The Zapata Times 11/16/2016

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TEXAS BORDER

PRISONS

Men off to prison for massacre

Trump plans to change Texas

By Jason Buch SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS

Authorities in the Mexican state of Coahuila have secured significant prison sentences for two men they say were involved in a 2011 massacre carried out near the Texas border by corrupt police and members of the Zetas drug cartel.

Details of what’s been called the Allende Massacre, named after a town near the Rio Grande, have trickled out in U.S. court cases, including the trial last summer in San Antonio of a Zetas middle manager.

By some counts, hundreds of people were forcibly taken and murdered, and their bodies were destroyed as the Zetas wiped out anyone connected to a group of traffickers who were cooperating with the U.S. government.

On Saturday, José Ángel Herrera, the assistant attorney general for disappeared persons, announced that a judge had ordered Germán “El Canelo” Zaragoza Sánchez to spend 80 years in prison and Fernando “El Panone” Hernández Reyes to spend 75 years in prison on charges of aggravated kidnapping.

In a report earlier this year, the state said it had identified 23 people who were kidnapped and killed over two days in March 2011 in Allende and that authorities had detained nine suspects. Investigators have identified 14 people responsible, seven of them municipal police officers and the other seven members of the Zetas, Herrera said Saturday. Sánchez and Hernández are the first suspects to be punished in Mexico for their part in the massacre.

The state “is committed to guaranteeing peace and tranquillity,” Herrera said in his statement.

The announcement was an effort by the administration of Gov. Rubén Moreira to show Massacre continues on A11

Deporting immigrant convicts may help taxpayers

By Mike Ward HOUSTON CHRONICLE

AUSTIN — Donald Trump’s plan to start deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records would cover more than 6,700 convicts in Texas prisons, more than in any other state, a move that could save taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

The path for Trump to do so, however, is complicated by opposition to releasing convicts before they finish their sentences, especially if they are deported only to return to com-

mit new crimes, officials said Monday.

“I’ll put a bow on them if he’ll come get them, but we’ve been trying to get them sent home for more than a decade without much success,” said Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

“About half of them are eligible for parole, and sending them home would not compromise public safety one iota,” the Houston Democrat said. “So, let’s do it. It’s nuts that we spend millions of dollars hous-

Rose Baca / The Dallas Morning News/AP file

An inmate works outdoors outside a Texas prison unit in Huntsville in this 2015 file photo. About half of the 6,761 deportable convicts in Texas are already eligible for parole.

Convicts continues on A10

U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

TEXAS CARDINAL NAMED TOP CATHOLIC LEADER Mexicanborn archbishop also elected

By Rachel Zoll ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Patrick Semansky / AP

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, the newly elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at a news conference at the USCCB's annual fall meeting in Baltimore, Tuesday.

BALTIMORE — U.S. Roman Catholic bishops chose a Texas cardinal and the Mexican-born archbishop of Los Angeles as their top leaders Tuesday, as they look toward building ties with the Trump administration.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, was elected president, and Archbishop Jose Gomez was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Gomez is the first Latino to hold the post. The vice president customarily Catholic continues on A11

85TH TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Zaffirini pre-files 42 legislative bills S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S

Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, pre-filed Monday the first 41 Senate bills and the first Senate Joint Resolution of the 85th Texas Legislative Session that will convene Jan. 10.

“My staff and I have been working diligently to craft a legislative agenda that reflects the priorities of families in our district and throughout our great state,” Senator Zaffirini said. “These include ensuring families have the option of enrolling their children in highquality pre-k programs, ensuring college students can afford tuition and promoting health, public safety and a clean environment.”

Of the 42 bills filed Monday

by Senator Zaffirini, six relate

to higher education; two, public education; and four, health and human services.

Her bills include the following: Zaffirini 1 SB 31, which would prohibit texting while driving.

1 SB 32, which would establish a successor to the B-On-Time Loan Program to provide low interest loans to high-achieving, low-income college students.

1 SB 33, which would reform the TEXAS Grant financial aid program to incentivize timely graduation and maximize limited funding.

1 SB 34, which would expand the use of outcomes-based funding in higher education to promote timely graduation and

degree completion.

1 SB 35, which would create universal pre-k for all four-year olds and expand half-day pre-k to qualifying at-risk three-year olds.

1 SB 36-41, which would continue reforms to Texas’ guardianship system begun during the 2015 legislative session.

1 SB 42, which would implement the Texas Judicial Council’s recommendations to improve security at Texas’ courthouses and courtrooms.

1 SB 48, which would established two annual, ten-day tax-free periods during which eligible low-income students would be able to purchase or rent textbooks tax-free.

1 SB 50, which would strengthen state laws against hazing.

1 SB 56, which would strength-

en state agencies’ cybersecurity plans.

1 SB 65, which would authorize state enforcement action against a cemetery that is discriminating on the basis of race.

1 SB 66, which would exempt vehicles purchased by activeduty service members deployed overseas from sales tax.

1 SB 68, which would require an elected official convicted of a felony crime to forfeit their pension.

1 SB 69, which would prohibit leaving a pet in a hot car and authorize a person to free a pet or a vulnerable person (baby) trapped in a hot car.

1 SB 70, which would clarify the requirement that employers provide earning statements to employees.

1 SB 71, which would help the

City of San Marcos better manage restoration and environmental protection of the San Marcos River.

Bills are numbered chronologically as they are filed, though 1-30 were reserved for the priorities of Lt. GovernorElect Dan Patrick.

Because hers were the first Senate bills filed for 2017, Zaffirini’s are numbered 31-71 and SJR 6.

