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US MILITARY
ELECTION 2016
Violation of law
Perry mulls presidential try in 2016
GAO: Pentagon didn’t follow law in Bergdahl swap By DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon broke the law when it swapped Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a prisoner in Afghanistan for five years, for five Taliban leaders, congressional investigators said Thursday. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department
failed to notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the exchange — a BERGDAHL clear violation of the law — and used $988,400 of a wartime account to make the transfer. The GAO also said the Pentagon’s use of funds that hadn’t been expressly
appropriated violated the Antideficiency Act. “In our view, the meaning of the (law) is clear and unambiguous,” the GAO wrote to nine Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and various committees. “Section 8111 prohibits the use of ‘funds appropriated or otherwise made available’ in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014, to
transfer any individual detained at Guantanamo Bay to the custody or control of a foreign entity’ except in accordance” with the law. The GAO said the relevant committees received phone calls from May 31 — the day of the transfer — to June 1, with written notification coming on June 2. Five senior Taliban were
See BERGDAHL PAGE 13A
IMMIGRATION
CALLS ARE THEIR LIFE Deportees work at call centers By ELLIOT SPAGAT AND OMAR MILLAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
TIJUANA, Mexico — Henry Monterroso is a foreigner in his own country. Raised in California from the age of 5, he was deported to Mexico in 2011 and found himself in a land he barely knew. But the 34-year-old Tijuana native feels right at home as soon as gets to work at Call Center Services International, where workers are greeted in English. Monterroso supervises five employees amid rows of small cubicles who spend eight hours a day dialing numbers across the United States to collect on credit card bills and other debts. He is among thousands of deported Mexicans who are finding refuge in call centers in Tijuana and other border cities. In perfect English — some hardly speak Spanish — they converse with American consumers who buy gadgets, have questions about warrantees or complain about overdue deliveries. At Monterroso’s office in one of Tijuana’s tallest buildings, managers bring meals from Taco Bell in nearby San
Photo by Alex Cossio | AP
This is a view of the Firstkontact Center, a call center in Tijuana, Mexico. Many Mexicans deported under President Barack Obama are finding employment in call centers in Tijuana and other border cities. Diego to reward employees because the fast-food chain has no outlets in Mexico. Workers are off for the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving but labor on Mexican holidays. “The end of your shift comes at six and you get hit by reality out there: You’re not in the U.S.,” Monterroso said above the din of buzzing phones. “While you’re here, you still get a sense that you’re back home, which I like very much.” Many workers spent nearly all their lives in the U.S. and still have family there, which
See CALL CENTERS PAGE 13A
Photo by Alex Cossio | AP
Henry Monterroso, 34, works at the Call Center Services International, a call center in the northern border city of Tijuana, Mexico.
Governor spoke in New Hampshire to business leaders By RIK STEVENS ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Gov. Rick Perry said Friday in a visit to a key early voting state that he was unprepared for and humbled by his first run for president in 2012 and will work harder if there’s a next time around. Perry addressed a group of business leaders in New Hampshire Friday and told them he had not decided yet whether to run again in 2016. His 2012 campaign ended badly when he made several missteps, including a highly-publicized gaffe when he froze up during a televised debate. Perry admitted he underestimated the intensity of a presidential campaign. “Running for president of the United States, I don’t care how good you might think you might be,” he said. “Whether you’ve been elected governor of Texas three times and served for 12 years, it is not good enough from the standpoint of the preparation to run for the presidency of the United States.” If he runs, Perry said, voters can expect a different candidate. “I’ve spent a lot of time in preparation,” he said. “That’s not to say I’ve made a decision I’m going to run. I haven’t. But the reason I don’t choose to run will not be because I’m illprepared.” Perry is scheduled to meet top Republicans and attend at least a half-dozen events Friday and Saturday, including one sponsored by the conservative political group Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Perry was indicted last week by a grand jury in Austin, on charges stemming from his veto last summer of state funds for public corruption prosecutors. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and has said he’s confident the indictments will be exposed as nothing but a politically motivated attempt at retaliation. He didn’t shy away from the indictment on Friday, telling the business leaders he would be exonerated. So far, the indictment — and Perry’s response — appear to only be galvanizing New Hampshire Republicans, according to Steve Duprey, a GOP national committee member and former chairman of the state party. “I think that he is taking the right approach that it’s wrong, unjust and political,” Duprey said. “Indicting the governor for vetoing funds because he thought a convicted drunk shouldn’t be a prosecutor is wrong.” That sentiment was echoed by some in Friday’s pro-business, anti-regulation crowd who gave him a warm reception. Eddie Edwards, a Republican running for state Senate, brushed off the indictment and praised Perry’s veto of the funding. “Governor, I want to tell you I admire your courage in standing up and holding people accountable,” Edwards said. Perry spent much of his 50-minute talk to
See ELECTION PAGE 13A
PUBLIC EDUCATION
5th, 8th graders get a pass on math exams Texas Education Agency has also further delayed a scheduled phase-in of higher passing standards for the STAAR By MORGAN SMITH THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
Texas public school students entering the fifth and eighth grades this fall have received what may amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card on their end-of-year state math exams. Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced on Friday that because it’s the first year of transition to new curriculum standards, the state would suspend a law that requires fifth- and eighthgraders to pass the exams to advance to the next grade
level. While the waiver was officially announced Friday, Williams advised school districts in a letter in May that they should use other “relevant academic information to make promotion or retention decisions” in math for the upcoming year. “There are substantial challenges associated with implementation of the revised mathematics statewide curriculum standards in the STAAR grades 3-8 assessments,” he said at the time. Students will still take the math exam, but they
will not be prevented from graduating if they do not pass. Last year, just under 40 percent of eighth-graders and 45 percent of fifth-graders passed their state math exams on the first attempt. Under the so-called social promotion law, they can retake the exam up to three times before they are ultimately held back. This is the second time in the last three years that Williams has suspended the requirement. The first came in 2012, when it was waived to ease the transition into a new state assessment system. Williams put it back in
place in 2013. The news comes as the Texas Education Agency has also further delayed a scheduled phase-in of higher passing standards for the new state exams, known as STAAR. If the higher standard was in place last year, according to TEA data, just 14 percent of fifth-graders and 9 percent of eighthgraders would have passed the math exams on the first try. “While I firmly believe that our students are capable of reaching the high expectations reflected in the TEKS and the STAAR per-
formance standards, moving to a three-step phase-in plan gives educators additional time to make the significant adjustments in instruction necessary to raise the level of performance of all Texas students,” Williams said in a statement on Thursday announcing the decision. Critics have said both decisions only enable poor academic performance. “The pressure is now off of our students, teachers and administrators to ensure our students pass these tests, despite the fact that the future academic success
of our students depends on them learning this material,” Bill Hammond, the CEO of the Texas Association of Business, said in a statement released after the TEA announcement Friday. “We shouldn’t continue to allow our children to be promoted if they cannot show proficiency at grade level in mathematics. The standard needed to pass these tests is already very low and the commissioner has just lowered that passing standard to zero. This is another example of going back on high standards, even if it is just for this school year.”
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Monday, Aug. 25
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English. Call Richard Renner (English) at 645-8649 or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 2370666.
Tuesday, Aug. 26 Sparkle and Dazzle, 317 E. Calton Road, will have 25th anniversary reunion tickets for JW Nixon class of 1989. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Reunion dates are Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11. $25 per person on Friday and $30 per person on Saturday. Go to JW Nixon 1989 on Facebook for more information.
Wednesday, Aug. 27 Photo by John Bazemore | AP
Meeting for Behind the Camo, all female veterans group. 6 p.m. Laredo Community College, Memorial Hall.
Thursday, Aug. 28 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 Duplicates Bridge Club meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Spanish Book Club meeting. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road. For information call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
Friday Aug. 29 Martin High School 50th Anniversary Reunion meet and greet. 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. L & F Distributors, LLC (Budweiser) 410 Crossroad St. For more information, please call Norma Meijia Garcia at 723-1646.
Saturday, Aug. 30 Martin High School 50th Anniversary Reunion dinner and dance. La Posada, St. Austine ball room 7-12pm. $100.00 per couple for both events. For more information please Norma Meijia Garcia at 723-1646.
Tuesday, Sept. 2 Alzheimer’s support group meeting. 7 p.m. Meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. The support group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. For more information call 956-693-9991.
Thursday, Sept. 4 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. Sisters of Mercy “Conversations with the Sisters,” a series of discussions focusing on earth, nonviolence, women, racism and immigration. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 1000 Mier St.
Friday, Sept. 5 Women in Leadership. Positive role models event. 12 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Palenque Grill. Contact Abby Willett or Sylvia Praesel for more information at wwconnection.org.
Ebola victim Dr. Kent Brantly, left, embraces Dr. Bruce Ribner, medical director of Emory’s Infectious Disease Unit, after being released from Emory University Hospital on Thursday in Atlanta. Former colleagues and fellow congregants in Fort Worth are raising money and accepting donations for Brantly, who was born in Texas.
Funds raised for doctor By EMILY SCHMALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH — Former colleagues and fellow congregants are raising money and accepting donations for Dr. Kent Brantly, the Texas-trained doctor who survived Ebola. A fund established by JPS Health System, where Brantly completed his family medicine residency, has attracted more than 80 donations from a dozen states and Australia, many with hand-written messages, according to the hospital. One said, “Dr. Kent, you are the face of Christ in the world.” Another donor thanked him for his “courageous work.” The JPS fund is intended to help the Brantlys replace personal and household items they were forced to leave behind in West Africa.
The Southside Church of Christ, where the Brantlys attended service while living in Fort Worth, is collecting a separate, cash fund “for whatever they need,” said church elder Kent Smith, adding that the church learned of Brantly’s condition from a congregant who was among many close friends of the Brantlys. The following Sunday, the preacher led an extemporaneous prayer for Brantly’s health and then held a separate get-together “to minister to or comfort our own members,” Smith said. Brantly’s mother-in-law Lisa Carroll said the couple had not wanted to solicit funds, but may be working with Samaritan’s Purse to continue to publicize Ebola patients and health workers in West Africa. Brantly was discharged from an Atlanta hospital Thursday after treatment for Ebola.
Lubbock man indicted in laser shining at aircraft
Man sentenced to 99 years in wife’s death
Ex-teacher sentenced in fatal hit-and-run of boy
DALLAS — A 23-year-old former suburban Dallas man has been indicted on a federal count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft in the laser shining on a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter. FBI agents arrested Steven Alexander Chavez on Friday in Lubbock.
SAN ANGELO — A jury has sentenced a 32-year-old man to 99 years in prison for the shooting death of his wife. Matthew Sammuel Salazar was previously convicted of fatally shooting his wife in August. He had told authorities that he found his wife naked inside of his friend’s home in Tom Green County.
DALLAS — A 54-year-old former suburban Dallas teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a 6-year-old boy last year. A Dallas County jury Friday imposed concurrent sentences against Tammy Lowe of 10 years for manslaughter and eight years for failing to stop and render aid to John Paul Raidy.
Man gets 6-year term for health care fraud
Chikungunya virus confirmed in Tarrant Co.
HOUSTON — A man has been sentenced to six years in prison for a fraudulent health care scheme that netted him about $1.2 million in federal payouts. Lawrence Tyler of Humble was sentenced Friday after earlier being found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and other charges. The 42-year-old Tyler also must pay $1.24 million in restitution.
FORT WORTH — Public health officials in Tarrant County have confirmed the North Texas county’s first case of chikungunya virus disease. Officials at Tarrant County Public Health say a resident of Mansfield, about 20 miles southwest of Fort Worth, has been diagnosed with the disease after returning home from the Caribbean. — Compiled from AP reports
Austin police search for bicycle thief AUSTIN — Austin police say they are investigating nearly 40 nighttime burglaries in which more than 115 “high end” bicycles were stolen from garages. Police say one suspect, whose image was captured on a homeowner’s surveillance camera, is responsible for multiple burglaries. Members of the Austin bike community are offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 21st annual Logistics & Manufacturing Symposium. Texas A&M International University. For more information contact the Laredo Development Foundation at 800-820-0564, 7220563 or ldfinfo@ldfonline.org.
Thursday, Sept. 11 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.
Saturday, Sept. 13 South Texas Collectors Expo. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena. Celebrities, comic book artists, cosplayers, vendors and more. Tickets on sale at LEA box office and Ticketmaster.com. Visit southtexascollectorsexpo.com or email info@stcelaredo.com. (Submit 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. Items will run as space is available.)
AROUND THE NATION Bombing suspect’s lawyers seek dismissal BOSTON — Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are asking a judge to dismiss indictments and put proceedings in the case on hold over concerns about jury selection in federal court. In a 15-page motion filed late Friday, Tsarnaev’s attorneys said their three-year review of procedures used to select both grand juries and trial juries in the District of Massachusetts turned up “substantial violations” of both the jury selection law and a constitutional requirement that juries represent a fair cross-section of the population.
