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HEALTH CARE REFORM
WEATHER
Insurance money Zapata to share in $233K for federal navigators ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata, where about onethird of the population is without health insurance, is one of several counties to receive money for health care reform navigators. U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar recently announced
that the South Texas Development Council has been awarded over $233,000 in federal naviCUELLAR gator grants from the Department of Health and Hu-
man Services to serve Zapata, La Salle and Webb counties and other areas. Navigators provide inperson assistance to Texans with the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace, including as they shop for and enroll in plans in the Health Insurance Market-
place. The South Texas Development Council has been awarded the federal funding to help residents in Zapata, La Salle and Webb enroll in affordable health insurance. The organization
See INSURANCE
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
A Laredo man gets wet as he walks down Pace Street in Laredo during Friday afternoon’s showers.
Flash flooding possible
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LAREDO POLICE
CHILD’S BODY FOUND
In addition to more rain, area will see cooler temperatures ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Cesar G. Rodriguez | Zapata Times
Police investigate the scene where a 3-year-old girl’s body was found Thursday. The girl was buried in a shallow grave at a construction site at Springfield and Michigan avenues, in Laredo. The girl’s mother and her boyfriend have been charged with murder in connection with the case.
Mom, man charged in death of 3-year-old girl By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A woman claims that her child died inside a local hotel room at the hands of her boyfriend, who would allegedly take out his anger and frustration on the girl. The boyfriend, Cristian Yepez, 24, and the girl’s
mother, Janette Irene Pantoja, 20, were both charged with murder in the killing of JasPANTOJA leen Valdez, a 3 year old whose body was found Thursday in the 7300 block
of Springfield Avenue at a construction site north of Mary Help of Christians School. YEPEZ Pantoja, who showed police where the body was buried, is at the Webb Coun-
ty Jail, held on a $200,000 bond. Yepez, who authorities had initially detained in Houston for unlawful restraint, will be taken to Laredo to face the murder charge. Authorities said they learned that the girl was
See BODY
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A flash flood watch remains in effect for Zapata and surrounding counties through Saturday night. That means flooding is possible during the next 24 to 36 hours. “Residents living in flood prone areas should take action to protect property,” the National Weather Service said. Flash flooding can lead to water covering roadways and intersections and make travel dangerous. Low lying areas can be inundated by flooding. Zapata residents can expect 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. Some areas may receive up to 6 inches or more. As of Friday night, the flash flood watch was in affect from midnight to 7 p.m. Saturday. Residents should expect heavy to torrential rain, the National Weather Service said. “The combination of a cold front, upper level low pressure area and a tropical wave will lead to widespread showers and thunderstorms (Friday) and Saturday,” according to the National Weather Services. “The best chance for heavy rain will develop after midnight (Saturday) and persist as a cold front stalls over the region.” The flash flood watch is also in effect for Rio Grande City, Roma, McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, Mission, Weslaco, Raymondville and Harlingen. A high of only 82 degrees is expected for Zapata on Saturday, giving residents a brief respite from the typical blazing hot temperatures. A high of 88 is expected for Sunday. And for next week, Zapatans will see high temperatures in the low- to mid-90s.
ABORTION CLINICS
Court asked to allow closure of most clinics By JANET MCCONNAUGHEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court that has already upheld a Texas law restricting abortions heard arguments Friday about an even tougher part of the same law, which requires all abortion clinics to
adopt costly standards mandated for walk-in surgical clinics. Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the requirement found unconstitutional by a federal judge in Austin. The state also wants the
court to overturn another part of Judge Lee Yeakel’s Aug. 29 order, which exempts clinics in McAllen and El Paso from the section requiring doctors who perform abortions to be able to admit their patients to a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. Abortion clinics attorney
Stephanie Toti said the order mandating that the clinics serve as surgical centers would make it difficult for many Texas women to obtain abortions. Judges Jerry E. Smith, Stephen A. Higginson and Jennifer Walker Elrod heard Friday’s arguments. Elrod was among the
three judges who upheld the admitting-privilege requirement in March. That decision overturned Yeakel’s October ruling that it placed an unconstitutional burden on women seeking an abortion and didn’t make the process safer. In August, Yeakel ruled that requiring operating
rooms, staffing, parking and other standards that are typically only required for surgery would make it unconstitutionally difficult for women to get abortions because it would close all but seven or eight clinics in a state “10 percent larger than
See CLINICS
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PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Saturday, Sept. 13
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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. 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.
Monday, Sept. 15 Medicare forum on service and benefits. Day 1 will qualify for 6 hours of Benefits Counseling Certification and Recertification. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. At UT-Health Science Center located @ 1937 Bustamante. Contact Imelda Martinez at imeldam@stdc.cog.tx.us. Professionals call 722-3995. Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Tuesday, Sept. 16 Bereavement Program grief support group. “Grief Journey: Using Creative Arts to Heal and Remember.” 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library, contact Michelle Ramirez 210567-0528. Medicare forum. From 9:00am to 2:00pm. UT-Health Science Center located @ 1937 Bustamante. Day 2 Open to the public.This day will include a health screening and information booths.
Thursday, Sept. 18 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Spanish Club Meeting. 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Laredo Public Library-Calton. Sylvia Reash 763-1810
Saturday, Sept. 20 The community is invited to celebrate Mercy Day with the Sisters of Mercy at a Mass at Christ the King Church. From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information contact Rosanne Palacios at rosanne.palacios@mercy.net. Planetarium movies: 2pm The Little Star that Could, 3pm Force 5, 4pm Wonders of the Universe, and 5pm Lamps Of Atlantis. $5 general admission. $4 children under age of 12 & Tamiu students with school ID. At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera for more information at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu.
Tuesday, Sept. 23 Planetarium movies. From 5:00pm To 8:00pm. 6pm Wonders Of The Universe, 7Pm Lamps of Atlantis, $5 general admission, $4 children 12 and under, Tamiu students with ID. At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or go to the website, www.tamiu.edu/planetarium, for more information.
Thursday, Sept. 25 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. Villa de San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society meeting. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. St. John Newmann Church, Parish Hall. Presentation of “Peru and the Legacy of the Incas,” by Sylvia Reasch. Contact Sanjuanita MartinezHunter at 722-3497. Planetarium movies. From 5:00pm To 8:00pm. 6pm Wonders of the Universe, 7pm Lamps of Atlantis, $5 general admissions, $4 children under age of 12 and Tamiu Students with ID. Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu for more information. Or go to the website Tamiu.edu/planetarium.
Friday, Sept. 26 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Planetarium movies. From 6 pm to 7 pm. Stars of Pharoahs. $5 General Admission. $4 Children 12 and under & Tamiu Students with ID At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU.
Detained immigrant children line up in the cafeteria at the Karnes County Residential Center, a temporary home for immigrant women and children detained at the border, on Wednesday in Karnes City. Federal authorities want to build a similar immigration lockup facility for families in Dilley, south of San Antonio.
Feds want state lockup By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Federal authorities want to build a new immigration lockup for families amid an unprecedented surge in the number of youngsters pouring across the U.S. border, a federal official said Thursday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is proposing a residential center in the town of Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, agency spokeswoman Adelina Pruneda said. “Structures on the site may be used temporarily to house up to 680 residents while the new facilities are built,” she said. Pruneda said ICE isn’t discussing further details, including how many adults and children the 50-acre facility would house, how much it would cost or when it might be ready.
Police find body of child AUSTIN — Texas authorities say they’ve recovered the body of a small child in Austin and believe it’s the remains of a missing 2-year-old boy. Police had been searching an Austin field for Colton Turner, whose mother was being held in nearby Williamson County on a charge of abandoning and endangering a child. Authorities consider the case a suspicious death.
ICE is working to “finalize contracts with construction and service providers” for the South Texas facility, she said. The spike in unaccompanied children and families crossing the border has strained federal authorities’ capacity to house those arrested on immigration charges. Many of the immigrants say they are fleeing drug and gang violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Some are seeking asylum. Others are held in detention while awaiting deportation or placement with relatives already in the U.S. Last month, federal authorities converted an all-male facility in Karnes City, southeast of San Antonio, to accept 532 mothers and their children. Another immigration center for families in Pennsylvania and a temporary site in New Mexico have a combined capacity of about 800.
Teen sentenced to 20 years for fatal stabbing
Study: SXSW brings $315M economic impact
HOUSTON — Jurors have sentenced a Houston-area teenager to 20 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of another teen during a high school cafeteria fight last year that also left three others injured. The Harris County jury imposed the sentence Friday against Luis Alfaro, hours after finding him guilty of manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Joshua Broussard.
AUSTIN — SXSW organizers say a new report they commissioned showed this year’s festival having a $315 million impact on the Austin economy. Officials say 134,000 people attended at least one SXSW event in March. The report compiled by consulting firm Greyhill Advisors shows the impact this year was 44 percent more than it was in 2013, when the impact was estimated at $218 million.
EDINBURG — South Texas health officials have confirmed that an 83-year-old man died this week of the West Nile virus. Hidalgo County officials say the unidentified Donna man died Wednesday. They say it was the third death in Texas this year attributed to the virus. West Nile is a mosquito-borne illness.
AUSTIN — Two members of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee have expressed concern over the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to handle a costly brain research program in Waco. They said Thursday that the VA shouldn’t be trusted with such an important project. — Compiled from AP reports
Man gets 20 years for Fort Sam Houston shooting Valley man becomes third Reps criticize VA handling SAN ANTONIO — A 52-yearWest Nile fatality of Waco brain research old man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for plotting to kill his common-law wife, who was shot last year. Alvin Roundtree was sentenced Friday in San Antonio after earlier pleading guilty to assaulting a federal employee with a deadly weapon. Despite being shot seven times, the woman survived the attack at Fort Sam Houston.
AROUND THE NATION Border agency: Cases of force need more review SAN DIEGO — The agency that oversees the U.S. Border Patrol says 155 cases of use of force and alleged misconduct by agents and inspectors merit further investigation. Mark Morgan, who heads Customs and Border Protection’s internal affairs office, said Friday that he has no timeline to complete the review and doesn’t know how much detail will be released on individual cases. One case resulted in a death. CBP reviewed 860 cases dating to 2009. They include most of the 67 cases of use of deadly force.
NYC’s 9/11 ’Survivor Tree’ seedlings donated NEW YORK — Seedlings from a celery pear tree recovered from the smoldering ashes at the World Trade Center are headed to sites of tragedy in Washing-
Today is Saturday, September 13, the 256th day of 2014. There are 109 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On September 13, 1814, during the War of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that lasted until the following morning. On this date: In 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City. In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital. In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia. In 1911, the song “Oh, You Beautiful Doll,” a romantic rag by Nat D. Ayer and Seymour Brown, was first published by Jerome H. Remick & Co. In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate; she became the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. In 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. (They married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.) In 1971, a four-day inmates’ rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11 employees. In 1974, “Chico and the Man,” starring Jack Albertson and Freddie Prinze, “The Rockford Files,” starring James Garner, and “Police Woman,” starring Angie Dickinson, premiered on NBC-TV. In 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti. In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25. In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died in Montgomery at age 79. Today’s Birthdays: Actress Barbara Bain is 83. Actress Eileen Fulton (TV: “As the World Turns”) is 81. TV producer Fred Silverman is 77. Actor Richard Kiel is 75. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 73. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 70. Singer Peter Cetera is 70. Actress Christine Estabrook is 64. Actress Jean Smart is 63. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 62. Record producer Don Was is 62. Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is 60. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 58. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 53. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 53. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 50. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 49. Actor Louis Mandylor is 48. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 47. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 47. Actor Roger Howarth is 46. Actor Dominic Fumusa is 45. Actress Louise Lombard is 44. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 43. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 41. Thought for Today: “Revolt and terror pay a price. Order and law have a cost.” — Carl Sandburg, poet and author
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Seen is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington exhibit of the flag that inspired the national anthem. Parts of the flag have been snipped off and handed out as mementos. ton, Mississippi and Texas. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum says Friday six-foot seedlings from the 9/ 11 Memorial’s “Survivor Tree” will be sent to Oso, Washington, Gulfport, Mississippi and Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
In Washington, a mudslide killed dozens in March; in Texas, victims were shot at Fort Hood in 2009 and in April; and hundreds died during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. — 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
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Cable channel lineup to change SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Time Warner Cable digital customers in Zapata can enjoy a new channel lineup starting Oct. 21. The company introduced a new, theme-based digital channel lineup Wednesday to customers in Laredo, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley. The new lineup groups channels intuitively, making it easier for customers to find the programming they want to view and discover other content, the company said in a news release. No changes will be made to channels 1 to 99, and there are no changes to packages or service plans other than channel location for channels 100 and above. Channels will be grouped into themes like entertainment, news and info, sports, music, kids and teens and premiums. On Demand content will be found on channels 1000 and above in categories such as Primetime On Demand, Entertainment On Demand, Kids On Demand and Music On Demand. Customers are encouraged to check their DVR settings for future or series manager recordings to ensure they are recording the HD version of a channel so their recordings are not affected by the new lineup. All parental control settings will carry over to the lineup. For more information about the new theme-based lineup, visit twc.com/mychannels or watch a video at http://youtu.be/Ri833EtCfzw. Time Warner Cable is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Sermons digitized for the web By REGINA DENNIS WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD
WACO — The Rev. George W. Truett, the namesake of Baylor University’s seminary, was known for being an eloquent preacher with a knack for using everyday events to make Scripture more relatable for his congregation. Now, researchers and ministers from across the country can glean lessons from his preaching style through a new digital audio archive of Truett’s sermons recently completed and published online by Baylor University. The archive, created by Baylor’s Ray I. Riley Digitization Center, located in the basement of the Moody Memorial Library, contains 66 sermons recorded between 1941 and 1943, toward the end of Truett’s ministry at the First Baptist Church of Dallas. The digitization center took the original recordings, which were made on large 16-inchwide transcription records, and migrated them to audio files using a variable-speed turntable and analog-to-digital converter. The process was completed during the course of two years and included transcriptions of the sermons. “This has become a valuable repository of the wonderful preaching of one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century,” said Hulitt Gloer, professor of preaching and Christian scriptures at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. “It gives access to anybody who’s interested. These are things nobody could really have access to for 60 years. Now they’re available for anybody and everybody,” Gloer told the Waco Tribune-Herald. The records were produced by sound engineering company Sellers Inc. First Baptist Church of Dallas shared them with Mexican radio station XEAW, which would broadcast the message to towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. The university acquired the recordings in the 1950s or 1960s, but they were kept in storage boxes at the Texas Collection, untouched and unused. While
Photo by Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune Herald | AP
Stephen Bolech, of Baylor University’s digital library collection, uses a turntable connected to an analog-to-digital converter, to capture a recording in Waco. reorganizing its holdings a few years ago, the Texas Collection suggested that the records be digitized and archived through the digital collections library. “There were 90 separate discs,” said Eric Ames, curator of digital collections. “These were recorded live in the pulpit ... and they had two turntables that were connected to that microphone. They would put a disc on turntable one, side one and start recording, and when that disc started to get full, they switched the feed to the second disc. When that side was full, they’d flip disc one over.” Each sermon was combined into a single digital audio file instead of splitting them up by separate discs. Ames said the library decided transcribing the sermons would make the collection more searchable and user-friendly to seminary students, researchers and theologians interested in studying Truett’s spiritual insight. He listened to all 33 hours of the collection, typing the more than 250,000 words Truett preached. Ames also titled each sermon according to the phrase or idea Truett repeated most, and captured the main scriptures the message focused on. Ames estimates that it took him an hour and a half to transcribe each hour of audio, or roughly 50 hours during the course of the two-year digitization process. The digital library staff worked on the records in stages while handling other audio and document collections.