“The bills we filed (Monday) are a great beginning, but we are just getting started,” Zaffirini said. “We will file additional legislation, especially as we finalize interim reports developed by the committees on which I serve.”

Zaffirini continues on A11

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE WORLD

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

1 SRX Chess Club. Every Wednesday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Learn the basics of chess and compete with friends. Limited chess sets available for use.

1 Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library-Calton. For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 16, the 321st day of 2016. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 16, 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 1 Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society meeting and presentation on Argentina. 3-5 p.m. St. John Neumann Parish Hall-Hillside. $5 contribution asked of non-members.

For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

1 Wii U Gaming. Every Thursday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Game with friends on Wii U.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 1 DUPLO Fun Time. Every Friday, 10:30—11:30 a.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco Street. LEGOs for toddlers.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 1 Spiritual Wisdom on Conquering Fear. 1-2:30 p.m. Fairfield Inn & Suites Meeting Room, 700 W. Hillside Road.

Free bilingual discussion with booklet included.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 1 Chess Club. 4—6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels. Instruction is offered.

1 Movie and Popcorn. Every Monday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Enjoy a family movie and refreshments.

1 Ray of Light Anxiety and Depression Support Group Meeting in Spanish. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Holding Institute, 1102 Santa Maria Ave., Classroom No. 1. Adults suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend our free, confidential and anonymous support group meetings. For more information, call 307-2014.

Royal New Zealand Defence Force / AP

In this image provided by the Royal New Zealand Defense Force, tourists are evacuated by helicopter from Kaikoura following Monday's earthquake, in New Zealand, Tuesday.

MORE RESCUES IN NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand military officials said Tuesday that they had evacuated about 140 people by helicopter from a coastal town and were expecting that number to rise to 200 by the end of the day, as a major rescue operation unfolded following a powerful earthquake. Hundreds of tourists and residents remained stranded in the town of Kaikoura and faced a third disrupted night after the quake early Monday cut off train and vehicle access.

The operation comes as several buildings in the capital, Wellington, were evac-

uated and streets cordoned off after engineers determined that a nine-story office building was in danger of collapsing.

The magnitude-7.8 quake that struck New Zealand’s South Island left two people dead and triggered a small tsunami. It also brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways and cracked apart roads. The defense force said it had started ferrying people out by military helicopter and that a navy ship from Auckland was due to arrive in the area Wednesday morning.

— Compiled from AP reports

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 1 Rock wall climbing. 4—5:30 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages.

Free. Bring ID. Must sign release form.

Every Tuesday. For more information, call 795-2400 x2520.

1 LEGO Workshop. Every Tuesday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Create with LEGOs, DUPLOs and robotics.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24 1 9th annual Thanksgiving 10K/5K Run/Walk. 8 a.m. 603 Shiloh Dr. $10 for students, $25 for those who register ahead of time, $30 for all who register on race day. Pre-registration begins at 7 a.m. Package pickup on Nov. 23 at Town Place Suites, 6519 Arena Blvd. from 6-8 p.m. All proceeds benefit battered women and children of surrounding areas. For questions, contact Delia “Nenita” Mendez at 285-6362.

1 36th annual Guajolote 10K and 1 Mile Walk. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Hamilton Trophies, 1320 Garden St. Registration is at Hamilton Trophies and Hamilton Jewelry, 607 Flores Ave. $20 to run the 10K, $15 to walk the mile. $25 on race day for all participants. Register online at itsyourrace.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 1 Elysian Social Club Annual Black & White Ball. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Formal attire strictly black and white. For more information call Martha Salinas at 206-0522.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 1 Chess Club. 4—6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels. Instruction is offered.

1 Movie and Popcorn. Every Monday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Enjoy a family movie and refreshments.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 1 Rock wall climbing. 4—5:30 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages.

Free. Bring ID. Must sign release form.

Every Tuesday. For more information, call 795-2400 x2520.

1 LEGO Workshop. Every Tuesday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Create with LEGOs, DUPLOs and robotics.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 1 Book sale. 8:30 a.m.—1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. No admission charge.

Everyone is invited.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 1 Movie and Popcorn. Every Monday, 4—5 p.m. Santa Rita Express Library, 83 Prada Machin Drive, on the corner of Malaga Drive and Castro Urdiales Avenue. Enjoy a family movie and refreshments.

1 Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting.

6:30—7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430.

Every first Monday of the month.

Corruption seen as a great challenge in Europe, Asia BERLIN — One in three people in Europe and Central Asia see corruption as one of the greatest challenges for their countries, but a similar number fear retaliation of they speak out against it, according to a study released Wednesday by an international corruption watchdog.

Transparency International said that within the European

Union, Spaniards were the most likely to see corruption as one of the biggest problems, with 66 percent saying it was.

Least likely were Germans, with 2 percent. Other countries seen by their citizens as having the biggest corruption problems were Moldova, Kosovo, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Moldovans and Ukrainians also topped the list of those believing their politicians are corrupt, with 76 and 64 percent respectively. In addition, 86 percent of Ukrainians rated their government as being bad

at fighting corruption, followed by 84 percent of Moldovans.

The Berlin-based Transparency International spoke to 60,000 people in 42 countries in Europe and Central Asia for the survey.

Overall, 30 percent of respondents said corruption goes unreported because people fear the consequences, 14 percent said because it was too difficult to prove, and 12 percent said it wasn’t reported because they believe nothing will be done.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Southwest Airlines worker dead in Oklahoma airport shooting OKLAHOMA CITY — A Southwest Airlines employee was shot outside Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport on Tuesday and died after police closed the sprawling complex to search for his killer.