Woman set reservation fire to give friends work PORTLAND, Ore. — A woman is to be sentenced next month for setting a wildfire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in
Today is Saturday, August 23, the 235th day of 2014. There are 130 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war against Germany in World War I. On this date: In 1305, Scottish rebel leader Sir William Wallace was executed by the English for treason. In 1775, Britain’s King George III proclaimed the American colonies to be in a state of “open and avowed rebellion.” In 1858, “Ten Nights in a Bar-room,” a play by Timothy Shay Arthur about the perils of drinking alcohol, opened in New York. In 1913, Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue, inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen story, was unveiled in the harbor of the Danish capital. In 1926, silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31. In 1927, amid protests, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery. In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in Moscow. In 1944, Romanian Prime Minister Ion Antonescu was dismissed by King Michael, paving the way for Romania to abandon the Axis in favor of the Allies. In 1960, Broadway librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, 65, died in Doylestown, Penn. In 1989, in a case that inflamed racial tensions in New York, Yusuf Hawkins, a 16year-old black youth, was shot dead after he and his friends were confronted by a group of white youths in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. (Gunman Joey Fama was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison; he will be eligible for parole in 2022.) Today’s Birthdays: Actress Vera Miles is 84. Actress Barbara Eden is 83. Political satirist Mark Russell is 82. Pro Football Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen is 80. Actor Richard Sanders is 74. Ballet dancer Patricia McBride is 72. Former Surgeon General Antonia Novello is 70. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rayfield Wright is 69. Country singer Rex Allen Jr. is 67. Singer Linda Thompson is 67. Actress Shelley Long is 65. Actor-singer Rick Springfield is 65. Country singer-musician Woody Paul (Riders in the Sky) is 65. Queen Noor of Jordan is 63. Actor-producer Mark Hudson is 63. Actor Skipp Sudduth is 58. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Mike Boddicker is 57. Rock musician Dean DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is 53. Tejano singer Emilio Navaira is 52. Country musician Ira Dean (Trick Pony) is 45. Actor Jay Mohr is 44. Actor Ray Park is 40. Actor Scott Caan is 38. Country singer Shelly Fairchild is 37. Figure skater Nicole Bobek is 37. Rock singer Julian Casablancas (The Strokes) is 36. NBA player Kobe Bryant is 36. Thought for Today: “I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn’t write anything without hope in it.” — Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960).
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ................. 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by John Locher | AP
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, left, and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speak during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyo. on Friday. central Oregon because her firefighter friends were bored and needed work. The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that 23-year-old Sadie Renee Johnson of Warm Springs pleaded guilty in May to one count of starting brush and tim-
ber on fire, and is to be sentenced Sept. 3. She was riding in a car with two little brothers in July, 2013, and lit a small firework and threw it out the window, where it ignited brush, court records say. — 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
State
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
UT Medical Branch ready for Ebola patients Hospital official says it has facilities to isolate and treat patients with any number of infectious diseases By MARSHA CANRIGHT GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS
GALVESTON — Let’s say a businessman returns from West Africa, gets off an airplane in Houston, and heads home to Galveston. That night, he has flulike symptoms — fever, weakness, muscle aches, a headache and a sore throat. By the time he decides to go to the emergency room, he has diarrhea, a raised rash and is vomiting. These are the symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease. Even though such an occurrence is unlikely, the world is becoming a smaller place as travelers cross international boundaries in less than 24 hours. Viruses do not respect borders. What if such a scenario did occur? Would our local emergency system be prepared to handle a case of such a deadly disease? And, would the community be safe? “The answer is yes, absolutely yes,” said Dr. Scott Lea, associate professor of internal medicine disease and the Infectious Diseases Clinic director. “I am confident that we are able to treat any patient or employee with any infectious disease,” he told the Galveston County Daily News. Ebola — while deadly — is not highly contagious. Like HIV, it is passed through blood and body fluids. The reason it has been transmitted so widely West Africa, Lea said, is that they do not have proper infrastructure, clean water, adequate sanitation, appropriate (impermeable to blood) gloves. He said many diseases are more highly infectious — measles, tuberculosis, hantavirus. But is the medical branch ready to play a
larger role in the treatment of patients with Ebola, if such a need developed?’ Earlier this month, a representative of the U.S. State Department visited the University of Texas Medical Branch to determine its capabilities in terms of caring for patients with Ebola on a national level. “We aren’t ready at this time to accept patients who are already very sick with this disease,” Lea said. The medical branch does not have an active biocontainment unit, but it does have an up-and-running isolation room with a separate ventilation system to care for patients who need to be isolated, he said. In the near future, it’s possible that the medical branch could take a more active role in treating those with Ebola. “The state department is currently looking at ‘what if ’ scenarios, as they should be, and checking the capabilities of institutions like the medical branch to accept and treat patients with active Ebola,” Lea said. The medical branch can test for the presence and progression of Ebola, and, if necessary, could accept people returning from West Africa for observation, Lea said. This would include travelers, business people or government workers who are not actively ill but could have been exposed to the disease and must be observed until there is no question that they are healthy. Lea said he hopes current events like the outbreak in West Africa will help to push the university to be even more ready. The medical branch is in a unique position to assist because of the presence of the Galveston National Laboratory.
The hospital is prepared for infectious disease intervention, in part, because some employees work daily with deadly pathogens, and the medical branch must be ready to provide treatment to any employee who might become infected through accidental exposure. Because of this potentiality, the medical branch has a cache of protective devices for staff, including body shields, impermeable gloves, and even helmets with a separate oxygen supply, Lea said. If there is a case of Ebola, the patient would be in good hands. “I don’t know if people realize that the university has world authorities on Ebola and Ebola treatment,” Lea said. “We are working on cutting edge therapies here, and we have amazing people. Who better to give the medications than the people who are developing the therapies?” The emergency department is the point of entry for most very sick people who come to the medical branch. “We haven’t seen a case of Ebola but we have to be prepared for anything that comes in the door,” said Christine Wade, director of emergency services and assistant chief nursing officer. Nurses — especially those responsible for triaging patients — are well trained in the management of infectious diseases and could take immediate, appropriate action, she said. “We have to be alert because nothing is impossible,” Wade said. “Here in Galveston, we have people vacationing; we have cruise lines; we have international faculty and students; and we have researchers that travel widely.” Deborah McGrew, chief
Photo by Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News | AP
Dr. Scott Lea, director of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Infectious Diseases Clinic, explains how a room in the Minor Emergency Treatment Unit can be used as an isolation room. operating officer of the medical branch, said the institution’s leadership is committed to prepared-
ness. “We are prepared to handle infectious disease because our staff is well
trained,” she said. “We drill routinely. We have great expertise and great resources.”
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
3 shots could stop cancer By MEREDITH WADMAN SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children’s voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it’s commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends “catch-up” vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes of girls who are now 12 and younger. When I had my sons vaccinated, it was partly with girls in mind. After all, if fewer young men are infected, fewer young women will be exposed to the virus that causes cervical cancer — currently the most common cancer prevented by the vaccine. But now I am realizing that HPV poses a growing risk to boys. A new breed of cancer of the back of the tongue and tonsils, caused by HPV, is rising in incidence — likely caused, researchers suspect, by increases in premarital sex and oral sex over the past several decades. These cancers afflict men far more often than women, and at relatively younger ages than do other head and neck cancers, which typically appear in men older than 60. Middle-aged men who don’t die from their HPV-linked cancer often must live for years with the side effects of intensive chemotherapy and radiation delivered to the back of the throat. These can include the permanent inability to swallow and the appearance later of new, aggressive, radiation-induced cancers. If this trend continues, we are going to see more cancer of the back of the tongue and the tonsils caused by HPV. One recent analysis of 30 studies, conducted by University of Wisconsin researchers, found that the proportion of such cancers caused by HPV rose from 21 percent before 1990 to 65 percent after 2000. Anil Chaturvedi of the National Cancer Institute and his colleagues have estimated, based on recent trends, that by 2020 there will be more new cases of these HPV-induced throat cancers in the United States each year than new cervical cancer cases. So the actor Michael Douglas did us all a service when he was so frank with Britain’s Guardian newspaper last year. When asked if his throat cancer had been caused by heavy drinking and smoking, which are also risk factors for the disease, the actor replied: “No. I mean, without getting too specific, this particular cancer in tests is caused by something called HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus.” Many parents don’t like to think of their 11- and 12-year-olds as sexual creatures. Ironically, the CDC recommendation assumes not that kids are sexually active at this tender age but rather that they are not: The point of vaccination is to close the door before the horse is out of the barn. It’s no use telling yourself that your child isn’t “that kind” of kid. The fact is, HPV is so common that almost all sexually active adults are infected at some point. Last year, the CDC estimated that about 79 million Americans were infected, most of them in their late teens and early 20s. Most people who get HPV have a transient infection that their immune system clears with no lasting damage. But in some people, the virus takes up residence and goes on to cause cancer. I am grateful that, thanks to the HPV vaccine, I will never have to find out if my sons fell into that second, unlucky group. Wadman writing a book on vaccine history.
COLUMN
Week one of the people versus the state’s Gov. Rick Perry Long-time governor has taken bull by the horns in attacking what he says is a politically motivated attack by an agency controlled by Democrats
“
KEN HERMAN
AUSTIN — He’s not quite at the defiance/braggadocio level of Mr. T, but it’s clear Gov. P doesn’t exhibit the outward signs of Low T. Week one of “Rick Perry Under Indictment: A Nation Holds Its Breath” has been a thing to behold, starting with his high-energy news conference last Saturday and continuing through the circus surrounding his Tuesday booking at the BlackwellThurman Criminal Justice Center. Perry’s game plan: The best defense is a good offense. That continued with a Thursday morning conference call during which his lawyers tried to kill off allegations lobbed by Democrats. I was intrigued by the precall hold music, which sophisticated folks call “Ride of the Valkyries” but you and I forever link with the helicop-
ter combat scene from “Apocalypse Now,” the greatest movie ever made. Morning napalm came to mind as the hold music played. The Tuesday tableau surrounding Perry’s booking was straight out of a Hollywood boxing movie. A triumphant Perry and his entourage arrived and torqued up folks in the crowd outside the building — both the ones for him and the ones agin him. The pro-Perrys chanted his name. “Back to rehab,” one yelled in a reference to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s alcoholism treatment. “President Perry,” another shouted in a reference to the improbable. An aginner tried unsuccessfully to get a “Tricky Rick” chant going. I also heard singular shouts of “liar” and “criminal.” One woman carried a sign notifying us she misses Ann Richards. Many folks do, m’am, but I’m not sure what that has to do with Perry’s guilt or innocence. Perry, who seems to think
he’s being framed, went in and came out with a mug shot suitable for framing. How good was the photo? So good that the smartest woman I know told me several times how great Perry looked in the mug shot. (Caveat: This woman periodically also has thought I look OK at times.) Perry’s next post-booking move was a tweeted photo of him enjoying a cone at Sandy’s on Barton Springs Road. “Whoever came up with the ice cream cone idea is an effing genius,” tweeted Jason Embry, an effing spokesman for GOP House Speaker Joe Straus. Maybe, but I must ask business owners this: Do you want your place known as the spot where people facing 109 years in prison hang out right after booking? The Rick Perry Innocence Tour, after a Thursday stopover in D.C., now moves to New Hampshire, where his two-day trip will include a speech at Saturday’s Concerned Veterans for America’s “Defend Freedom Pork Roast.” Organizers promise
“music, fun and food while hearing from powerful speakers who fully understand freedom and why we must fight for it.” Perry might be the only speaker now actually fighting for his freedom. The staged noise so far on all sides of the case is entertaining though ultimately irrelevant. Just like boxing, at some point stagecraft ends, the gloves go on, fists are thrown, somebody wins, somebody loses. In this case, somebody could go to prison. Though irrelevant to justice, one bit of the first week’s noise sticks in my head. It came at the end of Perry’s statement at his Capitol news conference last Saturday: “I am confident we will ultimately prevail, that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is, and that those responsible will be held accountable.” Again, just short of Mr. T, but there was an “I pity the fool” tone to that threat. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin AmericanStatesman. E-mail: kherman@statesman.com.
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State
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
Perry’s lawyers to ask judge to end case Texas Constitution cited in request to a state court By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — An attorney for Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday that he will ask a judge to dismiss criminal charges alleging that the possible 2016 presidential candidate abused his power with a veto last summer. Those intentions are unsurprising given that Perry has emphatically rejected two felony indictments handed up by a grand jury in Austin last week. He has pleaded not guilty and called the charges a political ploy. Perry was in New Hampshire on Friday while his criminal attorney and the special prosecutor in the case met with Republican Judge Bert Richardson in chambers for nearly an hour in Austin. The judge gave Perry’s team a week to file their motions. “It will speak for itself, but it is based on the governor’s veto power, separation of powers in the Texas Constitution, First Amendment rights and the speech and debate clause,” said David Botsford, Perry’s attorney. Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor, said he remained confident in the charges. Perry is accused of leveraging his veto power to try to oust a Democratic district attorney whose office oversees the state’s Public Integrity Unit. Perry cut off $7.5 million in state funds to the unit — which prosecutes public corruption in Texas — when Rosemary Lehmberg refused to resign following
Photo by Jim Cole | AP
Gov. Rick Perry talks to business leaders Friday in Portsmouth, N.H. Perry, visiting the nation’s earliest presidential primary state, said he has not decided if he will run for president again.
Perry has emphatically rejected two felony indictments handed up by a grand jury in Austin last week. He has pleaded not guilty. a drunken driving arrest. He is charged with abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant.
