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ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
ZAPATA COUNTY
Health care success 105 people attend clinic By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
More than 100 people took advantage of the Free HealthCare clinic last weekend, according to the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office. Twenty volunteers from Area Health Education Center, 30 University of Texas Medical Branch student volunteers and two nurse practitioners assisted 105 patients, said Sheriff ’s Office Chief Raymundo del
Bosque Jr. The clinic offered pediatric and adult physician consultations, occupational and physical therapy, vision consultations and free eye glasses, medications, blood pressure screenings and glucose screenings. “It was designed for outreach to provide basic preventive medicine and medical screening to people in the
See CLINIC PAGE 10A
Courtesy photo
This Cadillac SRX was abandoned.
Vehicle stolen, arrests made
Courtesy photo
Fifty volunteers and two nurse practitioners assisted 105 patients, said Sheriff’s Office Chief Raymundo del Bosque Jr.
MEXICO
PRISONERS EXTRADITED Valdez returns to US
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO AND KATHERINE CORCORAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Mexico just extradited 13 people wanted in the United States, including Laredo-born Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal, because of a new streamlined process between the two countries — and not because of the recent escape of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, officials said. Jose Alberto Rodriguez, head of the international section of Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, denied on Thursday that the extraditions were a response to the embarrassing July 11 es-
See PRISONERS PAGE 10A
Sheriff’s Office recovers abandoned Cadillac
Photo by Alexandre Meneghini | AP file
In this Tuesday Aug. 31, 2010, file photo, Federal Police escort Texas-born fugitive Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias "the Barbie," center, during his presentation to the press in Mexico City. An official said on Sept. 30 that Mexico is extraditing Valdez Villareal to the United States.
Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office deputies were kept on their toes in recent days with a couple of significant arrests and a recovered vehicle. On Sept. 21, deputies said they arrested Arnoldo Gonzalez, 40, and charged him with unauthorized use of motor vehicle, a state jail felony punishable GONZALEZ with up to two years in jail. Authorities said Gonzalez intentionally operated another person’s motor vehicle without authorization and crashed it into a SANCHEZ-ROSAS tree and fence line. Gonzalez remained in custody at the Zapata Regional Jail as of Friday. The Sheriff ’s Office said they made a significant arrest Tuesday. Enrique Sanchez-Rosas, 39, was arrested on charges of theft and burglary of a vehicle, both misdemeanors.
See ARRESTS PAGE 10A
US BORDER PATROL
Couple formally charged for human smuggling By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
A couple was recently indicted in Laredo for smuggling immigrants in Zapata County. Jaime Javier Buentello, 21, and Ariana Jasmine Sandoval, 23, were formally charged Tuesday with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants within the United States and two
counts of transport and attempt to transport illegal immigrants for financial gain. They each face up to 10 years in prison for the human smuggling charges if convicted. Buentello, of Zapata, has had prior run-ins with U.S. Border Patrol, according to reports. “Buentello … has been documented as a well-known scout, foot guide, driver who mainly op-
erates in Zapata County,” states the criminal complaint filed Sept. 18. “(Buentello) has been apprehended by Border Patrol agents in previous occasions for smuggling and scouting. He had freely admitted that he is an associate in the San Ygnacio (human smuggling organization, drug trafficking organization),” records state.
He and Sandoval were arrested Sept. 16 for attempting to smuggle four illegal immigrants. At about 11 a.m., agents parked by El Tejon property in Zapata County saw a black Pontiac Torrent heading north. Border Patrol alleged the vehicle had been involved in a prior human smuggling attempt. As agents approached the vehicle, the driver accelerated, re-
cords state. Agents then conducted an immigration inspection on the occupants after the vehicle stopped. “(Agents) clearly identified the driver, a (U.S.) citizen, as Buentello … a well-known smuggler who operates in the Zapata area of responsibility,” records state.
See SMUGGLING PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 4 p.m.: Star Signs; 5 p.m.: Black Holes. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Matinee Shows are $1 less. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). The Laredo Northside Market Association will hold a market day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the parking lot of North Central Park on International Boulevard. Free games/activities for children and free reusable bags for adults.
Today is Saturday, October 3, the 276th day of 2015. There are 89 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On October 3, 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman (however, Simpson was later found liable for damages in a civil trial). On this date: In 1789, President George Washington declared November 26, 1789, a day of Thanksgiving to express gratitude for the creation of the United States of America. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton, D-Ga., became the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Senate (however, she ended up serving only a day). In 1932, Iraq became independent of British administration. In 1955, “Captain Kangaroo” and “The Mickey Mouse Club” premiered on CBS and ABC, respectively. In 1974, Frank Robinson was named major league baseball’s first black manager as he was placed in charge of the Cleveland Indians. In 1981, Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison near Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended seven months of hunger strikes that had claimed 10 lives. In 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country. In 2008, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room. (Simpson was later sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison.) Ten years ago: President George W. Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court (however, she withdrew three weeks later after criticism over her lack of judicial experience and Republican concerns about her conservatism). Five years ago: Angel McCoughtry had 18 points as the U.S. won gold at the women’s basketball world championship with an 89-69 victory over the host Czech Republic. One year ago: An Internet video was released showing an Islamic State group militant beheading British hostage Alan Henning, the fourth such killing carried out by the extremist group being targeted by U.S.-led airstrikes. Today’s Birthdays: Composer Steve Reich is 79. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 66. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 65. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 61. World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples is 56. Actor-comedian Greg Proops is 56. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 53. Actor Clive Owen is 51. Actress Janel Moloney is 46. Singer Gwen Stefani is 46. Actress Neve Campbell is 42. Singer India.Arie is 40. Actor Seann William Scott is 39. Actor Erik Von Detten is 33. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson is 31. Rapper A$AP Rocky is 27. Thought for Today: “Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it.” — Woody Guthrie, American folk singer-songwriter (1912-1967).
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 6th Annual “Blessing of All Animals” from 4 to 5 p.m. at St. Peter’s Plaza. Animals should be on a leash, harness or in a cage. St. Francis of Assisi medals and T-shirts will be available for a donation. Donations will go toward projects to protect community cats including a Trap, Neuter, and Return Program for Laredo. Call Birdie at 286-7866. America the Beautiful concert at TAMIU Recital Hall, 501 International Blvd., from 3–5 p.m. This will be the professional premier of “1945” by local composer Donald Hale, a United High School graduate now studying composition at the University of Texas. This concert opens with Hales’ short work about the end of WWII, is followed by the Trumpet Concerto of American composer Lowell Liebermann performed by Mary Elizabeth Bowden, and finishes with the “New World Symphony” by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5 Chess Club meets at the LBV–Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 7952400, x2521. Proclamation for Mental Illness Awareness Week, officiated by Mayor Pete Saenz. Speaker Dr. Jason Miller, psychiatrist at Southwest General Hospital, will discuss bipolar depression at Border Region Behavioral Health Center’s auditorium. All are welcome to this free event, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Depression screenings at Laredo Medical Center main foyer, 1700 E. Saunders St., from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Border Region Behavioral Health Center will be conducting depression screenings and giving information about the services the center has to offer.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 Community conversation on teen and young adult mental health from 6–8 p.m. at the UT Health Science Center auditorium, 1937 E. Bustamante St. Learn how to recognize the warning signs of mental health issues, what actions to take, and what resources are available. Registration is free and open to all. Presented by Area Health Education Center, Border Region Behavioral Health Center, Texas Department of State Services Office of Border Health. Depression screenings at Laredo Medical Center main foyer, 1700 E. Saunders St., from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Border Region Behavioral Health Center will be conducting depression screenings and giving information about the services the center has to offer. Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 7952400, x2520. The Alzheimer’s support group will meet at 7 p.m. in meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. The group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. Call 956-6939991. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 7 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663). Les Amies Birthday Club will hold its monthly meeting at the Ramada Plaza at 11:30 am. The hostesses are: Rosita Alavarez, Marta Rangel Bennett,Imelda Gonzalez, and Carmen Santos. The honoree is Magda Sanchez.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 Acclaimed author and Chicano/ Latino Literacy Prize winner Carlos Nicholás Flores will be signing his latest novel, "Sex as a Political Condition," at Laredo Community College Kazen Student Center, West End Washington Street, from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
In this Sept. 16, 2015 photo in Sullivan City, Texas, a woman who is in the country illegally shows the footprints of her daughter who was born in the in the United State but was denied a birth certificate. Lawyers for immigrant families denied birth certificates for their U.S.-born children will argue for a federal judge to intervene against the state.
Birth certificate hearing By SETH ROBBINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Lawyers for immigrant families denied birth certificates for U.S.-born children by Texas health officials told a federal judge Friday that a state agency must provide another option if certain forms of foreign-issued identification cannot be accepted. The immigrant rights attorneys are seeking an emergency injunction that would make it easier for families to obtain certificates for their Texas-born children. They say the children’s rights to health care, travel and schooling — along with their parents’ rights to protect them — are being harmed by tightened identification standards. During Friday’s hearing in Austin, they asked U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman to order the Texas Department of State Health
Services to re-establish certain foreign-issued identification as valid or name alternative forms that are “reasonably accessible” for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Lawyers for the state countered that there are other avenues for these immigrant families to get birth certificates besides the contested foreign documents, and that schools and Medicaid remain open to children even without birth certificates. The judge said he would rule at a later date. The immigrant rights lawyers, who now represent 28 adults and their 32 children, first sued the state agency last May. The parents in the lawsuit entered the country illegally from Mexico and Central America, but the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantees the right of citizenship to children born here.
Aunt of 3-year-old boy arrested in his death
1 driver, 3 students hurt in school bus, SUV wreck
3 skydivers safely jumped before Texas plane crash
LUFKIN — A woman has been arrested in the August drowning of her 3-year-old nephew in an East Texas pond. That comes a month after her boyfriend was arrested in the death. Angelina County Sheriff Greg Sanches said 19-year-old Billie Jean Cuttler was arrested Friday in Louisiana in Mason Cuttler’s death. Her attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.
FORNEY — Investigators say three students and a driver have been hurt in a North Texas traffic accident involving a school bus and an SUV. The Texas Department of Public Safety says an SUV driver apparently failed to yield to the bus, which had the right of way. The bus was transporting about 30 students when it hit the driver’s side of the SUV.
4 workers hurt in explosion at plant
4 from West Texas air force base die in crash
LEXINGTON — Federal investigators say three people safely parachuted from a skydiving school aircraft before the singleengine plane crashed in Texas, killing the pilot. The Texas Department of Public Safety says pilot Christopher Lyons, of Lexington, died in the crash. DPS says the Cessna 182-A operated by Austin Skydiving Center in Lexington stalled before going down.
PASADENA — Police say four workers have been treated for burns after an explosion and fire at a chemical plant along the Houston Ship Channel. Pasadena police say the accident happened Friday morning and the fire has been put out. Authorities are trying to determine what sparked the incident at a silicon plant. There was no threat to the community.
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE — Officials say four airmen from an Air Force base in West Texas were among 11 people killed in a U.S. military transport plane crash in Afghanistan. Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene on Friday announced the victims included four members of the 317th Airlift Group. The C-130J plane crashed overnight in eastern Afghanistan.
Texas retail gas prices unchanged this week COPPELL — Texas and nationwide retail gasoline prices held steady this week. AAA Texas on Thursday reported drivers statewide are paying an average $2.05 per gallon. The weekly association survey found U.S. drivers are paying an average $2.29 per gallon. Beaumont has the cheapest gasoline this week. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Confederate sign could be erased from state flag JACKSON, Miss. — A new proposal seeks a statewide election on removing the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi flag. But it could be years before the issue gets on the ballot, and there’s no guarantee voters would accept it. State officials said Friday that a resident of the capital city of Jackson filed paperwork for a ballot initiative that would erase all references to the Confederacy from the flag. The emblem — a blue X with 13 white stars, over a red field — has been on Mississippi’s flag since 1894, and voters chose to keep it in 2001.