“We wanted to make sure this wasn’t just, ‘Click on this link to listen to the audio, here’s a picture of the label on the disk,’ and that’s it,” Ames said. “Because that would require you to sit down and listen to every one and see what was in it. Those keyword-searchable transcripts took the most amount of time, but we think they will probably be the most helpful.” The original records will remain stored at the Texas Collection and likely will only be accessed for special projects to preserve their original integrity. Ames said the vinyl can swell or shrink if not properly maintained and eventually break, which would make the records unusable. Gloer heads the seminary’s Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching, which hosts ministers throughout the year for various conferences on commanding the pulpit. He expects the digital Truett sermons will be useful resources for those participants, as well as Truett students who are already assigned to listen to or watch sermons for Gloer’s class. “He spoke to his own context beautifully,” Gloer said. “He knew the language people would understand, and he would translate heavier concepts into language that any person could understand. He was a great wordsmith, his use of language was magnificent, and he was a great speaker.” The sermons also reveal tidbits about the culture and cur-
rent events of the day. World War II was underway in Europe and as the U.S. entered the conflict, Truett preached with greater urgency on the importance of accepting salvation through Jesus Christ. Ames said Truett also preached about ensuring the rights of all men, and to connect with black churches and consider them equals. “I didn’t expect him to be against it, but I wasn’t sure if he would even bring that up,” Ames said. “The war is a big enough deal, but he does mention that just because it is happening, there’s still plenty of things that need to happen here for us to get right with God, and that includes the work that our African-American brothers and sisters are doing. That was a great thing to find.” Ames said the biggest challenge was getting used to Truett’s slow cadence and Carolina accent. “He grows up in the Deep South after the Civil War, he goes to Baylor and he goes on and lives in Texas the rest of his life, so you’d think he’d sound more like a Texan,” Ames said. “But he still sounds like a 19thcentury southerner, so the things he says — to me, a modern Texan — it just sounds so bizarre, and I’d laugh, but certain times I would have to go back in the audio like, ‘What did he just say? What is this word?’” Though the archive is complete, Ames continues to work with the collection and promote new interest in the sermons. He is in charge of the (at) GWTruettSermons Twitter feed, which shares excerpts of sermons and link to the corresponding audio from the digital archive on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “I feel like he’s in my head sometimes now. I can hear George Truett talking to me, not that I would ever profess to coming close to that kind of eloquence,” Ames said. “If you listen to the sermons and you spend any real time reading things he said and listening to him, you can’t walk away unchanged. You’ll see something differently.”
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Zopinion
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
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COMMENTARY
OTHER VIEWS
Islamic state threat can’t be ignored By TRUDY RUBIN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Now that President Barack Obama has finally laid out a strategy to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State, there are only two (very big) questions that matter: Is this strategy really necessary? And can it succeed? My answer to the first question is a firm “yes,” but to the second a very shaky “maybe.” Yet I believe Obama has no option but to try. Until the Islamic State in Syria beheaded two American journalists, the president himself didn’t believe the threat merited a comprehensive strategy. In January, he famously dismissed the Islamic State as the JV team of terrorism. Even after Islamic State fighters swept through Western Iraq, he downplayed the near-term threat. Yet suddenly, Obama has recognized that the Islamic State, “if left unchecked,” could pose a threat to the homeland (whatever the reason for his about-face, he’s reached the correct conclusion). On Wednesday, he presented a “counterterrorism strategy” that would use American airpower against the Islamic State in Iraq — and, for the first time, in Syria. There would be no “U.S. boots on the ground,” he stressed; Arab allies will do the funding and provide the ground troops. Yet it’s fair to ask, as many in his Democratic base are doing, why not let Middle East leaders fight their own battles against the Islamic State? Answer: Without U.S. leadership, they can’t and won’t, which would put the United States at risk. The Mideast is in free fall. Regimes are crumbling under the pressure of youthful populations enraged by chronic unemployment and official corruption — and stirred by the Internet. The Bush administration put a match to this tinder by invading Iraq. The Arab Spring revolts revealed that the post-World War I order had become so rotted it was poised to collapse. But Arab states lacked the capacity to build new political systems. Syria and Iraq have splintered; Egypt is an economic basket case held together by a repressive military; Libya no longer exists as a state; and Arab monarchs in Jordan and the Gulf are struggling to maintain their hold. None of these countries has the institutions or leadership to meet the aspirations of their people, whose hopes have been dashed again. In this ideological vacuum, radical Islam can flourish — because it attracts the disaffected and because it will use any level of violence. The Islamic State aims to create a terrorist state where local and foreign jihadis can train to overthrow Mideast regimes and return to wreak havoc in their home countries. Left unchallenged, the group will soon undermine Saudi Arabia and Jordan. It will also inspire and train radical Islamists from Nigeria to Tunisia to Pakistan (where — take careful note — jihadis have penetrated society and a weak state and pose a real threat to a nuclear-armed
military). Already, some regional al-Qaida groups are pledging fealty to the Islamic State. So we may yearn to tell Mideast leaders, “It’s your problem,” but they are too frightened, too divided among themselves, and too lacking in capability or reliable troops to mount a coherent challenge to the Islamic State. Nor is the United Nations — paralyzed by Russian and Chinese vetoes — in any position to step in. Without U.S. leadership, training, and support, Mideast rulers won’t prevent the Islamic State from growing to the point where it threatens the entire region. It is vital to disrupt the group now. Which brings us to the huge second question: Will Obama’s strategy work? The most glaring gap in his plans is the prospect of finding the ground troops that can fight the Islamic State in Iraq or Syria, assisted by U.S. air strikes. No question, it would have been far easier to crush the jihadis in Syria two years ago by helping moderate rebels. But by now most of those groups have been crushed between the Assad regime and the Islamic State. Obama’s belated and still vague plans for the Defense Department to train a new “moderate” rebel force are too little, too late. There are better prospects in Iraq, where the administration can count on Kurdish forces, to whom it should be rushing support directly. Less certain is whether the new Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, can reverse the sectarian Shiite ways of his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, which alienated many Sunnis to the point where they helped the Islamic State take over western Iraq. Al-Maliki reneged on promises that were made to Sunni tribes when they fought al-Qaida with U.S. help in the past decade. Persuading them to take up the fight again will not be easy; it will require tough, skilled, and top-level U.S. diplomacy of a sort that has been sorely lacking over the past three years — when it probably could have prevented the Islamic State’s rise. At this point, it’s possible there won’t be sufficient ground troops available in Iraq, let alone Syria, to roll the Islamic State back from its territorial gains in the near term. All the more reason for the United States to use airpower to prevent Islamic State expansion in Iraq and disrupt its command structures in Syria. Despite the risks, and the long-term nature of the task, doing less is riskier still. Until the Middle East emerges from its current disrepair, until Iraqis and Syrians can resolve their sectarian disputes or divide into separate states, the terrain will be fertile for the rise of the Islamic State and other radical movements. In the meantime, the United States cannot afford to stand by while the Islamic State trains militants from all over the world and develops a global network that threatens our homeland. This is why Obama had to shift gears and finally turn his attention to the Middle East.
COLUMN
Davis’s book and abortions AUSTIN — Abortion is intensely personal and inevitably political. But I’m not sure we’ve ever seen those two factors align as they do in Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis’ new memoir, “Forgetting to Be Afraid.” In heartbreaking detail, Davis tells us she terminated two pregnancies in the 1990s. One involved ending a pregnancy in which the embryo implanted outside the uterus, a procedure some don’t consider an abortion. The other was a 1997 decision by Davis and thenhusband Jeff Davis involving a fetus with an acute brain abnormality. Davis tells us they were told that the fetus “wouldn’t survive to full term, and if she did, that she would suffer and likely not survive delivery.” And if she did survive, doctors said, “she would probably be deaf, blind and in a permanent vegetative
“
KEN HERMAN
state.” Davis refers to the fetus as a baby, up to and including giving her a name: Tate Elise. That’s something a pro-lifer might point to as an indication that a fetus is a person, a notion Davis, as a pro-choice leader, must resist in the political realm. But in the personal realm, there’s this from Davis, again using terms most expectant parents do, about when she found out about the brain abnormality: “My baby. My precious baby Tate.” She expresses deep grief about the abortion, but supports it as “the most humane and compassionate thing we could do to spare Tate the further pain and suffering that would surely
follow if we decided otherwise.” “In our doctor’s office, with tears flowing down both our faces, Jeff and I looked at our baby daughter’s beating heart on the sonogram screen for the last time. And we watched as our doctor quieted it. It was over. She was gone. Our much loved baby was gone.” “I accompanied my doctor to the hospital and delivered Tate Elise Davis by cesarean section. ... The following day a dear friend who was a nurse in the unit where I delivered Tate brought her to me. She had dressed her in a tiny pink dress and placed a knit cap on her enlarged head. On her feet were crocheted booties and next to her was a small crocheted pink bunny.” Tate, we’re told, was baptized, then cremated. A memorial service was held at the Davises’ home. I thought back to the eye-
brows raised when 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum and his wife Karen recounted how they had taken their deceased baby Gabriel, who died shortly after being born at 20 weeks gestation, home so their young children could hold him prior to a funeral. During the 2012 campaign, Karen Santorum told CBS that critics “twist it and make it sound like it was some crazy thing. We brought him home from the hospital to introduce him to our kids.” Interesting, I think, that the Davises and Santorums, though on polar opposites in the abortion debate, chose somewhat similar paths in trying to come to terms with similar losses. Among the people to whom Davis dedicated her book are “my daughters, Amber and Dru and Tate.” Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin AmericanStatesman. E-mail: kherman@statesman.com.
Low work figures are no surprise PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
August job figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor late last week showed a pallid increase of 142,000, the lowest since last December. Unemployment dropped 0.1 percent to 6.1 percent, due largely, however, to people dropping out of the workforce. The percentage of
Americans working, 62.8 percent, fell also. The jobs and workforce figures are disappointing, but perhaps not surprising. For the top 10 percent of American families, incomes rose by an average 10 percent between 2010 and 2013. For the other 90 percent, incomes did not rise or fall. For the bottom
20 percent, incomes fell by an average 8 percent. President Barack Obama, citing the negative impact on the U.S. economy of income inequality, called it “the defining challenge of our time,” but has done almost nothing about it except talk. In the meantime, the share of wealth in America held by the top 3 percent of the population
rose to 54.4 percent in 2013. One means of fixing this problem would be a courageous approach to tax reform on the part of the president and any members of Congress not owned by wealthy campaign donors. It is hard to be optimistic about prospects for such action. It is in the category of change Americans can’t count on.
