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PUBLIC HEALTH
TEXAS
Ebola ‘czar’ named
Perry wants travel ban
Former Biden aide to lead effort against deadly virus By JIM KUHNHENN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama turned to a trusted adviser to lead the nation’s Ebola response on Friday as efforts to clamp down on any possible route of infection from three Texas cases expanded, reaching a cruise ship at sea and multiple
airline flights. Facing renewed criticism of his handling of the Ebola risk, Obama will make Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, his point man on the U.S. fight against Ebola at home and in West Africa. Klain will report to national security adviser Susan Rice and to homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, the White House
said. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization admitted to mistakes of its own in failing to contain the outbreak still spreading out of control in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. “Nearly everyone involved in the out-
See EBOLA “CZAR” PAGE 11A
‘No-fly’ list could keep those exposed off planes By WILL WEISSERT
VALLEY ECONOMY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANK BRANCH OPENS
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
AUSTIN — Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry reversed course and joined other top conservatives in calling for an air travel ban from countries hardest-hit by Ebola, saying Friday that he’d pushed the idea with President Barack Obama and even suggested creating a “no-fly list” for Americans potentially exposed to the virus. Texas has been the epicenter of Ebola in the United States, with a Liberian man who was the first confirmed case on American soil, Thomas Eric Duncan, dying at a Dallas hospital last week, and two health workers who treated him since falling ill. Both have been PERRY transferred to federal facilities for treatment and, amid criticism of Texas Health Presbyterian hospital, Perry also said he’d asked Obama to “fast-track” Ebola cases to betterequipped Centers for Disease Control facilities. “We must admit, along the way we have seen ample opportunity for improvement from the CDC all the way to the hospital,” Perry said at a news conference. Eyeing a possible 2016 presidential run, Perry had previously stopped short of joining leading national Republican voices in urging a travel ban from Ebola-stricken parts of West Africa. But he said Friday that “recent and ongoing events” had changed his mind. The governor also said it was “inde-
Citizens State Bank President Roberto A. Salinas and Zapata Branch Manager Veronica Rivera, center, are joined by board members and staff as they perform the cutting of the ribbon Thursday morning during the grand opening ceremony of Citizens State Bank Zapata. See related story, photos on page 3A.
See PERRY PAGE 11A
EMPLOYMENT
State’s Sept. jobless rate heads downward ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas unemployment rate declined slightly to 5.2 percent in September as the state’s seasonally adjusted civilian labor force topped 13 million for the first time, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.
The August statewide jobless rate was 5.3 percent. The nationwide unemployment rate for September was 5.9 percent, a six-year low. The Texas economy added 36,400 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs last month, according to the TWC. “The Texas economy,
from our employers across all major industries to our skilled and dedicated workers, continues to perform at a record pace,” said Andres Alcantar, TWC chairman. “With a record setting 413,700 jobs added over the year, and our labor force surpassing the 13 million milestone, our state shows how part-
nerships and a strong business climate fuel job growth for the people of Texas.” Census figures Friday listed the estimated 2013 Texas population at nearly 26.5 million. The Midland area had the lowest September jobless rate statewide at 2.6 percent. Unemployment in
neighboring Odessa stood at 3.1 percent last month. The McAllen-EdinburgMission area had the state’s highest jobless rate in September at 8.5 percent, the TWC reported. Over the month, nine of 11 major industries showed positive growth, led by leisure and hospitality with 9,300 jobs added in
September, commission officials said. “With so much consistent expansion and hundreds of thousands of jobs added year-over-year, Texas employers should be proud of the tremendous growth they have been able to achieve here,” said Commissioner Hope Andrade.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, OCT. 18
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Planetarium movies. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. At 2 p.m. The Little Star that Could. At 3 p.m. Force 5: Nature Unleashed. 4 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 5 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis.
Today is Saturday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2014. There are 74 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 18, 1767, the MasonDixon line, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, was set as astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon completed their survey. On this date: In 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia. In 1892, the first long-distance telephone line between New York and Chicago was officially opened (it could only handle one call at a time). In 1922, the British Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (later the British Broadcasting Corp.) was founded. In 1931, inventor Thomas Alva Edison died in West Orange, New Jersey, at age 84. In 1954, Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the first commercially produced transistor radio. In 1962, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were honored with the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA. In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto. In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers. Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry traded biting accusations over the war in Iraq, with Bush saying his Democratic challenger stood for “protest and defeatism” while Kerry accused the president of “arrogant boasting.” Five years ago: Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old Australian, steered her bright pink yacht out of Sydney Harbor to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world. (She succeeded, returning to Sydney Harbor in May 2010.) One year ago: In a stunning about-face, Saudi Arabia rejected a coveted seat on the U.N. Security Council, denouncing the body for failing to resolve world conflicts such as Syria’s civil war. Today’s Birthdays: Rockand-roll performer Chuck Berry is 88. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka is 75. Writer-producer Chuck Lorre is 62. Gospel singer Vickie Winans is 61. Directorscreenwriter David Twohy (TOO’-ee) is 59. International Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova is 58. Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis is 53. Actor Vincent Spano is 52. Rock musician Tim Cross is 48. Rock musician Peter Svenson (The Cardigans) is 40. Actor Wesley Jonathan is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer-actor Ne-Yo is 35. Country singer Josh Gracin is 34. Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn is 30. Jazz singer-musician Esperanza Spalding is 30. Actress-model Freida Pinto is 30. Actor Zac Efron is 27. Thought for Today: “The strongest are those who renounce their own times and become a living part of those yet to come. The strongest, and the rarest.” — Milovan Djilas (1911-1995), Yugoslav author and politician.
TUESDAY, OCT. 21 Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu, or visit www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis. Fashion show. Breast cancer survivors will model clothes from Joe Brand. Event is free and open to the public. To RSVP or for more information, contact Diana Juarez at 7239682. Liberty Tax Services Income Tax classes. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 1102 N Meadow Corner Chihuahua . Contact JF Meyrat for more information at libertytaxschool.laredo@gmail.com or call 717-1040.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 Molina Healthcare’s “Tour of Giving," event. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Iglesia Senda de Gloria, 125 E. Mendoza Street in Colonia Pueblo Nuevo off Hwy 359. Contact Leigh Woodward at leigh.woodward@molinahealthcare.com.
THURSDAY, OCT. 23 Laredo Genealogical Society presents “Ayer,” 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Guadalupe Hall. Contact Sanjuanita Hunter at 722-3497 for more information. 120th anniversary observance in Laredo: the Sisters of Mercy will present, “Band of Sisters” from 6 p.m. to TBA. TAMIU Center for Fine & Performing Art Theatre. Contact Rosanne Palacios at rosanne.palacios@mercy.net for more information. Exhibit titled “Four Strokes of Color”. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. La Posada Hotel. Contact Kike Lobo at elobo@laposadahotel.com or go to the website anartegallery09.com.
FRIDAY, OCT. 24 Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu, or visit tamiu.edu/planetarium. At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis. Mass for Breast Cancer Survivors. 6 p.m. Holy Redeemer Church, 1602 Garcia St. 30th Annual Update in Medicine Conference. Noon to 5 p.m. UTHSC Laredo Regional Campus. Geared for medical professionals, social service providers, medical/nursing students and others interested in learning the latest medical information on cancer, diabetes, mental health and other topics. For continuing education and other information call the Area Health Education Center at 712-0037.
SATURDAY, OCT. 25 30th Annual Update in Medicine Conference to be held at the UTHSC Laredo Regional Campus, 1937 E. Bustamante from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Geared for medical professionals, social service providers, medical/nursing students and others interested in learning the latest medical information on cancer, diabetes, mental health and other topics. For continuing education and other information call Area Health Education Center at 712-0037. Lights in the Park Luminaria Memorial for breast cancer awareness. 8 p.m. North Central Park, International Boulevard. {Zsqf} UISD Annual Parent Festival. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. United High School, 2811 United Ave. Event is free and open to all UISD parents. Door prizes will be given. However, participants must attend three sessions. Free breakfast and lunch to be served. Over 20 community agencies will provide educational and wellness information. For more information, contact your child’s school counselor or the Federal and State Compensatory Programs Office at 473-6471 or 473-6470.
MONDAY, OCT. 27 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. At 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English.
Photo by Kin Man Hui | The San Antonio Express News
This photo taken on Thursday shows a detail of a mural by artist Eugene Montgomery, who painted the artwork for a Sears store in 1954, at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio. While clearing junk out of a San Antonio municipal building, a city worker discovered large tubes that contained the artwork depicting different eras of Texas history.
Art found after decades ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — While clearing junk out of a San Antonio municipal building, a city worker recently discovered large tubes that contained artwork depicting different eras of Texas history. One of the paintings shows the defeat of a Mexican general in 1836. Another illustrated a scene of Spanish priests interacting with Native Americans. Thinking he stumbled upon something significant, the worker notified the Institute of Texan Cultures. Sarah Gould, a researcher with the organization, said the worker was told to dispose of the murals. Instead, he took a few photos on his cellphone to show the institute. “He said, ‘I was just wondering if you would take them because I was going to throw them away,”’ Gould said. “And we
said, ‘Yes, thank you.”’ The group’s staff began researching and found that the late Chicago-based artist Eugene Montgomery, who died in 2001, was behind the artwork. The paintings, finished in 1954, are pieces of one 175-foot-long mural that once spanned the inside of the former Sears Roebuck and Co. store. The murals were removed after the store was remodeled in 1984. “I wouldn’t call them super high art,” Gould said, “but they’re great popular art.” The Institute of Texan Cultures is now trying to determine the murals’ proper owner, the San Antonio Express-News reports. If the organization keeps them, they’ll have to be preserved. “I can’t really say what’s going to happen to them,” Gould said. “One way or another, we hope they’ll end up in a good space.”
San Antonio City Council OKs $20.5M bat deal
Sheriff: Texas bus driver faces DUI charge
Officials say 24 arrested in south Texas drug ring
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council has approved a $20.5 million deal to halt development on top of its main water source and help preserve the world’s largest bat colony. Council members voted unanimously on Thursday to spend $10 million toward the purchase of 1,500 acres of land next to the Bracken Cave Preserve in Comal County from a developer. The land is in the bats’ flight path and conservationists worried human and bat interaction would harm the animals.