Oklahoma City police identified the victim as Michael Winchester, 52, a former University of Oklahoma football player whose son James is a player for the Kansas City Chiefs. A hometown wasn’t listed. The airline said it was helping police officers with their investigation. Police have not detained a suspect.

“It is with great sorrow that Southwest Airlines confirms that a Southwest Employee who was injured during a shooting incident today at Will Rogers World Airport in Okla-

Steve Gooch / The Oklahoman/AP

An Oklahoma City police officer looks through tall grass at a checkpoint at Will Rogers World Airport, Tuesday.

homa City has died from injuries,” the airline said in a statement. It said it would cancel flights out of the city for the remainder of the day even if the rest of the terminal reopens.

Hundreds of people were stranded inside the terminal for more than three hours before officers began letting them leave slowly. Police have not

detained a suspect.

“Investigators have several leads of a possible suspect,” Oklahoma City Police Capt.

Paco Balderrama said.

Police and airport officials closed the complex about 1 p.m., diverting incoming flights and preventing those ready for takeoff from leaving.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Baptist group addresses removing churches accepting to gays DALLAS — A Baptist group in Texas passed motions Tuesday aimed at consistently addressing the removal of churches that are accepting to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas passed the mo-

On this date: In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7 1/2 years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1981, the Senate confirmed Dr. C. Everett Koop to be surgeon general.

Oscar-winning actor William Holden, 63, was found dead in his Santa Monica, California, apartment.

In 1991, former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards won a landslide victory in his bid to return to office, defeating State Rep. David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, making it harder for government to interfere with religious practices.

Ten years ago: Democrats embraced Nancy Pelosi as the first woman House speaker in history, but then selected Steny Hoyer as majority leader against her wishes. African, Arab, European and U.N. leaders agreed in principle to a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for Sudan’s Darfur region. Gunmen abducted a private security team of four Americans and an Austrian in southern Iraq. (All five were later slain.) Minnesota Twins’ ace Johan Santana won the AL Cy Young Award.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman died in San Francisco at age 94.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, visiting Canberra, said he would send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia.

One year ago: President Barack Obama, in Turkey for a meeting of world leaders, conceded that the Paris terror attacks were a “terrible and sickening setback” in the fight against the Islamic State, but forcefully dismissed critics who were calling for the U.S. to change or expand its military campaign against the extremists.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was a unanimous pick as NL Rookie of the Year, and Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was voted the AL honor. Actor David Canary, 77, died in Wilton, Connecticut.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 88. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 81.

Blues musician W.C. Clark is 77. Actress Joanna Pettet is 74. Actor Steve Railsback is 71. Actor David Leisure is 66. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 65.

Actress Marg Helgenberger is 58. Rock musician Mani is 54. Country singermusician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 53. Tennis player Zina Garrison is 53.

Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 52. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 52. Actor Harry Lennix is 52. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 50. Actress Lisa Bonet is 49.

Actress Tammy Lauren is 48. Rhythmand-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 47. Actress Martha Plimpton is 46. Actor Michael Irby is 44.

Actress Missi Pyle is 44. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 39. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 39.

Pop singer Trevor Penick is 37. NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 34. Actress Kimberly J. Brown is 32. Rock singer Siva Kaneswaran (The Wanted) is 28. Actor Casey Moss is 23.

Actor Noah Gray-Cabey is 21.

Thought for Today: “I think the government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem and very often makes the problem worse.”

— Milton Friedman (1912-2006).

CONTACT US tions a week after notifying a church in Dallas and one in Austin that their actions related to LGBT people effectively withdrew them from affiliation.

The group has cut ties in the past to churches welcoming and accepting of gays. Removal doesn’t affect the churches being Baptist.

The recent letters went to Dallas’ Wilshire Baptist Church, which announced Monday its congregation voted to permit LGBT people to fully participate in congregational

life, and to First Austin: A Baptist Community of Faith, which issued statement about two years ago welcoming those of every sexual orientation.

“I think it’s sad that they didn’t give love a place at the table. We didn’t ask them to agree with us. We just asked them to respect our decision,” said the Rev. Griff Martin, senior pastor at the Austin church.

Martin said their church has ordained gay leadership.

— Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 |

A3

LOCAL & STATE

Calling all local organizations for parade S P ECIAL TO THE TI ME S

Registration for the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade and Lighting of the County Plaza is now underway.

“We would like to invite all businesses, churches, clubs, schools, organizations and elected officials to participate in this year’s Christmas Parade,” a news release

states.

The parade will be Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.

It will proceed on 17th Avenue and head south on U.S. Hwy 83, taking a left on 6th Avenue to end the parade.

Parade lineup begins at 5 p.m. on Glenn Street and 17th Avenue behind Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. All entries must be in line no later than 5:30 p.m.

Trophies will be awarded for the top three best decorated floats.

Immediately following the parade will be the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and gifts with Santa for children between the ages of 1-8 year old.

Sponsorship forms and parade entry forms are available online at zapatachamber.com

Courtesy file photo

This file photo was taken during the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade in 2015.

Houston hosts National Trust for Historic Preservation event

By Nancy Sarnoff H OUSTON CHRONICLE

HOUSTON — Has Houston finally shed its reputation as a teardown city?

For the first time in 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation picked Houston to host its annual conference.

The Houston Chronicle reports the meeting, which runs through Friday, will bring more than 1,200 leaders in historic preservation to a city that in recent years has managed to save many of its historic buildings and preserve the character of its oldest neighborhoods despite the lack of laws and regulations typically used to protect places.