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Gas-line deal mulled By BECKY BOHRER ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNEAU, Alaska — Independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker said Friday that a major liquefied natural gas project in Alaska is “fatally flawed” because the state doesn’t have a seat at the negotiating table. In an interview with The Associated Press, Walker did not say he would pull out of the agreement structuring the project. But he left that as an option, and he made clear there wasn’t much about the deal that he liked. The state is pursuing the mega-project with the North Slope’s three major players, Exxon Mobil Corp., BP and ConocoPhillips; pipeline company TransCanada Corp.; and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC). Under the agreement, there will be chances for one or more parties to exit — referred to as “off ramps.” The plan envisions TransCanada owning the state’s interest in the pipeline and gas-treatment plant, with
the state having an option to buy back some of the equity and AGDC holding its interest in liquefaction facilities. TransCanada’s involvement harkens back to a prior failed effort to bring a gas line to fruition, but state officials have touted the company’s expertise and ability to shoulder some of the upfront costs so the state won’t have to do so. But Walker said the state isn’t in the “driver’s seat,” and it’s letting companies with competing projects around the world determine if this one will advance. Walker is challenging Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, who pushed to have the companies get on the same page in pursuing a project capable of overseas exports when an earlier plan, to focus on the North America market, fell flat. The project currently is in a phase of preliminary engineering and design. The companies have said the project, as proposed, would be the largest of its kind ever designed and built. Current cost estimates range from $45 billion to more than $65 billion, but
those figures are being refined. A commitment to build has not yet been made. Talk about a gas line dates back decades, with a long history of fits and starts. Alaskans have long looked to a gas line as a way to shore up revenues amid declining oil production, create jobs and provide energy for residents. “What I’ve said is that I will finish the project. I will not start over again. I’m not interested in another startover effort,” Walker said. “I’ll look into what’s been done so far, and if makes sense for there to be an offramp for the state of Alaska, I’ll do an off-ramp and we’ll have a structure that looks more like international structures done around the world.” He said he does not want to be at the behest of the companies, waiting for them to sign off. He also said he doesn’t see a need for the state to make any more concessions. The companies have said long-term certainty on taxes and royalties will be important. The Legislature approved cuts in oil taxes.
1 pilot safe, 1 missing ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEMOORE, Calif. — Two Navy fighter jets based in California crashed Friday in the far western Pacific Ocean, with one pilot safely ejecting but the other missing in the waters off the U.S. territory of Wake Island. The F/A-18C Hornet fighter jets were from Carrier Air Wing 17 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The air wing is embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. The crash occurred at 5:40 p.m. local time about 290 miles west of Wake Island, Navy Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld said from San Diego. Wake Island is 2,300 miles west of Honolulu. Groeneveld said she couldn’t release details of the crash, but an investigation already had started. The rescued pilot was in fair condition in the medical department of the Carl Vinson, she said. All other aircraft that were airborne at the time safely returned to the ship. The search for the mis-
Photo by MCS 2nd Class John Philip Wagner Jr./U.S. Navy | AP
A MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter lands on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during search and rescue operations for a missing pilot. sing pilot involved the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, the guidedmissile destroyer USS Gridley, the USS Sperett, the USS Dewey and two helicopter squadrons. The jets involved in the crash were from Strike Fighter Squadron 94 and Strike Fighter Squadron 113. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved,” Groeneveld said. The Carl Vinson strike group team departed San Diego on Aug. 22 for what was announced as a 9 1/2month deployment.
The F/A-18C is a twinengine, single-seat strike fighter, designed to function both as a fighter — in roles such as engaging enemy aircraft — and as an attack aircraft, bombing ground targets for example. Fifty-six feet long and with a wingspan of 401/2 feet, Hornet C models have been deployed since the late 1980s. Built by prime contractor McDonnell Douglas, the jets are capable of flying at speeds greater than Mach 1.7 and altitudes of more than 50,000 feet, according to the Navy.
Photo by Jason DeCrow/file | AP
Alma Murdough and her daughter Cheryl Warner hold a photo of Murdough’s son, at her home in New York. Jerome Murdough, a mentally ill, homeless former Marine died in a Rikers Island jail cell.
Heat, meds killed man By JAKE PEARSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The death of a mentally ill, homeless former Marine in a 101-degree New York City jail cell was caused by hyperthermia due to environmental exposure to heat, according to a spokeswoman for the medical examiner, who ruled the February death an accident on Friday. Antipsychotic medication therapy for treatment of schizoaffective disorder contributed to the death of Jerome Murdough, 56, in a mental observation unit on Rikers Island, said spokeswoman Julie Bolcer. Murdough, who officials have said was not checked on for at least four hours, was found slumped at the foot of his bed with a pool of vomit and blood on the floor in the early hours of Feb. 15 with an internal body temperature of 103 degrees, according to an initial investigation filed this spring in a separate federal lawsuit. A medical examiner investigator said in those court papers it appeared Murdough had died from hyperthermia. The Associated Press was first to report on sus-
picions of Murdough’s death. He died a week after he was sent to Rikers on a misdemeanor trespassing arrest after being unable to pay $2,500 bail. An official, speaking to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t permitted to discuss the case, said at the time Murdough “basically baked to death.” Murdough had suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, according to his family, and was on psychotropic drugs that experts say make people on them more sensitive to heat. Murdough’s mother, 75year-old Alma Murdough, has announced plans to file a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit over her son’s death. “With today’s news the Murdough family is calling for a criminal investigation,” said family attorney Derek Sells. “The medical examiner’s findings fully support the family’s view that Jerome’s death was in violation of his civil rights, his human rights and amounts to criminally negligent homicide.” Prosecutors are investigating. A Department of Correction spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a
request for comment. Murdough’s death and the death of another mentally ill inmate who died after sexually mutilating himself while locked alone for seven days in a Rikers cell last fall have prompted calls for jail reform. City Council hearings were convened to examine violent conditions at the jail complex and treatment of mentally ill inmates. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has called Murdough’s death “troubling,” also convened a task-force of experts to examine how the mentally ill fare throughout New York’s criminal justice system — before, during and after their time in jail. That task-force is expected to release its findings later this month. Roughly 40 percent of the 11,5000 daily inmates in the nation’s secondlargest jail system have a mental health diagnosis, officials say. About a third of those suffer from serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. De Blasio has vowed to improve conditions in the lock-ups, and his new commissioner, Joseph Ponte, has a reputation for transforming troubled jails.
Nation
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Prison knew of escape plans By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS AND JOHN SEEWER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIMA, Ohio — Prison officials were warned about an escape the day before three inmates, including a school shooter who killed three students, scrambled over a fence before being recaptured, the union representing Ohio guards said Friday. One inmate was put in segregation when an escape plan was discovered on Wednesday, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association said in a statement. That inmate was housed in the same unit as the three who escaped the following evening, and prison officials didn’t take additional steps to secure the unit, the union said. A spokeswoman for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said in an email that the segregated inmate “has nothing to do with the escape.” She didn’t address other parts of the union’s allegations. The three escaped prisoners, including convicted Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane, were recaptured by early Friday morning. All three were transferred later Friday to a high-security prison in Youngstown in northeastern Ohio. Criminal and internal investigations were underway to determine what happened, and the prisons agency was bringing in outside experts to examine procedures and recommend possible improvements. The three scaled a fence to a roof over an entry building at 7:38 p.m., immediately sounding an alarm, the state said. A prison guard chased and caught one inmate immediately. Lane, 19, was caught only about 100 yards from the prison by two state troopers at 1:20 a.m. Friday after a police dog located him, the state said. The third inmate was caught at 4:20 a.m. after an infrared camera led officers to his hiding area under a boat at a residence and a po-
Photo by Rick Osentoski | AP
A fence surrounds the perimeter of the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution Friday, in Lima, Ohio. T.J. Lane, a teenager convicted of killing three students at an Ohio high school, climbed over a fence Thursday to escape the state prison with two other prisoners. He was caught early Friday as he hid by a nearby church, in Lima. lice dog found him, the state said. Lane’s brief taste of freedom frightened residents in Chardon, the community nearly 200 miles to the east where Lane fatally shot three students and wounded two others and then further angered people with defiant behavior in court. At his sentencing hearing last year, Lane unbuttoned a dress shirt to reveal a T-shirt scrawled with the word “killer,” similar to a shirt he wore during the shootings on Feb. 27, 2012. He cursed and made an obscene gesture as the judge gave him three consecutive life sentences. School officials canceled classes Friday. “It’s a trigger,” district spokeswoman Ellen Ondrey said of the escape. “It takes everyone back to 2/27 and what was happening that day.” The escape occurred at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution, a minimum- and medium-security prison in Lima, about 80 miles south of Toledo. Lane was housed on a “protective control” unit, a higher security setting than the main compound, according to a legislative prisons oversight committee statement Friday. The unit is designed to hold inmates with proven safety threats because of the notoriety of their crimes, testimony they have
given or gang threats, the committee said. An April inspection by the committee noted ongoing security concerns at the unit. Security management “remains a concern, both in terms of how the higher security inmates are handled, as well as discipline for misconduct,” according to a May report by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee. The state eliminated some security posts at the prison five years ago, according to the union, which also complained about low staffing. “They just aren’t focused on security here like they need to be,” Shawn Gruber, a corrections officer there and a union board member, said in the statement. Warden Kevin Jones said he saw Lane after he was captured and that the teen didn’t say anything. An investigation is underway to determine how the men, who were outside for recreation, managed to climb over the perimeter fence, the warden said. Authorities wouldn’t say whether the three prisoners planned their escapes together. Lane was captured somewhere near a small church and cemetery that are separated from the prison by an overgrown field and a twolane road. Russ Hill, who has lived next to the church for two decades, said he spent six
hours sitting in his house in the dark with a gun at his side as dozens of officers searched the area with flashlights and spotlights. “I’ve never felt safer any night I’ve been here because there were cops all over,” he said. “But I wasn’t about to go to sleep.” Authorities didn’t release information about the prisoner who was caught almost immediately. Authorities confirmed the third prisoner, Clifford Opperud, was taken into custody around 4:20 a.m. Friday, but they didn’t immediately release how or where. Opperud was serving time for robbery, burglary and kidnapping. Lane pleaded guilty last year to aggravated murder charges in the shootings at Chardon High School. Prosecutors say Lane killed Daniel Parmertor and Demetrius Hewlin, both 16, and Russell King Jr., 17, while wounding two others. One of the wounded students is paralyzed. Lane, who was 17 at the time, was waiting in the cafeteria for a bus to take him to an alternative school for students who don’t fare well in traditional settings. At his sentencing, Lane was defiant, smiling and smirking throughout. Reached Thursday at her home in Chardon, Parmertor’s mother, Dina, said she was disgusted that Lane escaped. “I’m extremely scared and panic stricken,” she said. “I can’t believe it.” Other residents in Chardon said the escape opened old emotional wounds. “The hardest thing last night was seeing all the images on TV,” said Morten Pederson, 42, who has two younger children in the school district. “You see the images and start to relive the whole thing.” Police Chief Scott Niehus said the community is still healing. “With all due respect, this is attention we really don’t want,” he said.
Slain kids loved to play, wrestle By ADRIAN SAINZ AND JEFFREY COLLINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
AMORY, Miss. — The five children who authorities say were killed by their father loved to dress up as superheroes, play in the park and pool, and pose for the camera, always smiling. And they loved “wrestling with their dad.” At their memorial in this rural Mississippi town Friday, about 100 people, some who didn’t even know the Jones children, watched a slide show of their short lives. Mourners in wooden church pews cried and soft music accompanied the images of Merah, 8; Elias, 7; Nahtahn, 6; Gabriel, 2; and Elaine, 1. Associate minister Derrick Maranto said Elaine loved to give high fives, dance and act as a “leg ornament.” “That is, whether you find yourself at Walmart or find yourself at the grocery store, or even at home, you feel something heavy on your leg,” Maranto said. “It’s a child, like hanging on to you. That was Elaine.” Gabriel loved to watch Care Bears and “VeggieTales.” Elias — who Maranto called Eli — loved fishing and dressing up like Spiderman. Nahtahn liked to fish, ride his bike and dress up like Ironman. Merah put on princess outfits, played with dolls and liked brush-
ing people’s hair. And “they all loved wrestling with dad,” Maranto said, the only specific mention of the father at the memorial. “They loved going to the park. They loved swimming. They loved chocolate cookies and a chocolate fountain.” About 400 miles away in Lexington, South Carolina, their father waived his first court appearance Friday because he is being “portrayed as a monster” and needs a mental health evaluation as soon as possible, his attorney said. Authorities said Timothy Ray Jones Jr., 32, killed his three boys and two girls, wrapped their bodies in separate trash bags and drove around for days with their decomposing bodies before dumping them on a rural hilltop in Alabama. Jones killed them at his home about two weeks ago, before his ex-wife reported them missing, Acting Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty said. The motive and cause of death was still being investigated, authorities said. Jones has been treated for mental health problems in the past, his attorney Aimee Zmroczek said. She would not elaborate. “He is scared and simply wants someone to guide him through the process,” Zmroczek said. His attorneys filed documents saying the initial hearing was entirely unnecessary.