If convicted on the two felony charges, Perry could face a maximum 109 years in prison.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Nation
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
Central bankers eye varying goals at meeting Stimuli, less support, more support, interest rates are on the table By MARTIN CRUTSINGER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The central bankers meeting this week at their annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, aren’t exactly in sync. Many are taking steps that clash with the policies of others. The Federal Reserve is preparing to reduce its economic support. By contrast, the European Central Bank is considering more stimulus. So is the Bank of Japan. The Bank of England seems to be moving toward raising interest rates. It isn’t just the biggest economies whose central banks are pulling in different directions. This year, central banks in Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, among others, have lowered rates. Others — in Russia and South Africa, for example — have raised them. It’s a long way from the coordinated efforts that major central banks made after the 2008 financial crisis erupted and economies began to stall. As governments slashed taxes and spent stimulus money, central banks shrank rates to unclog credit and avert a 1930s-style depression. Today’s diverging central bank strategies aren’t without risk. Consider what happened in developing markets last year after Fed officials hinted that they might soon slow the pace of their monthly bond purchases. Those purchases have been intended to keep long-term U.S. loan rates low to encourage borrowing and spur growth. With the prospect of higher U.S. bond yields, some emerging markets went into a tailspin. Investors pulled their holdings from those countries for fear their value would plunge as capital fled for the United States. Some emerging economies responded by raising their own rates and bolstering their shaky currencies. The tumult proved temporary. But it showed what could happen once the Fed ends its bond purchases this fall and eventually raises short-term rates — something it says won’t happen for a “considerable time” af-
Photo by John Locher | AP
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, right, and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi walk during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyo., on Friday.
Healthier growth prospects and the likelihood of higher rates could make the United States increasingly attractive to investors. The U.S. dollar will rise in value. ter its purchases end. Many economists say central banks have no choice but to pursue divergent interest-rate strategies now because of their economies’ varying growth rates. “It just reflects different stages of the economic recovery in different parts of the world,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “The U.S. recovery is well ahead of recoveries in Europe and Japan.” Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University, Channel Islands, noted that the United States acted faster than others to boost growth with aggressive low-rate policies. U.S. regulators have also been more forceful in requiring U.S. banks to raise capital and deal with bad loans. Those actions have contributed to stronger U.S. growth, he said. Healthier growth prospects and the likelihood of higher rates could make the United States increasingly attractive to investors. Sohn and Hoffman think the U.S.
dollar will rise in value, particularly against Japan’s yen and the common European currency, the euro, as investors seek rising U.S. yields. Here’s a look at policies being pursued by key central banks: FEDERAL RESERVE The Fed has reduced its monthly bond purchases at six straight meetings, from $85 billion a month to $25 billion a month. Chair Janet Yellen repeated the view Friday that she expects the Fed to end the purchases altogether this fall. What no one knows is when the Fed will start raising short-term rates. Most economists think it will be in mid-2015. Though U.S. hiring has been strong and the unemployment rate has dropped steadily to 6.2 percent, other gauges of the job market, such as pay growth, remain weak. When Yellen gave the keynote speech in Jackson Hole on Friday morning, she suggested that the Great Recession complicated the Fed’s ability to assess those gauges to determine when to adjust rates.
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, said in a speech at Jackson Hole on Friday that the ECB was ready to do more to boost the shaky recovery among the 18 nations that use the euro currency. Draghi has noted in the past that the ECB and the Fed are operating on conflicting tracks: The Fed is looking to gradually raise rates, while the ECB is sticking with a low-rate policy and is open to providing further help if the eurozone economy — which failed to grow at all last quarter — should worsen. Draghi’s comments have helped lower the euro’s value against the dollar. A cheaper euro makes European exports more affordable and U.S. products more expensive in European markets. BANK OF JAPAN Haruhiko Kuroda, head of Japan’s central bank, told reporters in Jackson Hole on Friday that the bank planned to continue its “extremely accommodative monetary stance” until inflation has risen to the bank’s 2 percent tar-
get and doesn’t fall back. He said the bank’s support could be expanded if necessary. Japan’s economy shrank at an annual pace of 6.8 percent in the second quarter, in part because a new sales-tax increase depressed consumer spending. Japan’s gross domestic product fell at a 1.7 percent rate compared with the same quarter a year ago. It was Japan’s worst quarterly decline in GDP since the tsunami and earthquake that hit in 2011. The economic plunge dealt a setback to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He has been trying to pull the world’s third-largest economy out of two decades of stagnation with the help of aggressive action by the Bank of Japan. The economic weakness has heightened the pressure on Japan’s central bank to expand its stimulative efforts. BANK OF ENGLAND Britain’s central bank has kept its main rate at a record low of 0.5 percent since 2009 to help support the economy. But faster growth and declining unemployment have raised expectations that rates will start rising soon. This month, the Bank of England’s consensus on maintaining ultralow rates collapsed after more than three years. Two members of its monetary policy committee voted to raise the rate by 0.25 percentage point because growth has picked up, according to minutes of the most recent committee meeting. Still, the other members still felt there wasn’t enough evidence of rising inflation or wages to justify an immediate rate increase. Benjamin Broadbent, the Bank of England’s deputy governor for monetary policy, said in an interview at Jackson Hole that even when it starts raising rates, it will likely be gradual because “you have to be careful not to stamp on a recovery before it’s really got going.” OTHER CENTRAL BANKS Private forecasters have sharply revised their economic growth forecasts for such countries as Russia, which is being hurt by sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine. Russia’s central bank boosted rates to defend its currency and try to stem the outflow of foreign capital. Brazil, South America’s largest economy, has been hurt by a steep fall in industrial production. That has resulted, in part, from high interest rates and an overvalued currency.
Lawsuits challenge drone, model aircraft rules By JOAN LOWY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Model aircraft hobbyists, research universities and commercial drone interests filed lawsuits Friday challenging a government directive that they say imposes tough new limits on the use of model aircraft and broadens the agency’s ban on commercial drone flights. The three lawsuits asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the validity of the directive, which the Federal Aviation Administration issued in June. The agency said the directive is an attempt to clarify what is a model aircraft and the limitations on their operation. The FAA has been working on regulations that would permit commercial drone flights in U.S. skies for more than 10 years, but the agency is still at least months and possibly years away from issuing final rules to permit flights by small drones. Regulations for flights by larger drones are even farther away. Part of the agency’s challenge is to distinguish between planes flown by hobbyists and those used for
Photo by Eric Gay/file | AP
A drone is seen Jan. 15 as it’s launched near Sarita, 22 miles south of Kingsville on U.S. 77. A trail plane follows, background. Model aircraft hobbyists, research universities and commercial drone operators and investors have filed lawsuits challenging a government directive. commercial applications, a distinction that’s become harder to draw as the technology for model planes has grown more sophisticated. A law passed by Congress in 2012 directed the FAA to issue regulations permitting commercial drone flights by the fall of 2015, but prohibited the agency from imposing new regulations on model aircraft. The FAA directive is a backdoor imposition of new regulations on model aircraft hobbyists and commercial drone operators
without going through required federal procedures for creating new regulations, said Brendan Schulman, a New York attorney representing the groups that filed the lawsuits. Federal procedures require an opportunity for public comment on proposed regulations and an analysis of the potential costs of the regulations vs. the benefits. “People who have been using these technologies for years in different ways are concerned that they are suddenly prohibited from doing so without having
their voices heard, and without regard to the detrimental impact on the commercial drone industry,” he said. Schulman pointed out that hobbyists have been flying model aircraft nearly 100 years, but he knows of no instance in which a model aircraft has caused the crash of a manned plane or helicopter. “In situations where there really is no safety issue there appears to be not just some restrictions, but an outright prohibition on activities that have been done for a long time very
safely,” he said. An FAA spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuits.
The lawsuits were filed by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which represents more than 170,000 model aircraft hobbyists; the Council on Governmental Relations, an association of 188 research universities; and several commercial drone and model aircraft interests. Among them are UAS America, a fund that invests in the commercial drone industry; SkyPan International Inc., an aerial photography company; FPV Manuals LLC, a company that sells video systems for unmanned aircraft operators and an association representing commercial drone operators. All argued that the FAA policy would impede their activities, from hobby use to research and innovation.
State
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
Donations rule eyed
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
30 years for ‘90 murder ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas Ethics Commission has moved forward with a measure to out secret campaign donors despite a pending federal lawsuit by a conservative group over whether the commission has the authority to regulate dark money disclosure. The San Antonio ExpressNews reports the eightmember commission presented a draft proposal Thursday to require some politically active nonprofits to reveal their anonymous donors. It seeks to require a nonprofit to disclose donors if 25 percent or more of the nonprofit’s expenditures can be classified as politically motivated. It would also require disclosure if political contributions account for more than 25 percent of the group’s total contributions
in a calendar year. “We’re trying to figure out how we get to the public information CLANCY about who is contributing to candidates,” said commission Chairman Jim Clancy, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. A fight over regulating dark money erupted last year when Perry vetoed a disclosure bill, saying it would have a chilling effect on donors and their freedom of speech. Politically active nonprofits are allowed to spend money to influence elections on advertisements and other tools but can’t make direct contributions to a candidate. They are referred to as dark money groups because federal tax law allows their do-
nors to remain secret. The Texas Home School Association, a politically active nonprofit, sued the commission last month in federal court in an attempt to prevent regulators from proceeding with dark money proposals. That case is pending. Lawyers who represent politically active nonprofits have said they will fight the regulation. “This is a slam dunk from a court case perspective,” said Trey Trainor, an Austin lawyer who represents Empower Texans, the state’s highest spending dark money group. “This is completely unconstitutional but perfectly in line with where this commission wants to go with regulating speech.” The commission will accept public comments on the proposal for at least 30 days.
HOUSTON — Almost a quarter century ago, a 14-month-old boy named Christopher Parmley was found abandoned in a dirty diaper miles from his Texas home. After images of the blond, blue-eyed boy were plastered across Houston media, police learned he was the son of a pregnant woman found raped and strangled beside a rural Montgomery County road. Now at age 25, Parmley saw a man plead guilty this week to murdering his mother. The Houston Chronicle reports 50-year-old Robert Lawrence Wilson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Tammy Bounds on Tuesday. His charge was reduced to murder from capital murder as part of
the plea bargain in Montgomery County. “When I watch my wife, who’s 6 1/2 months pregnant now, I particularly feel how horrible an act that was,” Parmley said after Wilson’s plea and sentencing. “My mother was eight months pregnant with my brother when she died. He killed two people that day.” Bounds was last seen alive on the morning of June 21, 1990. Her body was found wrapped in a blanket in a wooded area near Splendora. Police say Parmley was at home with his mother during the attack. Wilson lived in the same apartment complex as Bounds. He initially told police he heard a man confess to being the killer, but was not himself linked to the death
until scientific advancements allowed the cold case to be reopened. DNA samples taken from Bounds’ body came up a positive match for Wilson, who was then living in Lancaster, California. He was listed in the criminal database because of prior incarcerations. Wilson spent the last three year in jail waiting for the case to be resolved. That means he could become eligible for parole in 4 1/2 years. Attorneys on both sides said the plea bargain was fair and that it would have been problematic to bring a prosecution or present a defense after so much time. Parmley disagrees. After his mother’s death, he lived with his paternal grandparents until he was 3.
Nation
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
US won’t let borders slow fight vs. extremists By ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A senior White House official raised the possibility Friday of a broader American military campaign that targets an Islamic extremist group’s bases in Syria, saying the U.S would take whatever action is necessary to protect national security. “We’re not going to be restricted by borders,” said
war” is outweighed, he said, by the risk of inaction. To hit back at the FOLEY group, Obama’s has stressed military assistance to Iraq and efforts to create a new, inclusive government in Baghdad that can persuade Sunnis to leave the insurgency. He also has sought to frame the Islamic
Islamic State terrorist army in Iraq if it does not strike its leadership and core base in Syria simultaneously,” said Oubai Shahbandar, a Washingtonbased senior strategist for the Western-backed opposition Syrian National Coalition group. “A real strategy requires linkage of the military effort in Iraq with Syria,” he said. Rhodes said the U.S. was “actively considering what’s going to be neces-
The recent execution of journalist James Foley could be seen as a turning point in a long-running battle against the group. Ben Rhodes, President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser. The White House said the president has received no military options beyond those he authorized earlier this month for limited airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and military aid to Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Thus far, the United States has avoided military involvement in Syria’s three-year civil war. But faced with the Islamic State making gains across the region and the beheading an American journalist, the administration’s resistance may be weakening. Rhodes spoke a day after Obama’s top military adviser warned the extremists cannot be defeated without “addressing” their sanctuary in Syria. Many prominent Republicans and some Democrats have called on Obama to hit back harder at the Islamic State militants. Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla., a prospective 2016 presidential candidate, said in an interview Friday that attacking their supply lines, command and control centers and economic assets inside Syria “is at the crux of the decision” for Obama. The risk of “getting sucked into a new
State threat in terms that convince other countries — not just in the Mideast but also in Europe — of the need to create a broad coalition against the extremists. Lukman Faily, the Iraqi ambassador to Washington, said in an interview this week that Baghdad’s new leadership has been told to expect additional military help once the new government is seated, possibly in early September. But an Iraqi counteroffensive may yield only temporary gains if the Islamic State retreats to areas of Syria beyond the government’s control. “The U.S. can’t defeat the
sary to deal with that threat.” Speaking on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, where Obama is on vacation, Rhodes said: “We’ve shown time and again that if there’s a counterterrorism threat, we’ll take direct action against that threat, if necessary.” The recent execution of journalist James Foley could be seen as a turning point in a long-running battle against the group, whose origins are in an alQaida offshoot that U.S. forces faced in Iraq several years ago, he said. Foley’s killing, he added, was “an attack on our country.”