Robin Williams’ widow, kids settle estate fight SAN FRANCISCO — Robin Williams’ widow and his three children from previous marriages reached a settlement in their
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In this photo taken June 23, the Mississippi state flag is unfurled against the front of the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss. A new proposal seeks a statewide election on removing the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi flag. legal fight over the late actor’s estate, attorneys for the two sides said Friday. Jim Wagstaffe, who is representing Susan Williams, said his client will remain in the San Francisco Bay Area home she shared with Williams and re-
ceive living expenses for the rest of her life. He said she also will receive a watch he often wore, a bike they bought on their honeymoon, and the gifts received for their wedding. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
Cane eradication still eyed By JULIÁN AGUILAR TEXAS TRIBUNE
An invasive plant growing along the banks of the Rio Grande, Carrizo cane is the bane of border law enforcement, providing natural cover for smugglers and drug mules. There have been efforts to wipe it out since at least 2008, when the U.S. Border Patrol tried a pilot program in southern Webb County that was suspended after environmental groups objected to the herbicides being used. And despite a bill passed last session requiring its eradication, it doesn’t appear Texas will raze cane anytime soon. Senate Bill 1734 by state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, mandated that the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board establish a plan to eradicate Carrizo cane. The project was included on Gov. Greg Abbott’s list of border security priorities, and his proposed budget included $9.8 million for it. But even though Uresti’s bill went into effect when Abbott signed it in June, the state conservation agency hasn’t moved beyond preliminary planning stages. When lawmakers allocated a record $800 million for
Photo by Texas Tribune
Carrizo cane is an invasive plant that grows along the Rio Grande. border security, it seems, they left out the money needed to fund the eradication program. “We’re doing whatever we can do without any funding,” said John Foster, the conservation agency’s statewide programs officer. “The thing that changed with the bill is it added ‘border security’ to our sweep of responsibilities.” Asked about the lack of funding, Abbott’s office said only that it would continue to monitor the eradication effort. "Securing the border is inherently a federal responsibility and we will continue to work with our federal and local partners to address this issue," spokesperson John Wittman said. According to a review of emails obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s office concluded that state
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, decided against funding the program. (Nelson and state Sen. Robert Nichols, RJacksonville, were the two votes against SB 1734, according to the Senate journal.) Asked about the bill, Nelson said “this issue simply didn’t have the support to be funded." Foster said he isn’t surprised the program wasn’t funded given the somewhat haphazard process required to get the legislation passed. He was approached late in the session, he said, and the costs associated with the project were never fully explored. “We were going basically just on some rough numbers that had been around for a few years since this first started being talked
about since ’07 or ’08,” he said. “That ($9.8 million) number was based on something like $200 an acre for one particular method and then the length of the river, essentially. Obviously there’s not Carrizo cane everywhere on the river. There was never a formal request by the agency. We obviously would take anything we could to get the program started.” In a statement, Uresti said he expected the agency to move forward if funds for the program are identified. Until then, he said, it’s up to locals to get the job done. “Next session, I will once again work with my colleagues on Senate Finance to see that this program is funded,” he said. “For now, the eradication responsibilities are being borne by landowners and local authorities, but the scope of the problem makes state assistance important." Foster said there has been some progress made despite the lack of funding. He met earlier this month with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which identified “priority” areas where cane is the most problematic. He said he would meet again soon with Abbott’s office to discuss possible sources.
Woman caught with immigrants By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Authorities apprehended a woman, who has previous arrests under her record, for picking up illegal immigrants in the San Ygnacio area, according to court records obtained this week. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers requested assistance from U.S. Border Patrol on a traffic stop at about 11:17 a.m. Sept. 27. Troopers had
stopped a 2008 Ford F-150 for speeding and a defective tail light. An invesJIMENEZ tigation revealed that the driver, Julissa Jimenez, 42, had picked up five men suspected of entering the country illegally via the San Ygnacio area. All admitted to being citizens of Mexico with no legal documentation, accord-
ing to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. Troopers cited Jimenez for speeding over the posted limit and operating a motor vehicle before Border Patrol took custody of her. Jimenez allegedly agreed to speak to federal authorities regarding the smuggling attempt. She said that a man contacted her to go pick up immigrants at the riverbanks, records state. She allegedly expected $100 per person
smuggled. Records state Jimenez has a prior arrest for human smuggling March 19, 2001, and an arrest for two counts of child abandonment by Laredo police on Sept. 3. Jimenez was charged with transporting undocumented immigrants. She is in federal custody, pending a detention hearing slated for Oct. 6. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
New CEO starts at health center By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
Elmo Lopez Jr., the new chief executive officer for Gateway Community Health Center, Inc., takes on the position with 17 years of experience in healthcare and an ardent desire to continue meeting the LOPEZ needs of the patient population. Lopez, who has prior experience serving as the chief operatTREVIÑO ing officer for Doctors Hospital as well as the chief executive officer for Doctors Hospital, the Laredo Specialty Hospital and the McAllen Medical Center, said he is proud and honored to have been chosen as Miguel Treviño’s successor. Lopez began serving in the CEO capacity Thursday, conveniently leaving the non-profit organization with no interregnum from Treviño’s last day. Under the direction and leadership of Treviño, Gateway has evolved from a migrant health program operating out of the basement of the Laredo-Webb County Health Department in the 1960s to a one-stop-shop for health services serving nearly 30,000 patients annually from clinics in Webb, Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. “Mr. Treviño has done a superb job of establishing a fantastic foundation,” Lopez said. “I’ve always told him they are big shoes to fill because he has done an excellent job. We’re very proud of the growth and want to continue that momentum.” Lopez described Gateway as a big doctor’s office, one that houses internal medi-
cine physicians, family practitioners, OBGYNs, pediatrics, a full service dental clinic and an urgent care clinic. “We have very welltrained physicians and a professional staff offering all of these services under one roof that Laredoans and folks in Zapata and Hebbronville can take advantage of,” Lopez said. Another aspect of Gateway that has impressed Lopez is the dedication and diligence of the board of directors, which he lauded as the best board he has ever seen at work throughout his healthcare career. Since Gateway is federally funded, federal guidelines regarding the composition of the board dictate the majority must be made up of users of the clinic. “These board members are using the clinic and telling administration what needs to be done, and that is excellent input,” Lopez said. “To have your own patients on the board is very unique and I think one of the better aspects of this type of community health center.” As far as current challenges or projects, Lopez said Gateway is working tirelessly to recruit physicians to Laredo with the help of the clinic’s current physicians. Lopez added that in its nationwide search, the clinic is seeking physicians who intend on establishing roots in Laredo. “We don’t want to have someone who is in and out,” he said. “Sometimes when people go see a physician, they stay with that physician their entire life. That is what we’re trying to establish here.” “Here we go,” was the final fervent comment Lopez made at the beginning of his new journey. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
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OTHER VIEWS
EDITORIAL
When will the madness finally end? THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
How many more times must we shed tears when a quiet afternoon is interrupted by the most horrifying images of death and mayhem visiting a place where innocents gather? Once again, a community’s heart has been shattered, this time at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, the sort of rustic place that isn’t supposed to be marred by such violent acts. A college is supposed to be a place of refuge or safety. We don’t know why this happened, but the deaths of at least 10 people in Oregon remind us that tragedy can strike at any moment. As a nation, we’ve been through this painful drill of sadness, empathy and anger far too many times. "Mother" Emanuel, Virginia Tech, Columbine, Sandy Hook, and even Fort Hood. The fact that all of us can identify mass shootings so easily signals just how prevalent these random acts of violence have become. And that’s why we shed tears again and again and again. We don’t care to know this shooter’s name, and frankly we wish his evil actions would not be rewarded or dignified with the perverse attention that such gunmen crave. Instead, it is essential to offer comfort to those whose loss of family and friends
cannot be restored. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, herself a victim of a deranged gunman, said it well in a tweet: A community’s heart has been tested but will not be broken. We must not allow ourselves to be prisoners to such events, as these otherwise anonymous perpetrators would want us to be. It is the way they deal with the shortcomings in their life; stealing the lives of their victims while emotionally and spiritually wounding the rest of us. It is sad that events like these leave us numb and devoid of words to adequately convey our sorrow and anger. And as these mass shootings mount, there is a part of us that says it could have been worse. Yes, it could, but that is scant comfort because one is too many. Mass shootings have become an American cancer, taking lives violently as it metastasizes throughout the nation. The threat ended quickly in Oregon, but not quickly enough. Our hearts and thoughts go out to those who can never again see the faces or hear the laughs of those dear to them. We can’t comprehend what drives someone to shatter so many lives so callously in just a few moments. But we stand resolute with the families and hope that this American nightmare eventually will be put to rest.
EDITORIAL
A one-sided relationship THE WASHINGTON POST
Since Dec. 17, President Barack Obama has been engaged in a sweeping overhaul of U.S.-Cuba relations at the heart of which are conciliatory gestures by Washington; more travel by dollar-spending Americans to the impoverished island; a pledge to deal with differences, including on human rights, through diplomatic channels rather than con-
frontation; and a presidential call for the end of the U.S. trade embargo. In calling for "reform" in Cuba this week at the United Nations, Obama made no use of such provocative terms as "liberty" or "democracy." President Raul Castro’s regime, by contrast, "seems to have done little beyond reopening its Washington embassy," as The Post’s Karen DeYoung reported Wednesday. Castro’s son-in-
law, an army general, still controls the dollar-earning tourist industry, the Internet largely remains unavailable to ordinary Cubans, and, most important, dissidents remain subject to arbitrary arrest and detention — including several snatched off the streets for daring to approach Pope Francis during his recent visit. Castro has in fact appeared to pocket Obama’s
concessions — and raise his demands. His speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday read like one of his brother Fidel’s old jeremiads from the 1960s. When it began, Obama billed his opening to the Castro regime as a more effective means of bettering the lot of the island’s impoverished and repressed 11 million people. So far, it’s raised their hopes, but not their prospects.
COLUMN
COMMENTARY
Secret Service had a bad week
Trump won’t fix government
By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
Just when you thought the Secret Service couldn’t possibly do anything to further harm its already badly damaged reputation, the agency goes and proves you wrong. The latest entry in this Keystone Cops saga came Wednesday, when The Washington Post broke the news of a report from a government watchdog revealing that Edward Lowery, an assistant director of the Secret Service, had urged that negative information about Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, be leaked to the press as a bit of score-settling. At issue was how aggressive Chaffetz, the head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had been in condemning the Secret Service at a hearing in March for a series of mishaps and mishandlings of its duties. "Some information that he might find embarrass-
ing needs to get out," Lowery wrote in an email in late March, according to the report. "Just to be fair." Chaffetz’s private personnel file at the Secret Service was then repeatedly accessed — a violation of privacy laws, if there was no legitimate work purpose — in the hours after that e-mail was sent. Within two days, news broke that Chaffetz had applied to be an agent and was rejected in 2003. What a coincidence! Lowery insisted that his e-mail was simply a blowing-off-steam exercise and that he didn’t intend anyone to act on it. To which I say: Riiiight. Upon learning of the machinations, Chaffetz said, "It was a tactic designed to intimidate and embarrass me, and frankly, it is intimidating." The Secret Service, for forgetting that the job is to protect and serve, not to leak and intimidate, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
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.