“If preservation can work and be relevant in a city like Houston, it can work and be relevant anywhere,” said Susan West Montgomery, the National Trust’s vice president of preservation resources. “You have not had the regulatory infrastructure that other cities have. So when Houston

decides to preserve something, it’s because there’s a passion from the community.”

Preservation, Montgomery added, isn’t just about saving the most iconic structures, like downtown’s historic Harris County Courthouse or the Astrodome.

There’s also great value in smaller projects, like converting an old gas station into coffee shop or a turning a plain 1950s office building into a boutique hotel.

The conference will focus on historic preservation as a tool for community revitalization.

Local examples will include the Washington Avenue Cultural District, Galveston and the Johnson Space Center.

This year’s meeting coincides with the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act, which was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.

Houston, the largest city in the country without zoning, adopted its first preservation ordinance in 1995.

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

The exterior of the Josephine Apartments near Rice University, is shown in Houston in this 2014 file photo. The landlord, who has owned the 1930s Art Deco complex for decades, sold the apartments to Tricon Builders, which has demolished the apartments to build single family homes.

In 2010, it adopted a stronger set of rules for buildings with the ability to create protected landmarks, a big step in advancing the local historic preservation movement because it meant the city could take a stronger role in determining whether a historic building could be demolished.

Many of Houston’s preservation success stories have stemmed

from grass-root movements by residents seeking to preserve their neighborhoods, said Stephen Fox, a Rice University lecturer and author of the Houston Architectural Guide.

Parts of Glenbrook Valley, the Heights and the Sixth Ward became historic districts where there are now rules over building and renovations.

“The people who lived in those neighborhoods and were proponents of historic preservation understood the value that preserving the character of a place gave to their neighborhood,” Fox said.

Fox will be hosting bus tours during the conference highlighting historic preservation and championing whom he calls the “preservation heroes and heroines of Houston” — Bart Truxillo, Minnette Boesel, Rick Lowe and Catherine Roberts.

Also this week, the National Trust plans to unveil its new Atlas of ReUrbanism, a digital tool for urban leaders and preservation advocates.

Other participants in the conference — to be held at the Hilton Americas-Houston and the George R. Brown Convention Center — will include Project Row Houses founder Lowe, Nina Simon, executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, and documentary filmmaker John Valadez.

Longtime developer and consultant William Franks began restoring downtown buildings in Houston in the late 1990s.

At that time, “most people would get out the wrecking ball,” he said.

“Houston became known for that.”

Now, he said, developers are starting to see the value of historic preservation.

He lauds Harris County’s plan to save the Astrodome, one of the buildings that will be featured during this week’s conference.

“It’s a very important project, and if we ever demolished it, it would be a travesty,” Franks said. “We’d have a black eye for generations to come.”

Franks, whose latest project is the recently opened Aloft Hotel in downtown’s old Stowers Building, said more developers should consider preserving their old buildings. Federal and state tax credits can help.

“I would challenge most people to take a hard look at it,” he said.

Zopinion

Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com

A4 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

The life and example of Gwen Ifill Smartphones change death. When I heard that Gwen Ifill had died on Monday, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the photo album.

There were pictures of Gwen and her “NewsHour” colleague Judy Woodruff laughing uproariously together, doing little exploding fistbumps, which I sneakily took while she was heroically covering the political conventions this year.

There was a picture of her joyously driving a boat full tilt during a “NewsHour” party a few summers ago, the wind blasting into her clothes and face. There were pictures of her posing with friends of mine who had come to visit the set.

Everybody who came wanted a picture with Gwen.

Every reminiscence you read about Gwen will describe her smile. It was not subtle. It shone from her face like some sort of spiritual explosion.

Once, during a walk through Rock Creek Park, she told me that if she didn’t go to church on Sunday she felt a little flatter for the whole week.

A spirit as deep and ebullient as hers needed nourishment and care, and when it came out it came out in her smile, which was totalistic and unrestrained.

Gwen worked in a tough business, and being an African-American woman in that business brought its own hardships and scars, but Gwen’s smile did not hold back.

Her whole personality was the opposite of reticent, and timidity was a stranger to her. When the Ifill incandescence came at you, you were getting human connection fullbore.

And you had better honor it. After the photos, I searched Monday through our email exchanges. I don’t know how Gwen was with her other friends, but she’d send me short, sometimes cryptic emails every couple of weeks. Sometimes it was a compliment, sometimes a bit of gossip, sometimes it was a jokey offer to rub out someone who’d been nasty to me, and sometimes she was just the sort of friend who checks in: “For some reason you have been on my mind. Are you well?”

Gwen was ebullient, as I’ve mentioned, but she was not soft. She was authoritative, an executive and confident.

I suppose every profession has a few people like this, people who love the whole profession, who pay compliments when its standards are met and who are tough when they are not. Gwen talked a lot about her extended family, but also a lot about newsrooms and who were the great colleagues in them.

I would say she was an ambitious person. She

“

DAVID BROOKS

liked moderating the big debates, even though she was a bundle of nerves just before. But she was not ambitious the way some other TV people are.

Gwen was adored wherever she went, but she let the adoration roll off her, without it affecting her understanding of what was real.

She was ambitious for quality. She worked for low money at PBS. She worked doggedly on her programs, and whenever I did anything that diminished the “NewsHour” she let me know directly.

She loved her country, too. She relentlessly promoted female and African-American journalists.

She had a strong affinity for badass women of all types. She kept her journalistic distance from the Obamas, but she knew what a step it was to have an African-American president.

The night before Obama’s inauguration in 2009, a group of journalists met in David and Katherine Bradley’s house. At the end of the evening they gathered around the piano and sang civil rights anthems and some hymns. Everybody knew the first stanza to “Amazing Grace,” but only Gwen knew the last three, which she sang alone, in honor of the past labors and future promise.