LEANDER — Central Texas authorities say a bus driver has been arrested on suspicion of driving drunk while children were onboard. The bus was transporting kids home from River Ridge Elementary School on Thursday. The female driver struck a curb and a tree branch that damaged the bus. Another vehicle was dispatched to take the kids home. No injuries were reported.
CRYSTAL CITY — Officials say 24 people have been arrested in connection with a drug ring operating in several south Texas cities. The U.S. Department of Justice says the 24 people are charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the cities of Crystal City, La Pryor, Carrizo Springs and San Antonio. Authorities say that during their investigation, they seized about one kilogram of cocaine, 660 pounds of marijuana, 15 firearms and about $33,000.
Man sentenced to 45 years for killing girlfriend
AUSTIN — The Austin City Council has cleared the way for online-based ridesharing companies such as Lyft and Uber to begin operating in 30 days. Taxi companies have objected to ridesharing companies. Critics of the businesses, where drivers use their personal vehicles to transport riders, have an unfair advantage and light regulation.
FORT WORTH — North Texas prosecutors say a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for fatally stabbing his teenage girlfriend after she told him she no longer wanted to date him.
Austin City Council approves paid ridesharing
Police: Texas man ignites home with kids inside SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man has been charged with arson after police say he lit a house on fire with six children inside. San Antonio police arrested 47-year-old David Esquivel on Wednesday. No injuries were reported. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Baby dies after left in car for 6 hours in Oregon PORTLAND, Ore. — The father of an Oregon baby who died after being left in a parked car told police that he was supposed to take her to daycare but forgot and went to work instead. The father parked the car about 11 a.m. Authorities were called about 5 p.m., Lt. Mike Rouches of the Hillsboro police said. The 6-month-old girl was unresponsive when emergency responders arrived, and the child had no obvious injuries, Rouches said.
Arizona’s gay marriage ban struck down PHOENIX — A federal judge has struck down Arizona’s ban on gay marriage and cleared the way for legally recognized samesex unions in the state.
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Christina Koulouris, foreground, and Carmen Diaz, apply for a marriage license at the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County in Tucson, Ariz., Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. The couple have been together for nearly nine years and plan a big wedding. The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick bars state officials from enforcing a 1996 state law and a 2008 voterapproved constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from several states seeking to retain their bans on same-sex marriage. The move effectively legalized gay marriage in about 30 states. — 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, OCTOBER 18, 2014
Local
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Bank branch celebrates opening SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Citizens State Bank of Roma held a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening event Thursday at its new location, 134 S. U.S. Highway 83. Citizens State Bank President and CEO Roberto A. Salinas kicked off the event. Salinas welcomed public figures, local leaders and members of the business community. Salinas said the bank is here to serve the Zapata area with all the traditional banking products and services such as checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit and loans. He added that the bank is ready and able to help the community with home mortgage loans, commercial loans and consumer loans, such as new and used car and personal loans. Citizens State Bank was established in 1978 and has $82,000,000 in assets, according to a press release. The bank operates three locations. The main office is in Roma and its other branch is in Rio Grande City.
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Jesus Padilla, Belinda Bravo, Mayela Villarreal and Monica Martinez at the Citizens State Bank grand opening celebration.
Ana Gonzalez, Mayra Gonzalez, Jessica Benavides and Yvette Garza at the Zapata Citizens State Bank grand opening celebration.
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Bill Green, Robert A. Salinas and Jose Vela at the Citizens State Bank grand opening celebration.
Ignacio Mijares, Alvaro Guerrero, Orlando Rodriguez and Martin Canales at the Citizens State Bank grand opening celebration.
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Vraulia G. Bazan, Sylvia Canales, Cristina Barrera and Gloria Moreno at the Citizens State Bank grand opening celebration.
Joe Medrano and Romeo Salinas at the Citizens State Bank grand opening.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Mattress fall results in broken art AUSTIN — You’ve seen the ads, you know the deal: If you don’t buy a new mattress every few weeks something bad will happen to you, something like creepy crawlers creepy crawling up your nose during sleep or other bedcentric activities. But bad things also can happen if you do buy a new mattress. Austinites David and Suzanne Booth found that out the hard way. So says a lawsuit. Let’s meet the Booths. He’s co-founder/co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors, which manages $378 billion for investors and strives “to add value over benchmarks and peers through an integrated and flexible approach that considers the interactions among premiums, market frictions and costs.” Sounds like it involves math. Forbes magazine this year named Booth as Austin’s third billionaire, joining computer guru Michael Dell and hair-goo guru John Paul DeJoria. The Booths are major philanthropists. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is so named because the Booths gave it $300 million in 2008. (It’s his grad school alma mater.) They founded Friends of Heritage Preservation, which selects projects for restoration. See its impressive work at fohpinfo.org. In 2010, the Booths paid $4.3 million for basketball inventor James Naismith’s original 1891 rules of the game. The rules are displayed at the University of Kansas, where Naismith coached and David Booth graduated. Now to the Booths’ new mattress, ordered for them in June 2013 from Wildflower Organics (where you can now get the Keetsa Tea Leaf Dream for $2,098 or the Royal-Pedic Latex 7-zone Quilt Top for $4,149. Call Gunnar at 888-760-5856.) Delivery was by Elephant Moving (and no, the mattress was not delivered in a trunk, and this is my column so keep your jokes to yourself) on Aug. 5, 2013, according to the lawsuit, which notes a “wide winding staircase” was involved. All went well until it didn’t. “While defendant Elephant Moving’s employees and/or independent contractors carried the mattress up the stairs to the second floor,” says the lawsuit, “the mattress shifted position and struck a valuable oil on canvas painting by a reputable artist, Ellsworth Kelly, that was hanging
“
KEN HERMAN
on the wall, causing it to fall and hit another piece of fine art, a wall sculpture by John McCracken. Both pieces of art fell to the first floor and sustained damages as herein set forth.” Alas, we are not told whether either Booth was home to see the action. “Mr. Booth is unavailable,” his spokesman Adam Martin said in response to my request to speak to Booth. We are left to assume a transcript of the mattress delivery would look like this: CRASH “?$)-!” If you’re laughing now, if you’re even smiling about other people’s travails, you’re a bad human and I’m initiating proceedings to have your voting rights revoked. The lawsuit was filed by Federal Insurance Co., which covered the Booths, is paying their claim and now wants to collect from Elephant Moving. The suit says the painting is worth $1.35 million and the sculpture goes for $225,000. There’s nothing in the suit about how the mattress fared. Maybe Gunnar knows. The suit said Federal Insurance has paid for the sculpture damage (Brief pause for limited audience reference. Overheard at repair shop when this sculpture was fixed: “Release the McCracken!”) and is awaiting final word on the cost of the damage to the painting. The Elephant folks, according to the lawsuit, failed to “properly and adequately plan, inspect, oversee, transport, deliver, carry and place the mattress using safe methods and to protect against damage to the Booth home and personal property during delivery.” Elephant Moving sales manager Joanna Levi said she was unaware of the lawsuit and “vaguely” recalled the incident, which she said happened because the customers failed to clear the way for the delivery. The deliverers, she said, “may have brushed a picture off a wall.” So add this to life’s difficult choices: Live with the creepy crawlies in your old mattress or put your high-dollar art collection at risk. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: kherman@statesman.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
EDITORIAL
Putin should not be allowed to wipe away Soviet past WASHINGTON POST
The old trunk weighed more than 81 pounds. It was crammed with handwritten letters sent between 1946 and 1954 that were held together with string and rubber bands. The letters revealed the love story of Lev and Svetlana Mishchenko, a couple separated by Lev’s imprisonment in the Soviet gulag after World War II. What made the letters extraordinary is that they were uncensored, smuggled back and forth from the Pechora prison camp in the far north. The letters became the basis for Orlando Figes’ moving book, “Just Send Me Word,” published in 2012. What makes this relevant today is that the Mishchenko trove of letters was found by Figes at Memorial, a Russian organiza-
tion formed in the dying days of the Soviet Union to ensure that the story of Stalinist repression would not be forgotten. Memorial has also, separately, been at the forefront of human rights work, determined not to let the brutality of the past be repeated. Now Memorial is facing demands by President Vladimir Putin’s government that the organization be closed. This would represent a loss beyond description. In its archives, Memorial has preserved stories of the suffering inflicted upon millions of people by the Soviet police state. The Mishchenkos survived and were reunited; many others met a worse fate. The only way a society can begin to heal from such wounds is to preserve the lessons of history for future generations.
But Mr. Putin, a scion of the Soviet KGB that inflicted so much of the suffering, has no use for Memorial. On Friday, news services reported that the Russian Justice Ministry had filed a petition with the Supreme Court to force Memorial to close. A hearing is set for Nov. 13. The move appears to be based on a legal technicality concerning Memorial’s structure, which includes a Moscow office and a decentralized network of regional groups that engage in human rights, charitable, historical and educational work. Memorial, registered with the Justice Ministry in 1992, has existed this way for many years, but only now has the government decided there is something wrong. As if to twist the knife, Mr. Putin’s loyalists unleashed a smear
campaign against Memorial on the NTV television channel, accusing the group of supporting extremists and terrorists. Earlier, the Kremlin’s pressure on Memorial included attempts to force it to accept the status of a “foreign agent” under a new Russian law that has been used to harass groups that receive funding from abroad. Memorial has resisted the insulting label, which is redolent of Sovietstyle accusations of disloyalty and treachery. No one should underestimate the power of the Russian state to crush a person or organization. Mr. Putin has done it repeatedly to silence his critics. But the squelching of Memorial would be an especially grievous blow to the Russian people and their ability to understand, and shape, their history.
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
Nothing to worry about with Ebola, feds say, but … By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
Welcome to the (almost) weekly edition of “What the heck are the people charged with keeping us safe doing?” This week it’s the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has spent every second since Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola at a Texas hospital telling all of us that everything is cool and there’s nothing to worry about. Last Sunday that narrative began to unravel as Ni-
na Pham, one of the nurses who had cared for Duncan (he eventually passed away), was diagnosed with Ebola. That news was soon followed by a second Ebola case — this one a nurse named Amber Vinson, who not only was involved in Duncan’s care but flew on a commercial flight the Monday night, a day before she was admitted to the hospital. And guess what? Vinson had a low-grade fever on the flight from Cleveland to Dallas, a fever she told the CDC about before boarding. They said she was good to go.