By PHILIP K. HOWARD THE WASHINGTON POST
Most Americans believe that government is broken. So it’s hardly surprising that outsiders Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina are doing well in the Republican nominating contest. They represent a break from the status quo. Trump especially stands out because he’s so colorfully disdainful of almost everything and everyone in government. But voters should pause before placing their hopes in the personality of a strong person at the top: It will not work if he or she doesn’t have a coherent plan to unclog the gears of the government machinery underneath. Remember that presidential candidate Barack Obama was a fresh face, brilliant on the stump and promising "change we can believe in." Yet as soon as Obama took office, he got bogged down in the viscous bureaucracy. Even after winning congressional support for using economic stimulus funding to rebuild the United States’ decrepit infrastructure, he could barely move. There turned
out to be no such thing as a "shovel-ready project" because the president, though duly elected, had no authority to escape from the legal goo of required studies, permits and processes. Trump’s appeal is based on candor and power. He says he’ll start making decisions; no more pussy-footing around. Trump, in so many words, will make the trains run on time. But how, exactly? He can’t ignore the law. The president is shackled by decades of accumulated statutes and regulations. He can’t say, "You’re fired!" That would violate civil service laws. He won’t be able to do almost anything he thinks he can. The disappointment surrounding recent presidents is not due (mainly) to defects in their leadership qualities but to their failure to address the structural paralysis of modern government. George Washington couldn’t run the government today. Sensible actions are usually illegal. Getting permits for infrastructure projects can take a decade. So can Food and Drug Administration approvals. Obsolete programs such as New Deal
farm and labor subsidies live on forever, adding to the red ink burdening our children. The World Bank Group ranks the United States 46th in the world in ease of starting a business. Year after year, the bureaucracy grows ever larger, weighing down citizens with more rules and forms. Washington doesn’t just need new leadership. It needs a vision for how to unstick the gears. That should be the main focus of the current presidential campaign, not Planned Parenthood or some other hotbutton issue. Last week, Jeb Bush released a report calling for a radical simplification and updating of the regulatory state (including some ideas I proposed to him). There’s plenty in the report for other candidates to take issue with, but Bush has made a responsible contribution to the debate we need. His report says that "Americans in schools, hospitals, and small businesses - even within government itself are tangled up in red tape that makes no sense to them or anyone else." It calls for a shift in the current philosophy of regulation toward simpler struc-
tures that liberate Americans’ common sense. It offers concrete ways to get there, including streamlining authority to approve new infrastructure and creating "an independent commission to conduct a regulatory spring cleaning." Other candidates should rise to Bush’s challenge. What’s needed is not political grandstanding, but competing visions of how to fix our broken government. The United States is at a perilous point. When democracies lose the ability to deliver basic services, the ancient Greek historian Polybius observed, the public gives up on democratic governance and reaches for a "monarchic master" who promises everything to everyone. When such leaders have taken over throughout history, it has rarely ended happily. There’s little disagreement about the ineffectiveness of Washington. But where’s the vision of how to fix the problem? To paraphrase Yogi Berra, if you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1985) | GARRY TRUDEAU
Entertainment
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
Cindy Crawford talks selfies, models By ALICIA RANCILIO ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Score one for the selfie stick: Cindy Crawford believes those photos of you by you can help boost self-image. “It’s empowering for kids to take their own image in their own hands in a way,” she said in a recent interview. “It’s a form of self-expression.” But she cautions that they can be both good and bad. “I certainly think a little guidance is good because when we’re young we kind of forget that things might come back to haunt us, she said. “I tell my kids, ‘If you have any doubts at all just check with me first.’ Crawford credits selfies with teaching the masses the secrets to looking good in photographs. “Every 14-year-old girl these days is a model in their own life because so much of their social media and just their interaction are through selfies. Kids are so much more sophisticated of like their angle and how they want to portray themselves than I ever was.” Crawford’s latest endeavor is “Becoming by Cindy Crawford,” it’s a coffee table book with 150 photographs and anecdotes from her career as she prepares to turn 50 next year. In a recent interview, Crawford talked about models today and her lookalike daughter Kaia. Associated Press: You came up in an era where we called models by their first name and called them supermodels. Then there weren’t as many. What do you think of models today? Crawford: I was really lucky to be in fashion at the time that I was and it was like such a moment for models. ... I think for a
Bond theme song a hit ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — Sam Smith’s 007 theme has gone straight to No. 1 — the first James Bond song to top the U.K. singles chart. “Writing’s On the Wall” features in spy thriller “SPECTRE,” released later this month. The Official Charts Company, which compiles the best-seller list, said Friday that the song moved 70,000 copies in sales and streaming in its first week, beating Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” to the top spot. It is Smith’s fifth No. 1 single in Britain. Previous Bond films have featured songs by Adele, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Shirley Bassey and others. None has been a British chart-topper, although Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill” and McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” were top 10 hits. Adele’s “Skyfall” theme won both a Grammy and an Academy Award.
Photo by Grant Pollard | AP
Cindy Crawford poses for photographers at the launch of her new book “Becoming” in central London on Friday. while for whatever reason there wasn’t that connection to models, but I think this new group of models, Gigi (Hadid) and Kendall (Jenner.) Everyone knows them by their first name and I think so much of that is the power of social media. ... They can put out who they are and get their personalities out there, individuality out through their social media and I think that’s what fans are loving/ AP: Recently people started really noticing your 14-year-old daughter, Kaia, and commenting on her resemblance to you. What’s that like? Crawford: Since she was little, people have said, ‘She looks just like you’ and she would say, ‘We look nothing alike.’ And I think now as she’s getting older ... the resemblance is coming out more because, you know, when people started seeing images of me they weren’t that much older than the age that she is now. And she’s starting to figure out it’s not such a terrible thing.
AP: What do you think of Kaia going into modeling? (She recently walked in the Public School runway show at New York Fashion Week.) Crawford: I just want her to be a kind person and have work that she loves. ... My husband and I have both been really fortunate that we love our jobs and we would want that for our kids too. In terms of modeling if she wants to do it, I wouldn’t dissuade her because it’s been great for me. AP: How are you when you’re taking family photos or pictures with friends? Is it hard to turn off the model part of your brain? Crawford: I definitely think having been photographed by the Irving Penns and the Helmut Newtons of the world, I’m aware of light and angles. You can’t really throw that away, but I also try not to be annoying. Fashion photography is art. When you’re just doing snapshots it’s a different purpose.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
National
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
Gunman was Army dropout By JEFF BARNARD AND MARTHA MENDOZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROSEBURG, Ore. — The 26-year-old gunman who opened fire in a community college English class, killing nine, was an Army boot camp dropout who studied mass shooters before becoming one himself. A day after the rampage in an Oregon timber town, authorities said Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer wore a flak jacket and brought at least six guns and five ammunition magazines to the school. Investigators found another seven guns at the apartment he shared with his mother. Also Friday, officials released the names, ages and brief biographical information about the nine dead, who ranged in age from 18 to 67 and included several freshmen and a teacher. They were sons and daughters, spouses and parents. One of the freshmen was active in the Future Farmers of America and loved to play soccer. Another was on only his fourth day of college. Grieving families began sharing details of their loved ones. “We have been trying to figure out how to tell everyone how amazing Lucas was, but that would take 18 years,” the family of Lucas Eibel, 18, said in a statement released through the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office. Quinn Glen Cooper’s family said their son had just started college. “I don’t know how we are going to move forward with our lives without Quinn,” the Coopers said. “Our lives are shattered be-
Photo by Ben Fogletto | AP
Bob Williams and Jamie Colon, of Galloway, N.J., walk the Boardwalk as heavy rain falls in Atlantic City, N.J., Friday.
Photo by Amanda Lucier | New York Times
A sign calling for prayer outside Umpqua Community College a day after the shooting there, in Roseburg, Ore., Friday. A 26-year-old man opened fire on the college campus in Roseburg in a rampage that left 10 people dead and seven wounded in this rural stretch of southern Oregon. yond repair.” Nine other people were wounded in the attack, officials said. Harper-Mercer, who died during a shootout with police, was armed with handguns and a rifle, some of which were military grade. The weapons had been purchased legally over the past three years, some by him, others by relatives, said Celinez Nunez, assistant field agent for the Seattle division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Those who knew the shooter described a deeply troubled loner. At a different apartment complex where HarperMercer and his mother lived in Southern California, neighbors remembered a quiet and odd young man who rode a red bike everywhere. Reina Webb, 19, said the man’s mother was friendly and often chatted with neighbors, but Harper-Mercer kept to himself. She
said she occasionally heard him having temper tantrums in his apartment. “He was kind of like a child so that’s why his tantrums would be like kind of weird. He’s a grown man. He shouldn’t be having a tantrum like a kid. That’s why I thought there was something — something was up,” she said. Harper-Mercer’s social media profiles suggested he was fascinated by the Irish Republican Army, frustrated by traditional organized religion and that he tracked other mass shootings. In one post, he appeared to urge readers to watch the online footage of Vester Flanagan shooting two former colleagues live on TV in August in Virginia, noting “the more people you kill, the more you’re in the limelight.” He may have even posted a warning. A message on 4chan — a forum where racist and misogynistic comments are frequent — warned of an impending
attack, but it’s unclear if it came from Harper-Mercer. “Some of you guys are alright. Don’t go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest,” an anonymous poster wrote a day before the shootings. On Thursday morning, he walked into his English class at Snyder Hall at Umpqua Community College and began firing, shooting a teacher and students, many repeatedly. Survivors described a classroom of carnage, and one said he ordered students to state their religion before shooting them. Students in a classroom next door heard several shots, one right after the other, and their teacher told them to leave. “We began to run,” student Hannah Miles said. “A lot of my classmates were going every which way. We started to run to the center of campus. And I turned around, and I saw students pouring out of the building.”
Man gets 3 life prison terms By MATTHEW BARAKAT ASSOCIATED PRESS
FAIRFAX, Va. — Jesse Matthew Jr., charged with the murders of college students Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington, was sentenced Friday to life in prison for a sexual assault on a woman a decade ago in northern VirMATTHEW ginia. Matthew, 33, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was officially sentenced to three consecutive life terms in Fairfax, a suburb of the nation’s capital, for attempted capital murder, abduction, and sexual assault of a woman in 2005. DNA evidence collected from Matthew during last year’s investigation of Graham’s disappearance linked him to the Fairfax case. Matthew’s family had asked the judge for leniency in letters to the court, and a former girlfriend, identifying herself only as “Diana,” wrote a letter on Matthew’s behalf saying he was raped as a child. But Fairfax County Commonwealth’s
Attorney Ray Morrogh, who argued for the life sentence, was unmoved by the claim that Matthew himself may have been a victim of sexual assault. He told Judge David Schell he was suspicious about the truth of the claim and indifferent to its significance. “If indeed this man was ever raped, then of all people it is he who should be loath to rape someone else,” Morrogh said. He called Matthew a “modern day Jekyll and Hyde” who projected an image as a gentle giant to friends and family while hiding his life as a violent sexual predator. “Killing her with his bare hands would have been the ultimate rush for him,” Morrogh said, crediting a bystander for saving the victim’s life by intervening and prompting Matthew to flee. Sentencing guidelines broadly called for a term of anywhere from nine to 44 years, lawyers said. Public defender Robert Frank said the picture of Matthew — a state champion wrestler who received a football scholarship to Liberty University — as a gentle giant is the one that he and the
defense team had come to know over the last year. He urged the judge not to consider “what might have happened in Charlottesville” — a reference to the deaths of Graham and Harrington, which have received national attention — in sentencing Matthew for the assault. Schell said little in handing down the maximum sentence, calling the crime a “vicious and brutal attack.” Morrogh told reporters after Friday’s hearing that the life sentence was appropriate, given the viciousness of the crime, and said he was certain the sentence reflected the judge’s feelings about the Fairfax assault only, and that he did not take pending charges in the Graham and Harrington deaths into account. Morrogh said that under Virginia law, Matthew would be eligible for geriatric release at age 60 — 27 years from now — regardless of the life sentences. As the sentence was read, Matthew’s mother, Debra Carr, began screaming “No!” and sobbed. She refused to move as deputies tried to take her from the courtroom. Matthew said nothing
and left the courtroom quietly under escort, his head hanging low. He said only “No, sir” when asked if he had anything to say before the judge imposed sentence. The woman who was attacked now lives in India and was forced to return to Virginia to testify against him. She testified her attacker grabbed her just steps from her townhouse and carried her into a darkened area, where he ripped off her clothes and molested her. She fought and scratched him, yielding the crucial DNA evidence, until her attacker ran off when the bystander approached. After prosecutors presented their case at trial earlier this year, Matthew cut proceedings to a halt by entering an Alford plea, a form of a guilty plea in which he does not admit wrongdoing but acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction. Morrogh said Matthew’s unwillingness to accept responsibility, combined with his willingness to make his victim relive the ordeal by testifying in a public trial, is emblematic of his selfishness.