By 2012 she sensed that racial ugliness was coming out into the open. She began getting more racist reactions on social media and she moved to support her friend Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, who was getting anti-Semitic ones. Keep your head down and keep writing, she urged Goldberg; it’s what they don’t want you to do. Gwen knew what was coming.

These days it is normal to bash Washington, to want to “drain the swamp” and to attack the mainstream media. The populists are in and the establishment is out.

But I confess, when I looked at the front of The Times website on Monday and saw a photo of Stephen K. Bannon, on leave from Breitbart as chairman and rising in power, and then underneath it a photo of Gwen, who is passing from this world, I wanted to throw up. This is not progress and this is not good news.

Gwen’s death merits a bit of the reaction that greeted the death of the writer Samuel Johnson centuries ago: She has left a chasm, which nobody else can fill up and which nobody has a tendency to fill.

David Brook is a columnist for The New York Times.

EDITORIAL

Why America’s millennials are so wide awake — coffee PITT SBURGH P O ST-GAZETTE

They grew up so fast: The youngest millennials, now 20 or so, started drinking coffee before they were even 15, according to National Coffee Association data.

Millennial consumption is helping drive up the price of coffee, which is now in the top five raw materials on the Bloom-

berg Commodity Index.

Coffee has more caffeine than soda, and only as much sugar as the consumer wishes. It also lacks soda’s stigma, according to consultant Gabrielle Bosche. “Soda is unhealthy, and coffee offers the same jolt without the socially unacceptable soda addiction,” she said. “Coffee has everything millennials

love: status, experience and personalization.”

That experience and personalization also contribute to the price.

You can get 30.5 ounces of Folgers grounds at the local supermarket for about 7 bucks and make 240 cups. You can easily spend that and then some on two cups at Starbucks.

If today’s 20-year-olds

COLUMN

By normalizing hatred, we’ve already normalized Trump

By Renee Graham THE B O STON GL OBE

Ever since the election that shook up the world, one refrain in columns, commentaries, and social media posts has been incessant: “Now that Donald Trump is the president-elect, we cannot allow him to be normalized.” It’s a defiant, noble stance, but it overlooks a very crucial point: Had racism, bigotry, and sexism not been normalized for centuries, Trump would not be weeks away from becoming the 45th president of the United States.

Make no mistake: Trump’s election is as disastrous as an Old Testament plague. His election has sparked anger and anxiety, driving thousands nationwide into the streets in protest. Between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. last Wednesday, when Trump’s victory was inevitable, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline recorded a 250 percent spike in calls.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes, has logged more than 200 reports of harassment and intimidation since Election Day.

Yet for all his unrepentant xenophobia and misogyny, Trump invented none of the social afflictions that propelled him to the White House. All he needed to do was bellow them out loud on the largest possible stage, and tap into the toxicity of a nation that has long been too tolerant of intolerance.

On Twitter someone posted, “A Trump bumper sticker is the modern equivalent to the Confederate Flag.” No — the Confederate flag is still the Confederate flag, its stars and bars a prominent design on several state flags. On bumper stickers, T-shirts, or flagpoles, it remains a signpost for bigotry. Somehow, a symbol of treason is embraced as a proud emblem of heritage and — with rare exceptions, such as after the murders of nine African-American churchgoers, allegedly by an avowed white supremacist — it is generally ignored.

This is also the case as too many people have come to accept unarmed people of color getting killed by cops — and then those same cops being acquitted, if they are ever indicted at all. There was

little national coverage on the recent mistrial of former University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing, who killed unarmed black motorist Samuel DuBose in July 2015. In the same vein, few seem to be paying attention to the ongoing trial of Michael Slager, the former North Charleston, S.C., officer charged with murder in the shooting death of unarmed Walter Scott, in April 2015.

We are so accustomed to these atrocities, after the initial shock, they cease to register. Normalization of the abhorrent is an American malady.

Now, facing a Trump presidency and his proposed cabinet of deplorables -- including Steve Bannon, a white nationalist whom Trump has chosen as his chief White House strategist and senior counselor — people are railing against treating him as just another president-elect. Where was this uproar when Bannon, executive chairman of the right-wing Breitbart News Network and troll king of the so-called “alt-right,” was named as Trump’s campaign chairman in August?

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typically started their coffee habits at 14, by now 13-year-olds, maybe even 12-year-olds, may be drinking the stuff. They probably don’t even care about research showing that the caffeine in java may help prevent Alzheimer’s. This motivates one to pick up a mug, drink deeply and ponder.

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Media coverage, which generally satisfied no one during the campaign, is again being criticized for playing too nice with Trump. On his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver asked, “How did we get here?” Those seeking answers in last week’s election results are missing the point. We got here by accommodating bigots and misogynists, and turning away instead of pushing back. The press alone can’t normalize Trump. That fault also falls on a society that routinely accepts prejudices that may now metastasize into dangerous, divisive policies.

Every time racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism went unchecked, a path was paved for the catastrophe we now face. There is no Trump effect; there are only the same old animosities calcified into a national nightmare. No one has to normalize Trump; we long ago normalized the hatreds exploited in his campaign.

And if millions in this country weren’t already compliant, Trump would not be our next president.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 |

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ENTERTAINMENT Philippe Sands’ history of war crimes wins nonfiction prize A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

LONDON — Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands won Britain’s leading nonfiction literary award on Tuesday for a book about the fight to prosecute war crimes that blends historical investigation and family memoir.

“East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity” was awarded the 30,000-pound ($37,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a ceremony in London.