SÁBADO 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2014
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 09/13— South Texas Collector Expo se realizará en Laredo Energy Arena. Es el Comic Con de Laredo donde habrá artistas de historietas, cosplayers, vendedores, entre otras cosas. Más información en southtexascollectorsexpo.com 09/13— El Consulado General de México en Laredo invita a la comunidad de los Dos Laredos a una “Fiesta Mexicana”, en conmemoración al aniversario de la Independencia de México, en la Plaza San Agustín de Laredo, a partir de las 6 p.m. 09/14— SOCCER: El equipo varonil Dustdevil de TAMIU recibe a Fort Lewis College a la 1:30 p.m. en Dustdevil Field. 09/14— SOCCER: El equipo femenil Dustdevil de TAMIU recibe a St. Edward’s University a las 7 p.m. en Dustdevil Field. 09/19— Foster In Texas (FIT), un programa de Lutheran Social Services of the South, invita al Child Welfare Stakeholders Conference, en el Embassy Suites of Laredo, 110 Calle Del Norte Dr., de 8:30 a.m. a 4:30 p.m. Entrada gratuita. Llame a Edgar D. Ricalde en el (956) 2200603. 09/19— El Circo Alzafar Shrine 2014 se presenta en Laredo Energy Arena a las 8 p.m. Costo del boleto es de 18 dólares y 28 dólares. 09/20— El Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara proyectará “The Little Star that Could”, a las 2 p.m.; “Force 5”, a las 3 p.m.; “Wonders of the Universe”, a las 4 p.m.; “Lamps Of Atlantis”, a las 5 p.m. Costo de entrada general 5 dólares y 4 dólares para niños menores de 12 años y estudiantes de TAMIU con credencial. 09/20— El Circo Alzafar Shrine 2014 se presenta en Laredo Energy Arena a las 2 p.m. y 8 p.m. Costo del boleto es de 18 dólares y 28 dólares.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
DESCUBREN CADÁVER DE NIÑA DE 3 AÑOS DE EDAD
Restos mortales POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
LAREDO — Los restos mortales de una niña de 3 años de edad fueron encontraros el jueves al Norte de Laredo. Dos personas han sido arrestadas por supuestamente haber dado muerte a la menor, cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado el jueves en una tumba superficial. La niña fue identificada como Jasleen Valdez, de 3 años de edad. El viernes, la policía de Laredo dijo que la madre de la menor, de 20 años de edad, y su novio, de 24 años, fueron acusados de homicidio. La madre se encuentra en la Cárcel del Condado de Webb, en tanto que su novio se encuentra en custodia en Houston. El jueves, la policía dijo que los restos fueron encontrados en una construcción cerca de las avenidas Michigan y Springfield, a alrededor de 150 metros al norte de un tanque de agua ubicado detrás de la escuela Mary Help of Christians. Una persona, a quien la policía no ha identificado, llevó a las autoridades al cuerpo.
Una mujer se acercó a la policía de Houston. Ellos condujeron de Houston a Laredo con la mujer detenida. Detectives de ambos departamentos de policía hablaron con la mujer y ella los llevó a la ubicación donde fueron encontrados los restos de la menor, el jueves por la mañana. Los oficiales dijeron que los restos de la niña habían estado en el lugar por al menos una semana. La unidad de la escena del crimen llegó a las 11:46 a.m. para asegurar el área y comenzar a revisar el lugar, en busca de evidencia. Una construcción reciente obstaculizó estos esfuerzos. Foto por César G. Rodriguez | The Zapata Times “Creemos que los restos sufrieLas autoridades descubrieron los restos mortales de una niña de 3 años de edad en ron disturbios debido a la consun lugar en construcción cerca de las avenidas Michigan y Springfield, en Laredo, el trucción.”, dijo Baeza. “(Los trabajueves por la mañana. jadores) no tenían idea. Nadie tenía una idea (de que los restos El Investigador Joe E. Baeza, voEl posible homicidio, dijo LPD, estuvieran) aquí”. cero del Departamento de Policía tiene relación con Houston y ChiDijo que era incierto donde hade Laredo (LPD, por sus siglas en cago. bía fallecido la niña. inglés) dijo que la menor fue enRepresentantes del Departamen“Aún estamos sobre varios hecontrada enterrada en una tumba to de Policía de Houston notifica- chos y descubrimientos aquí”, añapoco profunda. La Oficina del Mé- ron a sus contrapartes en Laredo, dió Baeza. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez dico Forense del Condado de Webb a alrededor de las 8:30 p.m. del tomó la custodia del cuerpo para miércoles, acerca de sus hallazgos en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com) realizar una autopsia. en la investigación.
TEXAS
MÉXICO
RESPUESTA PROBABLE
Peña condena decisión ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO 09/17— Patricia Nash, diseñadora, estará en Macy’s La Cantera para la premier de su colección Otoño/Invierno, de 1 p.m. a 3 p.m. Los primeros 10 clientes en comparar 100 dólares o más en mercancía de Nash recibirán una tarjeta de regalo de Macy’s por 20 dólares.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 09/13— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a Playa Limbo en el Teatro del Pueblo. Charreada en el Lienzo Charro y Peleas de Gallos en el Palenque. Presentación del cantante Julión Álvarez en el Palenque. Evento tiene costo. 09/13— Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte”, a las 10 a.m.; “Festival Infantil”, a las 2 p.m.; “Taller Vagón 13: Manifiesto”, a las 5 p.m. Eventos gratuitos. 09/14— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a La Sonora Santanera en el Teatro del Pueblo. Carreras de Caballos en Pistas La Molienda a las 3 p.m. Evento tiene costo. 09/14— Concierto a México, en la Casa de la Cultura, a las 11 a.m. Entrada gratuita. 09/15— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a Yohan and Ziri en el Teatro del Pueblo. Evento tiene costo. 09/16— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a La Tropa Loca en el Teatro del Pueblo. Función de Box en el Casino de Expomex. Evento tiene costo. 09/17— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a Grupo La Firma en el Teatro del Pueblo. Evento tiene costo. 09/18— El Grupo Españl se reunirá de 5 p.m. a 6 p.m. en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo. Más información llamando al 763-1810.
Foto por Eric Gay | Associated Press
Fotografía del 5 de septiembre que muestra a agentes del servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas patrullando la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos cerca de McAllen.
Planean centro residencial para migrantes POR WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Las autoridades federales quieren construir un lugar de detención para familias inmigrantes en el sur de Texas, en respuesta a la ola de jóvenes que cruzan la frontera desde México, informó el jueves un funcionario federal. El Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) quiere construir un centro residencial en Dilley, ubicado a unas 70 millas al suroeste de San Antonio, dijo la vocera de la agencia, Adelina Pruneda. “Las estructuras del sitio pueden usarse para albergar hasta a 680 residentes, mientras las nuevas instalaciones se construyen”, dijo Pruneda. La vocera se negó a entrar en detalles tales como el costo o la capacidad de las instalaciones, o la cantidad de adultos y niños que
podrían albergarse en la instalación, así como el tiempo en que estaría listo para usarse. El ICE está trabajando para “concluir los contratos con los proveedores de servicios y los constructores”, indicó la vocera. El aumento en la cantidad de menores que cruzan la frontera solos ha afectado la capacidad de las autoridades para albergar a quienes detiene por entrar a Estados Unidos sin permiso. Muchos de los inmigrantes sostienen que salieron huyendo de la violencia de pandilleros y grupos que trafican con drogas en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras. Algunos buscan asilo. Otros son retenidos en lo que se les deporta o se les coloca con parientes que ya están en Estados Unidos. El mes pasado, las autoridades federales adaptaron un centro para hombres con 532 camas al suroeste de San Antonio para acomodar allí a familias.
“Los centros residenciales familiares del ICE son una opción efectiva para mantener a las familias juntas en tanto esperan noticias de sus audiencias de inmigración o se les devuelve a sus países”, dijo Pruneda en un comunicado. “El ICE se asegura de que en esos centros haya cuartos de juego, trabajadores sociales, cuidado de la salud y clases con maestros bilingües y certificados por el estado”. Los defensores de los inmigrantes deploraron el anuncio, señalando que un centro de detención para familias cerca de Austin, llamado T. Don Hutto, tuvo que ser evacuado ante denuncias de violaciones de los derechos humanos. “La lección de Hutto es que la detención no es apropiada para los niños y sus familias, y creo que eso es un hecho probado”, dijo Bob Libal, director ejecutivo de Grassroots Leadership, una organización que se opone a los centros de detención de inmigrantes.
MÉXICO — El presidente mexicano Enrique Peña Nieto cuestionó duramente la decisión del gobierno de Texas de desplegar la Guardia Nacional en su frontera con México y advirtió que afecta la relaPEÑA NIETO ción bilateral. En una entrevista con el diario El Universal publicada el viernes, el mandatario consideró que se trata de “una política aislada” de un estado del país vecino del norte. “No sólo es desagradable, sino yo creo que es condenable”, dijo Peña Nieto. El gobernador de Texas, Rick Perry, anunció el envío de efectivos de la Guardia Nacional a su frontera con México en un intento por contener los flujos de migrantes que buscan entrar sin la autorización necesaria. “Esta actitud es completamente reprobable y tampoco resuelve un problema al que tenemos que hacerle frente de manera conjunta”, añadió el presidente de México. Miles de migrantes buscan cruzar cada año hacia Estados Unidos por la frontera con México, pero en el primer semestre de 2014 el tema tomó un nuevo cariz cuando las autoridades estadounidenses dieron a conocer cifras de un incremento importante de niños migrantes detenidos y que al parecer viajaban solos. Las mismas autoridades de Estados Unidos señalaron luego que ha bajado el número de menores migrantes detenidos.
DPS
Agregan nombre a lista de más buscados ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Un miembro de Mexican Mafia de Texas ha sido añadido a la Lista de los 10 Fugitivos Más Buscados en Texas. El Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas ofrece una recompensa en efectivo de 7.500 dólares por información que lleve al arresto de John Guevara, de 48 años. El integrante de Mexi-
can Mafia tiene un pasado criminal violento, y es buscado por violar su libertad condiGUEVARA cional. Se garantiza que todas las pistas serán anónimas. Guevara tiene lazos en los condados de Gonzáles y Lavaca, incluyendo su último paradero conocido en
Shiner. Su historial criminal incluye asalto agravado, agresión agravada con un arma mortal, agresión causando daño corporal y allanamiento. Para más información sobre los arrestos puede consultar dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/fugitiveDetails.aspx?id=257. Guevara mide 5 pies y 3 pulgadas y pesa aproximadamente 130 libras. Tiene numerosos tatuajes, entre
los que se incluye una “G” en la frente, y otros tatuajes en el abdomen, pecho, brazo izquierdo y hombro derecho. También tiene una cicatriz en el pecho. Para ser elegible para recibir recompensas en efectivo, hay cinco maneras de proporcionar pistas anónimas: llame a Alto al Crimen al 1-800-252-TIPS (8477); escriba en un mensaje de texto las letras DPS (seguido de su pista) y en-
víe el mensaje al 274637 (CRIMES) desde su celular; envíe una pista a través de la página de DPS, seleccione al fugitivo del que tiene información, coloque la pista y se seleccione el enlace bajo la fotografía; envíe la pista a través de Facebook al facebook.com/texas10mostwanted; de la pista a través de la aplicación móvil de DPS, que está disponible para usuarios de iPhone.
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Kerry: No to Iran By LARA JAKES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Associated Press
Ukrainian refugees line up to return to their homes in eastern Ukraine at the Russia-Ukraine border checkpoint in the Russian town Donetsk, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Friday.