So let’s get this straight. A woman who had direct contact with the only Ebola patient in the entire country was not only allowed to fly on a commercial jet but allowed to do so while exhibiting one of the symptoms of Ebola. (She also flew from Dallas to Cleveland Oct. 10, before she showed symptoms.) “She should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” CDC head Thomas Frieden told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. No kidding! (Earlier Frieden suggested that a “breach of protocol” was re-
sponsible for Pham’s illness; he later apologized for that one.) The feeling for anyone paying close attention — and that’s everyone at this point — was that the CDC seemed surprised at every turn by the virus. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. The CDC, for not exhibiting much control or prevention, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something. Cillizza covers the White House for The Washington Post and writes The Fix, its politics blog.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
Ana heads toward Hawaii By AUDREY MCAVOY AND CATHY BUSSEWITZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — The powerful Pacific storm churning toward Hawaii became a hurricane but remained far enough away from the islands allowing tourists to make the most of Friday’s sunny weather. The National Weather Service said Friday that Ana became a Category 1 hurricane about 230 miles south of Hilo with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. A tropical storm watch was in effect throughout the archipelago. The islands’ south shores were expected to see large swells churned up by Ana, with waves as high as 10 to 20 feet. But the swells remained small on Oahu on Friday morning, where surfers and paddle boarders caught a few waves at Waikiki Beach. Tourists Kim and Adam Stocker from New Hampshire were exploring the Big Island’s West side, and weren’t going to let a storm interfere with their first trip to Hawaii. “It’s like ‘I don’t care, I’m going. Hurricane or not,” said Adam Stocker, 49. “I got the time off. It’s already paid for.” Heavy rainfall may reach the Big Island this afternoon, with about 6 to 8 inches of rainfall expected. Some isolated areas may get up to a foot of rain. The storm was expected to pass 115 miles southwest of the Big Island on Friday night, and to pass the rest of the Hawaiian islands over the weekend.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Judge denies try to supress evidence By DENISE LAVOIE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — A federal judge on Friday rejected a request by lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to throw out evidence collected during searches of his apartment, dorm room and laptop computer. Judge George O’Toole Jr. also denied a request to dismiss the indictment against Tsarnaev over defense concerns about an underrepresentation of African-Americans and people over the age of 70 on federal juries. Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of carrying out the April 2013 bombing, which killed three people and injured 260. Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that the warrants authorizing searches of his family’s apartment in Cambridge and his dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth weren’t specific enough and that some items were improperly seized. They also challenged the search of Tsarnaev’s Yahoo
Photo by Steven Senne | AP
Robel Phillipos, center, a college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, arrives at federal court with defense attorney Derege Demissie, right, to attend his trial, Thursday, in Boston. email accounts and said authorities improperly used the fruits of those searches to later search his Gmail accounts. Prosecutors say Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, planted twin pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon’s finish line. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout
with police three days after the bombings while Dzhokhar was captured. Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that agents who searched his email accounts and laptop engaged in “general rummaging,” which is prohibited by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which
protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. O’Toole rejected that argument. “This is fishing,” O’Toole wrote. “The defendant has failed to present any specific facts to support a showing that ‘general rummaging’ occurred.” In their motion to dismiss the indictment, Tsarnaev’s lawyers said there are problems in the way grand juries are selected in Boston, including the automatic excusing of jurors over 70 years old upon request. But the judge rejected those arguments as well, finding that they had not shown a violation to the constitutional right to have a jury chosen from a “fair cross-section” of the community. Both prosecutors and the defense declined to comment on the judge’s rulings. Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges and could face the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin in January.
Ebola
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
CLEANING UP A SCARE
Photo by Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser | AP
Emergency workers clean an eye clinic in Montgomery, Ala. where a woman complaining of ebola-like symptoms caused the facility to be shut down on Friday. Officials believe this will be a false alarm.
News Guide: A look at latest Ebola developments ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama turned to a trusted adviser to lead the nation’s Ebola response as public-health officials expanded their containment efforts to include a cruise ship at sea and multiple airline flights. The World Health Organization admitted making mistakes in failing to control the outbreak still spreading in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. A look at the top Ebola developments worldwide Friday:
The latest Facing renewed criticism of his handling of the crisis, Obama made Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, his point man on fighting Ebola at home and in West Africa. Meanwhile, the U.N. health agency said in a draft internal document obtained by The Associated Press that “nearly everyone involved in the outbreak response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall.” The response was marred by incompetency and ineffective bureaucracy, the document said, and experts should have realized that traditional containment methods would not work in an African region
with porous borders and broken health systems.
Caribbean cruise ship Government officials sought to remove from a Caribbean cruise ship a Dallas health care worker who handled an Ebola lab specimen, although she has shown no signs of infection for 19 days. But the ship did not get clearance to dock in Cozumel, Mexico. A day earlier, officials in Belize would not allow the woman or her spouse to leave, a Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman said. The cruise line said the ship was now on the way to its home port of Galveston, Texas, for its originally scheduled return of Sunday morning. The cruise company said that the woman, a lab supervisor traveling with her spouse, remained in isolation “and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew.” Still, under tighter travel rules placed on Dallas hospital workers after a nurse caught Ebola from a Liberian patient, the woman should not be on the ship.
Training survivors The United Nations has begun training Ebola survivors to help respond to the soaring number of cases in West Africa, because people
who’ve overcome the disease are now immune to it. The U.N. is training survivors to work with children in Liberia and Sierra Leone who’ve had contact with infected people, often family members, and require 21 days of isolation. “Ebola has hijacked every aspect of life” in the hardest-hit countries, said Sarah Crowe, UNICEF’s crisis communications chief. The disease has left an estimated 3,700 orphans across the region. Survivors of Ebola can offer the love and attention a small child needs, without the fear that has made life “a very unhuman experience,” she said.
A new drug A North Carolina drugmaker plans to test its experimental antiviral drug in patients who have Ebola, after getting authorization from regulators at the Food and Drug Administration. Chimerix Inc. said it has received FDA clearance to proceed with a trial examining the safety and effectiveness of its brincidofovir tablets. The drug is available for immediate use. The FDA does not publicly confirm when it has granted companies permission to begin testing. The agency has not approved any drugs or vaccines to treat Ebola.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
‘Czar’ has no background in public health By JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — If there’s one thing the “Ebola czar” knows, it’s government. Ron Klain, President Barack Obama’s new point man on Ebola, has no medical or public health background. But he does have a wealth of experience managing unruly federal bureaucracies in times of crisis. The White House says that makes him the perfect candidate to shepherd the government’s response to a deadly, growing outbreak. Yet after demanding that Obama appoint a “czar,” some Republicans are balking at the president’s choice of a Washington insider and political operative to handle a public health emergency. And though Klain has tackled the national financial crisis and served as chief of staff to two vice
presidents — he’s even been portrayed by Kevin Spacey in an HBO film — KLAIN his latest gig may prove his toughest challenge. “He’s there to get the job done, not win the Nobel Prize in medicine,” said Bruce Reed, another former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden. Under immense pressure to step up his response, Obama turned to Klain on Friday. He’s being asked to synchronize an alphabet blizzard of federal agencies: the CDC, NIH, HHS, DHS, FDA and DOD, to name a few. All are working in one fashion or another to stem Ebola in the U.S. and in West Africa, but breakdowns in the system that led to two health workers contracting Ebola in Dallas have raised concerns
that the government isn’t doing enough. His title isn’t “czar.” He’s the government’s Ebola response coordinator. Klain was Obama’s first choice for the job, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. He’s expected to stay on the job just five or six months and will report to Obama’s homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, and his national security adviser, Susan Rice. Those two advisers have been at the forefront of the Ebola operation at the White House, but with other threats competing for their attention, Earnest said Obama saw a need to bring on outside help to focus on Ebola. An attorney and longtime Democratic operative, Klain served as Vice President Al Gore’s chief of staff and was a key figure during the 2000 Florida presidential election recount.
Ebola
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Woman at Pentagon doesn’t have virus By LOLITA C. BALDOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Patrick Semansky | AP
People watch as a door on a plane with nurse Nina Pham aboard opens at Frederick Municipal Airport, on Thursday, in Frederick, Maryland. Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, was diagnosed with the Ebola virus. She will be transported to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
First Dallas nurse with Ebola in fair condition By JESSICA GRESKO ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The first nurse to be diagnosed with Ebola after treating an infected man at a Dallas hospital has been sitting up and eating and has her iPad after being moved to a specialized isolation unit near Washington, officials said Friday. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday that Nina Pham’s condition is stable and she is resting comfortably at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He said she is “in good spirits.” Pham, 26, arrived shortly before midnight Thursday and was admitted to the clinical studies unit. Doctors said her mother and sister also were in the Washington area. Pham is being treated by staff specializing in infectious dis-
ease and critical care. Workers are monitored as they put on and remove protective clothing and nurses are working in pairs in Pham’s room, with one watching the other to make sure correct procedures are followed. They also limit the amount of time they spend in her room to reduce fatigue. At a briefing outside NIH, Fauci was asked whether Pham’s condition had changed for the worse since she left Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where she was described as in good condition. “She’s not deteriorating,” he said. He said that he couldn’t describe the reasons NIH doctors rated her status as “fair” without violating patient confidentiality but that she was fatigued by the journey. Such a condition “implies that she does still have some symptoms,” he said. Dr. Rick Davey, the deputy clinical director of the NIAID’s division of clinical research who
examined Pham, said she is “doing quite well compared to what we were told about her status at the other hospital.” Fauci said, “We fully intend to have this patient walk out of this hospital.” Pham flew late Thursday from Dallas to Maryland. She was seen walking gingerly down the stairs of the plane to an awaiting ambulance that brought her to the hospital. In a video shot Thursday in her Dallas hospital room, she is seen smiling as she sits upright in a hospital bed while a man identified as her treating physician can be heard thanking her for getting well and being part of the volunteer team that took care of Duncan, who died of Ebola last week. “Come to Maryland. Everybody,” Pham laughs into the camera before wiping away tears with a tissue handed to her by an attendant in full protective gear.