Obama faces tough decisions. He can continue helping Iraqi forces try to reverse the group’s land grabs in northern Iraq by providing more arms and American military advisers and by using U.S. warplanes to support Iraqi ground operations. On Friday, the Pentagon announced that U.S. warplanes made three more airstrikes against Islamic State targets near the Mosul Dam, including a machine gun position that was firing on Iraqi forces. But what if the militants pull back, even partially, into Syria and regroup, as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday predicted they would, followed by a renewed offensive? “In a sense, you’re just sort of back to where you were,” said Robert Ford, a former U.S. ambassador to
Syria who quit in February in disillusionment over Obama’s unwillingness to arm moderate Syrian rebels. “I don’t see how you can contain the Islamic State over the medium term if you don’t address their base of operations in Syria,” he said in an interview before intensified U.S. airstrikes this week helped Kurdish and Iraqi forces recapture the Mosul Dam. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday the Islamic State militants can be contained only so long and at some point their Syrian sanctuary will have to be dealt with. “Can they be defeated without addressing that part of their organization which resides in Syria? The answer is no,” he told a Pentagon news confer-
ence where Hagel called the group a dire threat that requires an international, not just an American, response. “That (sanctuary) will have to be addressed on both sides of what is essentially at this point a nonexistent border,” Dempsey added. “And that will come when we have a coalition in the region that takes on the task of defeating ISIS over time,” he said, using an alternate acronym for the group. “ISIS will only truly be defeated when it’s rejected by the 20 million disenfranchised Sunni that happen to reside between Damascus and Baghdad.” Just in Iraq, Obama has difficult choices to make. Its sectarian divisions and political dysfunction created the opening that allowed Islamic State fighters to sweep across Iraq in June.
Nation
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Immigrants’ access to lawyers subject of suit Attorneys: Immigrants at a New Mexico detention center don’t have proper access to lawyers By RUSSELL CONTRERAS AND ALICIA A. CALDWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A coalition of lawyers filed a lawsuit Friday to halt the quick deportation of Central American women and children, saying immigrants at a New Mexico detention center don’t have proper access to lawyers and are being forced to clean restrooms and retell stories of violence and rape in front of children. The American Civil Liberties Union and three other groups filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of immigrants being held at an isolated detention center in Artesia. The groups say U.S. Im-
migration and Customs Enforcement officials should be more accommodating to the volunteer lawyers who have traveled to the remote site to aid immigrants. Instead, the groups say, officials are putting illegal barriers between detainees and their lawyers by limiting consultation time and not allowing them to talk on the phone for more than five minutes. The lawyers from around the country are forced to operate in a law library without books and aren’t given full access to their clients, the groups said. “While expedited removal isn’t new ... the manner in which it is being implemented in Artesia is new,” said Melissa Crow, the legal director of the American
Immigration Council, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit. “Essentially, our government has created a deportation mill.” The immigrants are being sent back to their country without any meaningful opportunity to present their claims for asylum, Crow said. The Associated Press sent an email to an ICE spokeswoman seeking comment. Agency officials have said in the past that all detainees were being afforded their legal rights. The lawsuit claims that women being detained at the center are being forced to clean restrooms to earn more phone privileges. It also says that in asylum hearings with a judge listening by closed-circuit television
from Arlington, Virginia, they often have to recount stories of rape and violence in front of their children. The lawsuit comes before what many expect will be a broad effort by President Barack Obama to protect millions of immigrants already living in the country illegally from deportation. In June, he announced that he would act on his own to address whatever immigration issues he can while immigration legislation stalls in Congress. Republican lawmakers have been swift to decry previous administrative actions on immigration, including the president’s decision in 2012 to create the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allows many young immigrants to avoid
deportation and get a work permit for two years. At the same time Obama is considering protecting millions of immigrants from deportation, he has pledged to return newly arrived immigrants, mostly from Central America, who have been arrested along the Mexican border since Oct. 1. More than 62,000 immigrants traveling as families, mostly mothers with young children, have been arrested at the border this year. Before the Artesia detention center opened in June, most families were released with a notice to report back to immigration authorities after they arrived at their final destination in the United States. The detention center, at the Federal Law Enforce-
ment Training Center in Artesia, is in a town of about 10,000 people about 3 1/2 hours away from Albuquerque or El Paso, the two closest large cities where immigration lawyers willing to volunteer their services can be found. Since the center opened June 27, close to 300 women and children — mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala — have been deported from the facility, which houses about 600 women and children. Approval rates for credible fear claims, the first step for an immigrant seeking asylum, have been dropping since U.S. immigration officials reissued rules on how asylum officers should make decisions in these cases.
PÁGINA 10A
Zfrontera TURISMO
Agenda en Breve
Alerta de viaje
ZAPATA 08 23— Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata invita al Torneo Anual Infantil de Pesca “Regreso a la Escuela” (para niños de 3 a 12 años) en el Bravo Park Pond, 201 W. 9th de 7 a.m. a 3 p.m. Informes en (956) 765-4871.
NUEVO LAREDO, MX 08 23— Estación Palabra presenta: “Bazar de Arte”, a las 10 a.m.; “Te leo a la una”, a la 1 p.m.; “Festival Infantil”, a las 2 p.m.; Eventos gratuitos. Domingo 24 de agosto 08 24— Domingo de Teatro Universitario presenta “Los Charcos de la Ciudad”, a las 5 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco. Entrada gratuita.
LAREDO 08 23— “La Mágica Música de Walt Disney” interpretada en vivo por The Laredo Phil, a las 7:30 a.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Costo del boleto varía de 15, 25, y 35 dólares. 08/26— El Departamento de Servicios Administrativos del Condado de Webb y el South Texas Blood & Tissue Center llevarán a cabo la campaña para donación de sangre “Llega, Descansa y Dona”, de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el estacionamiento del Palacio de Justicia del Condado de Webb, 1000 calle Houston. Informes llamando al 523-4143. 08 27— “Foreigner” en Concierto, a las 8 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Costo del boleto varía de 75, 57, 43, y 33 dólares. 08 29— ‘Juicy J’ se presenta en Laredo Energy Arena, a las 8:30 p.m. Es un evento de entrada general. Costo de boleto en piso: 38 dólares; costo del boleto en arena, 28 dólares. 09/01— ‘Family Chevrolet Bola Blanca Chamber Classic organiza un torneo de golf, en el Laredo Country Club, de 7:30 a.m. a 1:30 p.m. Habrá trofeos para el primero y segundo lugar de las cinco categorías. Se entregarán playeras a todos los concursantes. Desayuno y comida están incluidos. 09/03— Lutheran Social Services invita a una Orientación para Padres de 6:30 p.m. a 8 p.m. en 102 E. Calton Road Suite 4. Se estará instruyendo sobre el proceso para ser padres de crianza. 09/04— En el marco del 120 Aniversario de Sisters of Mercy se invita a la serie de discusiones “Conversaciones con las Hermanas”. La segunda charla será a las 6 p.m. en el Centro de Educación Lamar Bruni Vergara, 1000 Mier, esquina con Hendricks, con el tema de Mujeres. La conversación será Bilingüe. 09/05— La Fundación para el Patrimonio del Condado de Webb presentará la proyección del nuevo documental, “Texas Before The Alamo, a Saga of Spanish Texas” (Texas Antes del Alamo, una Saga del Texas Español) a las 7:30 p.m. en el Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustín Ave. 09/05— 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. 09/05— First United Methodist Church invita a la venta de libros usados, de 8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m. en sus instalaciones de 1220 McClelland Ave. Libros de pasta dura a 1 dólares; libros de pasta blanda a .50 centavos; revistas y libros infantiles a .25 centavos.
SÁBADO 23 DE AGOSTO DE 2014
POR JOSHUA FECHTER
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Una nueva alerta de viaje por parte del Departamento de Estado de EU, insta a los ciudadanos estadounidenses a tomar precauciones en contra de los crímenes violentos mientras viajan en México. “Los ciudadanos de EU han sido el objetivo de crímenes violentos, tales como secuestros, robos de auto con violencia, y asaltos por parte de grupos del crimen organizado en varios estados mexicanos”, se lee en la alerta. Los ciudadanos estadounidenses son animados a mantener un perfil bajo y evitar mostrar indicadores de riqueza, tales como vestir joyería costosa o que parece costosa, relojes o cámaras. Las personas también son instadas a siempre estar concientes de las personas a su alrededor y a evitar situaciones donde se encuentren solas, lo que hace de ellas víctimas potenciales. Aquellos que viajen a México en carretera podrían encontrar puntos
de revisión del gobierno. De acuerdo con el departamento, en algunos lugares donde organizaciones criminales han erigido sus propios puntos de revisión no autorizados, totalmente revestidos con uniformes de policía y militares, y han dado muerte o secuestrado a conductores que no se han detenido. El departamento urge a las personas a colaborar en todos los puntos de revisión. La advertencia indica que los casinos, casas de apuestas u otros establecimientos de juego y establecimientos de entretenimiento para adultos son de especial preocupación de seguridad. De acuerdo con el departamento, millones de estadounidenses visitan México cada año, sin importar si es por estudios, turismo o negocios, con 150.000 personas cruzan la frontera diariamente. En 2013, a 81 ciudadanos de EU se les arrebató la vida en México, de acuerdo con el Departamento. El número fue de 71 en 2012. El número de secuestros en todo
México, por su parte, parece estar en aumento. De acuerdo con las estadísticas publicadas por la Secretaría de Gobernación de México (SEGOB), en 2013 los secuestros a nivel nacional se incrementaron en 20 por ciento, sobre el número previo del año anterior. Mientras que los secuestros pueden ocurrir en cualquier parte, de acuerdo con la SEGOB, durante este periodo de tiempo, los estados con el mayor número de secuestros fueron Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Estado de México y Morelos. Además, de acuerdo con el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), de los 105.682 secuestros estimados en México en 2012; solamente 1.317 fueron reportados a la policía. De acuerdo con el departamento, la policía ha indicado que en algunos de estos incidentes, tanto la comunidad local como la extranjera han sido víctimas. Cerca de 70 secuestros de ciudadanos estadounidenses fueron reportados a la Embajada de EU y consulados en
México, entre enero y junio de 2014, señala la alerta de viaje. No se ha obtenido evidencia sobre si los grupos del crimen organizado tienen como objetivo a los visitantes o residentes de EU, en base a su nacionalidad, señala la alerta. De acuerdo con el departamento, el gobierno mexicano ha dedicado su tiempo a contrarrestar los grupos del crimen organizado que se dedican a actividades ilícitas, así como a utilizar una gran cantidad de sus recursos para proteger a los turistas que visitan los principales destinos del país. El gobierno ha desplegado policías federales y militares en todo el país como parte de sus esfuerzos para combatir a los grupos delictivos. La nueva advertencia, que sustituye a la advertencia emitida el 9 de enero contiene una lista donde se indican las amenazas sobre una base de estado-por-estado. Para ver la lista, puede visitar http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/ alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html
CULTURA
TAMAULIPAS
FIT 2014
Cinco operativos resultan en decomisos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Personalidades del mundo de las bellas artes y las artes escénicas se reunieron en la Ciudad de México, durante la presentación del programa del Festival Internacional Tamaulipas 2014, que iniciará el 25 de septiembre.
Vendrán artistas de Uruguay y Yucatán TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
D
iez países participarán en la edición 2014 del Festival Internacional Tamaulipas que se llevará a cabo en los 43 municipios del estado, del 25 de septiembre al 5 de octubre bajo el lema de “La cultura nos une”. Por décimo-sexto año consecutivo, habrá un país invitado. En éste caso será la República Oriental de Uruguay, pero además por primera vez un estado mexicano será también invitado. Yucatán fue la entidad seleccionada. Durante una conferencia de prensa celebrada en la Biblioteca José Vasconcelos de la Ciudad de México a mediados de semana, se dieron a conocer algunas de las 650 actividades programadas. Habrá homenajes a Octavio Paz, por el centenario de su nacimiento, y a los escritores uruguayos Juan Carlos Onetti y Mario Benedetti.
Siendo que el FIT abarca diversas disciplinas de las bellas artes y artes escénicas, el programa dado a conocer por el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, incluye un poco de todo. “Vamos a tener actuaciones extraordinarias. En Tamaulipas entendemos a la cultura en su dimensión primordial: para el desarrollo de toda sociedad”, sostuvo Torre. En esta edición el Festival Internacional Tamaulipas contará con ocho grupos internacionales, destacando siete del país invitado Uruguay, ocho del estado mexicano invitado de Yucatán, además de 19 grupos nacionales, 13 grupos tamaulipecos y siete actividades literarias. Las artes plásticas tendrán 35 eventos con dos exposiciones internacionales y seis nacionales y 14 tamaulipecas. En literatura, los escritores Jorge F. Hernández, Mónica Lavín, Pável Granados, Raquel Castro y Hernán Lara Zavala brindarán conferencias.
En el renglón de artes plásticas participarán, de Uruguay, Yandi Monardo y Walter Cruz; de México, Ismael Vargas, Jorge Tellaeche, María José Lavín, Leonora Carrington, y Pedro Banda. En la música se tendrá la presencia de Armando Manzanero, María Medina, Edison Quintana, Jorge Buenfil, Jorge Drexler, Rubén Rada, Alika & Nueva Alianza; Cuarteto Ricosa, Los Juglares, Maricarmen Pérez y Jesús Armando, la Orquesta Típica Yukalpetén y Ballet Folclórico del estado de Yucatán. En teatro los actores Ignacio López Tarso, Isaura Espinoza, Lilia Aragón, Juan Ferrara y Rafael Inclán encabezan la lista de invitados; así como los Diablos Verdes. Torre expresó que el FIT permite estar en armonía con el arte de otros países. “El festival es una ocasión para mostrar el orgullo de pertenecer a esta región del país que lo tiene todo”, concluyó.