East Coast likely to dodge hurricane By DAVID DISHNEAU AND SETH BORENSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Millions along the East Coast breathed a little easier Friday after forecasters said Hurricane Joaquin would probably veer out to sea. But a freakishly powerful rainstorm fueled in part by the hurricane threatened to bring ruinous flooding to parts of the Atlantic Seaboard over the weekend. With the soil already soggy and roads swamped in places from days of rain, East Coast states braced for what forecasters said could be deadly and unprecedented downpours. Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and parts of Delaware were under states of emergency. Meteorologists said the Carolinas will probably get the worst of it, with 15 inches of rain in places and landslides possible in the mountains. “It’s going to be enormous,” meteorologist Ryan Maue of Weather Bell Analytics said. “It’s going to be a slow-motion disaster.” For days, authorities had feared that Joaquin would link up with the rainstorm, multiplying the disastrous effects. Various computer models showed the hurricane hitting North Carolina’s Outer Banks, New Jersey, New York’s Long Island or Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. But on Friday, as Joaquin raked the Bahamas with winds of 130 mph, forecasters said it appeared the hurricane would pass well off the U.S. coast. “It looks like we dodged a bullet this time,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said at the Jersey shore, which nevertheless got hit with street flooding nearly three years after it was devastated by Superstorm Sandy. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” The rainstorm threatened to bring a gusty and prolonged drenching from Georgia to New England. Forecasters warned that even if Joaquin peels away from the coast, its effects will still be felt, because it will continue to supply tropical moisture to the rainstorm.
“We are growing increasingly concerned about the situation in South Carolina, western North Carolina and perhaps even in northeast Georgia,” said David Novak, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center. “We’re pretty confident that some places are going to have 15 inches. A lot of places are going to have 5, 6, 7 inches of rain, particularly the whole state of South Carolina.” Parts of Virginia and Maryland could get up to 5 inches. The storm was already blamed for at least one death in South Carolina, where heavy rain has fallen for days. Sylvia Arteaga, 56, drowned in a flash flood under a railroad bridge in Spartanburg while driving home from the night shift. Authorities around the region also warned that the saturated soil could cause trees to topple. They said that might have played a role in the death of a passenger whose vehicle was hit by a tree on Interstate 95 near Fayetteville, North Carolina. By mid-morning Friday, water was flowing over South Main Street on Virginia’s Chincoteague Island. “Every year, we kind of hold our breath, knowing that we’re due,” said Brian Shotwell, manager of a sandwich shop. Streets were underwater at high tide in the afternoon in cities and towns up and down the coast, including Norfolk, Virginia; Atlantic City, Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor, New Jersey; and Ocean City, Maryland, which had 5 feet of water in low-lying areas. In Poquoson, Virginia, Joy Bryant had to cancel a yard sale because her property was half-submerged and cars couldn’t get down the road. She planned to spend the evening putting sandbags in front of her garage. “Of course, we don’t know what to expect this weekend,” she said, “but since the storm is moving out and not on the track that it was yesterday, we’re very relieved.”
Obama vehemently rejects Russia’s military actions By LOLITA C. BALDOR AND ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday vehemently rejected Russia’s military actions in Syria as self-defeating and dismissed the idea that Moscow was strengthening its hand in the region. He vowed not to let the conflict become a U.S.-Russia “proxy war.” At a White House news conference, Obama pledged to stay the course with his strategy of supporting moderate rebels who oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad, but he dodged questions about whether the U.S. would protect them if they came under Russian attack. Russia’s dramatic entry into the Syrian civil war, after a year of airstrikes by the U.S. and its coalition partners, has raised the specter of dangerous confrontations in the skies over Syria. And it prompted a question at the news conference as to whether Putin was outfoxing the U.S. at a time when the American-led mil-
Photo by Amanda Voisard/United Nations | AP
In this Monday photo, provided by the United Nations, U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin toast during a luncheon hosted during the 70th annual United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. itary campaign in Syria has failed to weaken the Islamic State. Obama dismissed that idea with an expression of disdain. “This is not a smart strategic move on Russia’s part,” he said, referring to Putin’s decision to “double down” on his support for
Assad by stationing warplanes, air defenses, tanks and troops in Syria. Moscow says it is targeting Islamic State forces and fighting terrorism, but U.S. leaders are skeptical of that and Obama said the Russian president has overplayed his hand.
“It’s only strengthening ISIL, and that’s not good for anybody,” Obama contended. He said he hoped Putin would come to realize that allying Russia with Iran to try to keep Assad in power “is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire, and it won’t work. And they will be there for a while if they don’t take a different course.” Obama said Putin has stepped deeper into a conflict that cannot be solved by military power alone, and that his approach is misguided in not distinguishing between Syrian rebels who want Assad ousted and those who are terrorists. “From their perspective they’re all terrorists, and that’s a recipe for disaster,” Obama said in his most extensive comments on the topic since Russia began its airstrikes on Monday. Evoking the Cold War era of U.S. and Soviet forces working behind the scenes to prop up client states, Obama added, “We’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States
and Russia.” Asked if he felt out-smarted by Putin, Obama argued that Putin was acting in Syria out of political weakness and trying to gin up support at home while Russia’s own economy struggles. “As a consequence of these brilliant moves, their economy is contracting 4 percent this year. They’re isolated in the world community,” Obama said, noting that Russia is under international sanctions for its military intervention in Ukraine. “Russia’s not strong as a consequence of what they’ve been doing. They get attention,” he said. “Mr. Putin’s action have been successful only insofar as it’s boosted his poll ratings inside Russia, which may be why the Beltway is so impressed because that tends to be the measure of the success.” Still, Russia’s airstrikes have forced the Pentagon to grapple with whether the U.S. should use military force to protect American-trained and -equipped Syrian rebels now that they may be the targets of Russian airstrikes.
International
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
Pope upends meeting By NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican turned the tables on the Kim Davis affair Friday: Not only did it distance Pope Francis from her claims that he endorsed her stand on same-sex marriage, it said the only “real audience” Francis had in Washington was with a small group that included a gay couple. The revelations, doled out during the course of the day, put a new twist on Francis’ encounter with Davis after she and her lawyers insisted that her invitation to meet the pope on Sept. 24 amounted to an affirmation of her cause. The Davis case has sharply divided the United States, and news of Francis’ meeting with the Kentucky clerk, who went to jail after refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, had upended his six-day U.S. tour. During the visit, Francis had tried to steer clear of such hot-button issues, only
to see the Davis affair dominate the post-trip news cycle. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, sought to give the Vatican’s take of events in a statement early Friday, saying Francis had met with “several dozen” people at the Vatican’s embassy before leaving Washington for New York. Davis was among them and had a “brief meeting,” he said. Lombardi said such meetings are common during papal trips and are due to the pope’s “kindness and availability.” “The pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis, and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects,” Lombardi said. “The only real audience granted by the pope at the nunciature was with one of his former students and his family,” Lombardi added. The man, Yayo Grassi, was later identified by The
New York Times and CNN as an openly gay Argentine caterer who lives in Washington. In a video posted online, Grassi is shown entering the Vatican’s embassy, embracing his former teacher and introducing Francis to his longtime partner, whom Francis recognized from a previous meeting, as well as an elderly Argentine woman and a few friends from Asia. Lombardi later confirmed that Grassi had “asked to present his mother and several friends to the pope during the pope’s stay in Washington.” “As noted in the past, the pope as pastor has maintained many personal relationships with people in a spirit of kindness, welcome and dialogue,” Lombardi said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Grassi’s mother was in the audience: Grassi introduced the elderly woman named Salome as “an Argentine friend.” The Vatican couldn’t immediately explain the discrepancy.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
France wants airstrikes confined By NATALIYA VASILYEVA AND SYLVIE CORBET ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Saurabh Das | AP
In this Oct. 1 photo, solar panels are displayed for sale at a market in New Delhi, India. India plans a fivefold boost in renewable energy capacity in the next five years to 175 gigawatts, including solar power, wind, biomass and small hydropower dams.
India makes climate vow By KARL RITTER AND KATY DAIGLE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW DELHI — India’s long-awaited pledge for a global climate pact shows how the world’s No. 3 carbon polluter is making significant efforts to rein in the growth of emissions linked to its fast-surging demands for energy, analysts said Friday. India vowed to reduce its emissions intensity by 33-35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, primarily by boosting the share of electricity generated by sources other than fossil fuels such as coal and gas to 40 percent. That means India’s emissions will continue to grow as its economy expands, but the increase relative to economic output will be lower than it is now. “Our every action will be cleaner than what it was earlier,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters Friday, insisting that Indian traditions and culture are already “at one with nature.” India was the last of the major economies to present its offer for the U.N. climate deal that’s supposed to be adopted in December in Paris. Javadekar said India held its submission back so
it could coordinate its filing with the Indian holiday celebrating the birthday Friday of the country’s forefather, Mohandas K. Gandhi, an ardent environmentalist. As of Friday, 146 nations accounting for 87 percent of global carbon emissions had submitted their pledges. Environmental groups following the U.N. climate talks welcomed India’s offer. “India now has positioned itself as a global leader in clean energy, and is poised to play an active and influential role in the international climate negotiations this December,” said Rhea Suh, president of the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council. Some said the carbon intensity target was conservative and projected that India would exceed it if it meets its renewable energy goals. “This shows that key economic and infrastructure ministries have been closely engaged in formulating climate policy, which is an important break from the past,” said Navroz Dubash of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. Climate analyst Samir
Saran at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank, also described India’s targets as ambitious and “rooted in Indian reality,” given the fact that at least 300 million citizens — a fourth of the population — still have no access to electricity at all, while hundreds of millions more make do with just a few hours a day. India’s submission also made that point, noting that “it is estimated that more than half of India of 2030 is yet to be built.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made manufacturing and job creation a key promise of his administration, and has implored foreign companies and governments, with the slogan “Make in India,” to help. India also promised aggressive reforestation efforts, with enough new trees to absorb up to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, and laid out plans for adapting to changing weather and temperatures. “This is a positive and novel Indian approach,” Saran said, adding that India was effectively sharing responsibility for taking action to protect the climate while seeking global partnerships on implementing those plans.