WASHINGTON — A woman who became ill in the Pentagon parking lot does not have Ebola, Virginia public health authorities said Friday, ending a daylong scare that forced the temporary quarantine of military members going to a Marine Corps ceremony in Washington. Officials at Arlington and Fairfax counties’ public health departments said they are confident the woman does not have Ebola, based on her travel history and questioning by medical officials. They said she was put in isolation at Inova Fairfax Hospital, and that medical personnel took all needed precautions. Pentagon police shut down a building entrance and a portion of the south parking lot when the woman boarded a shuttle bus, then got off and vomited. Officials say she told them she had recently been in West Africa. Officials temporarily sequestered personnel who went to her aid. Arlington County, Virginia, where the Pentagon is located, responded with a hazardous materials team, and police cordoned off the area, treating the incident as a possible Ebola case.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Tom Crosson said that “out of an abundance of caution,” all pedestrian and vehicle traffic was stopped across 17 lanes of the huge parking lot. A building entrance was temporarily closed, he said. The Pentagon initiated infectious disease protocols. The woman told officials she worked for Total Spectrum, a lobbying and public relations firm. Its managing director, Steve Gordon, said in an interview that the woman had not been out of the Washington area. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to comment publicly by name, said the woman was on a shuttle bus taking guests to a ceremony for Gen. Joe Dunford, who is taking over as commandant of the Marine Corps. She got off the shuttle before it left the Pentagon lot and then vomited. Officials notified the FBI and checked the woman’s background and possible travel to West Africa. According to defense officials, seven Pentagon officers who assisted the woman were isolated as well as the group on the shuttle bus.
WHO faults self for Ebola failures By MARIA CHENG ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — The World Health Organization bungled efforts to halt the spread of Ebola in West Africa, an internal report revealed Friday. The stepped-up scrutiny of the international response came as U.S. officials rushed to cut off potential routes of infection. The document — a timeline of the outbreak — found that WHO, an arm of the United Nations, missed chances to prevent Ebola from spreading soon after it was first diagnosed in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea last spring, blaming factors including incom-
petent staff and a lack of information. Its own experts failed to grasp that traditional infectious disease containment methods wouldn’t work in a region with porous borders and broken health systems, the report found. “Nearly everyone involved in the outbreak response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall,” WHO said in the report. The agency’s own bureaucracy was part of the problem, the report found. It pointed out that the heads of its country offices in Africa are “politically motivated appointments” made by the WHO regional director.
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve CAMINATA La Comisión de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Roma presenta la Primer Caminata Comunitaria Anual “Camina Sobre el Cáncer”, el sábado 25 de octubre, a partir de las 8:30 a.m. Arrancará en el Citizens State Bank y concluirá en Guadalupe Plaza. Los registros esta semana se realizarán el martes, miércoles y jueves de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. en el Centro Comunitario Roma. Se solicita una donación de 25 dólares, la cual incluye una camiseta para el participante. Las ganancias se destinarán al Pink Positive Breast Cancer Foundation. Se invita a sobrevivientes de cáncer, familiares y amigos.
CONCURSO ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS Comisión de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Roma invita al Primer Concurso de Cocina y Festividad Comunitaria de Acción de Gracias ‘Gobble Till Ya Wobble!’ el sábado 22 de noviembre en el Parque Municipal Roma. Cuota de entrada es de 150 dólares por equipo. La comunidad está invitada gratuitamente a disfrutar una cena con la comida que se prepare. Las categorías participantes son: fajitas, costillitas de puerco, carne guisada, frijoles, pan de campo y pavo.
SÁBADO 18 DE OCTUBRE DE 2014
TAMAULIPAS
Bajo investigación POR REBECCA SALINAS SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
SAN ANTONIO –— Oficiales de Tamaulipas se encuentran investigando el secuestro y homicidio de una doctora de Reynosa, María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, quien además era una supuesta periodista del pueblo que denunciaba la violencia en la entidad. En un comunicado de prensa dado a conocer por el Estado de Tamaulipas, se indica que Fuentes Rubio fue secuestrada alrededor del mediodía del miércoles en la ciudad fronteriza, por un grupo de perso-
nas armadas, no identificadas. La cuenta de Twitter asociada con su nombre, @Miut3, fue pirateada por secuestradores, quienes posteriormente Twitearon una fotografía de un cuerpo ensangrentado y sin vida, el jueves por la mañana. El estado que acompañaba a la foto sugería que una personas cerraron sus cuentas a fin de no poner en riesgo las vidas de sus familiares. Otros Tweets indicaban: “Hoy mi vida llegó a su final” y “Solamente puedo decirles que no comentan los mismos errores que yo cometí” de acuerdo a imágenes
tomadas de la cuenta de Twitter en línea. Desde entonces Twitter suspendió la cuenta. La cuenta de Fuentes Rubio en Twitter una vez fue utilizada para compartir información acerca de posibles tiroteo entre una pandilla y la comunidad del cártel, pero desde entonces fue cancelada. The Monitor reporta que los hackers hicieron un llamado a los ciudadanos de la cuenta @ValorTamaulipas, afirmando que “la muerte está más cerca de lo que creen”. Valor por Tamaulipas respon-
dió a través de Facebook diciendo: “Hoy, Miut3 dejó de informar. Pero los delincuentes no saben que Miut3 esta en nuestra alma y ella nunca se rendiría ante la delincuencia organizada”. Blogueros y activistas de paz mexicanos dijeron sentirse bajo ataque después del secuestro y posible homicidio de uno de sus colegas. Los pocos que se atreven a hablar dicen que continuarán, pero reconocen que la situación se ha vuelto más difícil. (Con información de Associated Press)
TEXAS
ZAPATA
PREVENCIÓN DE INCENDIOS Un empleado del Departamento de Bomberos del Condado de Zapata habla con estudiantes, el martes durante la Semana para Prevención de Incendios 2014. Los alumnos aprendieron acerca de seguridad ante incendios, las alarmas detectoras de humo, qué hacer en caso de un incendio, y sobre la ciencia qué ocurre cuando un incendio.
NUEVO BANCO El Citizens State Bank of Roma llevó a cabo una ceremonia de corte de listón y una ceremonia de apertura, el jueves, en su nueva ubicación en el 134 S. U.S. Highway 83. El Presidente y CEO del Citizens State Bank, Roberto A. Salinas, arrancó el evento. Salinas dio la bienvenida a funcionarios públicos, líderes locales y miembros de la comunidad empresarial. Salinas dijo que el banco estaba ahí para servir al área de Zapata con todos los productos tradicionales y servicios de la banca, tales como cuentas de cheques, cuentas de ahorros, certificados de depósito y préstamos. Agregó que el banco se encuentra listo y disponible para ayudar a la comunidad con préstamos hipotecarios, prestamos comerciales y prestamos al consumidor, tales como préstamos para la compra de carros nuevos y usados, o préstamos personales. El Citizens State Bank fue establecido en 1978 y actualmente tiene 82.000.000 en activos. El banco opera en tres ubicaciones. La oficina principal se encuentra en Roma, y sus otras sucursales están en Rio Grande City.
Foto de cortesía | ZCFD
RICK PERRY
Conmina prohibir vuelos Gobernador indica sería desde países con ébola TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
DALLAS — El gobernador de Texas, Rick Perry, se ha sumado a quienes exigen se prohíba la llegada a Estados Unidos de vuelos procedentes de los países más afectados por el ébola. Perry dijo el viernes que si el ébola cruza fronteras por el aire y que si así fue como esta enfermedad llegó a Texas, por ende la prohibición de los vuelos es una política correcta. Un hospital de Texas registró el primer caso de contagio en Estados Unidos después de la llegada de Thomas Eric Duncan procedente de Liberia. Duncan falleció la semana pasada a causa de la enfermedad. Contrajeron el virus dos enfermeras que participaron en el equipo médico que atendió a Duncan. Perry afirmó que ha solicitado al presidente Barack Obama que los casos de ébola sean remitidos de inmediato a las instalaciones médicas con mayor capacidad para hacer frente a la enfermedad. Los republicanos en el Congreso han exigido al gobierno del presidente Obama que se prohíban los vuelos relacionados con países de África Occidental, epicentro del brote de ébola.
ASEGURAMIENTOS El martes, personal de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional aseguró 1.844 kilogramos de marihuana, que estaba dentro de 223 paquetes, al recorrer una brecha del ejido Nuevo Caudillo del municipio de Valle Hermoso, México. También fueron decomisados dos fusiles Barret de alto poder. Durante un operativo realizado en Reynosa, México, elementos de la Policía Estatal Acreditable aseguraron 1.458 kilos de marihuana, 17 armas largas, 8.397 cartuchos, 300 cargadores y equipo táctico. El operativo se realizó el miércoles, después de recibir una denuncia anónima, que guió a los agentes a un domicilio ubicado en la colonia José López Portillo Dos. El equipo táctico consistió de 70 portacargadores, 11 tirantes, 10 camisolas camuflajeadas, 10 pecheras, 10 cinturones, cuatro portafusiles, dos bocinas de altavoces, dos radios, un casco balístico, un chaleco antibalas y una gorra.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO
TAMAULIPAS
Localizan siete Tiene ciudad nuevo vehículos con gimnasio equipado reporte robo TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Siete vehículos que tenían reporte de robo en los municipios de Matamoros y Altamira, México, fueron recuperados por oficiales de la Policía Estatal Acreditable. El miércoles, los agentes realizaban un operativo de vigilancia en la Colonia Nuevo Renacimiento de Matamoros, donde aseguraron cinco camionetas abandonadas y desvalijadas, indica un comunicado de prensa emitido por el Grupo de Coordinación Tamau-
lipas. En tanto, en el Fraccionamiento Jardines de Arboledas de Altamira, los policías estatales aseguraron un vehículo modelo 2008 con llantas ponchadas y desvalijado. Finalmente, en el Fraccionamiento El Edén recuperaron un vehículo modelo 2011 desmantelado y con abolladuras en la carrocería. Las unidades fueron recuperadas gracias a denuncias anónimas, y quedaron a disposición del Ministerio Público del Fuero Común en turno.