El decomiso de armas largas, drogas, vehículos, municiones, así como el arresto de tres personas, fue el resultado de operativos realizados el martes por elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) en cuatro ciudades de Tamaulipas, México. Fueron cinco operativos aplicados en los municipios de Camargo, Mier, Miguel Alemán y Nuevo Laredo. Un reporte general indica que se “detuvo a tres civiles armados, se aseguraron siete armas largas, 1.423 kilogramos de marihuana, dos vehículos, así como cargadores y cartuchos de diversos calibres” Alrededor del mediodía del martes, soldados transitaban en el poblado Comales, del municipio de Camargo. Ahí fue asegurada un arma larga, un cargador, cartuchos útiles y un vehículo. Posteriormente, a la 1:15 p.m. soldados recorrían las riberas del Río Bravo en el municipio de Miguel Alemán, cuando descubrieron 205 kilogramos de marihuana contenidos en 37 paquetes. Por la tarde en el poblado Los Ángeles, también de Miguel Alemán, se logró asegurar 123 paquetes de plástico que contenían 218 kilogramos de marihuana. La droga fue detectada en un camino de terracería que lleva a un canal de riego. Otra acción ocurrió en Nuevo Laredo donde a las 2:15 p.m. personal militar fue agredido cuando circulaba por el Bulevar Luis Donaldo Colosio. Como resultado fueron aseguradas dos armas largas, 10 cargadores, cartuchos de diferentes calibres y un vehículo. Finalmente fue a las 5:50 p.m. que militares fueron agredidos por civiles armados a la altura del municipio de Mier, en la carretera que conduce a Nueva Ciudad Guerrero. Al concluir la agresión, soldados lograron el arresto de tres personas, así como el aseguramiento de cuatro armas largas, cargadores y cartuchos útiles. Aunque no se dio a conocer la identidad de los detenidos, autoridades informaron que son originarios de Honduras.
COLUMNA
Recuento de épocas con fuertes lluvias en Tamaulipas Esta es la primera parte de dos, donde el autor nos habla de un periodo donde Tamaulipas registró intensa actividad pluvial. Antes de ésta, les preceden siete años de sequía.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
En la parte media del siglo XIX Tamaulipas registra intensa actividad pluvial. Con este motivo, distintas localidades de la entidad sufren verdaderos desastres. Detalle curioso:
les preceden siete años de sequía. “Un viento norte suave” refrescaba Ciudad Victoria, asiento de los poderes locales, “desde las cuatro de la mañana del día 7” de septiembre de 1842. “Fue aumentándose [empero] hasta la madrugada del [jueves] 8, [en] que […] se convirtió en un huracán tan fuerte […] que no hubo una sola persona que no temiera por su existencia”. “Este horrible fenómeno […] rara vez se ob-
serva en zonas templadas” de tierra adentro, publica el órgano informativo de Tamaulipas. Luego de estremecer Soto la Marina el mismo jueves, “la tempestad de viento y agua que descargaba sobre” el municipio capitalino “era tal que ni los edificios más sólidos, ni los árboles más robustos y enraizados, pudieron resistir sus extraordinarios empujes”, el reportaje. “Todo cedía a su furia –prosigue—y era trans-
portado en momentos de un lugar a otro”. Recoge también la nota: “Once horas duró sobre nosotros esta impetuosa corriente y ellas bastaron para destruir las tres cuartas partes de la población, sepultando en sus ruinas los intereses que […] encerraban […] Vayamos enseguida a Matamoros, donde el domingo 3 de agosto de 1844 despunta con agradable brisa. Ya cercana la medianoche, sin embargo,
“se declaró un huracán, cuyo estruendo no puedo describir. Ocupado […] en asegurar las persianas, puertas y ventanas” de mi propia residencia, oía “los ladrillos de la azotea que se levantaban sin la más ligera dificultad”, comunica anónimo cronista en texto reproducido por “El Gején”, periódico tampiqueño. (Con permiso del autor, según fuera publicado en La Razón de Tampico, México, el 22 de agosto)
International
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Special Mexico force battles economic crime By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Mexico launched a special 5,000-strong police force Friday to combat industrial, farm and business crime that has extended throughout the country’s economy, strangling commerce in some regions. Drug gangs have long penetrated some Mexican mining and agricultural sectors, but officials now reveal that everyone from fishermen to tourist resorts to banana growers have been hit by the wave of extortion, kidnapping and thefts by the gangs. In some cases, like the western state of Michoacan, the cartels and gangs cut down trade so much that “even the barbershops weren’t serving customers. The whole social fabric broke down,” said National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido. The new force, known as the gendarmerie, is made up of fresh recruits whose average age is 28 and who have never served on another police force. Its officers were trained by the Mexican army and its commanding officers got training from police forces from Colombia, Chile, Spain, France and the U.S. Gendarmerie members will be a division of the federal police and will be sent to areas where there is an organized crime presence and there is no economic activity because production is being restricted by the criminals. “The officers of the new gendarme force ... are trained to serve the population on foot, and on horseback, in rural, urban, tourist and border zones,” Presi-
Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP
An officer belonging to Mexico’s newest police force, known as the gendarmerie, marches with an eagle during the launching ceremony for the new force at the Federal Police headquarters in Mexico City, on Friday. dent Enrique Peña Nieto said. Most Mexicans had long been aware that parts of the country had such problems, such as Michoacan, where the Knights Templar cartel told farmers when to plant and took a cut on every product and even ran the iron ore industry. In the northern border state of Tamaulipas, demands for businesses to pay protection money have been common. Mexico’s national statistics institute estimated that in 2012, the latest figures available, that crime cost the country about $16.5 billion, or 1.3 percent of GDP. But the breadth of problems that authorities have now ac-
knowledged is staggering. Luis Montoya Morelia, the head of federal police in Tamaulipas, said the hyper-violent Zetas cartel had threatened fishermen on the Gulf coast, forcing them to sell their catch to the cartel for just 3 cents per pound. The gang would then apparently take the fish to market and sell it for full price. Rubido said cattle ranchers in southern Mexico were buying sorghum abroad because nobody would rent harvesting machines to sorghum growers in Tamaulipas, apparently fearing the cartels would burn or steal the equipment. This year, under po-
lice and military protection for every stage from harvest and packing to distribution, Tamaulipas was able to bring in a bumper crop. Banana growers in the steamy southern Gulf state of Tabasco also have come under gang pressure. When the banana harvesting season comes around, extortion and kidnappings rise to some of the highest rates in Mexico, Rubido said. On the southern Pacific coast, gangs threaten the resorts of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, though Rubido did not offer specifics on the threat there. Michoacan offers the most ex-
treme example of the cartels’ Mafia-style control, especially with the region’s main crop, limes. “The planters, pickers, packing houses and distributors all had to pay a cut for the right to operate or ship to the criminals,” Rubido said. It wasn’t immediately clear how the small gendarmerie force will be used to attack such widespread problems. The task to date has largely fallen to soldiers and marines, whose tactics have spawned continuing complaints. But it doesn’t appear the new gendarmes will be numerous enough to replace military units in a broad range of law enforcement roles. “It is naive to think that just by creating a new force with people who haven’t been in the police before ... things are going to change,” said Miguel Moguel, a researcher at Mexico’s Fundar think tank. “We have been creating new police forces for decades— armored police, ‘incorruptible, super-trained police,”’ but with disappointing results, he said. This year, the government even took the unprecedented step of providing guns, uniforms and salaries for former vigilantes in Michoacan, recruiting about 2,000 of them into the newly created “Rural Force.” But critics say that force has little oversight and training. Mexico hopes the gendarmerie will help break the cartels’ economic stranglehold, but Rubido said it won’t be easy. “Many times they have attacked with grenades,” he said of the cartels.
Gunmen in Ukraine, Russia continue spat Iraq kill 64 in mosque By MSTYSLAV CHERNOV ASSOCIATED PRESS
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers, killing at least 64 people and prompting Sunni lawmakers to freeze talks on forming a new government — a move that presents a major challenge to efforts to create an administration that can confront Islamic extremists who have seized large swaths of Iraqi territory. It was not immediately clear if the attack was carried out by Shiite militiamen or extremists of the Islamic State group, who have been advancing into mixed Sunni-Shiite areas in volatile Diyala province and have been known to kill fellow Sunni Muslims who refuse to submit to their harsh interpretation of Islamic law. However, Sunni lawmakers quickly blamed the carnage on powerful Shiite militias out to avenge an earlier bombing, and two major Sunni parliamentary blocs pulled out of talks on forming a new Cabinet. The move creates a major hurdle for prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi as he struggles to reach out to disaffected Sunnis to form a government that can confront the Islamic State extremists. Both al-Abadi and outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the attack and called for an investigation. The onslaught on the Musab bin Omair Mosque in the village of Imam Wais began with a suicide bombing near its entrance, followed by a raid by gunmen who stormed the building, opening fire on worshippers, security officials said. Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen raced to the scene to reinforce security but stumbled on bombs planted by the militants, which allowed the gunmen to flee, according to officials in Imam Wais, 75 miles northeast of Baghdad. At least 64 people were killed, including four Shiite militiamen, and more than 60 people were wounded, according to medical officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity be-
cause they were not authorized to brief the media. In pointing the finger at Islamic State fighters, village officials said the Sunni extremists have been pressuring two prominent Sunni tribes in the area — the Oal-Waisi and al-Jabour — to join them, but so far they have refused. However, local Sunni lawmakers in Diyala province blamed Shiite militiamen for what they said was a revenge attack for a bombing earlier Friday. In that attack, a roadside bomb hit the convoy of a local Shiite militia leader, wounding three of his bodyguards, Sunni lawmaker Raad al-Dahlaki said. He said the militia leader survived, and out for revenge, entered the mosque along with fellow Shiite gunmen and opened fire. Shiite militias then surrounded the general hospital in Baqouba, Diyala’s provincial capital, vowing to attack relatives of the dead, al-Dahlaki said. In announcing their pullout from talks on forming a new government, Sunni parliamentary blocs affiliated with Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al-Mutlak demanded that the main Shiite parliamentary bloc hand over the perpetrators within 48 hours and compensate the families of victims “if they want the political process and the new government to see the light of day.” The Obama administration condemned Friday’s “vicious attack,” and said it underscores “the urgent need for Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum to take the necessary steps that will help unify the country against all violent extremist groups,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. If the mosque attack proves to have been carried out by Shiite militiamen it would deal a major blow to al-Abadi’s efforts to reach out to the country’s Sunni minority, whose grievances are seen as fueling the Islamic State insurgency. Since early this year, Iraq has faced an onslaught by the Islamic State group and allied Sunni militants. The crisis has worsened since June.
DAVYDO-MYKILSKE, Ukraine — Russia sent over 130 aid trucks rolling into rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday without Kiev’s approval, saying it had lost patience with the Ukrainian government’s stalling tactics. Ukraine called the move a “direct invasion” that aimed to provoke an international incident. The unilateral move sharply raised the stakes in eastern Ukraine, for any attack on the convoy could draw the Russian military directly into the conflict between the Ukrainian government and the separatist rebels in the east. Ukraine has long accused Russia of supporting and arming the rebels, a charge that Russia denies. In the past few days, Ukraine says its troops have recaptured significant parts of Luhansk, the secondlargest rebel city, and suspicions were running high that Moscow’s humanitarian operation may instead be aimed at halting Kiev’s military momentum. Fierce fighting has been reported this week both around Luhansk and the largest rebelheld city, Donetsk, with dozens of casualties. Speaking on national television, Prime Minister Arseniy Yastenyuk declared that Russia’s plan in sending half-empty trucks into Ukraine was not to deliver aid but to create a provocation by attacking the convoy itself, thus arranging a “provocation.” Ukrainian security services chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko called the convoy a “direct invasion.” Asked about that, Yatsenyuk replied that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began back in March when it annexed Crimea and has been going on ever since. The white-tarped semis, which Russia says are carrying food, water, generators and sleeping bags, are intended for civilians in the hard-hit city of Luhansk, where government forces are besieging pro-Russian separatists. The city has seen weeks of heavy shelling that has cut off power, water and phone lines and left food supplies scarce. Four troops were killed and 23 wounded in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, the government reported at noon Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had planned to escort the Russian aid convoy
Photo by Sergei Grits | AP
Drivers of the first trucks of the Russian aid convoy are parked in the city of Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, on Friday. The trucks crossed into Ukraine on Friday, after more than a week’s delay.
Rebel forces took advantage of Ukraine’s promise not to shell the convoy to drive on the same country road as the aid trucks. to assuage fears that it was a cover for a Russian invasion, said it had not received enough security guarantees to do so Friday, as shelling had continued overnight in the area. The swiftness with which Russia set the mission into motion last week and the lack of direct involvement from the international community immediately raised questions about Moscow’s intentions. AP journalists following the convoy across country roads heard the trucks’ contents rattling and sliding Friday, confirming that many vehicles were only partially loaded. Nalyvaichenko, speaking to reporters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, said the men driving the trucks into Ukraine were Russian military personnel “trained to drive combat vehicles, tanks and artillery.” The half-empty aid trucks would be used to transport weapons to rebels and spirit away the bodies of Russian fighters killed in eastern Ukraine, he said. He insisted, however, that Ukraine would not shell the convoy. Ukraine’s presidential administration said Kiev authorized the entrance of only 35 trucks. But the number of Russian vehicles entering the country through a rebel-held border point Friday was clearly way beyond that amount. An Associated Press reporter saw a priest blessing the first truck in the convoy at the rebel-held checkpoint and then climbing into the passenger seat. A lone border guard unlocked a customs gate, and on the trucks went.
