse, rushing for 1,932 yards with 16 touchdowns. He added 275 yards and four touchdowns through the air, closing with a total of 2,207 yards and 20 scores on the year. He finished his career with 4,763 yards and 51 touchdowns on the ground while also logging 374 receiving yards with five touchdowns. That’s good for impressive career totals of 5,137 yards and 56 touchdowns. As a senior, Alvarez rushed for over 200 yards in five different games. Alvarez was also recognized at the state level, named to the first team of the Texas Sports Writers Association’s Class 3A All-State football team for his work on the gridiron. With the help of Alvarez, the Hawks made the playoffs this season and picked up a bi-district title be-
fore bowing out in the second round. He capped off his senior campaign by being named the District 31-3A offensive Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive season. As a sophomore and junior, he was also named the offensive MVP by district coaches. In the first week of the season, Alvarez was named the Gridiron Legend Player of the Week by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football after burning Laredo Cigarroa for 350 yards. That made him a finalist for the Player of the Year award at the Texas Bowl in December. It could be some time before another Mike Alvarez darts all over the field for Zapata, and the team will sorely miss him this fall. E-mail: sandoval.clara@gmail.com
SALVADOR, Brazil — Kevin De Bruyne turned a heroic night for U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard into defeat on Tuesday with an extra-time goal and an assist that gave Belgium a 2-1 victory and a quarterfinal match against Lionel Messi and Argentina. With three extra-time goals in a thrilling match, De Bruyne and substitute Romelu Lukaku gave Belgium a big lead before Julian Green closed the gap with 12 minutes to go. “For my heart, please don’t give me too many games like this,” said Belgium coach Marc Wilmots, who must now get his team ready to face Messi and his Argentina teammates on Saturday. Belgium’s unyielding attacks for 90 minutes on Tuesday only highlighted the great performance of the 35-year-old Howard, but the goalkeeper’s teammates finally wilted in the evening heat once extra time came. Three minutes in, Lukaku found space on the right and passed into the center. At first, the ball was poked out before De Bruyne gained possession. But Belgium’s creative genius still had the energy for a sharp move and his low shot finally missed the yellow foot of Howard and settled inside the post. Realizing he had finally been beaten, Howard fell back on the grass almost in slow-motion, arms and legs outstretched and eyes staring up into the darkness over the Arena Fonte
Nova. The best man of the match turned out to be on the losing side. “The levee is going to break at some point,” said Howard, who plays for Everton in the Premier League. In the 105th minute, Belgium looked like it had put the game away. De Bruyne launched Lukaku into open space on the left and the Everton striker beat his club teammate with a drive to the near post. It wasn’t over on a sticky, anxiety-ridden night, however. The Americans got late hope when Green pulled one back in the 107th minute with a sterling volley on the turn that Thibaut Courtois could only touch before he saw it fly into his net. Suddenly, United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann started wildly shouting with flailing arms “Come on, come on,” and there was a new team on the field. With six minutes to go, the Americans almost got the equalizer. A free kick move set Clint Dempsey free in the center with only Courtois to beat. But the Belgium keeper proved he is one of the world’s best by spreading his giant body to smother the shot. With almost no work at all in 120 minutes, Courtois turned out to be more decisive than Howard had been. With waves of chants of “USA, USA” echoing around the 48,000-seat stadium, the reinvigorated Americans kept searching for a late goal right up until the final whistle. It never came.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
FELIPE GONZALEZ AUG. 5, 1927 — JULY 1, 2014 Felipe Gonzalez, 86, passed away Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Gonzalez is preceded in death by his greatgranddaughter, Kayle Guerrero; parents, Eusebio and Maria Del Pilar Gonzalez; and brothers, Manuel Gonzalez and Enrique Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez is survived by his wife, Maria De La Luz Gonzalez; sons, Fernando Gonzalez, Felipe Gonzalez Jr., Roel I. Gonzalez; daughters, Minerva Guerrero, Maria Del Pilar (Ruben) Sanchez; grandchildren: Maria Veronica (Arturo) Lopez, Cynthia (Ruben Jr.) Peña, Maria Cecilia Sanchez, Roberto Guerrero, Alma Garcia, Lissa Guerrero, Maribel Gonzalez, Angela Marie Gonzalez; and by numerous great-grandchildren and family members. Visitation hours will be Wednesday, July 2, 2014, at 8 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart at 10 a.m. for a
10:30 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. US HWY 83, Zapata, Texas.
Photo by Mark Lennihan/file | AP
A man uses a cellphone as he passes a T-Mobile store in New York, on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. T-Mobile USA knowingly made hundreds of millions of dollars off its customers in bogus charges, a federal regulator alleged Tuesday in a complaint.