Fue inaugurada la ampliación del Gimnasio de Box y construcción del Gimnasio de Entrenamiento Físico ubicado en la Unidad Deportiva “Benito Juárez”, en la colonia Viveros en Nuevo Laredo, México. La inversión fue de más de 7 millones de pesos, para la edificación, y casi un millón y medio en el equipamiento con aparatos profesionales. El edificio que incluye una arena de box con dos cuadriláteros, gimnasio de pesas y cardiovascular, así como área de costales y peras para el entrenamiento de boxeo. El gimnasio, con capaci-
dad para 300 personas, está equipado con vestidor, área médica, guantes, guantaletas, protectores, fajas, caretas y protectores bucales marca Cleto Reyes para el uso de los boxeadores. En el área de pesas, los usuarios encontrarán aparatos para trabajar todos los músculos del cuerpo como barras olímpicas, discos olímpicos de diferente tipo y peso, aparatos para sentadillas, para pantorrillas, pecho y abdomen, así como pesas especiales para la práctica de la halterofilia. Para realizar ejercicio cardiovascular, las personas podrán utilizar las caminadoras, escaladoras, elípticas y bicicletas estacionarias con las que se
adecuó el área. “El cuerpo debe de formarse, alimentarse y mantenerse en forma y por eso queremos contribuir con este tipo de obras para que los ciudadanos cuenten con espacios deportivos dignos”, dijo el Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, Carlos Canturosas Villarreal. La obra incluyó pintura en muros y plafones, impermeabilización, duela, equipo hidroneumático, jardinería, cancelería, suministro y colocación de puertas, ventanas y protecciones, mobiliario de madera y herrería, suministro y colocación de piso de tatami y azulejo e instalaciones eléctricas y alumbrado.
Nation
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Plan tightens card security By MARCY GORDON AND JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Saying more must be done to stop data breaches affecting consumers, President Barack Obama announced on Friday a government plan to tighten security for the debit cards that transmit federal benefits like Social Security to millions of Americans. Cards issued by the federal government will now have an internal chip replacing magnetic strips to reduce the potential for fraud. Concern is growing over the security of Americans’ financial data, with an estimated 100 million people having been affected by breaches in the past year, including at big retailers like Target and Home Depot. In addition, the government will apply the security chips and personal identification numbers, called PINS, that replace signatures to all existing and newly issued government credit cards, Obama said. Payment terminals at federal government facilities will be equipped to handle cards with the new technology. In remarks at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Obama said that for victims of fraud and identity crimes, the experience is infuriating and heartbreaking. He said the problem requires a handson approach across the government. It’s imperative to ensure “that the American people have the basic safeguards that they can count on,” Obama said. The White House says the idea of the government program is to lead by example, to nudge the broader financial industry and retailers toward more secure standards. Obama noted that Home Depot Inc., Target Corp., Walgreen Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plan to install
No bar review for Biden’s son using cocaine By STEPHEN BRAUN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Martin Meissner/file | AP
A Mastercard chip-based credit card is held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Nov. 18, 2009. In the wake of recent data breaches, Visa and MasterCard are pushing for the adoption of microchips into U.S. cards. payment terminals in their stores equipped to handle cards with digital security chips and personal identification numbers, called PINS, which replace signatures. Obama also cited a plan by American Express Co. to support small businesses that upgrade their payment terminals with more secure standards, and a program by payments processor Visa Inc. to inform consumers and merchants about the new technologies. “There is a need to act and to move our economy toward stronger, more secure technologies that better secure transactions and safeguard sensitive data,” the White House said in a statement. Obama’s executive order also calls for the government to take new measures to help victims of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission will develop a new website for consumers to report identity theft and remedy errors with credit reporting. And Obama called on Congress to enact a single national standard for retailers to notify consumers of data breaches, to replace a
patchwork of state laws. Proposals have languished in Congress. In the wake of the massive data breaches, banks and retailers have sped the adoption of digital chips for credit and debit cards. They’ve set a deadline of October 2015 for wide use of chips in cards and payment terminals. The financial and retail industries have been at odds over solutions and adopting new security technology. The retailers have insisted that banks must upgrade the technology for the credit and debit cards they issue. Banks have countered that retailers must tighten their own security systems for processing card payments. They say it isn’t clear whether the digital chips would have prevented many of the retail breaches. Retailers want the chips, but they also want each debit or credit card transaction to require a PIN. Experts say it’s harder for criminals to steal PINS than to forge signatures. Similarly, digital chips are considered more secure than magnetic strips. The chips typically make data theft harder and are com-
mon in other countries. The magnetic strips use the same technology as cassette tapes to store account information and are easy to copy. By contrast, a digital chip generates a unique code each time it’s used. Criminals can steal and sell data from cards with chips, but they can’t create fraudulent cards. “Protecting consumer data is a shared responsibility, and merchants must have the same tough data-security standards as financial institutions,” Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said in a statement Friday. He said many banks “are accelerating the transition to chip technology, which can only be effective if merchants have the technology to accept the cards at the point of sale.” The National Retail Federation’s president, Matthew Shay, said the group “continues to work with our members and other stakeholders on practical and comprehensive solutions that are less about process and more about progress toward how we collaboratively prevent and combat this criminal activity.”
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden, the youngest son of Vice President Joe Biden, faces no automatic review of his law license in Connecticut following his discharge from the U.S. Navy Reserve after testing positive for cocaine use, Connecticut legal authorities said Friday. Hunter Biden works in Washington as a private equity executive and board director of an international energy firm, but he is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, where attorneys’ privileges can be examined under a disciplinary review system. Legal clients, state lawyers, judges and any citizen can file grievances, but as of Friday, none had been filed, authorities said. Lawyers in Connecticut face automatic review of their bar admission only when they have been convicted of a crime, said Michael P. Bowler, Connecticut’s Statewide Bar Counselor, who heads a team of lawyers that investigate attorney grievances. Criminal convictions have to be reviewed by a statewide grievance committee, as do other complaints, which can range from drug and alcohol abuse to inadequate legal representation. “At this point, I’m not aware that Mr. Biden has been arrested for anything, and certainly not convicted,” Bowler said. The Navy’s brief confirmation of Biden’s discharge did not cite any arrest or charges. Two people familiar with the
matter told The Associated Press he was kicked out after testing positive for cocaine, confirming what was reported by The Wall Street Journal. Bowler added that Biden had told state authorities in 2007 that he was also admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C. Current District of Columbia bar records do not show Biden as member. The Navy said Thursday that Biden was discharged in February from a part-time position as a public affairs officer in the Navy Reserve but did not provide a reason. Biden released a statement, “I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge.” Biden, 44, a former Washington lobbyist, is a managing partner at the Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm and a director at Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainebased energy company. A Washington lobbyist for Burisma, David Leiter, did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. Mark Dubois, the president of the Connecticut Bar Association, said that state bar and ethics officials are sensitive to news accounts involving misbehavior of lawyers admitted to practice in the state, but he said, “They have to be judicious about starting the process.” Dubois, who formerly investigated and prosecuted ethical misconduct as Connecticut Disciplinary Counsel, said authorities have initiated cases in the past involving drug and alcohol abuse by attorneys.
International
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
Powerful Hurricane Gonzalo now ashore By JOSH BALL AND DANICA COTO ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis | AP
Syrian Kurdish fighter Delkhwaz Sheikh Ahmad, 22, sits with his sons at his brother’s house in Suruc, Turkey, as he prepares to leave for Kobani, Syria, to rejoin the fighting on Friday.
Islamic State may have warplanes By VIVIAN SALAMA AND ZEINA KARAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Syrian activists say the Islamic State militant group has captured some MiG fighter jets and is test-flying the warplanes in Syria with the help of former Iraqi air force pilots. Friday’s account by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not be independently confirmed, and U.S. officials said they had no reports of the militants flying jets in support of their fighters in Iraq and Syria. The Observatory said the planes, seen flying over the Jarrah air base in the eastern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo province this week, are believed to be of the MiG-21 and MiG-23 variety. Rami Abdurrahman, director of the Observatory, said the planes have been flying at a low altitude, “apparently to avoid being detected by Syrian military radar in the area.” He described the flights as a “moral victory” for the Islamic State, saying “the jets could not fly much further without being knocked down” by the U.S. led-coalition that is conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The group is known to have seized fighter jets from at least one air base it captured from the Syrian army in Raqqa province earlier this year. Militant websites had posted photos of IS fighters with the warplanes, but it was unclear if they were operational. Abdurrahman said Islamic State members were being trained by Iraqi officers who had joined the group and who were once pilots under Saddam Hussein. The Jarrah air base was captured by Islamic groups including al-Qaida’s Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, in early 2013. It was taken by Islamic State militants in January 2014. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, said he has no operational reports of IS militants flying jets in support of their forces. Austin, the head of the U.S. Central Command who is directing the fight in Iraq and Syria, told Pentagon reporters he also has no information about Iraqi pilots defecting to IS. An Iraqi intelligence official said the government is aware of several ex-Iraqi military officers going to Syria to train militants with the Islamic State group. He added the militants acquired warplanes from al-Tabaqa air base in Syria but did not get any when they toppled the Iraqi military in Mosul. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. If IS fighters learn how to use such aircraft, they would become vulnerable to both Syrian and Iraqi MANPADS — man-portable-air-defense-systems — and coalition fighters, said Richard Brennan, an Iraq expert at RAND Corporation and former U.S. Defense Department policymaker.