Russian customs service representative Rayan Farukshin said all vehicles in the convoy, which counts more than 260 trucks, had been checked and approved for onward travel. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said as of midday, 134 Russian aid trucks, 12 support vehicles and one ambulance had crossed into Ukraine. “The Russian side has decided to act,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “It is no longer possible to tolerate this lawlessness, outright lies and inability to reach agreements ... we are warning against any attempts to thwart this purely humanitarian mission.” Although Luhansk is only 12 miles from the border, the Russian convoy took a meandering route, apparently in an effort to avoid areas controlled by Ukrainian troops. Shortly after leaving the rebel-held border town of Izvaryne, the convoy turned off of the main highway to Luhansk and headed north on a country road. Rolling on small roads greatly slowed the trucks’ progress, turning what would in peacetime take roughly two hours into a daylong haul. Rebel forces took advantage of Ukraine’s promise not to shell the convoy to drive on the same country road as the aid trucks. Around lunchtime, around 20 green military supply vehicles — flatbed trucks and fuel tankers — were seen traveling in the opposite direction. Other smaller rebel vehicles could be seen driving around.
The convoy moved along village roads hugging the Russian border, which is marked by the winding Seversky Donets River. In the village of Davydo-Mykilske, less than half a mile west of the border, AP reporters saw three rebel tanks, dozens of militiamen and armored personnel carriers. The trucks from Moscow had been stranded in a customs zone for more than a week since reaching the border. The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced increasing frustration at what it said were Kiev’s efforts to stall its delivery, while Ukraine demanded that the trucks enter through a government-controlled border post so it could check their contents. The Russian Foreign Ministry had accused the government in Kiev of shelling areas the convoy would have to pass through, making its travel impossible. “There is increasingly a sense that the Ukrainian leaders are deliberately dragging out the delivery of the humanitarian load until there is a situation in which there will no longer be anyone left to help,” it said Friday in a statement. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry retorted with a statement accusing Russia of “ignoring international rules, procedures and agreements that have been reached.” Last week, after the Russian aid convoy left Moscow, Ukraine mounted its own humanitarian operation for those affected by fighting. The rebels have said, however, they will not allow that material to enter their territory.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
Birth control fixes Rules now allow opting out by certain groups By JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Seeking to quell a politically charged controversy, the Obama administration announced new measures Friday to allow religious nonprofits and some companies to opt out of paying for birth control for female employees while still ensuring those employees have access to contraception. Even so, the accommodations may not fully satisfy religious groups who oppose any system that makes them complicit in providing coverage they believe is immoral. Effective immediately, the U.S. will start allowing faith-affiliated charities, colleges and hospitals to notify the government — rather than their insurers — that they object to birth control on religious grounds. A previous accommodation offered by the Obama administration allowed those nonprofits to opt out of paying for birth control by submitting a document called Form 700 to their insurers, but Roman Catholic bishops and other religious plaintiffs argued just submitting that form was like signing a permission slip to engage in evil. In a related move, the administration announced plans to allow for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby Inc. to start using Form 700. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the government can’t force companies like Hobby Lobby Inc. to pay for birth control, sending the administration scrambling for a way to ensure their em-
ployees can still get birth control one way or another at no added cost. The dual decisions mark the Obama administration’s latest effort to address a long-running conflict that has pitted the White House against churches and other religious groups. The dispute has sparked dozens of legal challenges, fueling an election-year debate about whether religious liberty should trump a woman’s access to health care options. “What these rules do is help ensure that women have access to contraceptive coverage” while respecting religious beliefs, said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. Yet the latest proposals will likely run up against the same objections, because they still enable employees to receive contraception through their health plans — one of a range of preventive services required under President Barack Obama’s health care law. “We will be studying the new rule with our clients, but if today’s announcement is just a different way for the government to hijack the health plans of religious ministries, it is unlikely to end the litigation,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund has represented both Hobby Lobby and Wheaton College, an evangelical school whose case also made its way to the Supreme Court. In June, the high court ruled that the government can’t force companies like Hobby Lobby Inc. to pay for birth control. In another blow to the Obama administration days later, the justices sided with religious nonprofits like Wheaton who said that forcing nonprofits to fill out Form 700 to avoid pay-
ing for birth control still constituted a violation of their religious freedom. The new fixes unveiled Friday appear to embrace suggestions included in both of the Supreme Court rulings. In the Hobby Lobby case, Justice Samuel Alito suggested that one way to address the problem would be to offer the Form 700 accommodation to some forprofit companies. And in the Wheaton case, the court said that while the case is being appealed, Wheaton could temporarily avoid Form 700 by simply sending a letter to the government indicating its objections. Yet that temporary fix for Wheaton exempted the college from covering contraception altogether. The letters the administration will now allow nonprofits to send would trigger a process by which the government will instruct a nonprofit’s insurer or third-party administrators to take on the responsibility of paying for the birth control, at no cost to the employer. That means that ultimately, employees would still get birth control through their employer-provided plans. The administration’s hope is that the new accommodation will be more palatable because it creates more distance between religious nonprofits and the health services they believe are immoral. But the Family Research Council, a socially conservative group, dismissed the new accommodation as an “insulting accounting gimmick” that still leaves businesses and nonprofits complicit in something they view as immoral. To opt-out of paying for contraceptives without using Form 700, religious nonprofits can send a letter to the Health and Human Services Department.
Health debate evolves By DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s unpopular health care law is losing some of its political punch as vulnerable Democrats see it as less of an election-year minus and Republicans increasingly talk about fixing it instead of repealing. Two-term Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, who is locked in one of the most competitive races in the country, says in an ad this week that he voted for a law that prevents insurers from canceling policies if someone gets sick, as he did 18 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. That prohibition on terminating policies in this fashion is one of the more popular elements of the 4year-old law that Pryor never mentions by its official name — the Affordable Care Act. “No one should be fighting an insurance company while you’re fighting for your life,” Pryor says in the ad, with his father, former Sen. David Pryor, at his side. “That’s why I helped pass a law that prevents insurance companies from canceling your policy if you get sick, or deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.” The law, dubbed “Obamacare” by its critics, remains divisive. It has been vilified by Republicans as big government run amok and a relentless hit on a sputtering economy. House Republicans have voted some 50 times to repeal, change or scrap the law, and the GOP is betting Americans’ opposition will be a great motivator in November’s midterm elections. The Obama administration insists the law is accomplishing its main goal — providing health care coverage to millions of
Photo by Danny Johnston/file | AP
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., speaks to members of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock, Ark. The divisive health care law is losing its political punch as an election-year issue. Americans who lack it, with some 8 million enrolled. In Arkansas, for example, the share of uninsured residents dropped about 10 percentage points — from 22.5 percent in 2013, to 12.4 percent in the middle of this year, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Pryor faces a tough challenge from first-term Republican Rep. Tom Cotton in a state that voted overwhelmingly for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. Despite its Republican leanings, the state does have a Democratic governor. Pryor’s latest ad made political sense to Robert Blendon, a public opinion analyst at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Democrats like this bill,” Blendon said. “There’s a big mistake that nobody likes this bill. They really like it lot and there are features of it that are incredibly popular with Democrats or more moderate independents.” Mobilizing core voters to go to the polls is crucial in midterm elections. Pryor’s embrace of the law sends a message to Democrats that a law they like could disappear if he loses his seat, Blendon said. Republicans need to
gain six seats to secure the Senate majority for the remainder of Obama’s term. Arkansas is one of the GOP’s top targets. Campaign ads have reflected the waning of health care as an issue. Commercials from candidates and the party organizations have focused on veterans, bipartisanship and attendance at committee hearings while Republican-leaning outside groups such as Americans for Prosperity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads still use many of their spots to hit Democrats for backing the health care law. “The campaign committees are smart enough to realize that they’re going to have to run on something besides a position that involves taking access to health care for millions of Americans,” said Jim Manley, a former Senate Democratic aide who maintained that the election was going to be about jobs and the economy. Republicans who opposed the law grudgingly acknowledge that it is a reality. In July, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., described exchanges where individuals could shop for coverage as a step in the right direction.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 13A
THE WEEK IN REVIEW WEEKLY STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
u
NYSE 10,947.34+151.30
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE) Name IntlRectif Dynegy wt EKodk wtA LejuHldg n EKodak wt AEagleOut SkilldHcre TRC Cos BldBear Lentuo
Last Chg 39.10 +13.41 4.35 +1.47 6.60 +1.82 18.41 +4.84 7.88 +1.99 13.46 +2.74 7.25 +1.24 5.81 +.86 12.66 +1.85 2.82 +.40
%Chg +52.2 +51.0 +38.0 +35.7 +33.7 +25.6 +20.6 +17.4 +17.1 +16.5
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE) Name Jumei n ChiNBorun ChinaDigtl Coupons n YoukuTud Fabrinet NoahHldgs 58.com n NorandaAl DirGMnBull
Last 32.18 2.50 4.14 12.67 19.09 15.70 15.30 45.16 4.16 23.03
Chg -5.81 -.44 -.63 -1.83 -2.72 -2.05 -1.80 -4.81 -.44 -2.33
%Chg -15.3 -15.0 -13.2 -12.6 -12.5 -11.5 -10.5 -9.6 -9.6 -9.2
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NASDAQ
Vol (00)
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE) Name DigitalAlly ChiFnOnl ChinaHGS PeregrSem HeatBiolog MandDigtl AdamisP rs TrueCar n AmicusTh Cadiz h
Last 7.94 10.29 6.19 12.53 6.68 5.85 4.07 20.90 5.87 13.31
Chg %Chg +4.59 +137.0 +5.84 +131.2 +2.62 +73.4 +5.30 +73.3 +2.68 +67.0 +2.04 +53.5 +1.25 +44.3 +5.14 +32.6 +1.43 +32.2 +3.24 +32.2
Name WaferGn rs KindredB n MitekSys CallularBio PointrTel ElizArden Oncothyr GalenaBio IntraCell n OneHorizn
Last 4.95 10.23 2.28 17.00 6.81 16.92 2.34 2.15 15.62 2.45
Chg -3.80 -4.60 -.77 -5.63 -1.36 -3.26 -.44 -.38 -2.76 -.42
%Chg -43.4 -31.0 -25.2 -24.9 -16.6 -16.2 -15.8 -15.0 -15.0 -14.6
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Volume
2,355 871 393 52 3,276 50 12,494,158,096
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Apple Inc s 2440644101.32 +3.34 Intel 1415975 34.94 +.77 SiriusXM 1339450 3.58 +.03 PwShs QQQ1233024 99.05 +1.65 Microsoft 1197897 45.15 +.64 Zynga 1161990 3.08 +.17 Facebook 1131135 74.57 +.94 Cisco 1112736 24.65 +.22 ChiFnOnl 930446 10.29 +5.84 eBay 865286 55.50 +2.86
DIARY Advanced Declined New Highs New Lows Total issues Unchanged
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Close: 17,001.22 1-week change: 338.31 (2.0%) 17,200
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STOCK MARKET INDEXES 59.54
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60.36
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DIARY Advanced Declined New Highs New Lows Total issues Unchanged
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1,829 988 205 117 2,873 56 7,293,881,674
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14,719.43 6,237.14 467.93 9,246.89 3,573.57 1,627.47 1,170.62 17,305.21 1,009.00 4,813.26
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MONEY RATES
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NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY
1.84 2.00 1.88 .20 ... 2.80 2.17 ... 2.92 .24 ... 2.76 .50 .88 .64 1.88 .71 1.48 .90 .50 4.40
34.50 52.54 101.32 16.13 27.70 107.31 108.09 52.14 80.24 113.09 7.64 98.50 17.17 26.15 36.84 91.03 44.75 115.21 34.94 26.29 190.41
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Lowes Lubys MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine NokiaCp Penney RadioShk S&P500ETF SanchezEn Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SiriusXM SonyCp Sprint UnionPac s USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo
NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY
.92 ... 1.40 3.07 1.12 ... .51 ... ... 3.58 ... 1.60 ... ... .24 ... 2.00 .20 .40 1.92 1.40
52.53 5.25 53.59 27.96 45.15 13.74 8.18 10.19 .68 199.19 33.04 109.03 33.09 3.58 18.86 5.54 105.77 37.81 113.00 75.73 51.18
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-1.9 +12.4 +26.4 +3.6 -34.9 +18.2 -11.2 +32.8 +13.6 +16.3 -9.6 -2.7 +11.3 -6.7 +31.7 +10.6 +7.1 -.1 +34.6 -.3 +1.5
Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
2014, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with chapel service at 9:30 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.
BERGDAHL Continued from Page 1A to comply with provisions of laws with which he disagrees.” The Joint Chiefs of Staff has unanimously supported the exchange, insisting that the United States has a sacred commitment to men and women who serve that it will never leave anyone behind on the battlefield. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said the swap in May was “likely our last, best opportunity” to free Bergdahl. Bergdahl is doing administrative duties at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio while an investigation into how he was captured by the Taliban is conducted. Last month, a bitterly divided House Armed Services Committee voted to condemn Obama for the swap. The Republican-led panel backed a nonbinding resolution that disapproves of the exchange and faults Obama for failing to notify Congress 30 days in advance of the swap, as required by law. The bipartisan resolution raised national security concerns about the transfer of the five Taliban, who had been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than a decade, and the “repercussions of negotiating with terrorists.” The measure also expresses relief that Bergdahl has returned safely to the United States. The full House is expected to consider the measure in the fall, just a few weeks before the midterm elections.
Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year
the business leaders sounding like a man with his eye on the Oval Office. He took on the federal government for what he called its failure to secure the Southern border and a foreign policy he said has exposed the country to dangers from groups like the Islamic State. Perry noted this week’s videotaped slaying of New Hampshire journalist James Foley. He also discussed North Korea, China, job creation and the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the police shooting of an 18year-old black man. That, together with the New Hampshire trip — followed by visits to other key early states including Iowa and South Carolina — won’t do much to tamp down speculation that he’ll mount another bid. With more than a year before the primary season heats up and two full years before the 2016 presidential contest, Perry’s laying the groundwork early this time around. “I just think you have to spend a lot of time in these
+338.31 +165.79 +6.44 +151.30 +73.62 +33.34 +30.43 +349.98 +18.69 +124.09
+2.03 +2.01 +1.17 +1.40 +1.65 +1.71 +2.18 +1.69 +1.64 +2.12
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12-mo %Chg +13.26 +30.09 +14.97 +15.54 +24.08 +19.53 +17.13 +19.03 +11.76 +21.90
CURRENCIES Pvs Week
3.25 0.75 .00-.25 0.03 0.05 1.66 2.40 3.16
Last
Pvs Day
3.25 Australia 1.0734 1.0750 0.75 Britain 1.6577 1.6586 .00-.25 Canada 1.0947 1.0945 Euro .7552 .7530 0.04 Japan 103.93 103.80 0.05 Mexico 13.1267 13.0985 1.54 Switzerlnd .9138 .9114 2.34 3.13 British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.
Name
Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV
Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt
Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d PIMCO TotRetIs T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard 500Adml Vanguard HlthCare Vanguard InstIdxI Vanguard TotStIAdm Vanguard TotStIdx Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
WS 580 ST 2,536 SH 919 SH 8,218 SF 609 ST 260 ST 672 SF 147 ST 1,732 SF 1,195 ST 3,010 ST 2,548 CI 143,967 ST 3,098 LB 107,249 SH 10,301 LB 94,348 LB 98,233 LB 112,558 ST 3,554
-0.3 +0.8 +2.8 +8.8 +0.8 -2.0 +1.1 -0.4 -0.8 +0.8 -0.3 +1.9 +0.3 +2.9 +0.5 +1.3 +0.5 +0.6 +0.6 -1.3
86.18 58.96 12.97 207.48 74.22 32.14 81.02 15.50 79.88 85.71 118.24 123.74 10.96 43.22 184.00 210.40 182.81 50.15 50.13 16.51
+20.7/A +29.0/B +33.4/A +29.4/D +17.6/A +20.2/E +19.9/E +10.2/E +42.8/A +17.6/A +24.2/D +25.3/C +6.3/C +29.6/B +22.5/B +33.1/B +22.5/B +21.8/B +21.7/B +25.2/C
+8.0/E +14.5/D +18.2/D +28.1/A +10.9/C +12.1/E +18.2/B +14.1/A +17.8/B +9.2/D +21.7/A +18.6/A +5.8/B +17.2/B +16.5/A +20.1/C +16.6/A +17.0/A +16.8/A +19.3/A
4.25 2,500 5.75 2,000 5.75 1,000 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL1,000,000 NL 2,500 NL 10,000 NL 3,000 NL5,000,000 NL 10,000 NL 3,000 5.75 750
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - MidCap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
Continued from Page 1A
Photo by Jim Cole | AP
Gov. Rick Perry talks to a group of business leaders Friday in Portsmouth, N.H. Perry, visiting the nation’s earliest presidential primary state, said he has not decided if he will run for president again. states if you’re going to do it,” he said. “Generally, there’s a courtship that goes on. There’s a period of time that you need to spend with people. They need to know you and you need to know them. And I didn’t do that last time.”
Democrats are using his visit to try to hang Perry around the neck of the two Republicans likely to run for U.S. Senate and governor. “Now that the New Hampshire Republican Party has made it clear they
CALL CENTERS is a major selling point for Mexico over English-language industry leaders like India and the Philippines. They can chat comfortably about the U.S. housing market and Super Bowl contenders. They know slang. Still, the sudden change is a shock. Monterroso’s weekly pay of less than $300 is a humbling drop from the $2,400 he made in San Diego real estate at the peak of the U.S. housing boom in the mid-2000s. And back in Mexico, the deportees are often ostracized for off-kilter Spanish or seen as outsiders. “It can’t get any worse for them,” said Jorge Oros, co-founder and chief operating officer of Call Center Services International. “They were deported from a country where they were for so many years and now they’re stuck here in a country where they’ve never been before. When you’re offering them a job and an opportunity, they become the most loyal employees you can have.” By the end of the year, Mexico’s outsourced call centers will have more than 85,000 workstations, which may be staffed two or three shifts a day, while there are nearly 490,000 in India and 250,000 in the Philippines, according to Frost & Sullivan. The industry consultant estimates Mexico will surpass 110,000 workstations in 2020, fueled partly by a large pool of bilingual workers and proximity to the U.S. Baja California state, which includes Tijuana,
Wk Wk YTD Chg %Chg %Chg
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(Sept. 10, 1951 – Aug. 18, 2014)
released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo in exchange for Bergdahl, who had disappeared from his post in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. The five Taliban are to remain in Qatar for a year. Lawmakers, especially Republicans, expressed fury with President Barack Obama and members of the administration for failing to notify them about the swap. Some in Congress have said Bergdahl was a deserter and the United States gave up too much for his freedom. Several lawmakers have cited intelligence suggesting the high-level Taliban officials could return to the Afghanistan battlefield. The administration has defended the swap and its decision to keep Congress in the dark, saying concern about Bergdahl’s health and safety required speedy action. Sen. Susan Collins, RMaine, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said it was “completely disingenuous” for the administration to suggest that notifying Congress might have compromised the transfer because dozens of administration officials knew well in advance. “It’s not hard to imagine that the president didn’t notify us until after the fact because he knew the proposed transfer would have been met with opposition,” Collins said in a statement Thursday. “The president’s decision is part of a disturbing pattern where he unilaterally decides that he does not have
17,151.56 8,515.04 576.98 11,334.65 4,547.24 1,994.76 1,452.01 21,108.12 1,213.55 5,985.72
16,400
NICOLAS SALINAS-VALADEZ Nicolas Salinas-Valadez, 62, passed away Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo. Mr. Salinas-Valadez is preceded in death by his son, Juan Manuel Salinas and his parents, Antonio and Celia Salinas. Mr. Salinas-Valadez is survived by his wife, Maria Iglesias de Salinas; sons, Ramiro Salinas, Nicolas (Mari) Salinas, Marco Antonio (Carmen) Salinas; daughter, Belinda Salinas (Miguel Guzman); grandchildren, Nicolas Salinas III, Alondra Salinas, Juan Salinas, Osmar Salinas, Karen Salinas, Marco Antonio Salinas, Leslie Salinas, Yaeleen Navarez, Juan Ramon Guzman, Claudet Salinas and Ramiro Salinas Jr.; brothers, Servando (Rosalva G.) Salinas, Arturo (†Celia) Salinas, Romeo (Maricela M.) Salinas; sister, Maria Enedelia S. (Natividad) Valadez; and by numerous nephews, nieces, other family members and friends. Visitation hours were held Thursday, Aug. 21,
52-Week High Low
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Last Chg Name
BkofAm 4360460 16.13 +.91 S&P500ETF3054238199.19+3.47 iShEMkts 1721672 44.75 +.24 B iPVix rs 1542385 27.70 -1.18 Penney 1501014 10.19 +.69 Sprint 1450704 5.54 -.15 NokiaCp 1434380 8.18 +.43 iShR2K 1377338115.21 +1.82 Hertz 1300456 30.61 +.47 SPDR Fncl 1281607 23.12 +.54
Dow Jones industrials
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has about 35 call centers that employ nearly 10,000 people. An estimated 45 percent are deportees, said Oros, who leads a local industry group. Callers typically start below $150 a week, more than twice what they would likely make on a graveyard shift in one of the city’s assembly plants. The industry has prospered in Mexican border cities as deportations spiked under U.S. President Barack Obama. The Mexican government says there were 332,865 deportations from the U.S. last year and more than 1.8 million the previous four years. At Call Center Services International, job applicants read English to voicerecognition software that flags anyone with a strong accent. The company conducted orientation for new hires in Spanish when it was founded but soon discovered that employees had an easier time following in English. Firstkontact Center, where about 200 of nearly 500 employees were deported, opened a second building this year in an industrial area to more than double its capacity. More than 100 people in a warehouse-like room sell transmissions and brakes for U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc. “How ya doin’ today?” one worker says to a customer in Crescent, Oklahoma, who wants suspension plugs for a 1986 Jaguar. “Not too good on gas, right?” At its original location, near Tijuana’s trendy res-
will continue to welcome Perry to the Granite State despite his recent criminal indictment, will Scott Brown and Walt Havenstein also embrace the disgraced Texas governor?” Democratic Party spokesman Bryan Lesswing said.
Continued from Page 1A
taurants and shops, Firstkontact scrapped plans to convert a garage into an employee dining hall and erected more cubicles to handle calls from Americans who buy marine navigation devices. “What’s goin’ on here?” 29-year-old Jonathan Arce asks a fisherman from Cecil, Wisconsin, in a booming voice. “You take care of yourself,” he says before hanging up with another customer in Columbia, Kentucky. Arce is an example of how the centers often give a fresh start to people with checkered histories. Many came to U.S. immigration officials after getting drunk behind the wheel, peddling drugs or committing another crime. Some wear tattoos they got while in U.S. street gangs. “We have employees who, unfortunately, fell in with the wrong crowds and pursued lives of crime but, oddly enough, many of them are very loyal,” said Alvaro Bello, Firstkontact’s marketing director, who cofounded the company in 2008. “The majority of them have learned that shortcuts are not good.” Arce came to the U.S. when he was 6 months old, was hooked on methamphetamine and marijuana as a teenager, and was in and out of jail for stealing cars in Merced, California. He enrolled in rehab after being deported to Tijuana in 2001, quit crime and gangs, and joined Firstkontact about three years ago after a stint as a dishwasher.
Arce, whose button-down shirts partly cover a California gang tattoo on the left side of his neck, makes $150 a week, enough to cover rent for a simple onebedroom apartment that he shares with his wife and their 1-year-old son. He bought a 1994 Toyota Camry with a shattered windshield for $900. The Acapulco native, who has a trim frame and quick smile, spends his spare time at an evangelical Christian church in the hardscrabble neighborhood where he lives. He shares his story with deportees who show up and advises them on getting settled. “If you’re deported, more than likely you’re going to get a job at a call center,” he said. “The wages ain’t much, but it’s good enough for where we’re at right now. You can’t compare it to the United States.” Many workers have battled depression and culture shock. They complain about being harassed by police for not having Mexican identification documents, sometimes landing in jail. “When you’re first deported, you’re not coming down with an open mind,” said Antonio Rivera, 37, a Tijuana native who went to the U.S. as a baby, was expelled to Mexico in 2001 and now supervises 13 agents selling auto parts at Firstkontact. “You’re coming down here with an attitude, ‘Oh, I don’t deserve this.’ With a negative attitude, you don’t see things the way you’re supposed to — that they’re giving you a new chance.”
14A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NFL: KC CHIEFS
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: CLEVELAND BROWNS
Manziel fined $12K File photo by Ed Zurga | AP
Chiefs tackle Donald Stephenson violated the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy, but he’s allowed to participate in preseason activities.
NFL suspends KC tackle Stephenson to miss four games By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Evan Vucci | AP
Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel finished 7-of-16 for 65 yards with a touchdown against Washington on Monday night, but it was his midgame gesture near the opponent’s sideline that drew most of the attention.
NFL docks rookie for flicking off Redskins bench By TOM WITHERS ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — Johnny Manziel has been slapped on the finger. The NFL fined the Browns rookie quarterback $12,000 on Friday for flipping his middle finger at Washington’s sideline, a person familiar with the penalty told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
the ruling has not been made public. Manziel said he was reacting to incessant taunting by the Redskins during Monday night’s nationally televised game when he made the gesture while running back to Cleveland’s huddle. “I had words exchanged with me throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week,” Manziel said. “I should have been smarter. It was a Monday Night Football game and the
NCAA FOOTBALL: HALL OF FAME
cameras were probably solidly on me, and I need to be smarter about that.” Manziel has never shied away from other gestures on the field, notably the finger-rubbing “money” sign he made famous while winning the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M. Manziel expects the trash talk to keep heading his way.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs offensive tackle Donald Stephenson was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the regular season Friday for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, a massive blow to an already unsteady offensive line. Stephenson remains eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games, including Saturday night’s contest against Minnesota. He will miss games against Tennessee, Denver, Miami and New England and be eligible to return to the active roster Sept. 30. The substance was not disclosed. The Chiefs said in a three-sentence statement that they were informed of the positive test on Friday and expressed disappointment in losing Stephenson, but declined further comment. Stephenson said in a statement issued through the NFL
See MANZIEL PAGE 2B See CHIEFS PAGE 2B
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: OFFSEASON CAMPS
Training for training camp Offseason academies helping players make major strides By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by John Bazemore | AP
College Football Hall of Fame CEO and president John Stephenson showed off the new Atlanta museum’s digital-friendly displays.
College Football Hall of Fame set to open on Saturday By CHARLES ODUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Visitors to the new College Football Hall of Fame will find 100-year-old artifacts have found a new home in the digital age.
When entering the threestory facility, fans will immediately face a giant wall of 768 helmets — one for every program at every level in the nation.