PARIS — With Russian warplanes bombing Syria for a third day, French President Francois Holland told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that Moscow’s airstrikes must be confined to attacking Islamic State militants, not other rebels opposing the Damascus government. Hollande used a meeting on Ukraine to address Western concerns that Russia’s airstrikes would serve to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad by targeting rebels — perhaps including some aligned with the U.S. — rather than hitting IS fighters it has promised to attack. Allies in a U.S.-led coalition that is conducting its own air campaign in Syria called on Russia to cease attacks on the Syrian opposition and to focus on fighting the Islamic State group. A joint statement by France, Turkey, the U.S. Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Britain expressed concern that Russia’s actions will “only fuel more extremism and radicalization.” The Russian Defense Ministry released images showing that its jets hit an Islamic State-held area near its de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria on Thursday. It said there were 14 new missions Friday, including targets in Idlib and Hama provinces. Hollande said he told Putin that only one of Russia’s strikes in three days hit at the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, ISIS and Daesh. The other strikes, Hollande added, were on areas controlled by the opposition. “Russia has always been involved in Syria. Since
Photo courtesy of Qasioun News | AP
In this Oct. 1 image taken from video provided by the Syrian activist-based media group Qasioun News, Syrians gather near the rubble of a building, in the aftermath of a Russian airstrike, in Dair al-Asafeer village, rural Damascus, Syria. the beginning, Russia has supported the regime of Bashar Assad and furnished him weapons, even if it goes further now,” Hollande told reporters. “But what I told Mr. Putin is that the strikes must concern Daesh, and only Daesh.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also attended the meeting with Putin, added that the leaders “said very clearly that Daesh was the enemy that we needed to fight.” “We also said that we needed a political solution for Syria that should take into consideration the opposition’s interests and that opposition has always had our support,” she added. In Washington, President Barack Obama said Russia’s military campaign fails to distinguish between terrorist groups and moderate rebel forces with a legitimate interest in a negotiated end to the civil war. He called Russia’s military involvement, including airstrikes, a self-defeating exercise that will move the Syrian conflict further away from a solution. “It’s only strengthening ISIL, and that’s not good for anybody,” Obama said. He said he hoped Putin
would come to realize that allying Russia with Iran to try to keep Assad in power “is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire, and it won’t work. And they will be there for a while if they don’t take a different course.” Obama also said that Syria would not turn into a “proxy war” between the United States and Russia. Putin left the Paris meeting without comment — and without appearing alongside the French and German leaders. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the leaders “talked at length about Syrian affairs,” and the Russian leader briefed Hollande about how the Russian operation is going. Putin reiterated Russia’s commitment to coordinate its airstrikes “with the interested parties,” Peskov added. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected suggestions that the airstrikes were meant to shore up support for Syria, Moscow’s main ally in the Middle East. He insisted Russia was targeting the same militant groups as the U.S.led coalition: IS, the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other groups.
SÁBADO 3 DE OCTUBRE DE 2015
Ribereña en Breve FIT 2015 NUEVO GUERRERO — “Juan Rogelio y Familia Ruiz” se presentan el 4 de octubre a las 7 p.m. en Teatro del Pueblo. Evento gratuito. CIUDAD MIER — “Ran Rataplán Teatro” se presenta el 4 de octubre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez. Evento gratuito. MIGUEL ALEMÁN — “En Blanco y Negro” se presenta el 3 de octubre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal. Evento gratuito.
FESTIVAL DE BANDAS LAREDO — El Distrito Escolar de United ISD será el anfitrión del Festival Anual de Bandas de Marchas, el sábado 3 de octubre en el Student Activity Complex Stadium, 5208 Santa Claudia Lane. Participarán, de 4 p.m. a 7:15 p.m., representantes de las escuelas preparatorias La Joya High School, Donna High School, Cigarroa High School, Martin High School, Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Alexander High School, United South High School, y United High School. El costo de entrada es de 7 dólares por persona. Niños de 5 años de edad y menores entran gratis. Los boletos pueden ser adquiridos el día del evento, en la puerta de entrada. La ceremonia de premiación está programada para las 7:30 p.m.
Zfrontera EXTRADITAN A 13, ENTRE ELLOS ‘LA BARBIE’
Acuden ante corte POR JASON BUCH Y GUILLERMO CONTRERAS SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
SAN ANTONIO — Bajo una fuerte seguridad, cuatro acusados asociados al Cartel de Juárez fueron trasladados al palacio de justicia federal de San Antonio el jueves después de haber sido extraditados desde una prisión en México donde habían estado encerrados durante varios años. Dos de los cuatro poseen cargos en El Paso por los homicidios de una empleada del consulado de EU, su esposo y el esposo de otra trabajadora del consulado. Los cuatro se encuentran entre 13 figuras del cartel o prisioneros de máximo valor que las autoridades de EU buscaban, y quienes fueron extraditados esta semana desde México. Entre los otros extraditados destacan el Laredense y alguna vez supuesto jefe de un cartel Edgar Valdez Villarreal “La Barbie” y su suegro, Carlos Montemayor González. Autoridades federales explicaron que ninguno de los tres están acusado en San Antonio, pero que cuatro
fueron llevados ahí debido a que es una ciudad principal en el mismo distrito donde se originaron sus cargos. El Paso está en el Distrito Oeste de TeVALDEZ xas, con base en San Antonio. El movimiento fue parte de un nuevo esfuerzo coordinado entre México y los Estados Unidos para combatir al crimen organizado. Fue el resultado de una serie de reuniones y conferencias entre la Fiscal General de EU Loretta Lynch y su contraparte mexicana, Arely Gómez, dijo el Departamento de Justicia de EU en un comunicado. Se espera que La Barbie y su suegro tengan su audiencia en la corte federal de Atlanta, donde enfrentan una condena con cadena perpetua por cargos de conspiración por drogas. Valdez es una legendaria figura del crimen organizado quien obtuvo notoriedad en parte por ser bien parecido y sus antecedentes como jugador de fútbol americano en United High School, donde jugaba la posición de defensa. Su vida tuvo
un giro serio en 1992, cuando fue arrestado por cargos de homicidio por negligencia criminal. De acuerdo a un reporte del Laredo Morning Times, la COSTILLA policía dijo que Valdez iba a exceso de velocidad y conduciendo en el carril contrario del camino cuando su camioneta chocó contra un carro que era conducido por una consejera de secundaria, matando a la educadora. Un gran jurado declinó acusarlo. Fueron varios años después que él empezó a negociar con la marihuana, sostienen autoridades. Él empezó a subir los rangos del mundo de las drogas en Nuevo Laredo, México, eventualmente convirtiéndose en la mano derecha para Arturo Beltran Leyva, un capo de la droga en el Cartel de Sinaloa, alegan fiscales de EU. Montemayor era un traficante de cocaína en Nuevo Laredo con un amplio sistema de distribución en el sureste de EU, dijo John Horn, el Fiscal de EU en Atlanta, durante una audiencia en 2013. El sistema distribuía más de 1.500 kilogramos
SALUD
LUCHAN JUNTOS
Gateway CH cuenta con nuevo CEO
El viernes 9 de octubre, debido a una actualización de los sistemas consulares, las operaciones consulares de la embajada de EU en la Ciudad de México y los nueve consulados en toda la República Mexicana, permanecerán cerrados al público. Ciudadanos estadounidenses que requieren asistencia de emergencia deben llamar al 867714-0512 extensión 3128 de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m., o al 867-7272797 después de horas de oficina.
POR PHILIP BALLI TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
ACTIVIDADES EN PUERTO ISABEL
SEMANA DE LISTÓN ROJO En el marco del Mes de Prevención de Uso de Narcóticos a nivel Nacional, se celebrará el evento “Red Ribbon Week” del 23 al 31 de octubre. El evento representa un compromiso nacional para crear conciencia y evitar el uso de narcóticos, entre estudiantes. Para realizar donaciones puede ponerse en contacto con Norma González llamando al (956) 765-8389.
de cocaína al año en esa ciudad y también movilizaba drogas hacia Memphis, Tennessee, dijo Horn. En 2005, Valdez empezó a utilizar el sistema de Montemayor para enviar cocaína a Atlanta igualmente, dijo Horn durante la audiencia del 2013. En 2009, elementos de la marina mexicana abatieron a Beltrán Leyva, desatando una sanguinaria guerra por la sucesión entre subordinados y familiares. Valdez, quien se separó para formar su propio grupo, fue arrestado en 2010 y permaneció detenido en México hasta su extradición esta semana. Los cuatro que compareceieron en San Antonio el jueves, incluyen a Ricardo Valles De La Rosa, también conocido como “Chino”, “Come Arroz”, y “99”; Alberto Nuñez Payán, alias “Fresa”, “Fresco” y “97”; Luis Humberto Hernández Celis, alias “Pac”, “Pacman” y “84”; y Martin Daniel Castillo Rascon, alias “Flaco.” Entre los 13 extraditados también estuvo Jorge “El Coss” Costilla Sánchez, el ex líder del cártel del Golfo. Costilla fue llevado al Distrito Sur de Texas con sede en Houston.
MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MÉXICO
CIERRE CONSULADOS
5a Pachanga Anual en el Parque se realizará el día de hoy, de 5 p.m. a 1 p.m., en Washington Park, 156 W. Madison St. Entrada gratuita. Ganancias beneficiarán a las mejoras de los parques en Puerto Isabel. Lightouse Market Day se realizará el sábado 10 de octubre, de 9 a.m. a 4 p.m. Entrada gratuita. Habrá manualidades, comida y módulos de información. Además habrá el especial de $1 de entrada a todos los museos durante todo el día. Celebración del Día de los Muertos se realizará del 10 al 31 de octubre, en horario de 4 p.m. a 11 p.m. en 317 E. Railroad Ave. Habrá música, baile, vendedores, exhibiciones, actividades, música y concursos de disfraces. Recepción para Artistas de la Galería se realizará el viernes 30 de octubre, de 5 p.m. a 8 p.m. en los Museos de Puerto Isabel y en la Biblioteca Pública de Puerto Isabel. El evento es abierto a la comunidad y se les invita asistir disfrazados. Se ofrecerán refrigerios por el Día de los Muertos y Halloween.
PÁGINA 9A
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Miguel Alemán
La Presidenta del Sistema DIF de Miguel Alemán, México, Andrea Aguirre de Cortez, coloca una vela sobre un escenario montado por la fundación "Vive en Paz y haz el Bien", en la rotonda de la ciudad, en el marco del Mes para hacer Conciencia sobre el Cáncer de Seno, el jueves por la noche, durante una ceremonia donde se recordó y honró la memoria de las personas que han muerto a causa de esta enfermedad. Durante su mensaje, Aguirre exhortó a los asistentes a compartir un mensaje de vida y apoyo a las personas que siguen luchando por su vida.
TRÁFICO HUMANO
Arresto ubica a mujer quien posee antecedentes POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Autoridades arrestaron a una mujer, quien cuenta con varios arrestos en su historial, por recoger inmigrantes indocumentados en el área de San Ygnacio, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte obtenidos esta semana. Oficiales del Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas, solicitaron la asistencia de Patrulla Fronteriza para efectuar un alto vial alrededor de las 11:17 a.m. del 27 de septiembre. Oficiales detuvieron un vehículo Ford F-150, modelo 2008, por exceso de velocidad y una luz trasera defectuosa. Una investigación reveló
que la conductora, Julissa Jiménez, de 42 años, supuestamente recogió a cinco hombres, cuya entrada al país supuestamente fue ilegal, a través del área de San Ygnacio. Todos admitieron ser ciudadanos mexicanos sin documentación legal, de acuerdo con una querella criminal presentada el martes. Oficiales del departamento de seguridad citaron a Jiménez por conducir a exceso de velocidad y operar un vehículo de motor, antes de que Patrulla Fronteriza la tomara en custodia. Jiménez, supuestamente acordó hablar con autoridades federales en relación al intento de contrabando.