“The possession of these aircrafts will have a minimal military impact — however, they will provide a significant psychological boost to IS, especially if IS can find a way to periodically employ them against military or civilian targets,” Brennan said. The report on the warplanes came as the Islamic State battled for two strategic towns hundreds of miles apart in Iraq and Syria. The group pressed an offensive on the Iraqi city of Ramadi, the capital of the vast Sunni-dominated Anbar province located 70 miles west of Baghdad. Ramadi has, for the most part, remained in the hands of Iraqi military forces since the group first pushed into Anbar province in December 2013. The government in Baghdad imposed a curfew Friday in Ramadi as Iraqi forces moved to eliminate pockets of resistance there, said Sabah Karhout, the chairman of the Anbar provincial council. Capturing Ramadi would have a ripple effect throughout the Anbar, since controlling the provincial capital would ultimately paralyze the surrounding areas and help the militant group secure yet another corridor with Syria for the passage of fighters, munitions and field artillery to move between both countries. Major operations also are underway in Iraq’s Salahuddin province to retake key areas in between the city of Tikrit, which is mostly controlled by the Sunni militant group, and the town of Beiji, home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery. Two Iraqi military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media, said the operation was receiving significant coalition air support. In the past week, the U.S. Central Command has reported only three airstrikes in Anbar province: one of them near Ramadi, one near the captured town of Hit and one near the Haditha Dam. By contrast, at least 60 coalition airstrikes were launched this week in Syria around the Kurdish town of Kobani to try to scale back the militants’ onslaught near the border with Turkey. The fierce fighting for Kobani has allowed the coalition to take out large numbers of Islamic State militants, Austin said, restricting the fighters’ freedom of movement and communications. Clashes between Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants continued in Kobani. A Kurdish official said Kurdish fighters have begun sharing information with the coalition to coordinate strikes against IS militants there. The admission could further complicate relations between Washington and Ankara, which views the main Syrian Kurdish militia with suspicion because of its links to the Kurdish PKK insurgent group. “There is direct coordination between Kurdish and American coalition
forces,” Nawaf Khalil, spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, told The Associated Press. “That’s no secret. It began about a week ago,” he said. The party’s armed wing, known as the People’s Protection Units or YPG, has been struggling to defend Kobani — also known as Ayn Arab — against the Islamic State group despite dozens of coalition airstrikes against the extremists. Khalil said Kurdish fighters provided “correct and credible intelligence” early on, building trust with the coalition. There was no immediate comment from U.S. military officials. The battle for Kobani has emerged as a key test for the coalition air campaign. Turkey has ground forces and tanks just over the border but has declined to intervene. It views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which waged a long insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and NATO. Khalil’s acknowledgement of coordination came after State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday that U.S. officials had met with members of the Syrian Kurdish party for the first time. Khalil said the meeting took place last week in Paris and that it wasn’t the first time. “The contact isn’t new,” he said, “but the admission of it is.” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf on Friday confirmed “some intelligence and information sharing going on” between the U.S. and Kurdish fighters in Syria. She would not rule out future U.S. arms transfers to the Kurdish fighters but said, “Obviously, that’s not something we’re doing.” She said she was not aware of other direct talks between the U.S. and the PYD leaders before the Kurdish group’s leader, Saleh Muslim, met Sunday with Daniel Rubinstein, the State Department’s special envoy for Syria. NOTICE TO CREDITORS Notice is hereby given that the original Letters of Administration for the Estate of Amalia V. Benavides, Deceased, were issued on September 18, 2014, in Docket No. P-01830 pending in the Probate Court of Zapata County, Texas, to: Ramon Benavides, Jr. Claims may be presented in care of the attorney for the Estate addressed as follows: Ramon Benavides, Jr., Administrator for the Estate of Amalia V. Benavides, Deceased c/o Cynthia L. Benavides Jones, Galligan, Key & Lozano, L.L.P. Attorneys at Law P.O. Drawer 1247 Weslaco, Texas 78599-1247 All persons having claims against this Estate which is currently being administered are required to present to them within the time and in the manner prescribed by law. DATED this 7th day of October, 2014.
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HAMILTON, Bermuda — The leading edge of Hurricane Gonzalo moved onto Bermuda on Friday evening, pounding the British territory with fierce wind and heavy surf as a powerful Category 3 storm that could raise coastal seas as much as 10 feet. The storm’s top sustained winds were clocked at 115 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Gonzalo was moving north-northeast at 16 mph and was expected to batter Bermuda for hours during the night. A white haze covered the island as waves slammed into the shore and wind uprooted trees. The Bermuda Weather Service said the eye of Gonzalo would move over parts of the island, bringing a lull, but warned people not to go outside because the most dangerous winds were expected after nightfall. Hurricane-force winds were predicted to batter Bermuda for seven hours, and forecasters said a storm surge would cause significant flooding on an island about one-third the size of Washington, D.C. “We are still looking at an imminent pass near or over Bermuda,” said Jeff Torgerson, a meteorologist for the Bermuda Weather Service. The agency said seas outside the reef were 30 feet and still building. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm’s wind speed was likely to slow as Gonzalo moved farther northward on a track that would take it past Newfoundland and across the Atlantic to Britain and Ireland, with a tropical storm watch is-
Photo by Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press | AP
Jeremy Match, a meteorologist at Canadian Hurricane Centre, tracks Hurricane Gonzalo in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on Friday. sued for parts of southeastern Newfoundland. But “any weakening is probably too late to spare Bermuda, with almost all of the guidance showing the system as a major hurricane as it moves nearby.” Meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said a storm surge was approaching Bermuda as waves of 35 to 40 feet built up out in open ocean. “That’s a pretty big wall of water,” he said in a phone interview. The last major hurricane to strike Bermuda was Fabian in September 2003, a Category 3 storm that killed three police officers and another person while causing more than $100 million in damage as it tore off roofs, pulverized trees and flooded famed golf courses. It also damaged the causeway linking the airport to most of Bermuda and left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power. Forecasters said Gonzalo was on the same path as Fabian and expected to cause similar damage. The last major hurricane to cross land in the Atlantic Basin was Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which hit Cuba as a Category 3 storm. Bermuda has a population of roughly 70,000 and
lies 850 miles east of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world and is well-prepared to handle intense storms, with officials enforcing strict building codes to ensure homes can withstand sustained winds of at least 110 mph. The island’s premier urged those in low-lying areas to consider moving to higher ground. “We should expect at least 24 hours of storm-force winds,” Premier Michael Dunkley said. Bermuda closed its schools, the international airport and the causeway. Despite warnings to take shelter, a crowd gathered at Elbow Beach Friday morning on the island’s southeast coast to watch the growing waves and swap safety tips. Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva expressed alarm over the number of people on the road as the storm approached. The Royal Gazette newspaper reported one man had to be rescued from his boat and authorities briefly reopened the causeway to take a man to the hospital. Soldiers from the Bermuda Regiment were dispatched to several areas, with some stationed at nursing homes.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Houston takes a different angle on subpoenas of sermons By KATHERINE DRIESSEN HOUSTON CHRONICLE
The Parker administration this week continued to stand by the principle, if not the wording, of its subpoenas of local pastors as Christian conservative groups and politicians, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, railed against the idea. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has conceded the request for the communications of certain pastors who led opposition to the city’s equal rights ordinance earlier this year — most notably sermons that mentioned homosexuality, the ordinance or Parker — was “overly broad.” City Attorney David Feldman late Thursday said the city would file a narrow request dropping the word “sermons.” The subpoenas are part of a lawsuit filed by opponents of the ordinance passed by City Council last May banning discrimination among businesses that serve the public, private employers, in housing and in city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. The city has suspended
enforcement of the ordinance until the opponents’ lawsuit is resolved. Though singling out sermons was probCRUZ lematic, Feldman said, the pastors are not shielded from sharing communications that are pertinent to the suit. Conservative religious groups, however, have broadly condemned any subpoena of pastors as an infringement on religious liberties. “The city of Houston has no power, no legal authority to silence the church,” Cruz told a large audience at Houston’s First Baptist Church on Thursday. “Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit.” For the churches, the issue of whether those subpoenaed documents could call their tax-exempt status into question also is at stake. Legal and political science experts said it is a politically fraught issue that governments generally have trod carefully, or avoided altogether. Tax-exempt churches cannot use the pulpit to promote a specific candidate, but can
use it as forum to discuss policy, such as the city’s equal rights ordinance, Southern Methodist University political science Professor Matthew Wilson said. “The city was counting on the fact that the distinction would be muddled in the court of public opinion,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t.” Feldman said the intent behind the subpoena was never to prove the churches were violating the terms of their taxexempt status, but to produce proof that pastors who organized a petition drive to put a repeal referendum on the ballot knew the city’s rigorous charter rules but failed to follow them. At the crux of opponents’ lawsuit is whether Feldman incorrectly invalidated their petitions to force a referendum. “The fact that you happen to be a pastor and you happen to be at a church doesn’t provide you with protection,” Feldman said. The city may have a point, University of Houston law professor Peter Linzer said. While the churches are correct that the original subpoena was too broad, the city
likely has a legitimate right to seek communications about what specific petition instructions may have been given out, he said. The original subpoena requests much more than that, seeking “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or anyone in your possession.” Much of that request likely would be difficult to obtain, Linzer said. “When it comes to whether the ballot petition was correctly done, I see no constitutional problem with that,” Linzer said. “I do see most of the current subpoena as overly broad.” Whether or not the revised subpoena is successful, the city has entered a politically treacherous area, according to University of Akron professor John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. “In most of the country, certainly in the South, this kind of subpoena is viewed by the public as an overreach,” Green said.
PERRY Continued from Page 1A fensible” that one of the health care workers who had treated Duncan was allowed to fly from Ohio to Texas “with a low-grade fever” before being diagnosed with Ebola. Perry said he asked Obama to consider creating “a no-fly list that the airlines then respect” of people in the U.S. who had been potentially exposed to Ebola. “And that is an option that I asked him to consider to clearly send a message,” Perry said. “It defies common sense, from my perspective, that someone who has been in close proximity, or has treated these patients, that they would go out and expose other people possibly to this — that they would travel out of state, that they would go on a cruise.” That was a reference to a Dallas health care worker who handled a lab specimen of Duncan’s, then boarded a cruise ship and is now in self-quarantine. Perry said Texas’ health commissioner can restrict people’s travel and movement amid risks of spread-
ing infectious diseases, but that there aren’t legal consequences until someone actually violates such orders — prompting him to broach the subject with the president. The governor had been leading an economic development mission in Europe but returned home early after word that the two Dallas nurses had Ebola. Perry also has created a special infectious diseases task force. On Friday, that panel issued preliminary recommendations, including establishing special Ebola treatment centers around Texas, expanding virus-related training for health care workers and creating more labs equipped to test for Ebola than the single Austin facility currently doing so. The task force also wants the Legislature, which doesn’t convene until January, to let the state health commissioner impose travel and freedom of movement restrictions on Texans with infectious diseases to limit exposure to the general public.