Sands, who has worked on cases at the International Criminal Court, called the book “a double detective story.” It investigates both his family’s flight from Nazi-occupied Europe and the origins of international human rights law in the postWorld War II Nuremberg trials of senior Nazis.

Stephanie Flanders, who chaired the judging panel, said Sands had written “a multi-layered history that is impressive ion its own right but also a satisfying, suspenseful read.”

Formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, the award recognizes English-language nonfiction from any country.

Sands beat three other finalists: “Second-hand Time,” by Belarusian Nobel literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich; Pulitzer Prize winner Margo Jefferson’s memoir “Negroland”; and Hisham Matar’s “The Return.”

Review: ‘Manchester by the Sea’ swells with emotion

By Lindsey Bahr ASSOCIATED PRE SS

It’s hard to overstate the magnificence of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea .” His third feature following “You Can Count on Me” and “Margaret” is one that swells with the spectrum of human emotion.

Humor, anger, cynicism and love all crash into one another to create an elegant composition of image and sound that is filmmaking and storytelling at its best.

It’s centered on Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), who we meet as a quiet

custodian in Boston. He fixes clogged toilets and leaking showers for the tenants and shovels and salts the same walkway day after day with mechanical resolve. He is docile but stubborn and seems to have a deep disinterest in people. He is alone, but not lonely and at night, he drinks and drinks and drinks.

There is rage festering under the surface for reasons unclear. All we have are carefully chosen glimpses of the past, when Lee surrounded himself with family and had spirit and life, but we don’t know what happened to turn him into

this shell.

Then his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) suddenly dies and he must return to his hometown to take care of his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), a hot-headed but sensitive kid ill-equipped to deal with this tragedy.

Lee’s ghosts make the picturesque Manchester a cold and hellish landscape. Everything is a reminder of why he had to leave in the first place and the nerve is still exposed. At least in Boston, he didn’t have to see people who knew. He just had to deal with himself.

There is no easy way to continue talking about

Claire Folger / Roadside Attractions via AP

This image released by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios shows Casey Affleck in a scene from “Manchester By The Sea.”

the plot without mucking up the impact of the structure. Lonergan, who also wrote the script, allows the story to reveal itself to the audience, smartly weaving together past and present and building tension to a devastating crescendo midway through — enhanced by the gorgeous cinematography of Jody Lee Lipes and Lesley Barber’s sophisticated

score.

Tissues are, unsurprisingly, recommended, but the film is packed with genuine wit and humor too, often when least expected. In this way, it feels like life, where fits of laughter sometimes are the only relief from shattering moments.

“Manchester by the Sea,” is rated R. Running time: 137 minutes. Four stars out of four.

Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE VACACIONES ESCOLARES 1 Debido a las festividades de Acción de Gracias, el distrito escolar Zapata County Independent School District anuncia que las vacaciones por esta festividad iniciarán el lunes 21 para concluir el 25 de noviembre.

Las clases reiniciarán el lunes 28 de noviembre.

CURSOS DE LENGUAJE DE SIGNOS (ASL) 1 El Departamento de Educación Especial local está ofreciendo clases de Lenguaje Americano de Signos para el personal profesional y paraprofesional así como para padres, estudiantes o administradores del distrito Zapata County Independent School District, todos los jueves desde el 20 de octubre al 15 de diciembre (ocho semanas de duración). En el horario de 4:15 p.m. a 5:15 p.m. en el laboratorio de computadoras de la escuela primaria Zapata North Elementary School.

Mayores informes al 956-285-6877 o a la Oficina de Educación Especial al 956-7566130 antes del 13 de octubre.

INMIGRACIÓN

MÉXICO

Se complica plan de Trump

Prevén ola de deportados

Existe oposición para liberar a convictos Por Mike Ward HOUSTON CHRONICLE

El plan de Donald Trump de comenzar a deportar a inmigrantes indocumentados con récords criminales podría cubrir a más de 6.700 convictos en prisiones de Texas, más que en cualquier otro estado, una acción que podría ahorrara los contribuyentes millones de dólares al año.

Sin embargo, el camino para que Trump lo logre es complicado por que existe oposición para la liberación de convictos antes que terminen de cumplir su sentencias, especialmente si son deportados solo para regresar y volver a cometer crímenes, dijo el lunes un portavoz.

“Les pondré un moño si él viene por ellos, pero hemos estado tratando de mandarlos a casa por más de una decada sin mucho éxito”, dijo el Senador John Whitmire, director del Comité de Justicia Criminal del

es sacar de este país o encarcelar a los que sean criminales y que tengan récords criminales, miembros de pandillas, narcotraficantes, muchas de estas personas, podrían ser 2 millones, incluso podrían ser 3 millones”, dijo Trump.

Posteriormente, Trump mencionó que su administración presentará un plan para lidiar con ocho o nueve millones de personas más que se encuentran en el país ilegalmente y que no han cometido crímenes.

Por más de 20 años, el estado de Texas ha trabajado en asociación con agentes federales de inmigración para llevar acabo audiciencias en una prisión de Huntsville mientras los convictos extranjeros son puestos en libertad, para que aquellos presos a los que les haya sido ordenada la deportación previamente, puedan ser detenidos por los oficiales de la Oficina de Inmigración y Aduanas.

Oficiales de la prisión reconocieron el lunes que la deportación de convictos de prisiones de Texas ha sido un problema por años.

ZAPATA ISD

MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m.

Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el 956-765-8983.

Senado.

“Alrededor de la mitad son elegibles para libertad condicional, y mandarlos a casa no pone en riesgo la seguridad pública en lo absoluto”, dijo el senador démocrata de Houston. “Hagásmolo.