Dijo que un hombre la contactó para recoger a los inmigrantes a orillas del río, señalan registros. Supuestamente, espera un pago de 100 dólares por persona. Registros señalan que Jiménez tuvo un arresto por tráfico de personas el 19 de marzo de 2001, y un arresto por dos cargos de abandono de un menor por la policía de Laredo, el 3 de septiembre. Jiménez fue acusada de transportar inmigrantes indocumentados. Se encuentra en custodia federal, a la espera de su audiencia de detención programada para el 6 de octubre. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
El organismo sin fines de lucro Gateway Community Health Center, Inc., ahora cuenta con un nuevo director ejecutivo (CEO, por sus siglas en inglés). Elmo López Jr., quien el jueves tomó el cargo de CEO en Gateway, cuenta con 17 años de experiencia en el cuidado de la salud. López Jr., dijo estar orgulloso y honrado de haber sido seleccionado como el sucesor de Miguel Treviño, quien estuvo al cargo de la institución por 48 años. Desde 1966, Treviño se esforzó por asegurar el acceso al cuidado de la salud para todos, después de que iniciara ayudando a trabajadores agrícolas inmigrantes con el entonces Departamento de Salud de Laredo-Condado de Webb. LÓPEZ JR La bifurcación del programa de salud de migrantes del departamento de salud en 1989 marcó el comienzo de la organización sin fines de lucro Gateway Community Health Center. “Aquí, los servicios de emergencia son costosos y los tiempos de espera son muy largos”, dijo Treviño. “Abrimos la clínica TREVIÑO para nuestra población de pacientes, así como al público en general a un precio muy accesible”. Bajo la dirección y el liderazgo de Treviño, Gateway evolucionó de ser un programa de salud para inmigrantes que operaba en el sótano del Departamento de Salud del Laredo-Condado de Webb, a un portal único de servicios de salud que recibe a casi 30.000 pacientes al año, en las clínicas de los condados de Webb, Zapata y Jim Hogg. “El señor Treviño realizó un trabajo excelente al establecer una fundación fantástica”, dijo López. “Siempre he dicho que son zapatos grandes de llenar, porque él realizó un excelente trabajo. Estamos muy orgullosos del crecimiento y queremos mantener el mismo impulso”. En 2001, Gateway abrió las instalaciones de Henry Bonilla Healthcare, su clínica en el sur de Laredo. En 2005, Gateway abrió una clínica de cuidados de emergencia para beneficiar a las personas que no tienen acceso a cuidado de salud o no pueden permitirse ir con un médico privado, de acuerdo con Treviño. Finalmente, en 2006, Gateway abrió las puertas de su clínica principal, una instalación de 11 millones que fue posible a través de New Market Tax Credits con cero por ciento de interés por siete años, de acuerdo con Treviño. En 2009, Gateway expandió su área de servicio a los condados de Jim Hogg y Zapata, cuando se le dio la responsabilidad de operar y manejar las clínicas en estos condados. “Muchas de las personas se encuentran sin seguro, no tienen acceso, no pueden permitirse las atenciones o no califican para el mercado de seguros u Obamacare”, dijo Treviño. “La profesión que he tenido, ayudando a estas personas, ha sido excelente. Extrañaré no solamente al personal, sino también a los pacientes. Una vez que has mostrado dedicación a la profesión de ayudar a los menos afortunados, estas personas ocupan un lugar especial en tu corazón, así como los doctores y el personal”. Siendo que Gateway cuenta con financiamiento federal, las normativas federales en relación a la composición de la junta indican que la mayoría de la junta debe estar compuesta por los usuarios de la clínica. “Estos miembros de la junta utilizan la clínica y comentan a la administración lo que es necesario hacer, y esto es un impulso excelente”, dijo López. En cuanto a los retos o proyectos actuales, López dijo que Gateway está trabajando incansablemente para reclutar médicos que vengan a Laredo, con la ayuda de los actuales médicos de la clínica. “Aquí vamos”, fue el último comentario ferviente que López hizo al inicio de su nuevo trayecto.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
PRISONERS Continued from Page 1A cape from prison by Guzman, Mexico’s most-wanted drug lord. While it’s not unprecedented, 13 is the largest number of extraditions in one day under the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who took office in December of 2012. Rodriguez told The Associated Press that the extraditions had been in the works independently of Guzman’s escape, and that U.S. and Mexican authorities had earlier reached an agreement to speed-up the process. “With or without the escape of ‘Chapo’ Guzman, these extraditions were going to happen,” Rodriguez said. Many experts agreed there was no direct relation — extradition requests take years to complete. But they said the timing can be attributed to the rule-of-law problems that Mexico has been experiencing, illustrated by Guzman’s escape and the 2013 early morning release from prison of Rafael Caro Quintero, the man convicted in the 1985 killing of U.S. DEA agent Enrique Camarena, despite having charges pending against him in the U.S. Mexico also just passed the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 43 teachers’ college students at the hands of police working with a drug gang. Their whereabouts remain a mystery. “I can’t help but question if the timing of this was a way to deflect in the press from all the other things going on,” said Juan Masini of Masini Global Group, a former Justice Department official at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Other experts see the extraditions as Mexico realizing that it needs its neighbor’s help on security issues. When Peña Nieto first took office, his administration reversed the open cooperation that Washington experienced
Under the agreement Rodriguez outlined, some administrative steps that took 15 days will now take five, but he added that because suspects have the right to appeal, the extradition process will not take less than a year. under former President Felipe Calderon. The number of extraditions dropped with the closing down of access to Mexican officials, apart from a “single window” in the Interior Secretary. Extraditions in Calderon’s last year were 115, but dropped to 54 in the first year of Peña Nieto’s administration. “Extraditions are not a good measure of relations overall, but I think it’s symbolic especially for people working in law enforcement. It’s been seen in recent years as an important metric,” said David Shirk, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego. “For those who felt relations had gone downhill, that drop in extraditions seemed to be significant.” A U.S. Justice Department statement said Wednesday’s extraditions were part of a new coordination effort between Mexico and the U.S. to fight organized crime, which arose from a June meeting between U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and her Mexican counterpart, Arely Gomez. Among those sent to the U.S. were Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La Barbie,” a top lieutenant to the late Arturo Beltran Leyva who later led his own faction of the Beltran Leyva cartel, and Jorge Costilla Sanchez, known as “El Coss,” an alleged former leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.
The group also included Jose Emanuel Garcia Sota, who is charged in the 2011 killing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata. Three suspects charged in the March 2010 murders in Ciudad Juarez of U.S. Consulate employees also were sent to the U.S. Under the agreement Rodriguez outlined, some administrative steps that took 15 days will now take five, but he added that because suspects have the right to appeal, the extradition process will not take less than a year. He also said that Mexico will still make sure that national authorities have obtained all the information from the suspects needed to solve local crimes before sending them north. The United States filed an extradition request for Guzman about 21/2 weeks before his escape. His lawyer told several media outlets in August that his flight was a direct result of learning that extradition had become imminent. For some analysts, the recent extraditions cannot be understood without considering Guzman’s escape. “It’s clearly a recognition on the part of the Mexican government that they can’t depend on their prison system after Chapo, they don’t want a future embarrassment,” said Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. “They’re being forced to accept that it’s better for them if their criminals are in the U.S.”
CLINIC Continued from Page 1A community of Zapata. It consisted of a variety of health service providers and exhibitors that educate on all aspects of health, wellness, fitness, and lifestyles improvements,” del Bosque said. “This health fair is a continuous outreach project that stems off the newly developed Safer Colonias Program initiated by our Sheriff Alonso M. Lopez,” del Bosque said. Authorities also collected unwanted or expired prescribed medication. Del Bosque said the Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug Take Back was a great success. Authorities had a dropoff zone at the Zapata County Pavilion. “Sheriff Lopez and surrounding law enforcement agencies, public health providers and environmental professionals stand united in support of the DEA pill take
Courtesy photo
Authorities collected 71.3 pounds of expired medications. back program,” del Bosque said. Authorities collected 71.3 pounds of expired medications and pills, according to del Bosque. “This one-day event provided the local citizens of Zapata County, with no cost, anonymous collection of unwanted and expired medicines,”
del Bosque said. Federal and local authorities join forces to collect unwanted, expired medication to prevent their abuse or misuse, according to the DEA. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
ARRESTS Continued from Page 1A Sanchez-Rosas, known as Chilango, remained behind bars Friday. Also recently, deputies recovered an abandoned
black 2005 Cadillac SRX. The vehicle was located approximately 1 mile into Los Lobos Road. Reports state the vehi-
cle was found crashed into a tree and a fence. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
SMUGGLING Continued from Page 1A Authorities identified the passenger as Sandoval. In addition, agents said they noticed several people in the back seat and also spotted a man lying down in the cargo area of the Pontiac. Asked about their destination, Buentello allegedly replied he was driving the people to Laredo. All were detained and taken to the Zapata Border Patrol Station. In a post-arrest inter-
view, Buentello allegedly told agents that a man he identified as Cristobal Peña offered him via Facebook to transport immigrants to Laredo. Peña is a recruiter, active participant in the Rubio Transnational Criminal Organization, which operates from Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas and Zapata, according to court documents. Buentello expected a payment of $200 per person, records state.
“Sandoval stated that she was not going to get paid and that Buentello told her that after the smuggling attempt, he was going to give her money for their daughter,” states the complaint. Buentello was tasked with dropping the immigrants at the Dollar General near Wal-Mart in South Laredo, states the complaint. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Why a credit bureau has T-Mobile data By KEN SWEET ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — In the latest high-profile breach of a U.S. organization, hackers broke into Experian’s database of information on 15 million T-Mobile customers and potential customers. But what is Experian, and why does the credit bureau keep data on a wireless carrier’s customers? Here’s a Q&A about what happened at Experian and what could happen next. What information does Experian have on me? If you’ve applied for a credit card, mortgage, student loan or any financial product in the last three decades, Experian likely has some sort of data on you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates Experian, Equifax and TransUnion hold records on more than 200 million Americans. The data can be basic information like your address and birthdate. But if you’ve applied for credit, the agencies could know more about your financial situation than your parents or spouse do. They’ll have your Social Security number, all of the banks you have credit card accounts with, the limit on those cards and if you pay them down regularly. They can know your work history, if you’ve had any collections or court judgments against you or if you’ve ever defaulted on a loan. Why collect the information? Banks and other lenders need to know whether you’re a good borrower and pay your debts and would prefer to gather that information quickly and relatively cheaply. Credit agencies provide a storehouse of data that lenders can pull to make credit decisions. In turn, those lenders report their data back to the agencies so other lenders to have access to more data. This ongoing database becomes known as a person’s credit report. The data can be further processed into what’s known as a credit score, which is a way of boiling down years of financial information into a “grade” that banks can look at to decide whether to lend to you or not. Why was Experian collecting and holding information for TMobile? T-Mobile has to decide whether to allow a potential customer to open an account or to finance their
newly purchased phone. Anyone applying for cell service, with some exceptions like a prepaid phone, needs to get a credit check before T-Mobile or other carriers approve service. T-Mobile, which contracted out the credit check to Experian, says applicants from between September 1, 2013 and September 16, 2015 were affected. What information was taken? What should I do? Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birthdates and driver’s license numbers. But Experian says the T-Mobile consumer data and its consumer credit database — the credit reports noted above — are housed on a separate server and those records were not exposed in the hack. T-Mobile said affected consumers can sign up for two free years of credit monitoring services at www.protectmyID.com/securityincident, a service owned by Experian. The offering of an Experian monitoring service led to protests on Twitter, and T-Mobile may announce other options for its consumers to protect their data. CEO Legere said on Twitter that contracting out Experian was the fastest way to protect customers’ data, but they are working on providing an alternative. Who regulates the credit agencies? The federal regulator of Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and the other smaller credit agencies is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB, which was created after the 2008 financial crisis, started regulating credit agencies in September 2012. It was the first time a federal agency had weighed in on the industry. Will there be any consequences for Experian? It is too soon to tell. The CFPB, in a statement, said they “are concerned about the recent breach of consumer information” and will be monitoring the situation. Experian could face fines and possible increased regulatory scrutiny as well if it is found liable for how the breach occurred. And T-Mobile could stop using Experian. In a letter to customers, T-Mobile CEO John Legere had said that he was “incredibly angry” about the breach and that the company would review its relationship with Experian.