FTC: Bogus charges made T-Mobile knowingly made millions of dollars in unauthorized charges By ANNE FLAHERTY
MARY JEAN LANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUG. 3, 1921 — JUNE 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — T-Mobile USA knowingly made hundreds of millions of dollars off its customers in potentially bogus charges, a federal regulator alleged Tuesday in a complaint likely to mar the reputation of a household name in wireless communications. In its complaint filed in a federal court in Seattle, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that T-Mobile billed consumers for subscriptions to premium text services such as $10-permonth horoscopes that were never authorized by the account holder. The
Mary Jean Lane, 92, passed away Monday, June 30, 2014, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Ms. Lane is preceded in death by her husband, Bill Lane; parents, John and Nancy Huff; brothers, Reed Huff, Johnny Huff; and sisters, Mable Herrington and Era Sibling. Ms. Lane is survived by her son, William David (Maria Estela) Lane; grandchildren: Jon David Lane, William Rocky Lane, Jeannie (Marcos) Reyes, Kodie Ann (Steven) Castillo; great-grandchildren, Jordan A. Lane, Kaitlin N. Lane, Marcos D. Reyes, Alessandra A. Reyes; and by numerous other family members and friends. Visitation hours will be Wednesday, July 2, 2014, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a chapel service at 7 p.m.
at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A chapel service will be Thursday, July 3, 2014, at 9 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart 10 a.m. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. US HWY 83, Zapata, Texas.
FTC alleges that T-Mobile collected as much as 40 percent of the charges, even after being alerted by other customers that the subscriptions were scams. “It’s wrong for a company like T-Mobile to profit from scams against its customers when there were clear warning signs the charges it was imposing were fraudulent,” said FTC Chair Edith Ramirez in a statement. “The FTC’s goal is to ensure that T-Mobile repays all its customers for these crammed charges.” The Federal Communications Commission has launched a separate inquiry into T-Mobile’s billing practices, which could result in fines if it finds any
wrongdoing. The practice is often referred to as “cramming”: businesses stuff a customer’s bill with bogus charges associated with a third party. In this case, the FTC says T-Mobile should have realized that many of these premium text services were scams because of the high rate of customer complaints. In some cases, the FTC says, as many as 40 percent of customers demanded refunds in a single month on certain services. The FTC said one way for consumers to try to prevent fraudulent charges is to ask their providers to block all third-party businesses from providing services on their phones.
T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US, Inc., is a publicly traded company. According to its website, Deutsche Telekom AG maintains a 67 percent ownership in the company’s common stock. Sprint Corp., the thirdlargest cellphone carrier, is in talks to buy T-Mobile US Inc., according to published reports. Analysts believe such a link-up would face stiff opposition from the same regulators who blocked AT&T from buying T-Mobile in 2011. T-Mobile’s stock fell 10 cents to $33.52 in afternoon trading.
US auto sales surprise in June By DEE-ANN DURBIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — U.S. auto sales grew at the fastest pace in eight years in June, surprising the industry and setting it up for a strong second half of the year. Sales rose 1.2 percent over last June to 1.4 million cars and trucks, according to Autodata Corp. GM, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan all saw increases over last June. Honda sales were flat, while sales at Ford and Volkswagen were down. June’s annualized sales rate — which estimates annual sales if they stayed at the same pace every month — was 16.98 million. That was the fastest pace since
July 2006 and higher even than May, which also surprised the industry with its strength. Jesse Toprak, an auto analyst for the car buying site Cars.com, said buyers are out because of low interest rates, a strong stock market — which improves confidence — and great new vehicles. An easing in lending standards is also adding more potential buyers to the market. “We’re getting set up on a very good footing for the second half of the year,” Toprak said. “The last two months have exceeded expectations, which tells us that the consumer demand is very strong.” Toprak said he may increase his annual sales
forecast from 16.1 million vehicles to 16.3 million based on May and June sales. That compares with 15.6 million vehicles sold in the U.S. last year. May sales were helped by five sunny weekends and the Memorial Day holiday, which got June off to a slow start. But Ford’s U.S. sales chief John Felice said sales picked up at the end of last month as automakers started promoting Independence Day sales. Analysts saw plenty to like in June. Forecasting firm LMC Automotive said automakers are carefully balancing production with demand, which has helped them maintain profits and cut back on big incentives that can eventually hurt re-
sale values. TrueCar estimated incentive spending rose 1.6 percent in June to an average of $2,735 per vehicle. Both GM and Nissan lowered incentives by 12 percent from last June. While incentives may be lower, buyers are taking advantage of good lease offers and low interest rates. The average interest rate for a 60-month new car loan is 3.18 percent. Three years ago, that was closer to 5.5 percent, according to Bankrate.com. GM’s sales were up 1 percent over last June despite a continuing parade of recalls. GM’s total safety recalls for the year reached 29 million vehicles on Monday.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014
ASSISTANCE Continued from Page 1A dren on the border, saying it’s dangerous and that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama administration policy that gives some young immigrants in the country illegally a reprieve from deportation, doesn’t apply to them. Many Central Americans travel on a dangerous train line route known as “The Beast.” “I continually hear about the hazards of this journey from the children directly,” Johnson said. “Parents of children who are coming through Mexico into the United States, those who are thinking about sending your children on that long, over 1,000-mile journey, you need to know it is not safe. It is dangerous. The Beast is dangerous. People need to understand that.” That warning was driven home by the Hidalgo County sheriff, who announced Monday morning that a body found in the brush earlier this month near La Joya was an 11year-old Guatemalan boy who is believed to have been traveling without his parents. Gilberto Francisco Ramos Juarez’s body was found in western Hidalgo County, upstream from where many children and families are crossing into the country and surrendering, Sheriff Eddie Guerra said. There were no signs of trauma and a toxicology report is pending. The boy was last seen 25 days before his body was discovered June 15, Guerra said, when his father sent him off with a human smuggler in a group of immigrants. A phone number on a piece of paper hidden behind the boy’s belt buckle led investigators to a brother in Chicago, who put them in touch with his father in Guatemala, the sheriff said. “Not being familiar with the terrain, I’m sure the child was wandering through the brushy area and didn’t have any water,” Guerra said.