67 prisoners traded By PETER LEONARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DONETSK, Ukraine — In the dead of night, Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebel forces on Friday exchanged 67 prisoners who had been captured during fighting in eastern Ukraine, part of a cease-fire deal that has struggled to succeed. The transfer, including Russian citizens who served as insurgents, took place outside the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk under the watch of international observers. Thirty-six Ukrainian servicemen were released after negotiations, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said. Ukrainian forces handed over 31 pro-Russian rebels detained over the fivemonth conflict, some of them Russian citizens. The cease-fire took effect a week ago but has been routinely violated. Shortly after the prisoner exchange, a volley of rocket fire was heard in Donetsk. The Ukrainian servicemen were driven away from local rebel headquarters around 1:30 a.m. and taken several miles (kilometers) north of Donetsk, where they were met by Ukrainian military officials. The two sets of captives were brought out wearing handcuffs, which were removed as they were handed over. One representative from each side checked each prisoner against a list and crossed out their name as they were freed. “There is an ongoing pro-
cess of talks. We are meeting each other’s demands and fulfilling our promises,” said Yuriy Tandit, a negotiator for the government. Darya Morozova, who is overseeing the prisoner exchange for the separatists, said she estimates around 1,200 rebels and their supporters are being detained by Ukrainian authorities. She said the rebels were holding several hundred Ukrainian troops, but when asked for an exact figure, she would only say it was “up to 1,000” people. Morozova claimed the rebel prisoners had been poorly treated and some had not been fed for around two weeks. Another transfer of prisoners is expected in the next three days, she said. Some of the separatists freed Friday were Russian citizens. One of them, Simon Veridya from Moscow, said he was captured in the town of Kramatorsk, which was retaken by government forces in July. “They shot at our ambulance. There were five of us, including two women. We were taken into custody in Kramatorsk” at the airport, Veridya said. “I was beaten and have two broken ribs.” The conflict between Russian-backed rebels and the Ukrainian government has been raging since mid-April, claiming more than 3,000 lives, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee the fighting. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of prop-
ping up the insurgency in eastern Ukraine with recruits and heavy weapons. Moscow has admitted that Russian volunteers were fighting across the border but denied sending the rebels weapons or troops. In Brussels, the European Union toughened financial penalties on Russian banks, arms manufacturers and its biggest oil company, Rosneft, to punish Moscow for what the West sees as efforts to destabilize Ukraine. The Obama administration also said Friday that it is sanctioning Russia’s largest bank and that the United States is expanding sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and defense sectors. The EU measures, which took effect Friday, broaden the scope of penalties imposed in July. They increase restrictions to Europe’s capital markets, which further limit the targeted Russian companies’ ability to raise money. They now also apply to major oil and defense companies, not only banks. The EU sanctions forbid EU companies from engaging in new contracts in oil drilling, exploration and related services in Russia’s Arctic, deep sea and shale oil projects. Russia’s Rosneft is majority-owned by the state, but Britain’s BP holds a 19.75 percent stake in it. The sanctions ban 24 more officials from traveling to the EU and freeze their assets there — including four deputy Parliament speakers and leaders of the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
ANKARA, Turkey — Even as it discouraged Iran from joining diplomatic talks on how to defeat the Islamic State militant group, the United States could not outline Friday what other nations have volunteered to contribute to a worldwide effort against the insurgency that has overtaken a third of Iraq and Syria and threatens to upend the Mideast. Secretary of State John Kerry, in Turkey to press its leaders on hardening its borders against extremist traffic and funding, said it’s not appropriate for Iran to be at the discussions, given its support for the very government in Syria whose brutality helped fuel the Islamic State group. But after more than a week of meetings with top NATO and Mideast officials, Kerry refused to say precisely how a global campaign that is being pieced together by the U.S. would succeed in destroying the Sunni extremist movement that some believe is even more dangerous than al-Qaida. France has said it wants Iran to participate. Kerry said “no one has called me and asked me” whether France should invite Iran to the diplomatic talks set for Monday in Paris on helping Iraq fight off the Islamic State group. The militancy is among Sunni rebels groups that have battled for three years Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is surviving in part with Iran’s help. “Under the circumstances, at this moment in time, it would not be right for number of reasons,” Kerry said. “It would not be appropriate, given the many other issues that are on the table with respect to their en-
Photo by militant website/file | AP
The United States could not outline Friday what other nations may contribute to a worldwide effort against the Islamic State. gagement in Syria and elsewhere.” He said Iranian forces have fought rebels in Syria, and accused Tehran of being “a state sponsor of terror” in some areas of the world. Kerry also refused to clarify how nations are willing to participate in President Barack Obama’s strategy to obliterate the insurgents’ vision of creating an extremist caliphate that could encroach on much of the Mideast. He noted that France, for example, has made clear it is willing to use deadly force against the militants in Iraq, as has Obama. And Kerry said that as many as 40 countries have offered various levels of support, from humanitarian aid to cracking down on illicit cross-border funding and fighters flowing to the insurgents, to providing intelligence and supplies to rebels in Syria and security forces in Iraq. The U.S. is also seeking partners on a military campaign that could broaden airstrikes against extremists in Iraq and extend them into Syria. “There are other countries that are currently making up their minds, making decisions,” Kerry told reporters after a day of meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and other top officials. “It’s just not appropriate to start laying out as we are in the process of talking to all these countries.” He described himself as “very pleased” with the talks so far. “I am comfortable this will be a broad-based coalition with Arab nations, European nations, the United States, others contributing to every single different facet to what President Obama laid out as a strategy, and fully embracing the need to degrade and destroy ISIL,” Kerry said, using an acronym for the insurgency. Earlier, at the start of a meeting with Kerry, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cited “challenges and threats” in Iraq and Syria. He did not mention the Islamic State group by name and did not respond to a shouted question about why Turkey refused, a day earlier in Saudi Arabia, to join the U.S. with a coalition of Mideast nations. Pledging to curb the extremists’ resources, the coalition also promised to repudiate their ideology, provide humanitarian aid to their victims and potentially contribute to a military campaign. Turkey sits on the front line of the extremist group’s battleground in Iraq.
International
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Creating coalition for Mideast isn’t easy By LARA JAKES AND DESMOND BUTLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANKARA, Turkey — Assembling a coalition to fight the militants from the Islamic State group is proving to be a complicated affair. France is all in, but would like to invite Iran — against the wishes of the United States. The U.S. is pressing Turkey, which has resisted publicly endorsing the global strategy against the extremists, who are holding 49 Turkish hostages. Many world leaders want to act quickly, before the Islamic State group gains more territory. But it’s crucial to reach agreement on what the coalition is doing and why, particularly after bitter diplomatic divisions created by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a decade ago. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said as many as 40 countries have offered various levels of support — from humanitarian aid to cracking down on illicit cross-border funding and fighters that are flowing to the insurgents — to providing intelligence and supplies to rebels in Syria and security forces in Iraq. But after more than a week of meetings with top NATO and Mideast officials, Kerry refused to say Friday precisely how a global campaign that is being pieced together by the U.S. would succeed in destroying the Islamic State group, which has taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria. The U.S. needs serious support from regional players if it hopes to weaken the militants over the long term. Kerry has persuaded key Arab allies to join a coalition of Mideast nations that pledged to curb the extremists’ resources, repudiate their ideology, provide humanitarian aid to its victims and potentially contribute to a military cam-
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/pool | AP
Secretary of State John Kerry leaves after a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday. Kerry is in the region to speak with leaders about strategies to address the threat from the Islamic State, a militant extremist group. paign. He’s had less success in getting Turkey to join in. Visiting Ankara on Friday, he pressed Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to harden borders against fighters and funding flowing to the Islamic State militant group. Turkey sits on the front line of the Islamic State group’s battleground in Iraq and safe haven in Syria. It already has helped refugees and cracked down on suspicious cross-border traffic from both countries. But Turkey is in a tight spot, and the U.S. is being careful not to push too hard on its NATO ally as Turkish authorities grapple with trying to free the hostages, who include diplomats. The Turks were kidnapped from their consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul when it was overrun by the Islamic State group in June. “They have a few sensitive issues,” Kerry told the BBC on Thursday. “We respect those sensitive issues, and we’re going to work with them very carefully.” At the start of a meeting
Friday with Kerry, Cavusoglu cited “challenges and threats” in Iraq and Syria. The Sunni Muslim extremists also are holding several Americans hostage. After Washington launched more than 150 airstrikes against them in Iraq since last month, they have beheaded two U.S. freelance journalists who were working in Syria. Senior U.S. officials who briefed reporters traveling with Kerry said Ankara already has been working against the Islamic State, including by recently denying about 6,000 people from entering Turkey and deporting 1,000 more who were deemed suspicious. But one of the U.S. officials said Turkey’s borders remain extremely porous. The potential military campaign that the new coalition is planning is likely to include training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces, providing intelligence, and expanding airstrikes against extremists in Iraq and potentially into Syria. France, which opposed
Another doc infected By CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY AND JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH ASSOCIATED PRESS
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Another doctor from Sierra Leone who has tested positive for Ebola will be evacuated for medical treatment, an official said Thursday, making her the first citizen of a hardhit country to be treated abroad. Dr. Olivette Buck is the fourth Sierra Leonean doctor to contract the disease — and the three others all have died. Arrangements are being made to send her to another country for better treatment, said Health Ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis without specifying further. So far, only foreign health and aid workers have been evacuated abroad for treatment from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The worst Ebola outbreak in history also has hit Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal, and has been blamed for more than 2,200 deaths across West Africa. The disease is taking a particularly heavy toll on health care workers, whose jobs put them at high risk because Ebola is only transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of people showing symptoms or dead bodies. More than 135 health workers have died in the outbreak so far, exacerbating shortages of doctors and nurses in countries that already had too few medical workers to begin with. Sierra Leone and Liberia have been especially hard hit, and officials have warned that both countries could see a surge in cases soon. Sierra Leone is expecting to uncover potentially hundreds of new cases when volunteers go house to house looking for the sick during a three-day lockdown later this month. The World Health Organization has said Liberia could see many thousands of new cases in the coming
Photo by Abbas Dulleh | AP
A child looks at a man suspected of suffering from the Ebola virus in a busy part in Monrovia, Liberia, on Friday. weeks. To keep up with the accelerating infection rate, Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown told a news conference Thursday that the capital region alone needs 1,000 beds. That squares with a World Health Organization estimate from earlier this week. The U.N. health agency said the county where Monrovia is located currently has only 240 beds, with 260 more on the way — only half of what’s needed. The tremendous fear surrounding the disease and the extreme measures used to contain it — like the cordoning off of entire towns for days — has led to sharp criticism of Liberia’s government and even calls for the president to step down. But Brown urged Liberians to unite, warning that if they didn’t, “this virus will consume all of us.” “We are at war with an enemy that we don’t see,” Finance Minister Amara Konneh told reporters. “And we have to win the war.” But he said Liberia would be dependent on international assistance to do so. The U.N. has said at least $600 million is needed to fight Ebola in West Africa, and already several pledges have come in. The United States has spent $100 million so far, with more promised, and Bri-
tain has given $40 million. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s foundation on Thursday announced a $9 million donation to the CDC Foundation, which raises money for the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It will be used to help set up emergency operations centers in West Africa. Also Thursday, Cuba’s health minister was meeting with the World Health Organization’s director to discuss how it could help. Cuba has a relatively advanced medical education system and for decades has dispatched thousands of doctors to the world’s developing countries. There were no details on what help it would be providing, but experts say the outbreak is desperately short of health care workers. Konneh, the finance minister, also told The Associated Press in an interview that the outbreak has ravaged Liberia’s already fragile economy, and the government predicts the crisis will more than halve the growth rate this year. He added that the government also hopes the international community will help rebuild Liberia after the crisis passes. An unrelated Ebola outbreak in Congo is thought to have killed 35 people of the more than 60 sickened, according to the World Health Organization.
the last U.S. war in Iraq, is ready to play a substantial role now, including with airstrikes. French President Francois Hollande paid a bold visit Friday to Baghdad to bolster new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as the Iraqi government struggles to unite the nation amid the rampage by the Islamic State group. “In order to confront Daesh, we need aerial support from our allies,” alAbadi said, referring to the Islamic State group by its Arabic acronym. “The French president promised me today that France will participate in this effort, hitting the positions of the terrorists in Iraq.” France also has delivered arms to Kurdish authorities in Iraq and is hosting an international conference Monday on helping Iraq. Paris sees this as the first step in a long-term effort against Islamic State militants who have captured territory straddling the Syria-Iraq border with the goal of establishing a self-styled caliphate.
However, France doesn’t want to be a pawn in a U.S. game, and it disagrees with Washington on two key points: Iran and Syria. The French are stopping short of possible action in Syria, at least for now, fearing that airstrikes on extremists in Syria could strengthen President Bashar Assad’s hand and raise international legal problems. France also is increasingly pragmatic in its attitude toward Iran — and wants to invite Iran to Monday’s conference. Iran, a Shiite Muslim nation and neighbor of Iraq, joins regional states and the West in adamantly opposing the advance of the militants. Tehran’s longtime influence in Iraq, including at times a military presence, makes it a logical — and even essential — partner, in France’s eyes. But Kerry said Friday that “no one has called me and asked me” whether France should invite Iran to the meeting. “Under the circumstances, at this moment in time, it would not be right for
number of reasons,” Kerry said at a news conference. “It would not be appropriate, given the many other issues that are on the table with respect to their engagement in Syria and elsewhere.” He also accused Tehran of being “a state sponsor of terror” in some areas of the world. Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaee, said Friday that Iran would be happy to participate in the Paris conference since it has a great interest in Iraq’s stability. The United States also is not seeking to partner with Assad’s government against the Islamic State militants. After President Barack Obama’s comments Wednesday made clear the U.S. is sticking with the rebels, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said any U.S. military operations in Syria would be considered an aggression unless coordinated with the government in Damascus. Assad’s political adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, said Thursday that Obama was making a big mistake by excluding the Syrian government. The U.S. launched airstrikes and humanitarian aid missions on Aug. 8 in Iraq to boost the efforts of waning Iraqi and Kurdish security forces. The airstrikes marked a significant shift in the U.S. strategy in Iraq, where the military fully withdrew in late 2011, after nearly a decade of war. In violence Friday, a car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the Iraqi capital’s southeastern neighborhood, killing seven people and wounding 21, police said. Later, a bomb in central Baghdad killed three people and wounded 10. Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Entertainment
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Rice video seen a lot By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Television executives say they want to minimize replays of video showing Ray Rice knocking out his thenfiancee with one punch. In practice, it has proved hard to resist. Hours after CNN’s programming chief publicly worried about gratuitous repeats of the disturbing images that first came to light Monday, the network showed Janay Palmer falling to an elevator floor after Rice’s blow some 13 times on two programs Thursday evening, according to a count by Media Matters for America. Seven times it was played in slow motion. Similarly, Fox News Channel twice aired the video initially obtained by TMZ after its executive vice president for news, Michael Clemente, said that continuing to show it is “simply overdoing it for shock value.” The sickening footage has had a major impact, leading to Rice being suspended by the NFL and cut by the Baltimore Ravens, and raising questions about the actions of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But after being on the air for a day, the images themselves began to lose news value. Janelle Rodriguez, vice president of programming at CNN, did not ban its continued use. But she said Thursday that producers have been asked to exercise judgment about using it. Several hours later, it ran seven times during Erin Burnett’s hour-long show, including at the beginning of an interview segment where New York radio personality Craig Carton urged CNN to stop showing it. “What’s the point of showing it?” he said. “We’ve all seen it. You
Photo by Lionel Cironneau/file | AP
The head of the facility where Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest is no longer at the clinic. A spokeswoman said Friday that Dr. Lawrence Cohen is no longer the facility’s medical director.