Es una locura que gastemos millones de dólares dando alojamiento a estas personas como lo estamos haciendo ahora”.

De los 6.761 convictos que se encuentran cumpliendo sentencias en prisiones de Texas — inmigrantes documentados a los que previamente les ha sido ordenada la deportación tras su liberación — casi la mitad es elegible para libertad condicional a finales de octubre, de acuerdo a récords estatales.

De los elegibles, 1.903 están en prisión por crímenes violentos. Prisioneros no elegibles para libertad condicional incluyen a 3.537 que se encuentran cumpliendo sentencias largas por

crímenes violentos, incluyendo homicidio, secuestro, asalto sexual, indecencia con un menor y asalto. Diez de esos se encuentran en condenados a muerte, y otros 54 están cumpliendo sentencias de cadena perpetua sin opción a libertad condicional.

Si todos aquellos que son elegibles para libertad condicional fueran removidos de las prisiones en Texas, el ahorro anual sería de 61 millones de doláres, ya que el costo oficial por prisionero es de 52 dólares por día.

Cuando la legislatura se reúna en enero, el estado estará enfrentandosé a un déficit presupuestario. “Te puedo prometer que éste será un punto importante de discusión”, dijo Whitmire, haciendo eco de las opiniones expresadas por varios colegas.

En una entrevista del programa “60 Minutos” transmitido el domingo por la cadena CBS, Trump dijo que su primera prioridad en cuanto a inmigración ilegal es sacar del país a todos aquellos con récord criminal.

“Lo que vamos a hacer

RECIBEN DONACIÓN DE MILES DE LIBROS

COMPETENCIA DE CARNE ASADA 1 La Comisión de Parques y Recreación de Roma invita a su 3a. Competencia Anual de Carne Asada, el 19 de noviembre en Guadalupe Plaza. Habrá diferentes categorías que incluyen: guisado, fajitas, costillas y pavo entre otros.

Registre a su equipo en Roma City Hall ubicado en 77 Convent St.. Mayores informes llamando al 956-849-1411.

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall.

Informes en el 956849-1411.

SE SUSPENDE JUNTA 1 La Sociedad de Genealogía Nuevo Santander informa a sus socios y a la comunidad en general que no habrá reunión durante el mes de Diciembre.

GLOBOS AEROSTÁTICOS EN L.I.F.E. GROUNDS 1 Del 2-4 de diciembre habrá vuelos en globos aerostáticos, comida, artesanías, musica, show de globos y más. En L.I.F.E. Grounds, ubicada E. HWY 59 de 4 p.m. a 12 a.m.

Foto de cortesía

Bibliotecarias del Condado de Zapata ISD ayudan a ordenar miles de libros donados por la Fundación Molina a los estudiantes del distrito.

GUERRERO HOY DESDE EL AYER

Se despiden de Antigua Ciudad Guerrero Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal.

Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Los seres humanos, sabedores de que la vida ofrece tanto penas como alegrías, disponemos de un mecanismo de defensa y autoprotección que nos induce la idea de estar siempre preparados para asimilar los golpes y adaptarnos a los cambios.

A finales de la quinta década del siglo pasado los habitantes de la Antigua Ciudad Guerrero estábamos plenamente concientes de que era inminente la salida del hogar de nuestros mayores, y empezabamos a prepararnos para ello.

Así, cuando llegó el mes de octubre de 1950 (¡otra vez octubre!) y nos apréstabamos a la gran celebración del bicentenario de la fundación de Revilla, se confundían nuestros sentimientos, pues ya era un hecho que estábamos disfrutando los últimos años de estancia de nuestra ciudad.

Y fue en aquellas suntuosas fiestas presididas

por María Ernestina I, acompañada de sus princesas Mélida y María de los Angeles y toda su Corte Real, que los guerrerenses con emoción profunda, mezcla de alegría y dolor, empezamos a admitir la realidad; despedimos los recuerdos, guardamos las reliquias familiares en los viejos baúles, y nos preparamos para decir adiós al terruño.

Habíamos dispuesto de un espacio de tres años para adaptarnos a la idea del cambio, y sin embargo, no estábamos suficientemente preparados.

Sorpresivamente, en el mes de agosto de 1953, fuertes lluvias se descar-

garon en toda la region y nuestro río Salado, rechazado por el Bravo que también recibía fuertes avenidas, salió de su cauce e invadió el caserío.

Frente al puente, a una distancia de escasos 100 metros, estaba la construcción del moderno Colegio construido por el gobierno estatal del Ing. Marte R. Gómez, y fue uno de los invadidos primeramente por las aguas. En ese edificio funcionaba la escuela primaria González Benavides, pues desde hacía cinco años nos habíamos trasladado a él porque la antigua escuela en la parte alta de la ciudad, estaba bastante deteriorada.

Por Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRE SS

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — México comienza a contemplar seriamente la posibilidad de que millones de sus migrantes pudieran ser deportados, y el panorama no es alentador.

Bajo las propuestas presentadas por el presidente electo Donald Trump, México podría recibir de regreso a millones de personas sin empleos disponibles para ellas; el país podría perder miles de millones de dólares de las remesas que envían a casa cada año; y algunos de los deportados desempleados podrían engrosar las filas de los cárteles del narcotráfico, lo que generaría mayor violencia.

El gobernador del estado sureño de Guerrero, Héctor Astudillo, sopesó ese escenario el fin de semana pasado. Al menos un millón de guerrerenses viven en Estados Unidos, muchos de ellos sin la documentación requerida, y el estado ya está bajo el asedio de la violencia del narcotráfico y la pobreza.