HEALTH Continued from Page 1A ment and transportation. Online news site TheBlaze reported that HHS spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said all unaccompanied immigrant children receive a medical screening after being released from Border Patrol custody. Friday, an immigrant child at the Lackland facility in San Antonio was diagnosed with swine flu and has been the only reported case, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Two thousand vaccines were shipped to Lackland to treat those who had been exposed, and it was deemed an isolated case. Earlier this month, Phoenix news channel ABC15 reported facilities are equipped with quarantined quarters for those who are sick. It was also reported that in McAllen, the area that has received the greatest number of immigrants, had outbreaks of chicken pox, MRSA staph infections and scabies. Additionally, according to the report, several Border Patrol agents had also contracted scabies. City of Laredo public information officer Xochitl Mora said the city’s health department was not involved in the matter. Although, immigrants have been released into public areas such as the Greyhound bus station downtown, it has been understood that immi-
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
A man shows bumps during a screening exam in mid-June.
grants’ health has already been taken care of while at the detention centers. “It’s a federal issue. They’re under federal jurisdiction,” Mora said. In a statement issued by Sara Melendez-De Los Santos, U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection public affairs officer, she said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was overseeing the health services of the immigrants. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection provides short-term detention for unaccompanied children who have entered the
U.S. illegally. CBP does everything within its power to process these children as quickly as possible in order to transfer them to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours absent exceptional circumstances, as required by law,” the statement said. “While in temporary custody, CBP strives to protect unaccompanied children with special procedures and safeguards. CBP is ensuring nutritional and hygienic needs are met; that children are provided meals regularly and have access to drinks and snacks throughout the day; that facilities include toilets; that they receive constant agent supervision; that children who exhibit signs of illness or disease are given proper medical care.” Dr. Corinne E. Stern, Webb County medical examiner, said the number of immigrant deaths in the 10 counties she covers, including Webb, has doubled since last year. She said the main causes of death have been hyperthermia, otherwise known as heat stroke, and drowning. As of Friday, she had seen 69 people who died crossing the border. She added no disease of any kind were not found in autopsies. “We are not finding any signs of communicable diseases,” Stern said. (Gabriela A. Treviño may be reached at 956-728-2579 or gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
CRISIS Continued from Page 1A izing our transit systems,” Obama said. “And soon states may have to choose which projects to continue and which ones to put the brakes on because they’re running out of money.” Already some states are cutting back on construction projects because of the uncertainty of federal funding, Foxx said. “I think people will see it in the traffic. I think people will see it in the condition of our roads, he said. The reason for the shortfall is that revenue the federal 18.4cents-a-gallon gasoline and 24.4cents-a-gallon diesel tax hasn’t kept pace with transportation
needs. The taxes haven’t been increased in more than 20 years, while construction and other costs have continued to go up. The most obvious solution is be to raise fuel taxes, which is what several blue-ribbon commissions have recommended and business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Trucking Associations have urged. But neither party or the White House wants to get out front on a proposal to raise taxes in an election year. Foxx didn’t rule out Obama signing legislation that raises the gas tax, but he indicated the administration doesn’t believe
there is enough support in Congress to pass a gas tax increase. “We have said if Congress acts on something, we’ll keep an open mind,” Foxx said. Instead, Obama is pushing a plan to close tax loopholes and use the revenue to pay for increased transportation spending for the next four years. “We have a proposal we think is politically acceptable,” Foxx said. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, RMichigan, floated a similar proposal in April. But many Republicans say they’d rather offset increases in transportation
spending with cuts to other government programs rather than tax increases. And many lawmakers say they want to continue to the trust fund’s “user pays” principle by raising money from people who most use the roads, if not through a gas tax then some other means. Nearly dozen proposals to address the problem have been floated in Congress, but none have gained traction. House Republicans recently proposed a short-term patch based on savings associated with ending Saturday mail delivery by the postal service. The plan died a quick death when it became clear that
many GOP lawmakers wouldn’t support it. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, offered a plan last week to keep transportation aid flowing for another six months. The plan, which included raising taxes on large trucks, ran into opposition from Republican senators. He dropped the truck tax, but Republicans say they want more spending cuts as part of the package. Further action is expected when Congress returns to work. In the House, Camp has said he will offer a new plan to shore up the trust fund next week.