Photo by Patrick Semansky/file | AP
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is suspended now, but can he rehab his image enough to come back on the field? guys have shown it 50 times in the last five minutes. ESPN does play by play of it. So if people really do care about (Palmer) and I hope they do, because she’s a victim of domestic violence, stop showing the video.” At first, Burnett didn’t answer. But when Carton returned to the topic, she replied. “If no one had shown the video, no one would be talking about this,” Burnett said. “No one would be aware of it. Nobody would know. Ray Rice would be playing. Whatever is happening with them would still be happening. It has gotten a national conversation going.”
Said Carton: “Three days later it doesn’t need to be shown anymore.” During a 9 a.m. Zapata time news report on the story Friday, CNN aired two still pictures but not the video. During its 10 a.m. “SportsCenter” on Friday, ESPN reported the story without using the video. The network did not show it on Thursday despite several developments in the story, spokesman Josh Krulewitz said. During a long discussion about Rice and other domestic violence episodes on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, the video was not played. MSNBC said it wouldn’t discuss its editorial decisions.
Clinic fires Rivers’ doc ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The head of the outpatient surgery facility where Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest during a routine procedure is no longer at the clinic. A spokeswoman for Yorkville Endoscopy said Friday that Dr. Lawrence Cohen is no longer the facility’s medical director, nor is he performing procedures there. The spokeswoman did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Cohen’s departure. Cohen, a respected gastroenterologist, did not return telephone messages. An email to Cohen’s account at Mount Sinai Hospital bounced back. Rivers died Sept. 4 at
Mount Sinai Hospital, a week after going into cardiac arrest. The sharptongued comedian, talk show host and fashionista was 81. The state health department has said it’s investigating “the whole matter.” A spokesman for the department did not immediately have an update on the investigation Friday. The city medical examiner’s office is also investigating. A spokeswoman for the office said this week that a determination on the cause and manner of Rivers’ death are pending further studies. Cohen has been listed in New York state records as a co-owner of Yorkville Endoscopy. He has taught at the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, contributed to more than 150 books and articles on gastroenterology and lectured on various topics, including colorectal cancer screening and endoscopic sedation, according to a biography posted on the clinic’s website. There are no disciplinary actions on Cohen’s record and his license is current, according to state records. A Mount Sinai spokesman said Cohen no longer teaches there, but still has a professional relationship with the hospital. “Dr. Lawrence Cohen is a voluntary physician with admitting privileges at The Mount Sinai Hospital,” spokesman Sid Disnay said. “He maintains a private practice.”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Exxon CEO Tillerson a Scout to the core By JAMES OSBORNE THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS — Dressed in a blazer and gray slacks, Eagle Scout Rex Tillerson — better known as the CEO of Exxon Mobil — approached the podium during a national meeting of the Boy Scouts of America at a Grapevine hotel last year. The organization’s delegates had just voted to allow openly gay youths to join their troops and earn their merit badges. And Tillerson began laying out next steps in the same forthright tone with which he delivers financial results to shareholders. “So we’ve made the decision we’re going to change. Now what?” he said. “No winners or losers. After we make the decision to change, it’s the mission.” In between deals with Arab sheiks and Russian oligarchs, not to mention managing a flow of oil large enough to power Brazil, Tillerson has remained steadfast in his devotion to the Boy Scouts since he took over Exxon Mobil eight years ago. In 2010, as Exxon and other companies were still reeling from the crash in oil prices during the world economic crisis, he agreed to serve as president of the Scouts at a time the organization was taking increasing heat over its position on homosexuality. He served for two years, at the same time Exxon was completing what could be a transformational deal to drill in Russian Arctic, before stepping down in 2012. Among other titans of the energy world, the Exxon CEO’s history with the Scouts as a boy is wellknown. Ray L. Hunt, the chairman of Hunt Consolidated and a longtime friend of Tillerson, said after hearing Tillerson talk about the Scouts and its emphasis on leadership and discipline that he came to consider his own lack of interest as a child a “shortfall.” “To understand Rex Tillerson, you need to understand Scouting,” Hunt told The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1uxIFgB ). The image of Tillerson as an ever-polite Boy Scout adept at lighting a campfire with just a pair of sticks runs counter to his image among the public as a ruthless corporate executive hellbent on extracting oil whatever the environmental cost. But those who know him maintain that the Boy Scouts code might as well be describing Tillerson when it instructs its members to be “trustworthy, loyal, helpful ...” Even with a compensation package that topped $28 million last year, the Exxon CEO is a regular at soliciting donations for the Scouts’ annual jamborees, said real estate developer Ross Perot Jr., an Eagle Scout himself and a friend of Tillerson’s. “When Rex Tillerson calls me with his schedule, as busy as it is, to talk about Scouting, it’s very impressive,” he said. Tillerson’s close ties to the Scouts were evident last year when he took the stage to address the decision to allow gay youths to join. The Boy Scouts of America de-
Photo by Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News | AP
Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson stops by Christmas Cottage of Grapevine Relief and Community Exchange with his wife Renda Tillerson to drop off a $50,000 check to the organization in Southlake, on Dec. 13. clined to make board members or professional staff available to discuss their well-known Scout. And Tillerson, through the public relations office of Exxon Mobil, also declined to be interviewed. Despite increasing pressure from gay rights advocates, Exxon has refused to create a specific policy barring discrimination against gay employees, as many Fortune 500 companies have done. Nonetheless, Tillerson was instrumental in lobbying the Scouts’ board to accept openly gay youths, said John Hamre, president of the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, of which Tillerson is a board member. “I can’t get into the intimacy of these conversations. But he agonized over this. He prayed on it, and ultimately he came to the conclusion the only thing that can guide him here is what’s best for the young boys,” he said. “I think he became a key leader in helping the group come to a consensus.” Tillerson’s connection to Scouting extends back before he was even born 62 years ago. His parents met at Boy Scout camp as teenagers. His father, Bob, worked at the camp and met his mother, Patty, while she was visiting her brother; sparks flew over a sing-along. After serving on a battleship during World War II, Bob returned to North Texas and eventually took a full-time job with the Scouts, a career that would span four decades. As the family moved between Boy Scout offices in Wichita Falls, Stillwater, Okla., and Huntsville, Scouting was ever-present for Tillerson. As a child and into adolescence, he racked up not just merit badges but some of Scouting’s highest awards, designated for leadership abilities and dedication. To this day, Tillerson lists his rank of Eagle Scout on his résumé. And he maintains a reputation in the business world for honesty and straightforwardness, traits some interpret as proof that despite his success and wealth, he remains a Boy Scout to his core. Hunt, who met Tillerson when they worked on a joint oil and gas
drilling project in Yemen in the 1990s, recounted how the government there had threatened to hold up their project if they did not back down on a contractual dispute over natural gas royalties. The opportunity was there to speed up the project by bribing a customs official, but Tillerson and Hunt refused, Hunt said. “In Yemen, it was not uncommon for large foreign companies to pay small bribes to custom officials to expedite the importing of machinery,” he said. “He has the courage of his convictions, and he will never do anything that creates a short-term gain at the price of a long-term loss.” In public appearances, Tillerson maintains a pragmatic, ever-polite tone that even his most ardent critics admit is eminently likable. During a 2008 “Today” show segment at the height of the oil price spike, Tillerson, in his steady Texas drawl, addressed his company’s record profit and allegations of price manipulation by oil companies. “We’ve got to try and do a better job of explaining this to the American people,” he told host Matt Lauer. That was a long way from his predecessors. Lee Raymond was famous for his blunt, sometimes rude demeanor — he once cut off a visibly ill nun speaking at an Exxon shareholder meeting. And in an interview with Time magazine in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill, Lawrence Rawl quipped, “We would have liked to recall the oil off the Prince William Sound. We called, but it didn’t hear us.” Tillerson has had his moments, too. Last year he took heat from environmentalists when he explained how efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions would hinder global economic development. “We do not see a viable pathway with any known technology today to achieve (the CO2 reduction) that is not devastating to economies, societies and people’s health and well-being around the world,” he said. “What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?” The comment was blasted as self-serving; reducing CO2 emissions would mean burning less of
Exxon’s oil. But it was still a decided departure from Raymond’s efforts to undermine the science of climate change itself. Kert Davies, a former Greenpeace activist who has spent years researching Exxon’s operations, said Tillerson has adopted a less hostile and “smoother” tone on global warming; his policies are another matter. One morning this summer at Exxon’s annual shareholder meeting at the Meyerson Symphony Center, Tillerson was gliding through the lobby shaking hands and posing for photos when he was confronted by a member of the Dallas Sierra Club. The woman, Molly Rooke, wanted to know why Exxon Mobil employed hydraulic fracturing, considering the potential environmental damage. Tillerson’s grin dropped; his bodyguards looked on nervously. But moments later, Tillerson was quietly explaining that he knew there were some “bad operators” out there, but hydraulic fracturing in and of itself wasn’t dangerous. He assured Rooke that Exxon took safety seriously. Afterward, Rooke said she was surprised how gracious Tillerson was. “He has a different position. But at least he’s polite,” she said. Tillerson joined Exxon in 1975. He had just graduated from the University of Texas, where he had encountered a campus at the tail end of the counterculture movement. But the young Tillerson mostly stuck to his engineering studies, playing in the marching band and Scouting, according to James Flodine, a Houston attorney and fraternity brother of Tillerson’s. Tillerson was a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a fraternity that up until 1968 accepted only Boy Scouts as members. Instead of throwing keggers à la Animal House, brothers spent their time wheeling disabled students around campus or acting as intermediaries between police and students protesting the Vietnam War. “We were kind of nerds,” Flodine said. “Rex was one of those guys who just gave you a great feeling. But he went to school for a purpose, and it wasn’t to drink beer and goof off ... When he was
getting ready to leave, he told me he was going to work for Exxon, and I thought, he’s an Exxon sort of guy.” In Exxon, Tillerson found a highly regimented organization not dissimilar to the Scouts. The company traces its roots back to Standard Oil, founded in 1870, and is renowned for maintaining a corporate discipline and sense of continuity that is the envy of many oil companies. One of his early assignments was as an engineer on an oil and gas field near Tyler. Decades later, employees who worked that field still approach Tillerson at shareholder meetings to trade gossip. “He still remembers everyone,” Jerry Russell said. Since becoming CEO, Tillerson has brought some of Scouting to Exxon. As Steve Coll reported in his book, “Private Empire: Exxon Mobil and American Power,” Tillerson has created a merit badgelike system at Exxon where employees earn coins for skills like teamwork and leadership, sometimes to the amusement of those beneath him. But in public, Tillerson limits the flow of information about his connection with the Scouts — and his life outside Exxon in general. Those who know him say he avoids Dallas’ moneyed social scene and would rather be watching a UT football game or at a rodeo. He used to act as driver for his wife, Renda, when she was still on the barrel racing circuit. Earlier this year, Tillerson drew attention when he joined a lawsuit to try to stop the construction of a water tower close to his ranch in Bartonville. The lawsuit cited a potential increase in truck traffic from hydraulic fracturing operations nearby filling up with water. And Tillerson was quickly flagged as a hypocrite. He later dropped out of the suit. Likewise, efforts to speak to people who know Tillerson met with continued roadblocks. Outside of a preapproved list of business and policy leaders, many who know him were reluctant to speak without approval from Tillerson’s office. Scheduled interviews with the likes of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, also a Scout, were canceled at the last minute, often without explanation. About three years ago, members of Tillerson’s old Scout troop in Huntsville, where he graduated from high school, decided to put on a ceremony honoring his and his father’s contributions to the organization. They got approval from Sam Houston State University to host the event, and the invitation to the Exxon CEO went out. Shortly thereafter, they received word he was declining. “He kindly sent back a note saying he thought it was a little too much, that he didn’t want to be the center of attention,” said Bill Dabaghi, an attorney in Washington, D.C., who grew up in Huntsville. “We put on (reunions) sometimes. It would be a wonderful thing to have someone like Rex Tillerson attend, but we haven’t asked him. The idea is not to bug him. But we do feel he’s a part of us.”