Hiring slows amid fears By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A sagging global economy has finally caught up with the United States. Nervous employers pulled back on hiring in August and September as China’s economy slowed, global markets sank and foreigners bought fewer U.S. goods. Friday’s monthly jobs report from the government suggested that the U.S. economy, which has been outshining others around the world, may be weakening. Lackluster growth overseas has reduced exports of U.S. factory goods and cut into the overseas profits of large companies. Canada, the largest U.S. trading partner, is in recession. China, the second-largest economy after the United States, is growing far more slowly. And emerging economies, from Brazil to Turkey, are straining to grow at all. A result is that economists now expect the Federal Reserve to delay a longawaited increase in interest rates, possibly until next year. Employers added just 142,000 jobs in September, and the government sharply lowered its estimate of gains in July and August by a combined 59,000. Monthly job growth averaged a mediocre 167,000 in the July-September quarter, down from 231,000 in the April-June period. The unemployment rate
Photo by Alan Diaz | AP
In this photo taken July 15, job seekers listen as Kaysara Mandry, center, talks about job opportunities at the Domino’s booth during a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. U.S. hiring slowed sharply and previous job gains were revised lower amid a broad slowdown in the global economy. remained a low 5.1 percent, but only because many Americans have stopped looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed. The proportion of adults who either have a job or are looking for one is at a 38-year low. U.S. stock prices have tumbled as fears of a global slowdown have intensified. Volatile financial markets can make businesses too anxious to expand and hire. “We’re back to a period of what I call corporate caution,” says Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS. “It’s wait and see. If things stabilize, we could see hiring come back.” On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell about 200 points soon after the jobs report was issued before recovering to close up 200. The yield on
the 10-year Treasury note dipped below 2 percent, a sign that investors anticipate sluggish growth and low inflation. Over the past year, the dollar has risen about 15 percent against overseas currencies, making U.S. goods costlier overseas and imports cheaper. Declining exports have led many analysts to slash their growth estimates for the July-September quarter to a subpar 1.5 percent annual rate or less. Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar has said it will cut up to 5,000 jobs by year’s end. Lower oil prices have hurt its sales of drilling equipment, and overseas sales of its construction machines have fallen. Hershey has said it will shed 300 positions in the U.S. this year after sales in
China plunged. A host of other companies have announced layoffs in recent weeks, including Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer; ConAgra Foods, which makes Chef Boyardee and Slim Jims; and Chesapeake Energy, which has been hurt by lower oil prices. The tepid pace of hiring clouds the picture for the Fed, which is considering whether to raise rates from record lows. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that the job market is nearly healed. But she’s also said she wants to see further hiring and pay growth for reassurance that inflation is edging toward the Fed’s 2 percent target. Average hourly wages are up just 2.2 percent in the past year — far below the 3.5 percent or 4 percent considered healthy.
Stock market ends higher By MATTHEW CRAFT ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — News of slower hiring last month jolted markets early Friday, driving government bonds up and the dollar down. The stock market, after slumping in early trading, finished the day with a solid gain. A jump in crude oil helped turn things around, as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other oil giants charged higher. But the swing was also a result of traders speculating that the weak jobs report will prevent the Federal Reserve from raising its benchmark interest rate anytime soon. The Fed has only two meetings left to make a move this year: one later this month and another in December. “It looks like October is clearly off the table,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “I think it puts into question December, too.”
Photo by Richard Drew | AP
Trader Jeffrey Vazquez works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday. A weak report on the U.S. jobs market is sending the stock market and the dollar sharply lower in early trading.
The government reported that employers added 142,000 workers last month, much lower than the 200,000 anticipated on Wall Street, and hired fewer people in July and August than previously thought. The unemployment rate stayed at 5.1 percent, but only because many Americans have stopped looking for work and are no longer
counted as unemployed. “There’s just no positive spin you can put on it,” said Russ Koesterich, BlackRock’s global chief investment strategist. “Combined with other reports, it really raises questions about the strength of the recovery.” Major indexes fell hard at the opening of trading, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing as
much as 258 points, then reversed course and charged higher throughout the afternoon. The Dow gained 200.36 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 16,472.37. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index surged 27.54 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,951.36. The Nasdaq composite rose 80.69 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,707.78. Sometimes, bad news looks like good news for investors. It’s been a confusing theme ever since the Fed cut its benchmark rate to near zero during the financial crisis in 2008, helping to set off a stock-market rally. In the upside-down logic of Wall Street, discouraging economic reports have often been treated as encouraging because it meant the Fed would keep lending rates at record lows. Low rates help drive money into stocks, partly by making the returns on bonds, CDs and other income-producing investments seem paltry by comparison.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Deflating defense Photo by Michael Thomas | AP
Jerrod Heard and Texas are on the road Saturday against No. 4 TCU.
Horned Frogs host Texas TCU attempting to remain undefeated By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Dave Martin | AP
The Cowboys allowed an NFL record of 40 first downs the last time they played in New Orleans in 2013.
Cowboys looking to bounce back after rough outing By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING — Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli isn’t looking for a turnaround from a unit that crumbled against Atlanta after a strong start the first two weeks of the season. That’s because he never is. Good game or bad, Marinelli still preaches preparation, technique and repetition. “I know it sounds boring. I am boring,” Marinelli said. “But I’m telling you the truth. Hey, correct this, do this right and now get it going and get on the field and make our corrections and improve our executions.” Reinforcements are coming this week
and next as the Cowboys (2-1) return to the site of perhaps the worst defensive day in franchise history at New Orleans two years ago. The visit to the Saints (0-3) on Sunday night comes after the Falcons scored three straight touchdowns in the second half behind star receiver Julio Jones and fill-in running back Devonta Freeman. The same group that held Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia offense to 7 yards rushing in a 20-10 victory gave up 158 yards and couldn’t hold three 14-point leads in the 39-28 loss to Atlanta. There was one difference, with defensive end Jeremy Mincey sitting out with a concussion. Mincey cleared the concussion protocol this week and is expected to play in New
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 5 BAYLOR, TEXAS TECH
Orleans. “Mentality is everything,” he said. “That is one of my gifts, mentality, bring guys with me with the energy. I real do feel like my teammates missed that.” Dallas is going into the last game before linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive end Greg Hardy return from four-game suspensions — McClain for a substanceabuse violation, and Hardy for a domestic violence case. With Mincey sidelined against Atlanta along with rookie defensive end Randy Gregory (sprained ankle that will keep him out for the third straight game), the Cowboys didn’t have the numbers they
FORT WORTH — This is one of those seasons when TCU coach Gary Patterson has plenty of reasons to shake his head while constantly having to plug in different players on defense to do enough to back a high-powered offense. Still, what matters right now for the fourth-ranked and playoffhopeful Horned Frogs (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) is that they are still undefeated. “I don’t have to be the best football team I need to be right now. I just have to be that best team by the last game of the season,” Patterson said. “All I need to do is try to win a ballgame every week by one point and keep getting better and stay healthy.” The Frogs won their league opener 55-52 at Texas Tech and are now back home Saturday to play Texas, which is 1-3 for the first since 1956 after losing con-
See COWBOYS PAGE 2B See TEXAS PAGE 2B
NCAA FOOTBALL: NO. 14 TEXAS A&M, NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI STATE
Aggies host Mississippi State By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Shock Linwood and Baylor open Big 12 play at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Texas Tech. The game features two of the top three scoring offenses in the nation.
Top offenses battle as Bears face TTU By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — Even coach Art Briles finds it a bit mindboggling that fifth-ranked Baylor is the nation’s top rushing team. What comes as no real sur-
prise is that the Bears (3-0), the two-time defending Big 12 champions who play their league opener Saturday against Texas Tech, are still the highest-scoring team with the best overall offense.
See BAYLOR PAGE 2B
COLLEGE STATION — As Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott prepares for Saturday’s game at No. 14 Texas A&M, he’s in a much better place than he was the last time he visited Kyle Field. When Prescott played the Aggies on Nov. 9, 2013, it was just days after his mother died of cancer. Prescott missed practice that week and didn’t start. He came in early and threw for 149 yards and two scores and ran for 154 yards. He and the Bulldogs were unable to overcome a five-touchdown performance by Johnny Manziel in the 51-41 win by the Aggies. “I’m completely different, night and day,” Prescott said. “That was a stressful time in my life. It was a big game coming off of (my mother passing away) ... I’m excited to go back again. It’s another road trip but I’m planning for different results.” No. 21 Mississippi St. (3-1, 1-1 SEC) are coming off a win over Auburn. No. 14 Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0) is looking for a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since doing so in the Big 12 in 1997-98. Prescott is off to a solid start this season and has completed almost 67 percent of his passes for 1,069 yards and seven touch-
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Christian Kirk and No. 14 Texas A&M are looking to improve to 2-0 in conference play when they host No. 21 Mississippi State on Saturday. downs. He’s thrown 191 straight passes without an interception, a streak that is the longest in the nation and the sixth longest in SEC history and that dates back to the Orange Bowl.
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin knows the key to success against the Bulldogs is to contain the dual-threat quarterback.
See A&M PAGE 2B
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WR Johnson off to slow start By JIM JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS — Andre Johnson says teams aren’t doing anything out of the ordinary to defend him. The Colts wide receiver just isn’t getting the ball. After three games, the seven-time Pro Bowler has just seven catches for 51 yards and is coming off his first no-catch game in a decade after last weekend’s 35-33 win at Tennessee. It was just the second game in Johnson’s career without a reception and the first since a 2005 game against the Titans during his third season with Houston, where Johnson became one of the NFL’s top receivers. “They mix things up,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s anything special.” He led the league in receptions (103) in 2006 and again in 2008 with a careerhigh 115. He also led the league in receiving yards that year (1,575) and in 2009 with 1,569. So has the limited attention shocked the veteran receiver? “No, it hasn’t,” Johnson said. “In coming to this team, I knew that we had a lot of guys here that can make plays. You just have to wait your time. Your time will come. I’ve had my fair share of being the No. 1 guy, catching eight or
Photo by James Kenney | AP
Andre Johnson has been held to seven catches for 51 yards in his first three games with the Colts. nine balls a game and stuff like that. I’ve experienced that for a long time in my career.” It was the success he had with the Texans that made the offseason move so attractive when the Colts signed Johnson as a free agent in March to give Indy’s offense a boost. Johnson is Houston’s alltime leading receiver with 1,012 receptions for 13,597 yards and 64 touchdowns in 12 seasons with the team. Fans had high hopes that those numbers would come with Johnson to Indy, and the Colts still believe it will happen — perhaps as early as this Sunday against Jacksonville. “I have to do a better job of finding ways to get Andre the football and create the matchups that will
give us a chance to take advantage of his talents,” Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said. “He’s working hard and we know that he’s a playmaker. We have a lot of ball ahead of us. He’ll make plays over the course of the season.” Quarterback Andrew Luck connected with Johnson on a big 37-yard pass in the third quarter last week against the Titans, but lineman Hugh Thornton was called for holding — just one of the woes for an offensive line that has struggled to help Luck be productive. Luck said it also takes time to get on the same page with a new receiver. “It’s early, it’s Week 3,” he said. “Production wise, he still does a great job
blocking, running routes. Even if he’s not catching the ball necessarily, that doesn’t mean he’s not doing his job. I think patience. Patience with everything. No worries there by any means.” On Sunday, though, Johnson could be catching passes from backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. The Colts listed Luck as questionable on Friday after he was limited in practice for the third straight day with a sore right shoulder. Coach Chuck Pagano gave no indication to the extent of Luck’s participation or how much Luck has thrown this week. Still, Pagano is confident Luck will start against the Jaguars. “It’s Andrew Luck,” Pagano said. “If I was going to bet on anybody it would be that guy. Now if he can’t, then he can’t and we’ll deal with that when we have to cross that bridge.” Notes: Tight end Dwayne Allen (ankle) is listed as questionable, and cornerback Greg Toler (neck) and running back Tyler Varga have been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Cornerbacks Darius Butler (hip) and Vontae Davis (ankle), receiver T.Y. Hilton (knee), linebacker Trent Cole (knee), running back Josh Robinson (back), and offensive guard Hugh Thornton (knee) are probable.