EBOLA “CZAR” Continued from Page 1A break response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall,” the U.N. health agency said in a draft internal document obtained by The Associated Press. The response was marred by incompetency and ineffective bureaucracy, the document says, and experts should have realized that traditional containment methods wouldn’t work in an African region with porous borders and broken health systems. Under pressure from Republican lawmakers, Obama on Thursday said that he was not “philosophically opposed” to considering restricting travel to the U.S. from the three Ebola-stricken West African nations. But he said health and security experts continue to tell him that the screening measures already in place for travelers are more effective. White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday reaffirmed the White House’s current opposition to such restrictions. “At this point, if our core priority is protecting the American public, then we’re not going to put in place a travel ban,” he said. Government officials said early Friday that they had been seeking to remove from a Caribbean cruise ship a Dallas health care worker who handled an Ebola lab specimen, al-
though she has shown no signs of infection for 19 days. But the ship did not get clearance to dock in Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday, a day after officials in Belize would not allow the woman or her spouse to leave, a Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman said. The cruise line said the ship was now on the way to its home port of Galveston, Texas, for its originally scheduled return of Sunday morning. The cruise company said that the woman, a lab supervisor traveling with her spouse, remained in isolation “and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew.” Still, under new tighter travel rules placed on the staff of a Dallas hospital where two nurses caught Ebola from a Liberian patient, the woman would not have been permitted to be on the ship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Ebola isn’t contagious until symptoms appear. Ebola isn’t spread through the air like the flu; people catch it by direct contact with a sick person’s bodily fluids, such as blood or vomit. Doctors at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland said that a Dallas nurse, Nina Pham, brought there for Ebola treatment was very tired but resting
Rusty Schram/The Temple Daily Telegram | AP
Workers prepare to disinfect North Belton Middle School on Friday, in Belton. The school district has temporarily closed three campuses after a family of four, including two students, traveled on the same flight as a nurse who has since been diagnosed with Ebola. comfortably Friday in “fair” condition. The second nurse to contract Ebola, Amber Vinson, was being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, as precautions related to her personal travel spiraled wider. Passengers and crew aboard seven Frontier Airlines flights were affected,
too, as well as a handful of people in the Akron, Ohio, area. An Akron bridal shop that Vinson visited was closed and shoppers were being contacted. A CDC official said Vinson may already have had Ebola when she flew from Dallas to Ohio to visit relatives. The agency had earlier said Vinson didn’t be-
come sick until the morning after she returned to Dallas. Officials are investigating whether she had symptoms as far back as Saturday, Oct. 11, or possibly earlier, said Dr. Chris Braden of the CDC. “Some more information that’s come through just recently would say that we can’t rule out the fact that she might have had the start of her illness on Friday,” Braden said. Police said Vinson stayed at the home of her mother and stepfather in Tallmadge, northeast of Akron, and the home has been cordoned off with yellow tape. Eight individuals in northeast Ohio were under quarantine, health officials said. Frontier Airlines said it would contact passengers on seven flights, including two that carried Vinson and others afterward that used the same plane. Airline officials put two pilots and four flight attendants on paid leave for 21 days and said they did not know when the aircraft, which has been cleaned several times, would return to service. In Dallas, officials took a tougher approach toward monitoring dozens of health care workers who were exposed to the virus while treating Liberian traveler Thomas Eric Duncan, who
died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The health care workers were asked to sign legally binding documents agreeing not to go to public places or use public transportation. The penalties for anyone who breaks the agreement weren’t disclosed. The chief clinical officer at the hospital, Dr. Daniel Varga, said the hospital was caught short when Duncan came to the institution “with non-specific symptoms.” “I think we all in the health care community underestimated the challenge of diagnosis,” he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Friday. He also said the two nurses who contracted the disease had followed standard hospital procedure. “We have no indication that Nina or Amber had any break in protocol. We were working with the best information we had,” Varga said. Canceling a campaign fundraising trip for the second straight day Thursday, Obama met into the evening with top aides and health officials. The White House said Obama also placed calls to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to discuss a need for an international response to the outbreak in West Africa.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
Long road to Texas File photo by Patric Schneider | AP
Houston’s first-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney has returned to practice after a knee injury has stalled his regular season debut.
Clowney on the field Texans’ top pick returns to practice after knee surgery By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Texas hired Jeff Banister to become the next manager of the Rangers in 2015. Banister grew up in Texas and played his entire amateur career in the state before getting drafted.
Bannister takes over as Rangers manager By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — Jeff Banister is a baseball lifer who calls Texas home. He grew up there and played his entire amateur career there before getting drafted. Now the former catcher who got a pinch-hit single in his only major league at-bat, who was temporarily paralyzed from the neck down after a home-plate collision in junior college and who overcame bone cancer with multiple surgeries in
high school is a big-league manager in the Lone Star State. Banister was introduced Friday as the new manager of the Texas Rangers after 29 years in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as a player, coach and instructor at all levels. “The best opportunities to come along are the ones you’re not looking for,” Banister said. “Have I prepared myself for this opportunity? Yeah, from the day that I stopped playing until now, I’ve truly dreamed and wanted to and tried
to. I got to a point in my life that I told myself that I wasn’t going to chase it. If it happened, it happened.” The 50-year-old Banister, who lives in the Houston area, was the bench coach the past four seasons for Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, whose only season as the Rangers’ hitting coach was when they went to their first World Series in 2010. Banister’s introduction came six weeks after manager Ron Washing-
HOUSTON — No. 1 overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney returned to practice on Friday and hopes to play on Monday night when Houston visits Pittsburgh. Clowney practiced Friday in a limited capacity for the first time since the defensive standout at South Carolina had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. “I’ve always been looking forward to making plays for my team and helping us win,” Clowney said. “I hope I can play, but we’ll see.” Coach Bill O’Brien said they’ll decide before the game on Monday if he can play, and while hopeful that he can go, Clowney said he wouldn’t be surprised if he can’t. The 6-foot-6, 274-pound Clowney said he remains limited despite being almost six weeks removed from the surgery. “Right now it’s up to me what I can do,” he said. “I’m out there really testing my leg out, just seeing what I can really do and what I can’t do. So if I can do it, I’ll do it. If I can’t I’ll just let the coaches know: ’that’s bothering me,’ and they’ll just take me out of that drill.” O’Brien said he’ll consult with Clowney and the team trainer before making a final decision. If he does play, he’ll likely be used sparingly to ease him back into things.
See RANGERS PAGE 2B See TEXANS PAGE 2B
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS VS. IOWA STATE, NO. 4 BAYLOR AT W. VIRGINIA, NO. 21 TEXAS A&M AT NO. 7 ALABAMA
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Photo by Rod Aydelotte | AP
Photo by Bob Levey | AP
Texas needs at least four wins in its last six games to qualify for a postseason bowl this season.
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty and the fourth-ranked Bears will be tested on the road at West Virginia on Saturday.
Fresh off back-to-back losses, No. 21 Texas A&M will be tested again playing at No. 7 Alabama on Saturday.
Texas’ bowl hopes shrinking
Baylor heads to Morgantown
A&M, Tide square off
By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas Longhorns have reached a critical point in the season: start winning now or risk getting shut out of a bowl for the second time in five years. The Longhorns (2-4,
1-2 Big 12) need at least four wins in their final six games to qualify for a bowl in coach Charlie Strong’s first season. The only time Texas didn’t play in a bowl under former coach Mack Brown was 2010 when the Longhorns
See TEXAS PAGE 2B
By JOHN RABY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Records do indeed get tossed into the scrap heap whenever Baylor and West Virginia get together. They just keep adding new ones. The winner has reached 70 points and 800
yards of offense each time in their only two meetings, and another big offensive show could be in store Saturday when No. 4 Baylor meets the Mountaineers. The teams are averaging a combined 1,175 yards of offense. West Virginia quarter-
See BAYLOR PAGE 2B
By JOHN ZENOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No team has given Alabama’s stout defenses more fits than Texas A&M lately. The matchups have produced memorable, down-to-the-wire games the past two seasons,
and even a shootout. Yes, involving Alabama. The 21st-ranked Aggies’ visit to the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide on Saturday still presents an appealing matchup of high-powered offense against stin-
See A&M PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
RANGERS Continued from Page 1B ton’s resignation for personal reasons. Texas gave Banister a three-year contract with an option for a fourth season. The injury-ravaged Rangers are coming off a 67-95 season, their worst since 1985, after reaching the World Series in 20102011 and becoming a trendy postseason pick each year. Banister got the job ahead of two other finalists, interim manager Tim Bogar and Cleveland Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash. Another of the eight candidates interviewed for the job was Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who Banister met with Friday morning. He has also spoken with Bogar, the Rangers first-year bench coach who went 14-8 as interim manager, and hitting coach Dave Magadan. He didn’t get into specifics on plans for his staff. “It’s a process that all of us are going through at this time,” Banister said. “Out of respect for the process, I will just leave it that we have had some conversations.” Banister was born in Oklahoma, but went to high school, junior college and college in Texas before getting drafted in the 25th round by the Pirates in 1986. The Rangers believe he is the first manager in club history to attend high school or college in the state.
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Jeff Banister signed a three-year deal to become the Rangers next manager, taking over a team which fell to 67-95 in a season full of expectations. While in high school in 1980, Banister had seven operations on his left ankle and leg for bone cancer and an infection of the bone or bone marrow. The temporary paralysis happened while playing for Baytown Junior College in 1983. “The impact is I don’t take any day for granted. When I wake up every morning and put my feet on the floor or I sit up in the bed, I thank God I have another day,” said Banister, the son of two educators.
“I understand perseverance, I understand what hard work means, that pain is one of those things we’re given to let us know we’re alive from time to time.” Banister said much of his passion for the game stems from nights in a hospital bed when he couldn’t get up, but could dream and think and challenge himself that he would play again. “It gave me joy in a time when there was no joy,” he said. “That burning de-
sire, that internal fire that burns inside of me to have success to pass on, to push forward, was melded a long time ago in a couple of different hospitals.” His coaching career began as a playercoach with Double-A Carolina in 1993, and his first managerial job was in the New York-Penn League in 1994. He had a 299-330 record in five seasons as a minor league manager, before serving as field coordinator for the Pirates from 19992002 and then as the club’s minor league field coordinator for eight years after that. In 515 games in Pittsburgh’s minor league system from 1986-93, he was a .247 hitter. In his only major league appearance, he got a hit on July 23, 1991, and the most emotional he got Friday was when he was asked about that. “There are a group of people who prop you up and take care of you, try to motivate you on a daily basis — it’s tough to be motivated,” he said. “To be able to walk into a major league game when everybody told you that you couldn’t, you shouldn’t, you wouldn’t ... now you get an opportunity to do it, it happens, you’re on top of the mountain for one day, one moment in time and you carry those people with you, it’s the best thank you that you can give. That’s what it meant.”
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B crashed to 5-7 the season after playing for a national championship. The Longhorns are home Saturday night against Iowa State (2-4, 0-3). “I believe we’re a better team than our record shows, but at the end of the day, wins and losses are what counts, and we haven’t gotten it done,” Texas senior linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “We understand the position we’re in.” Texas is at an odd juncture. After weeks of sputtering on offense, Texas arguably played its best game of the season in a 3126 loss to Oklahoma. Quarter-
back Tyrone Swoopes seemed to take a huge step forward as the leader of the offense, but even Texas’ best game wasn’t good enough to produce a win. “We got down 31-13, and (I) just kind of had to stay poised and just kept on playing. We almost put together something special and almost came back,” Swoopes said. Iowa State could grind Texas’ season to a halt, just like it did in 2010. That year, Texas returned home after a huge road win at Nebraska that was supposed to put a struggling team back on track for a potential Big 12 title.