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Man gets death benefits By JACQUES BILLEAUD ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX — In a ruling that calls into question Arizona’s gay marriage ban, a judge handed a victory Friday to a gay man who lost his spouse to cancer last month and was denied death benefits because the state prohibits same-sex unions. U.S. District Judge John Sedwick allowed Fred McQuire to be listed on his spouse’s death certificate, marking another development in the national debate over gay marriage as state and federal judges across the country have struck down bans in more than a dozen states at a rapid rate since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year. Friday’s decision only applied to McQuire, but the judge signaled that Arizona’s gay marriage ban may not hold up after he hears a broader challenge to the constitutionality of the law. “The court has not yet decided whether there is a conflict between Arizona law and the Constitution, but the court has decided that it is probable that there is such a conflict that Arizona will be required to permit same-sex marriages,” said Sedwick, who was nominated to the federal bench in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush. McQuire and George Martinez were partners of 45 years who got married in California
this summer, fulfilling one of their final wishes as they both dealt with serious health issues. Martinez, a Vietnam War veteran, was in the throes of pancreatic cancer blamed on exposure to Agent Orange when they got married, calling it “demeaning and unfair” to have to go outof-state to exchange their vows. Martinez died in late August, but his spouse was unable to receive Social Security and veteran benefits because Arizona bans gay marriage. Sedwick quickly issued an order granting McQuire’s request to be listed on Martinez’s death certificate as the surviving spouse, which McQuire hoped would qualify him for the federal benefits. But Sedwick said that federal regulations unrelated to the legality of gay marriage mean McQuire will not be able to succeed in getting the benefits. The request from the couple from Green Valley, Arizona, was made as part of a lawsuit in which 19 people are challenging Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages. The lawsuit alleges that the ban violates the U.S. Constitution. Arizona lawmakers approved a state law barring same-sex marriages in 1996. Seven years later, an Arizona appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the law. Voters in 2008 amended the Arizona Constitution to include a ban. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy,
INSURANCE will target families with children, legal immigrants, individuals who lack English proficiency, the disabled and young adults. The United Way of Metropolitan Tarrant County was awarded $4.6 million from HHS for the navigator program and apportioned $233,550 to South Texas Development Council. “When families have access to health care, small
CLINICS Continued from Page 1A France.” Of Texas’ 433 licensed outpatient surgical clinics, 336 have waivers of state standards because they were in business before the standards went into effect, while abortion clinics cannot get such “grandfathered” waivers, Yeakel noted. He also ruled that, taken together, the admitting-privileges and clinic standards requirements make it too difficult for women to get abortions, making the law unconstitutional. Texas currently has about 20 abortion providers, down from more than 40 two years ago, according to groups that sued the state. Whole Woman’s Health Clinic in McAllen, near the Mexico border, closed after the 5th Circuit ruled in March but reopened last weekend.
health issues can be treated inexpensively before they turn into medical crises and local taxpayer dollars are saved,” Cuellar said. “In counties that have a large number of uninsured people health care, like the ones I represent, costs have been historically very high. “Access to quality and affordable health care continues to be one of my top priorities and I am pleased that South Texas
which led a coalition of groups that pushed for the 2008 law, said in a statement that the decision was driven by politics, not constitutional law. She said Sedwick “has joined the judicial stampede of other lower federal judges who have tried to override or ignore marriage laws based on no precedent other than their own political bias.” Ohio has a similar ongoing case to the McQuire situation. Two gay men whose spouses were dying sued to win the right to be listed as the surviving spouses on their husbands’ death certificates and for their spouses to be listed as having been married. A ruling on this case is pending before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Before the ruling, McQuire, 69, wiped away tears as he talked outside court about the disappointment of being told by government officials that he wasn’t considered Martinez’s lawful husband. He said he was expecting that kind of reaction, but it still hurt deeply. “It doesn’t make it easier,” McQuire said. “George would have loved to have been here today,” McQuire said outside court. McQuire issued a written statement after the ruling was handed down. “No one else should have to deal with the pain and humiliation of not being able to take care of something as simple and sensitive as a death certificate for their spouse,” McQuire said.
BODY killed in a room at the Monterrey Inn, 4820 San Bernardo Ave. There, Yepez allegedly locked himself inside the bathroom with the girl. Pantoja told police she could hear thumps consistent with someone being hit. She said she then heard the girl crying. Yepez opened the door and had Valdez in his arms, the complaint states. The girl did not move and threw up, according to court records. Pantoja allegedly attempted to wake up Valdez by putting her in the shower and administered CPR. “Pantoja said that she heard a gurgling sound and Valdez was still unresponsive,” according to court documents. Yepez allegedly threatened Pantoja by saying, “either you’re with me or you call the cops and I kill you,” court records state. Pantoja said she feared for her life. Yepez allegedly took a shower and placed the lifeless body on the couch. He then wrapped the girl’s body in a sheet and left the Monterrey Inn and later checked into a Motel 6, the complaint alleges. Valdez’s body remained in the vehicle, the complaint adds. A man not identified in the complaint knocked on the door the next day and talked to Yepez. Court records state both men made plans about heading to an empty lot and burying Valdez’s body. Her body was placed in the bed of the pickup and driven to the site on Springfield, the complaint states. After burying the body, they allegedly washed the pickup at car wash, according to the complaint. The unidentified man then drove Yepez and Pantoja to a Tornado Bus station, where they bought tickets to Chicago, Illinois, the complaint states. At 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, the Houston Police Department contacted Laredo PD requesting assistance in a possible
Continued from Page 1A
Development Council has received this award to help residents in Webb, Zapata and La Salle counties get the health insurance they need.” Robert Mendiola, executive director for the South Texas Development Council, added: “This being our second year of administering the program, we certainly recognize the tremendous challenges which we face in providing this much needed ser-
vice to a 13-county region. Our mission is to educate our citizens on the health care coverage available to them through the Affordable Care Act.” During the open enrollment period in 2013 and 2014, the Office of Congressman Henry Cuellar hosted workshops across the 28th District of Texas to help constituents learn more about their options under the new health insurance marketplace.
Continued from Page 1A homicide. Houston detectives told LPD they had custody of Pantoja and that she was providing details about the case. Cooperating with authorities, Pantoja came with the detectives to Laredo. Meanwhile, Yepez was in custody in Houston on an unlawful restraint charge. Yepez claimed that he did not know where the body was, police said. He alleged that the girl died by accident, according to court records. Yepez allegedly told police the girl was standing on the couch when she fell and hit her head on the edge of the couch. At 8 a.m. Thursday, Laredo detectives spoke to Pantoja. She told them that she and Valdez had traveled with Yepez to Laredo from Chicago in midAugust. Yepez, who works at a nationalization business that transports vehicles from Chicago to Laredo, was transporting a pickup here, she told police. Pantoja then made abuse claims against Yepez. “Pantoja said that while in transit, Yepez would bite Valdez in the arms,” the criminal complaint states. But Yepez claimed he was playing around, court records state. They later checked in at the Monterrey Inn, where Valdez was allegedly killed. Yepez seemed angry and would allegedly take out his frustration on Valdez, the criminal complaint states. Pantoja claimed that once Yepez grabbed Valdez by her feet and dropped her headfirst on the floor. An autopsy is pending to determine the cause and manner of Valdez’s death. Police would not comment on why Pantoja was charged with murder. Courts only state that she inflicted bodily injury to her daughter. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS TECH
PARALYMPICS
Pistorius guilty Paralympian convicted of culpable homicide By GERALD IMRAY AND CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Zach Long | AP
Texas Tech freshman Josh Stockton and the Red Raiders are set to face off tonight in their first game against Arkansas in 23 years.
Texas Tech faces ‘biggest challenge’ this season By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUBBOCK — It’s been 23 years since Texas Tech and Arkansas faced off in what was the two teams’ final pairing before the Razorbacks joined the Southeast Conference. The Red Raiders (2-0) remained in the Southwest Conference until its demise in 1995, and they joined the Big 12 the following season. Texas Tech won that 1991 game 38-21 in Lubbock. This Saturday’s game pits a team that’s had difficulty stopping the run, Texas Tech, against a team ranked 11th in the nation in yards rushing (324.5 yards per game). The Red Raiders bring the nation’s 11th-best total offense (570 ypg). Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose team has won two closer-thanexpected games by a combined margin of 11 points, called the Razorbacks’ offense the “biggest challenge” this season. Texas Tech had to come from
behind to beat UTEP 30-26 last week. “They’ve been moving bodies,” he said of Arkansas’ five 310-plus-pound offensive linemen. “You watch them up front against Auburn, against Nicholls State and they’re tough. Those running backs do a great job finishing runs.” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, who’s in his second year in Fayetteville, called his three running backs “elite” in the Razorbacks’ program. But he knows about the potential of the Red Raiders’ passing attack. Arkansas (1-1) snapped a 10-game losing streak when they beat Nicholls State 73-7 last week. “The bottom line is, Texas Tech’s offense is out there against our defense and it doesn’t really matter what they do on offense, it matters what we do and how we’re able to defend them,” he said. Some things to watch Saturday: RAZORBACKS’ RUNNING AT-
See TECH PAGE 2B
PRETORIA, South Africa — A judge convicted Oscar Pistorius of culpable homicide Friday in the death of his girlfriend, ruling that the former track star was negligent when
See PISTORIUS PAGE 2B
Photo by Gianluigi Guercia | AP
Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide after being acquitted of a more serious charge of murder.
NCAA BASKETBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS
TEXAS’ WALKER SUSPENDED Charged with misdemeanor assault By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Charlie Riedel | AP
Texas guard Martez Walker has been suspended following charges for misdemeanor assault after allegedly beating his girlfriend in a campus dormitory.
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS
AUSTIN — Texas guard Martez Walker was suspended indefinitely from all team activities Friday after he was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly beating his girlfriend in a campus dormitory. According to campus police, Travis County Emergency Medical Services was called to the dorm Wednesday night, where the victim reported Walker slapped her and punched her four times in the left side. According to Walker’s arrest affidavit, Tanecia Gardner said Walker became angry because she went to happy hour with a male supervisor from her job. She also suggested her relationship with Walker has a history of physical vi-
olence. “Gardner said she knew from previous fights with Walker that he was going to hit her, so she hid her face and went into the fetal position on the couch,” the affidavit said. Gardner told police Walker punched her “hard” four times, then dragged her by the arms and threw her out of his room. A third party called for medical help on Gardner’s behalf, and police were alerted to a possible assault, university police spokeswoman Cindy Posey said. Gardner reported difficulty breathing and she was taken to hospital for examination of broken ribs. The arrest affidavit noted a bruise on Gardner’s neck, which she told police came
See WALKER PAGE 2B
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 7 TEXAS AGGIES
Bruins more centered Texas A&M to host Rice headed to Texas By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley felt so much better taking snaps from Jake Brendel, the center who now gets to go home with the 12thranked Bruins. Hundley has accounted for a touchdown in each of his 29 consecutive starts, but things were clearly out of synch when UCLA struggled offensively in the season opener that Brendel missed with a sprained left knee. “We came in together, and I’ve really only taken snaps from him since I got here,” said Hundley, who rebounded in Week 2 as the Pac-12 offensive player of the week with 422 total yards. “It’s a big difference to have him back, and I think you could see it.” The Bruins (2-0) on Saturday night take on the Texas Longhorns (1-1) in
Photo by Michael Thomas | AP
Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes and the Longhorns look to lead a strong game as they take on UCLA at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium. Arlington, Texas. The game is at the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium where the national championship game will
be decided in four months, and where Brendel played a few games while at near-
See TEXAS PAGE 2B
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin knows Rice coach David Bailiff well and doesn’t expect his Owls to be wary when they face the seventh-ranked Aggies on Saturday in front of more than 100,000 fans. “They’re going to be tough,” Sumlin said. “They’re going to change it up, try to get after our young quarterback, and there’s nothing in that program that says they’re going to be the least bit intimidated to come in and play us.” Sumlin considers Bailiff a close friend, noting they lived in the same neighborhood when he coached Houston. “Our relationship goes back 20 years,” Bailiff said. “I’ve watched him as a coordinator, I’ve watched him when he was at the University of Houston. I think he has ignited the program through his personality, his recruiting and his
Photo by David J. Phillip | AP
Texas A&M and quarterback Kenny Hill look to celebrate another win tonight. Hill is currently ranked third in the nation with 794 yards passing. style that he possesses.” But there won’t be much time for niceties on Saturday when the Aggies look to improve to 3-0 for
the first time under Sumlin. They’re off to a great start thanks in large part
See A&M PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores TECH Continued from Page 1B
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Mayweather hoping bad week gets better By TIM DAHLBERG
TACK Arkansas grinds out most of its offense on the ground, getting 648 yards of its 1,012 total yards on rushes. The Razorbacks are led by sophomore Alex Collins (207 yards and three TDS on 23 carries) and junior Jonathan Williams (178 yards and two TDs on 11 carries). “I think Alex Collins has probably had as good a three weeks of practice since he’s been here, ... and Jonathan Williams, any chance he gets, continues to impress,” Bielema said. HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE The Red Raiders have gotten off to slow starts in both their wins, and Davis Webb this week acknowledged he hasn’t been himself, despite throwing for 730 yards and seven TDs. He’s also thrown two interceptions in the first half of the first game. “I’m really looking forward to the third game because I felt like the first two games were off for everybody,” Webb said. TURNOVERS The Red Raiders haven’t forced a turnover all season and have lost the turnover battle in 10-straight games, during which they’re 5-5. Texas Tech has lost the ball three times this season; Arkansas is even in turnover margin. “I don’t know if it’s lack of confidence or what it is, but we’ve got to find a way,” Texas Tech’s defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt said of forcing turnovers. “Odds surely are going to swing our way one of these days.” TIME OF POSSESSION Arkansas wants to do what other teams know have learned: keep the Red Raiders offense off the field. Texas Tech ran just 59 plays vs. UTEP, which held the ball for 39 minutes. “The more that we can monopolize the clock a little more efficiently, we can operate and do certain things — it’s only going to help our defense,” Bielema said. PENALTY PROBLEM In two games, the Red Raiders been flagged for 25 penalties for 204 yards. Last week, Texas Tech got two odd ones: for a sideline interference and having two players with the same number on the field simultaneously. Texas Tech trails only Oregon State (13) in penalties per game. Kingsbury has harped on eliminating penalties. To “play as poorly as we have at times and have all the mistakes and penalties and still be 2-0, we’ll build off that,” he said. “It’s got to go up from here.”