BAYLOR Continued from Page 1B “It just falls in place of what we’ve had happen, so far. If we’re sitting after 12 games and we’re still top 10 rushing, which is kind of what we’d like to be in year in and year out, then that’s a pretty good deal,” Briles said of their 379.7 rushing yards per game. “I think it does say a lot about our O-line. Those guys are experienced. “If somebody is talking ugly about me, I feel threatened, I’m not gonna go grab a quarterback or receiver,” he said. “I’m gonna go grab an O-lineman or D-lineman.” Texas Tech (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) is third nationally and second in the Big 12 with 54 points a game. That is 10 below Baylor, the national leader the past two seasons in scoring and total offense. The Bears’ 767 total yards a game this season are 130 more than second-
best TCU, which last week won 55-52 at Texas Tech after a diving catch of a deflected pass in the back of the end zone in the final minute. Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury quickly dismissed the notion that there would be an emotional or physical challenge getting over that heartbreaker. “We’re good where we’re at,” he said. As far as comparing Baylor’s offense to TCU, Kingsbury noted how different they really are though both score a lot of points with a lot of yards. “Baylor does what they do,” he said. “Nobody in the country does what they do with the spacing, the way they space you out, run the ball very well, play up tempo and find ways to get those receivers to the ball in space.” MAYBE MAHOMES Texas Tech quarterback
Patrick Mahomes set a Big 12 freshman record when he threw for 598 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-46 loss to Baylor last November. His status for Saturday was uncertain after hurting his left knee against TCU, and wearing a brace to finish that game. Davis Webb would start if Mahomes is not ready. DOUBLE CENTURY Baylor and Texas Tech are two of the four Big 12 teams that have both a running back and receiver averaging more than 100 yards per game. The Bears lead in both categories with Shock Linwood at 121 yards rushing per game, and Corey Coleman with 153 yards receiving per game. Baylor also has another 100-yard rusher in Terence Williams (101.7 ypg). Tech’s DeAndre Washington is second in the Big 12 at 118.8 yards rushing per game, while
Jakeem Grant’s 103.2 yards tops three Red Raiders among the league’s top 10 in that category. SETH STARTING This will be Baylor quarterback Seth Russell’s third game vs. the Red Raiders, his first starting. Russell had three runs for 29 yards at the end of a lopsided game in 2013, and was 8-of-17 passing for 82 yards and a TD last season as Baylor held on to win after Bryce Petty sustained a concussion. While winning all three games this season, Russell leads FBS in passing TDs (15), yards per completion (19.9) and points responsible for game (32). THE 700 MARK There has been only one other time since 1996 that an FBS team had 700 total yards in three consecutive games — that was Baylor in 2013. These Bears have had at least 723 yards in every game this season.
COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B were used to with the rotation in the defensive line. Defensive tackle Nick Hayden said that didn’t matter. “I don’t think the focus was there,” Hayden said. “We always preach technique, speed, be disciplined in our gaps, and we didn’t have any of that.” The Cowboys didn’t have much of anything the last time they visited the Saints in 2013. Dallas gave up an NFL-record 40 first downs and a franchise-record 625 yards to Drew Brees’ team. That 49-17 loss was par-
ticularly embarrassing because the Cowboys had fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan the previous offseason and brought in Monte Kiffin to run the defense along with Marinelli to coach the defensive line. Ryan was hired by the Saints, who held the Cowboys to nine first downs. “You learn, you evaluate and you move forward,” said Marinelli, who replaced Kiffin after that season. This time, the Cowboys aren’t certain Brees will start because he missed last week’s 27-22 loss to
Carolina with a bruised right rotator cuff. He took first-team snaps this week and was listed as probable on the injury report Friday. Luke McCown filled in for Brees last week. “I think we talk more about offenses having tendencies,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “Luke went into the game last week and it looked like the New Orleans Saints running their plays. It wasn’t like they came up with all these new plays because he’s a different style of quarterback.” The Cowboys were third
overall on defense and the best in the NFL against the run after beating the Eagles. They dropped all the way to 10th in rushing defense while letting the Falcons covert nine of 14 third downs — many of them favorable yardage situations because of Atlanta’s success on the early downs. “We lost our identity for a game and we’re fighting to get our identity back,” Mincey said. “Sometimes it’s good to get kicked in the rear end early. Better now than later.”
Photo by John Cordes | AP
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is expected to return to the starting lineup Sunday night when the Saints host Dallas.
Brees expected to start Sunday By BRETT MARTEL ASSOCIATED PRESS
METAIRIE, La. — Drew Brees is expected to return as starter for New Orleans against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night in the Superdome, Saints coach Sean Payton said Friday. “We’re planning on starting him, based on the work week,” Payton said after practice. “He’s thrown well. I thought he looked sharp today.” Brees missed the Saints’ 27-22 loss in Carolina last Sunday because of a bruised rotator cuff in his right (throwing) shoulder. The injury occurred on a
hit in the second quarter of New Orleans’ Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay. Brees never took himself out of that game, but did not appear to perform at his normally high standard, finishing 24 of 38 for 255 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Brees then did not throw during practice in Week 3, but started taking firstteam snaps at practice again this week, saying on Wednesday that he planned to steadily expand the variety of throws he attempted as the week wore on. “He looks good. He’s been throwing it good and having good zip on it,” said Saints running back Mark Ingram.
A&M Continued from Page 1B “When he’s on the field he just exudes confidence,” Sumlin said. “Team feeds off that. Won’t be intimidated. Been on big stages. And he’s a good player. Everything will run through him offensively.” The Aggies’ defense, led by defensive end Myles Garrett, is tied for second in the country with 17 sacks. Garrett is tied for second in the country with 6 1/2 sacks and teammate Daeshon Hall has four. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen knows all about the two pass rushers and has a plan to deal with them. “If your quarterback is making good decisions and they have the opportunity to get rid of the ball quickly, it helps your pass protection as much as anything,” Mullen said. “We don’t want our quarterback holding the ball too long. A guy like Dak, who can get through his progression reads pretty quickly, helps keep those sack numbers down.” FABULOUS FRESHMAN Texas A&M WR/PR/KR Christian Kirk had a careerhigh 173 yards receiving last week for his third 100-yard receiving game, which tied a school record. He leads SEC freshmen in touchdowns (5), yards receiving a game (110.5), punt return yards (149), kickoff return yards (209) and all-purpose yards (201.2). “He will start seeing different coverages and things,” Sumlin said. “After about game four or five, people figure out it’s not a fluke. He’s got some real talent. Defenses will change.”
JEFFERSON THRIVING Mississippi State junior defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson is playing very well in his first season as a starter. The 6-foot-3, 277-pounder leads the team and is third in the SEC with 71/2 tackles for a loss and also has 31/2 sacks. The Bulldogs rank third in the SEC with 12 sacks as a team. FAST START Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen needs just 48 yards to reach 1,000 this season. Allen is 7-2 as a starter dating back to last season and has won five in a row. Allen completed 21 of 28 passes for a career-high 358 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against Arkansas last week. “He should get better, it’s just the progression of things,” Sumlin said. “Think he understands personnel a lot more. Saw that in the fourth quarter and making the right decisions. All that comes with the growth of quarterback.” WHERE IS MSU’S RUNNING GAME? Mississippi State’s teams have earned a reputation for a run-based offense during coach Dan Mullen’s sevenyear tenure. But the Bulldogs have just 112 rushing attempts through four games, which is the lowest amount in the league. Part of that is because Prescott has had a good start throwing the ball, but it’s also partly because of an inexperienced offensive line and mediocre production from starting running back Ashton Shumpert, who is averaging just eight carries and 32 yards per game.
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B secutive home games with late breakdowns on special teams. A missed extra point with 71 seconds left cost Texas a chance to take California to overtime two weeks ago. Then a dropped punt snap set up Oklahoma State for the winning field goal in the final seconds as the Longhorns lost their Big 12 opener at home last week. “It’s our own fault that we’ve been in the position we’re in. We have to learn how to just go close out games,” second-year coach Charlie Strong said. “Everybody has a job to do, and just do your job and just keep battling, keep
competing.” In the aftermath of the loss to Oklahoma State, there was a players-only meeting for the team playing three of its next four games away from the Austin campus. “It was needed and it was one of those ’come to Jesus’ talks,” said Jerrod Heard, the freshman quarterback. “We definitely needed that, and we rallied up and we needed to hear each other’s voices and just hear what needed to be said.” FIRST-TIMERS TCU has already had a nation’smost 13 defensive players make
their first career starts this season, and that doesn’t included former transfer Aaron Curry, who made eight starts for Nebraska in 2013 before returning to his hometown to play at TCU. Six different starters have missed games or are still out with injuries, and a seventh took a personal leave from the team after starting the season opener as a true freshman. HORNS REGRESS After two explosive games behind Heard and new play-caller Jay Norvell, the Texas offense took a step backward with just one touchdown and less than 300 yards against Oklahoma State.
Texas had the lead entering the fourth quarter but its last three possessions produced no first downs as Heard’s protection melted away. Heard had 743 total yards and accounted for five touchdowns in his first two starts, but had only 179 total yards with no TDs last week. STREAKS AND NUMBERS TCU’s 12-game winning streak trails only top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State’s 17 in a row. ... Texas is 5-22 against Top 25 teams since 2010. ... Frogs QB Trevone Boykin averages 415 total yards per game, and leads all active players with 10,250
yards. ... TCU has scored at least 55 points the last three games. The Longhorns haven’t allowed fewer than 28 this season. OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSE The Longhorns defense has been shaky but opportunistic with three touchdowns off turnovers. Defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway scored on a long fumble return and freshman defensive back Holton Hill went 41 yards with an interception against Oklahoma State. The defense’s biggest problem is on third down, where opponents are converting at 56 percent, one of the worst rates in the country.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015
Dear Heloise: I am MOVING for the 41st time! I have learned a lot through the years, and want to share some hints: Send out notices of address change as soon as possible. Use small wastebaskets for small stuff (spice bottles, tableware and craft materials). Wrap dishes and glassware in towels; they have to go anyway. In a large tote bag, pack your medications, checkbook, credit cards, tissues, bottle of water, a roll of toilet tissue and other small stuff so you won’t have to hunt for it. Keep this bag in your hands until you are sufficiently moved in and settled. TOILET-BOWL STAIN Dear Heloise: What is the best product or homemade “something” to clean bad stains inside the rim of the toilet? –– Nancy, via email If the stains are inside the rim –– meaning coming out from the holes where
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HELOISE
the water flows –– it’s a water problem. It could be iron in the water (is the house on well water?) or high calcium mineral deposits, also known as hard water. If the stains are orangeylooking, that means there is iron in the water. You probably need a product with oxalic acid or an iron/ rust remover. A HELOISE HINT FOR TOILET STAINS is to soak toilet paper in full-strength vinegar. Push the tissue up against the “stains” until the tissue sticks. Let sit for several hours (don’t let them dry out), then scrub with a stiff plastic brush or synthetic sponge (no metal –– do not scratch the porcelain surface), and poke through the holes where the water flows with a toothpick. Good luck! –– Heloise
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