Iowa State’s convincing 28-21 win sent the Texas season into a spiral instead. Here’s a few things to watch when Iowa State plays Texas: SWOOPES Can the Longhorns’ quarterback turn in another big game and avoid the miscues like his interception that Oklahoma returned for a crucial touchdown? A big game in a losing effort is one thing, a victory is another. Texas fans would rather see a win than big passing numbers from Swoopes. THIRD QUARTER Most of Texas’ problems this season have come in the third
quarter, when the Longhorns have been outscored 49-14. Texas hasn’t scored in the third quarter in the last four games, three of them losses. “I don’t know what it is,” Strong said. “That third quarter is sitting there, and we’re just not getting anything out of it. Even on defense they move the ball some on us.” SPECIAL TEAMS Texas gave up a first quarter kickoff return for a touchdown against Oklahoma. A big punt return by UCLA and a fake punt by Baylor both were key plays in losses. Iowa State kickoff and punt returner Jarvis West is a
scoring threat and returned a punt for a TD against Kansas State. Bit plays on special teams could spring an Iowa State upset. INSTANT REPLAY No team feels more snake-bit by use of official video of a play than Iowa State. The Cyclones had an apparent game-clinching touchdown overturned last year against Texas and have had so many calls go against them in recent years that athletic director Jamie Pollard publicly complained two weeks ago, drawing a $25,000 fine and reprimand from Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby.
A&M Continued from Page 1B gy defense, even with ’Bama nemesis Johnny Manziel now in the NFL. “We’ve had a couple of great games with them since they’ve joined the SEC,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. What’s missing is the rampant hype that made this one of the more anticipated matchups — and a huge TV draw — in 2013. Now, Alabama (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) has lost to No. 3 Mississippi, squeaked by Arkansas and found itself likely in a must-win situation from here on out to challenge for a league title and spot in the College Football Playoff. Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2) has done its part to derail the pre-game hoopla, too. The Aggies have lost two straight games, though they were to No. 1 Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The Tide won 49-42 last season despite giving up an unheard-of 464 passing yards and five touchdowns to Manziel, who had led an upset in the
previous meeting that helped launch him to the 2012 Heisman Trophy. Neither game was decided until the final minutes. This one won’t set TV ratings records, but it’s still a Kevin Sumlin versus Nick Saban Special. Sumlin, the Aggies offensive-minded coach, has no answer for why his team has put up such big numbers against the unyielding defenses of Saban and coordinator Kirby Smart. Or maybe he does. “We do what we do,” Sumlin said. Kenny Hill has replaced Manziel and is putting up similarly outrageous numbers. Manziel’s counterpart last season, AJ McCarron, is also a pro now. But the Tide still has Amari Cooper, one of the nation’s top receivers. And the Aggies still do what they do. Here are some things to watch in the latest Texas A&M-Alabama game:
Photo by Bob Levey | AP
With both teams falling to No. 3 Mississippi, Texas A&M and Alabama square off Saturday. PROLIFIC VS. STINGY Led by Hill’s passing,
TEXANS Continued from Page 1B “At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing. What’s the best thing for the player,” O’Brien said. “He’s worked hard to get back to this point. Good to see him out there (Friday). I’m sure he’ll go out there and work (Sunday) ... and Monday he’ll tell us what he’s going to do.” The Texans could certainly use him to help beef up a pass rush that has managed just 10 sacks this season, which is tied for 19th in the league. “I’m very anxious to be out there with my teammates playing in an NFL game since I haven’t played since the first game,” Clowney said. “I’m looking forward to playing again and I’m just taking it one day at a time getting healthy.” The outside linebacker was injured in the season-opener on Sept. 7 and had surgery the next day. It was the third injury for Clowney since he was drafted in May. He had sports hernia surgery in the offseason and suffered a concussion during training camp.
Texas A&M is fourth nationally in total offense
while Alabama is third in total defense. The Aggies’ fast-paced offense is averaging nearly twice the yardage that the Tide is allowing (546.9-277.2). The Tide must change gears from smash mouth, huddle-up Arkansas. “We practice fastball,” Tide safety Landon Collins said. “We practice longshot routes every day, so if we’re constantly working at it we don’t have to worry about it. We’re going to be ready for it.” SIMS & HILL Hill and Alabama’s Blake Sims both replaced star quarterbacks, and have been somewhat up and down. Hill has passed for 500-plus yards once and 401 last week against Ole Miss, while Sims had one of the best passing days in Alabama history with 445 yards against Florida. ON THE ROAD AGAIN Texas A&M has performed well in tough road games under Sumlin. He’s led the Aggies to a 6-2 record against ranked teams
away from home, including the 2012 ’Bama game, and hasn’t beaten one at Kyle Field. TURNOVERS GALORE Alabama and Texas A&M rank 11th and 13th, respectively, in turnover margin among SEC teams. The Tide had four fumbles in the return game against Arkansas, losing two of them. Hill has been intercepted five times and lost a fumble in the past two games. However, the two defenses bring up the rear in interceptions. STAR RECEIVERS Sumlin is expecting receiver Malcome Kennedy to play after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. The Aggies have six players with at least 23 catches. Alabama’s Cooper is the SEC’s top receiver but was held to two catches for 22 yards against Arkansas. “You don’t know who (Hill’s) favorite receiver is or who he likes to throw to at any particular moment,” Collins said. “That’s the best thing that they have.”
BAYLOR Continued from Page 1B back Clint Trickett just hopes to have a chance to make a difference this time. A year ago, Baylor had bolted to a 35-point lead in Waco, Texas, before fans had gotten soda refills. The Bears ended up setting a Big 12 record with 864 total yards, breaking the mark of 807 that West Virginia had set against the Bears the year before. And all Trickett could do was desperately try to keep up with Bryce Petty and the potent Baylor offense. Imagine scoring 42 points — and losing by 31. “Not a fun one,” Trickett said. This time, Baylor and West Virginia are coming off last-second wins decided by field goals. Both had to come from far back — Baylor was down 21 against TCU with 11 minutes to go, and West Virginia trailed Texas Tech by 14 with seven minutes left. It left both teams confident that any double-digit deficit can be erased — and no lead is safe. “Especially with all the highpower offenses in the Big 12 conference,” said West Virginia
wide receiver Jordan Thompson. “People will generally quit when you get behind a certain amount of points, but this team didn’t quit. We believed that we were going to win the game.” And West Virginia (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) believes it is has a chance this time against Baylor. The Mountaineers have produced a school-record five straight games with at least 500 yards of offense. Problem is, the defense has given up 500 yards in three of those games. Baylor (6-0, 3-0) is trying to keep its perch atop the Big 12 standings — it’s tied with Oklahoma State — and maintain a track toward the College Football Playoff. After winning their first four games by an average of 43 points, the Bears haven’t been as convincing of late. They didn’t score on offense until the third quarter in an Oct. 4 win over Texas. Last week, TCU reeled off the first 10 points. “I don’t really know what to expect, but I just know we have to come out and start faster than what we have these past
two weeks,” said Baylor wide receiver Jay Lee. Here are some things to know about Saturday’s No. 4 Baylor-West Virginia matchup: READY, SET, SCORE The last time these teams met in Morgantown in 2012, West Virginia won its Big 12 debut, 70-63. At least 10 conference and school records were set. The teams tied the Bowl Subdivision record with 13 touchdown passes and 19 combined TDs. Baylor’s 63 points were the most scored by a losing team. DON’T FORGET THE RUN Baylor leads the Big 12 with 252 rushing yards per game. The Bears had 468 on the ground a year ago against the Mountaineers and tied a school record with eight rushing TDs. Shock Linwood ran for 126 yards a year ago and leads the Big 12 this year with 105 per game. “When he runs, he runs with everything he’s got,” said Baylor coach Art Briles, “and he’s got a lot.” CONFIDENT PETTY Leading the Bears’ big come-
back last week after his interception was returned by TCU for a touchdown reinforced the Baylor’s quarterback’s belief in his teammates. Petty draws upon something Briles told the team: Experience can’t be taught or read in a book. “You just have to live it,” Petty said. “So for us, that was living proof that we can come back literally from anything. So it’s just a lot of confidence for the guys and for the team.” D-LINE REINFORCEMENTS West Virginia could have defensive lineman Christian Brown and defensive end Dontrill Hyman back on Saturday. Brown was suspended for the Texas Tech game for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Hyman has missed the last two games with a knee injury. TOUGH SCHEDULE Both of West Virginia’s losses were against teams that were ranked in the Top 5. While an argument could be made that West Virginia has one of the nation’s toughest schedules, “it’s not the easiest, that’s for sure,” Trickett said.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
Dryer Lint Is for the Birds? Dear Heloise: I keep a cardboard oatmeal can near my dryer. When I remove the LINT FROM THE DRYER, I place it in the can. When the birds return in the spring, I place some of it in small, empty tuna cans, and put them around the yard or in a tree, where the birds can get it for their nests. – R.E. in Nebraska Backyard birds are our friends, and they are just lovely to watch! However, this old and very common hint is no longer safe. All bird experts tell us NOTto use dryer lint. Dryer lint is made of fibers (many man-made) from material, and may have detergent or softener residue, which is not good for our feathered friends. If you want to help birds out, set out natural materials, such as human or animal hair, twigs, moss and leaves. Now I have a good use for Chammy’s (our silken wheaten terrier) and my hair that collects in our brushes. – Heloise P.S.: Next is a brilliant
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
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HELOISE
bird hint. I’m watching my hummingbirds right now! HUMMINGBIRD HANGOUT Dear Heloise: I have noticed that hummingbirds like to sit and watch over their food supply. I made a hummingbird swing of my own with a metal clothes hanger. I bent the middle of the clothes hanger upward, toward the hook on top, to make two loops, and hung it over the feeder. They love it! – Shirley Davis, Lisbon, Ohio PANTRY PACKAGES Dear Heloise: I put my extra shoe holder on the inside of the pantry door to hold all those packets I buy. The individual cornbread mixes, soups, taco mixes, etc., are all at eye level and stay organized. – Jeannie G., Abilene, Texas
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014