WALKER Continued from Page 1B from a previous assault by Walker. A warrant was issued for Walker’s arrest and he surrendered to police early Friday on a charge of assault with injury/dating violence, which carries up to a year in jail and $4,000 in fines. It was not immediately clear if Walker has an attorney. Coach Rick Barnes announced Walker’s suspension shortly after midnight. “We have consistently stressed to all of our student athletes for a long time that any behavior in which women are not treated with respect will not be tolerated,” Barnes said. Texas football coach Charlie Strong dismissed players Kendall Sanders and Montrel Meander after they were arrested in July on felony sexual charges. Those cases are still pending. “Physical abuse and violence will not be tolerated at the University of Texas,” Texas President Bill Powers said Friday about the Walker incident. Walker, who is from Detroit, played in 33 games last season, averaging nearly 13 minutes and 4.7 points.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS — It didn’t start out as the best of weeks for Floyd Mayweather Jr. His former fiancee had just served him with papers in a lawsuit that alleges Mayweather is both a domestic abuser and an insensitive lout. Rapper 50 Cent was openly mocking him online for not being able to read simple sentences, offering Mayweather $750,000 to read a page from a Harry Potter book. And that was before he even opened his mouth up about Ray Rice. Apologies aren’t usually offered during fight week, but Mayweather was forced to issue one after seeming to express sympathy to Rice for punching his then-girlfriend in a casino elevator. The issue is a delicate one for Mayweather, who served two months in jail in 2012 for a plea to reduced charges in an assault against his former girlfriend in front of their children. He questioned why anyone was even asking him about it, though Mayweather has never been shy about expressing his opinions on everything from the state of rap music to his relationship with Donald Ster-
Photo by John Locher | AP
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana are scheduled to fight in a welterweight title bout Saturday in Las Vegas. ling. “My name is always brought up with a situation,” Mayweather said. “I apologize. But I don’t worry about it. To me, it’s like this — if this is boxing, you should be asking me about me and Maidana. You shouldn’t be asking me about football. I’m not even an NFL player. I’m a boxer.” Mayweather’s profession will be on display Saturday night, and he can only hope his week ends up being better after his second fight in just four months with Marcos Maidana. Odds are it will, if he can finish off the Argentine who gave him a bad time in May and add another $30 mil-
PISTORIUS Continued from Page 1B he opened fire in his home after hearing what he said sounded like an intruder in a bathroom in the middle of the night. The judge acquitted Pistorius of a more serious murder charge, a day after saying that the onetime Olympian could have called security guards or screamed for help on the balcony instead of grabbing his handgun and blasting multiple rounds through the door of a toilet stall. Under South African law, culpable homicide is the illegal killing of someone through irresponsible behavior. The charge is comparable to reckless homicide or manslaughter. “The conduct of the accused after the incident is inconsistent” with someone who had just committed murder, Judge Thokozile Masipa said, referring to Pistorius’ telephone calls for help after he shot Reeva Steenkamp and his apparent distress as he cried and prayed over her body. The runner’s conviction on the lesser charge troubled some people who said the law goes too easy on deep-pocketed defendants such as Pistorius, who hired a high-powered legal team. “People think he got away with murder,” said Veronica Nyathi, a Johannesburg resident. “Most people want to
see him go to jail. If he was poor, he would definitely be in jail. But if you are rich, your life can go on as normal.” Pistorius showed no emotion as he stood in a dark suit with his hands crossed in front of him for the judgment. After the verdict, the double-amputee who rose to fame running on carbon-fiber blades, was hugged by relatives. The judge then ordered a recess and extended his bail. The verdict capped months of testimony in a trial that was followed around the world and had been seen as a showcase for the justice system in South Africa a generation after the end of white racist rule. The next step in the sensational case comes at an Oct. 13 sentencing hearing, when the defense and the prosecution call witnesses to try to influence the judge’s decision on whether, or for how long, Pistorius should go to prison. The sentence for a culpable homicide conviction is at the judge’s discretion and can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as much as 15 years in prison. Legal experts have cited five years as a guideline. South Africa does not have a jury system. Masipa, 66, reached the verdict with the help of two assistants. One of South Africa’s first black fe-
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B by Plano East High School. “I played there in high school and playoffs. It’s impressive. The whole stadium, the whole atmosphere, especially when it’s full,” Brendel said. “It’s an impressive place to play.” While the Texas campus is only about three hours away from the stadium, this will be the first time the Longhorns play there since the 2009 Big 12 championship game the same year it opened. The Longhorns easily won their opener over North Texas, but are coming off a 41-7 home loss to BYU. First-year Longhorns coach Charlie Strong made it clear publicly and privately to his team this week that those kinds of performances are not acceptable. “It’s embarrassing and humiliating when you get beat at home. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of throwing your team under the bus, and they heard it from me,” Strong said. “And they’ve heard it from me for two or three days, and have continued to hear it from me.” Here are few things to
lion or so to his already bulging bank accounts. Distractions aside, these should be good times for the 37-year-old boxer, who will go after win No. 47 in a rematch with Maidana that will cost viewers $74.95 to air into their homes. But there were cracks in the facade even before Shantel Jackson filed her civil lawsuit, and before Mayweather got caught in controversies over his reading ability and domestic abuse. He was cut and temporarily blinded in the fourth round of his first fight with Maidana, which was supposed to be an easy payday following his
megafight with Canelo Alvarez. When it was over, Mayweather had a majority decision but his face was bruised and bloodied as if he had been in the kind of ring war he has taken pains to avoid during his 18-year pro career. Worse yet, the fight reportedly sold poorly, threatening Mayweather’s reputation as the pay-per-view king. The Showtime network has refused to release figures, but most industry estimates are that it did less than 1 million buys, prompting Showtime to experiment this time around to increase sales by moving the fight forward an hour. If Mayweather is worried about any of it, he doesn’t show it. He was, after all, the highest paid athlete in the world in the last year, raking in $72 million in two fights. As proof, he made sure to post the checks online in response to 50 Cent taunting him about his reading. But even if the first fight with Maidana was an aberration and Mayweather’s skills aren’t slipping, he clearly has the finish line of his career in focus. Mayweather said this week he will finish out his contract with Showtime by fighting two more times next year before hanging the gloves up for good.
know when the Bruins and Longhorns hook up in a “neutral” location game. BURDEN OF EXPECTATIONS? After its highest preseason ranking since 1998, UCLA has dropped in both polls since even while winning its first two games in which they were heavy favorites. The Bruins needed three defensive touchdowns to win 28-20 at Virginia in the opener, and Hundley threw a tiebreaking touchdown at home last week in a 42-35 win over Memphis. “For us, you’ve got to always be happy when you win, because that’s the first objective,” coach Jim Mora said of the close wins. “But I don’t think anybody was satisfied. ... Knocking us back on track? No. Maybe refocusing a little bit.” MORE FOR SWOOPES Tyrone Swoopes will make his second start as the Texas quarterback in place of concussion plagued David Ash. There was a simplified offensive game plane in place for the sophomore’s first career start last week. It won’t be that simple against UCLA.
“It’s going to be expanded,” coach Strong said. “The thing he did was he executed the offense and he managed it very well. ... Just each and every week, it’ll be something added for him because now he’s shown that we all were just wondering how it was going to go, and I think it ended up going very well.” HOMECOMING TICKETS Sophomore linebacker Deon Hollins was recruited by Texas before going to UCLA. This week, his entire family from the Houston area will get a chance to see him play. “It should be wonderful. Let’s just say 20 or 30 (tickets) is not enough,” said Hollins, who had reasons for not saying closer to home. “I just felt like here gave me a little bit more love.” The Bruins have nine players from Texas on their roster. SACK ATTACK The Texas defense has recovered 10 sacks through the first two games — only three FBS teams have averaged more than the Longhorns’ five per game. Nine players have been involved in those sacks.
male judges, she is regarded by some as a symbol of the country’s transformation since 1994, deciding a case in which the accused, as well as the chief defense lawyer and prosecutor, are all white men. Masipa said Pistorius could not be convicted of premeditated murder or a lesser murder charge because prosecutors did not prove that he knew Steenkamp was behind the locked toilet door when he shot through it in the predawn hours of Valentine’s Day last year. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. The prosecution said he killed her intentionally after an argument. The 29-year-old model had been seeing him for only a few months. Some legal analysts agreed there was a strong case for conviction on the lesser charge because Pistorius knew that someone — in his version, an intruder — was behind the toilet door when he fired. “The verdict is shocking to say the least,” said Leonard Gray in Port Elizabeth, Steenkamp’s hometown. “I feel sorry for Reeva Steenkamp’s family because they’re not going to get any closure.” However, Shrina Padayachy, also in Port Elizabeth, called the judge’s verdict “fair and just because it’s the prosecution that must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt.” Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said there were no winners in the case, but his family was relieved. “It’s a big burden off us, off our shoulders,” he said. “We always knew the facts of the matter, and we never had any doubt in Oscar’s version of this tragic incident.” Disappointed prosecutors said they would decide whether to appeal only after sentencing. The judge convicted the 27year-old athlete of illegally firing a gun in a public place when a friend’s pistol he was handling went off in a Johannesburg restaurant in early 2013, weeks before Steenkamp’s killing. Pistorius was acquitted on two other weapons charges, including another count of firing a gun in public and a count of illegal possession of ammunition in the Pretoria home where he killed Steenkamp. Steenkamp’s mother, June, said she doesn’t care what happens to Pistorius because nothing can change the fact that her daughter is gone. Still, she said, the athlete’s story is hard to believe. “She died a horrible death, a horrible, painful, terrible death, and she suffered,” she told NBC News. “He shot through the door, and I can’t believe that they believe that it was an accident.”
A&M Continued from Page 1B to the play of quarterback Kenny Hill. Hill is third in the nation with 794 yards passing, which is a school-record through two games, and his seven touchdown passes are tied for fifth in the country. He needed less than three quarters to pile up 283 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday’s 73-3 win over Lamar. With 206 yards passing on Saturday, he’ll become the first A&M quarterback to throw for 1,000 yards in his first three games. The Owls lost at Notre Dame 48-17 in their opener before a week off. “They had a bye week and two complete weeks to prepare for us,” Sumlin said. “We’re going to get their best shot.” Bailiff looks forward to playing tough competition. “If you want be the best, you got to play the best and you have to keep playing those guys and winning those big games,” he said. “You have to keep working to get into those arenas, and
also when you play the best it does help you get into conference play because you get exposed to what you need to work on.” A few things to know about the Rice-Texas A&M game. YOUTH IS SERVED The Aggies have several freshman getting extended playing time early this season led by receiver/returner Speedy Noil and defensive end Myles Garrett. “I don’t bring guys here to stand next to me on the sideline,” Sumlin said. “The best guys play.” Noil had 71 yards receiving, a punt return for 67 yards and a kickoff return for 53 yards to finish with 191 all-purpose yards against Lamar. Garrett had five tackles, two sacks and two QB hurries. He has three sacks this season. DUAL THREAT Rice quarterback Driphus Jackson is a dual threat for the Owls. He leads the team in both passing and yards rushing with 163 yards through the air and 61 on
the ground. LONG STREAK These teams first met in 1914 and Texas A&M beat the Owls 52-31 last season for its 17th straight win in the series. The last victory by the Owls came in 1980 when they won 10-6 in College Station. HUGE CROWD The Aggies set a record for fans at college game in Texas last week with a crowd of 104,728. The previous record was 101,851, which was set at a West Virginia-Texas game in 2012. The redeveloped Kyle Field has a capacity of 106,000, and Texas A&M hopes to break last week’s mark on Saturday. PILING THEM UP Texas A&M senior defensive back Howard Matthews leads the team with 10 tackles and is 14 tackles short of reaching 200 for his career. He has the most career tackles on the team and second is cornerback Deshazor Everett, who has 144 career tackles and leads the team with five interceptions and 15 pass breakups in his career.
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Dear Heloise: I am getting a new kitten and wondered if you have any hints for LITTER-BOX TRAINING? –– Yvette in New Mexico I do have some hints for you! Litter-box training is simple, and most kittens pick it up right away. Before you bring your kitten home, make sure you already have a litter box and litter. Set up the box where you want it. As soon as you bring the kitten, put her into the litter box (you can even scratch her paw in the litter). This is your way of showing her where she needs to go and where the box is located. Then the first few days or even the first week your new kitten is home, watch her carefully. If you see her scratching in a corner, pick her up and put her in the litter box. Your kitten will soon get the hang of it. –– Heloise TRUNK SMELL Dear Heloise: I recently purchased some milk that leaked a little in the trunk of my car, and it reeks
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something awful due to the Texas heat. What do you recommend I clean it with? –– Christy E., via email Well, let’s see what we can do, but you are asking a lot! Our Texas heat can reach over 100 degrees inside a car in nothing flat. First, be sure to clean the spot well with soap and water, rinse, then wipe with full-strength vinegar and let dry. Leave the trunk open! Next, use baking soda –– sprinkle it (a boxful) over the area and rub it in with your hands. Leave on for a few days, and then vacuum out the baking soda (and hopefully the smell!). If any smell remains, repeat the process. Having baking soda on hand at all times is great! I use baking soda for so many things. Want to know all my household hints involving baking soda? Order my baking-soda pamphlet.
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014