See HALL PAGE 2B
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This past offseason, Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson could have made like a couple of college kids on spring break, sleeping ’til noon and then hitting the beach. Instead, they rose with the sun and worked until they dropped. You see, Allen and Stephenson joined a growing number of players taking part in offseason camps and academies, often organized and run by former NFL players. The lure is simple: The rare opportunity for guys with gumption to get ahead in a business that has become particular about the amount of time players can spend with their regular coaches at their team facilities. “With the new collective-bargaining agreement, we’ve got a lot of time to ourselves,” Allen explained this week, “so it’s all about what you want to do with your time. I wanted to invest in myself, and that’s why a lot of guys do those things.” Make no mistake, Allen means
File photo by Charles Krupa | AP
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has hosted an offseason camp open to anyone who can make it since 2005, helping NFL players stay in top shape. investing. When he joined Stephenson at the LeCharles Bentley O-Line Performance Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona, the third-year pro paid his own way. It was a small investment, though, considering the potential payoff. After attending the Bentley camp two summers ago, Geoff Schwartz went from a journeyman trying to stick with a team to a starter for the Chiefs, and then signed a four-year, $16.5 million deal with the Giants. “If you play offensive line and you’re trying to get better,” opined Chance Warmack of the Ti-
tans, “then that’s the place to go.” There are other places to go for other positions, too. IMG Academy’s Athletic and Personal Development program in Florida promises “deluxe housing, fine dining, cutting-edge training facilities and equipment, world-class fields” and even a full-service spa to those who attend its offseason programs. Those who have worked with the program, overseen by former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke,
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Zscores
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
Red Sox sign defector Castillo ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — Red Sox manager John Farrell calls outfielder Rusney Castillo “an exciting, athletic player.” The Cuban defector is expected to show off those talents for Boston soon, perhaps within the next week. Farrell spoke Friday amid multiple media reports that the Red Sox had agreed with Castillo on a $72.5 million, seven-year contract. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino declined to comment. Farrell was aware of Boston’s pursuit of the 27-year-old Castillo and discussed him before the opener of a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners. “Above-average speed, can play center field or right field,” Farrell said. “What kind of power? What kind of average? Obviously, our scouts liked him enough. If the reports are true, it’s a significant investment and it’s an exciting, athletic player, from all accounts.” Farrell knew of the reports of the agreement, but said administrative details must be finalized before an official announcement is made. The
first season of the deal could begin this month. The 5-foot-9 Castillo would join fellow Cuban Yoenis Cespedes in Boston’s new-look outfield. The Red Sox obtained Cespedes from Oakland and Allen Craig from St. Louis at the July 31 trade deadline. The Red Sox have had trouble finding a replacement for Jacoby Ellsbury since the center fielder signed with the New York Yankees after Boston won the World Series last season. Jackie Bradley Jr. played there most of this season and is an outstanding defensive player but has struggled as a hitter. He was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday when the Red Sox recalled Mookie Betts to play the position. Now the job likely will go to the speedy Castillo, a right-handed hitter who is considered a good outfielder but not as good as Bradley. Shane Victorino, an outstanding right fielder who also can play center, is out for the season after back surgery and has one year left on his contract. Boston’s lineup is much better now than it’s been for much of the season.
“It’s lengthened out,” Farrell said. “You could say right now maybe we’re leaning a little heavy on the right-handed side, but prior to opening day next year there’s a lot of time and I know a lot of thought will be put in as to how we improve this team.” Castillo played center field for the Cuban national team. Farrell said the transitions made by recent Cuban defectors such as Cespedes, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and Chicago White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu have been impressive. “Hopefully,” he said, “the same holds true for every other player that comes over.” Abreu began Friday hitting .303 with 32 homers and 90 RBIs. “He’s a guy that has all the tools, as we call it,” Abreu said of Castillo through a translator. “He’s a five-tool player, and so long as he stays mentally tough, he’s going to be able to do some good things.” In Castillo’s best two years in Cuba, 2011 and 2012, he hit .324 and .332 and totaled 34 homers, 145 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.
MANZIEL Continued from Page 1B “Since my name has grown bigger and people have known who I am, it just continues to go as the games continue to go on,” he said following Cleveland’s 24-23 loss to the Redskins. “I don’t know if there is a single level of severity each game, but I know it’s there and it’s present every game. I just need to let it slide off my back and go to the next play. “I feel like I did a good job of holding my composure throughout the night and you have a lapse of judgment and slip up.” His finger flipping didn’t help his chances of winning Cleveland’s starting job, which went to veteran Brian Hoyer. Browns coach Mike Pettine felt Manziel should have known better than to react to Washington’s insults. He wants his high-profile rookie — and Cleveland’s other players — to make mature decisions on and off the field. Pettine said the 21-yearold’s behavior factored into the team’s decision in naming a starter. “We talk about ’Play like a Brown.’ We want our guys to act like a Brown,” Pettine said. “We want to be a first-class organization. We have hundreds, thousands of kids come to our training camp practices, and look up to our players. That type of behavior is unacceptable. It’s something that’s part of football that you have to maintain your poise and your composure, especially at that position, and he should know better than anyone that all eyes are on him.”
Players’ Association that he took a medication that requires a therapeutic-use exemption and failed to properly investigate it. “The rules are strict, and without a TUE, the consequence is a fourgame suspension,” Stephenson said in the statement. “It is not a mistake I will ever make again. I will train extremely hard during my time away from the team and I will be ready to contribute to my team’s effort to win a Super Bowl as soon as I return.” Stephenson was a fill-in starter last season but was expected to anchor the right side this year, taking over for former No. 1 overall draft pick Eric Fisher as he moved back to left tackle. With perilously little depth, Stephenson’s lost could result in plenty of shuffling. Jeff Allen is expected to move from left guard to right tackle, filling in for Stephenson but creating a new hole. Ricky Henry and Jeff Linkenbach, who were fighting for a backup job, are now in a race to replace at Allen at starting left guard for the first four games of the season. “We’re rotating people around and we’ll keep doing that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “When we’re satisfied with who the five best are we’ll roll from there. I don’t really care about positions right now. I just care about getting the five best out there.” The Chiefs have tried several permutations through their first two preseason games, and none of them has engendered a
great deal of confidence. If they haven’t been hit with false start and holding penalties, they’ve struggled to open holes and contain the pass rush. “We don’t make any excuses for them,” offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said. “Guys just have to focus in on detail. They get in the heat of the battle and sometimes they get a little fatigued and into the game, but they still have to concentrate and understand how we’re snapping the ball, when we’re snapping the ball. We need to eliminate those types of penalties, the holding penalties and obviously the sacks and turnovers.” The trickle-down of Stephenson’s suspension could also impact the number of offensive linemen the Chiefs keep when they go through roster cuts. Teams must trim from 90 players to 75 by Tuesday afternoon, and final cuts to the 53-man roster limit are due Sept. 30. The Chiefs were already without their top wide receiver, Dwayne Bowe, for the season opener after he was suspended by the league for an incident involving marijuana last November. They’ve also been dealing with a rash of injuries. Inside linebacker Joe Mays sustained a wrist injury that will require surgery and is likely to keep him out for the first few weeks of the regular season, and running back Jamaal Charles, safety Eric Berry and wide receiver Junior Hemingway have all been dealing with nagging injuries during training camp.
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Photo by Richard Lipski | AP
Johnny Manziel, a two-year starter at Texas A&M, said the Washington defense was spewing trash talk throughout the Browns’ eventual 24-23 loss.
CAMP Continued from Page 1B include Steelers tight end Heath Miller and Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold. Not all camps promise full-service spas, though. In fact, many are little more than private workouts organized by players that grew through word-ofmouth into large-scale endeavors. Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, for example, started a camp after his first Pro Bowl in 2005. Other players began showing up, mostly pass catchers such as teammate Michael Floyd and Packers tight end Jermichael Finely. The next thing Fitzgerald knew, quarterbacks such as the Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Cassel were hanging around the practices. Fitzgerald never invites anybody; they just drop in. And while he’s never promised “cutting-edge facilities,” Hall of Famers such as Cris Carter often show up to help. “There’s nothing more competitive than the environment we have on an everyday basis (in the NFL),” Fitzgerald said. “I try to simulate that in terms of workouts, try to make it competitive. You don’t want to get too far away from the competition. The drills that we run, I’m trying to whip Mike’s (butt). He’s trying to beat me every day. You get results.” The guys who attended Bentley’s academy are cer-
CHIEFS Continued from Page 1B
File photo by David Richard | AP
Guard Geoff Schwartz inked a $16.5 million deal with the Giants after working with former NFL lineman LeCharles Bentley. tainly seeing results. Warmack spent three days at home with family after Tennessee wrapped its offseason program in June, and then headed to the desert. He spent four of the five weeks he had left before the start of Titans training camp in what can only be described as boot
camp: — Wake to his alarm at 4:30 a.m. and quickly head out the door. — Arrive at the facility by 5 a.m. for a personalized, 2-hour workout. — After a quick nap, return at 11 a.m. for another 2-hour workout. — Spend the afternoon
breaking down film in the classroom. “Whatever I need in terms of technique, getting stronger in the weight room, talking to someone about going through the NFL lifestyle, just any questions I have that I need a second opinion on, he’s there for me,” Warmack said. Some team executives worry that the camps increase the chance of injuries, and that the programs might not complement the club’s philosophies. On the other, they provide players an opportunity to do “football work.” “From an organizational standpoint, you applaud someone trying to make themselves better,” Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said. “And when you put guys in competitive environments, peer pressure always does something.” That way, when the season rolls around, you’re able to beat your peers. “You have to be self-driven in your offseason. You have to be able to take advantage of that time. You can’t sit and do nothing,” Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. “Everybody kind of goes their own direction and has to find what fits for them. There are places all over the country now, a lot of them in Arizona. Everybody has their deal and what they are comfortable with.”
The new high-tech hall opens Saturday in downtown Atlanta, not far from the Georgia Dome, adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park and other attractions. It features an interactive experience that begins when the guest registers for a smart pass, selects a favorite school and then sees that school’s helmet illuminated. Computer chips in the ticket allow the guest to be recognized by name at every interactive exhibit. Displays are tailored to the fan’s favorite school, though it’s always possible to explore other schools. Another example of high-tech displays: Fans who touch photos on a giant wall gain access to more than 12,000 videos. On Friday, final preparations were made for the grand opening. A worker was using a lift to apply final touches to a mural which stretches 36 feet by 30 feet. The work by Atlanta-area artist Steve Penley pays homage to such legends as Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley and Steve Spurrier. Asked if the artwork leaned too heavily to Southern icons, Hall of Fame president and CEO John Stephenson explained the artist was given license to show his vision of college football. Stephenson said there was an emphasis elsewhere on maintaining a national balance to the displays. Stephenson stressed the $68 million facility shouldn’t be compared with the old College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. Instead, planners were guided by such Atlanta attractions as the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola — both with easy walking distance of the hall. “The old model of building an attraction like this in a city in order to draw tourism to the city is the opposite of what we’ve done,” Stephenson said. “We’ve used private enterprise to build this self-sustaining business attraction right in the middle of an already proven and stabilized business travel and
tourism district.” Stephenson said the average annual attendance at the old hall was about 75,000. “We’re hoping here for 500,000,” he said. “But again, we don’t compare ourselves to South Bend, Indiana. We compare ourselves to our neighbors. The Georgia Aquarium draws 2 million. The World of Coke draws 1.2 million.” Among other digital displays: 360-degree virtual stadiums, video facepainting, and an ESPN GameDay studio where visitors are digitally placed beside the TV hosts and provided a script. Video of the “broadcast” is sent to the email address given during registration for the smart pass. Some displays require no high-tech enhancements. Red Grange’s 1924 Illinois jersey, John Heisman’s original playbook from the 1920s and an 1873 program for a “Foot Ball Match” between Yale and Eton are showcased. Stephenson’s staff prepared for Saturday with a series of “soft” openings. On Friday, the facility’s potential to host private events was on display when it hosted 1,200 staffers from Chick-fil-A, a lead sponsor for the hall. “While this was designed to be yes, a museum, yes, an attraction but also an event venue,” Stephenson said, adding he already has about 35 contracts for private events. On a normal business day, Stephenson said no more than 800 visitors will be allowed in the hall. Advance tickets will be sold to enter during a specific time period to help regulate the flow. The opening was planned for the weekend before two kickoff games to the season at the Georgia Dome. On Thursday, Mississippi plays Boise State. On the following Saturday, Alabama plays West Virginia. Another big date is Oct. 7, when the facility is home to the College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014
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HELOISE
Perilous Plants Dear Readers: Many of you have PLANTS in your home or at work. They look beautiful, plus they freshen the air and provide some green to brighten a day! But if you have pets, some plants can be trouble and even fatal! Here is a very short list of plants that can be toxic to dogs and cats: * Dieffenbachia — I have several (also known as Dumb Cane!), and I love the plants because they are easy to care for. But they can cause vomiting and drooling. So if your pet shows some of these signs (and for the following plants), take a good look at the plant to determine if that’s the cause. * Azalea — Contains grayanotoxins, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, possible coma and even death. * Lilies — I have several,
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
and I call my type prayer lily plants, but there are many varieties that are extremely toxic to cats and even cause kidney failure! * Kalanchoe — Again, many varieties; I call mine a Christmas cactus. It can cause some tummy problems, and can even affect the heart! These are just a few of the plants that can be toxic to animals. To see a longer list, visit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ website, www.ASPCA.org. If you have pets, please take a look around and check out the plants that you have. If you see your pet ingesting these or any other plants, contact your veterinarian ASAP! Our pets love us and need us to take care of them! — Heloise Dear Readers: Amber Leach of San Antonio sent a photo of her black-and-white cat, Booger, playing with the straw on a to-go cup. Amber says her cat is very curious and always getting into something! To see the photo, go to www.Heloise.com and click on "Pets." — Heloise
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014