"Por supuesto, Guerrero no está en condiciones para recibir al millón o más de un millón de migrantes que hay" en Estados Unidos, reconoció Astudillo. "Creo que al contrario, ellos han sido un sustento importante para mantener la economía de Guerrero".

Los inmigrantes enviaron a México casi 25.000 millones de dólares en remesas en 2015, y los expertos afirman que la mayoría de ellas fueron para cubrir las necesidades más básicas de los mexicanos más pobres.

Trump ha dejado entrever que de alguna manera incautaría los fondos de aquellos inmigrantes que no sean deportados para pagar por un muro fronterizo que desea construir.

México no puede cubrir 800.000 nuevos empleos para los jóvenes que cada año se integran a la fuerza laboral, mucho menos los de los migrantes que regresan, dijo Alejandra Barrales, presidenta del partido izquierdista PRD. "Creemos que es con la iniciativa privada con quien tenemos que cerrar filas y buscar alternativas, no solamente para recibir a los posibles deportados. Necesitamos generar alternativas para que los 1,2 millones de jóvenes que cada año se suman al mercado laboral tengan alternativas en nuestro país", afirmó.

El gobierno federal anunció esta semana un programa de emergencia con el objetivo de alentar a las empresas a que contraten a los migrantes que regresan, pero Armando Osorio, un maestro de la Ciudad de México, duda que sea suficiente, dados los antecedentes del gobierno en la creación de empleos.

"Esta gente no tiene autoridad moral para decir que ahora a los connacionales los recibe con los brazos abiertos", afirmó. "Son ellos los responsables de la expulsión por hambre de millones de mexicanos".

Incluso si aparentemente Trump parece alejarse de la idea de una deportación masiva, la posibilidad sigue siendo atemorizante para los mexicanos.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 |

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

Romo: Prescott earned his starting QB spot Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

The Texans rank last in the NFL at 187.3 passing yards per game after Brock Osweiler was held to 99 yards Sunday in a 24-21 win over the Jaguars.

Texans look to improve following first road win

By Kristie Rieken ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press file

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said Tuesday that rookie Dak Prescott has earned the starting QB spot while he has been out with an injury.

Romo endorses Prescott as starting QB

By Schuyler Dixon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

FRISCO, Texas — Tony Romo stopped a reporter in the middle of what appeared to be the first question in his first meeting with the media since August.

The Dallas quarterback brought a statement, and he wasn’t going to answer any questions Tuesday.

The 36 year old coming off his fourth back injury in less than four years conceded the starting job to Dak Prescott, who has led the Cowboys (8-1) to a franchise season recordtying eight straight wins and the best record in the NFL. And a somber Romo didn’t hide his disappointment while reading the five-minute statement.

“He’s earned the right to be our quarterback,” Romo said of the 23-yearold rookie. “As hard as that is for me to say, he’s earned that right. He’s guided our team to an 8-1 record and that’s hard to do.”

Romo, who broke a bone in his back in a preseason game, is expected to be Prescott’s backup Sunday at home against Baltimore (5-4). It should be the first time Romo is active since Thanksgiving last year, and the first time in 10 years he isn’t the Dallas

starter.

“If you think for a second that I don’t want to be out there, then you probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning,” Romo said.

“That hasn’t left me. In fact, it may burn now more than ever.”

Romo was surprisingly reflective as well, recalling the early days of his career when he was an unheralded free agent fighting to stay on the roster. Now he’s the franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns, ahead of Super Bowl winners Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

But he’s also in the same place Drew Bledsoe was in 2006 when Romo replaced an ineffective Bledsoe at halftime of a loss to the New York Giants six games into the season and never gave up the starting job.

“I remember the feeling like it was yesterday,” Romo said. “It really is an incredible time in your life. And if I remember one thing from back then, it’s the people that helped me along when I was young. And if I can be that to Dak, I tried to be and I will be going forward.”

Romo signed the first $100 million contract in franchise history in 2013 and counts $20.8 million against the salary cap this season. The cap hit next

year is nearly $25 million, but the Cowboys can reduce it by roughly $5 million if they release him.

The mood was more jovial earlier in the day when owner and general manager Jerry Jones made one of his weekly radio appearances.

“I paid a lot of money for a backup quarterback as you well know,” Jones said, referring to Kyle Orton’s $3 million salary as Romo’s backup several years ago. “And this, by the way, is going to be the record for having paid this for a backup quarterback.”

The Cowboys went 1-11 in the 12 games Romo missed last season with a twice-broken left collarbone. When he immediately grabbed his back after getting tackled awkwardly from behind in the preseason against Seattle, Dallas’ hopes seemed doomed again.

But Prescott had already shown promise in the preseason. And after a one-point loss to the New York Giants in the opener, he has led fourthquarter comebacks and easy victories alike while compiling the fourth-best passer rating (106.2) with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

“We all know something magical is happening to our team,” Romo said. “I’m not going to

allow this situation to negatively affect Dak or this football team by becoming a constant distraction. I think Dak knows that I have his back. And I think I know that he has mine.”

After Romo went down in Seattle, the initial word was that his surgically repaired back had withstood the hit. But the broken bone was diagnosed the next day, with an initial timeframe of six to 10 weeks to recover.

“Getting hurt when you feel like you have the best team you’ve ever had was a soul-crushing moment for me,” Romo said.

“You almost feel like an outsider. Coaches are sympathetic, but they still have to coach. And you’re not there. It’s a dark place, probably the darkest it’s ever been.”

Part of the darkness came from Romo realizing where he is in his career.

“Seasons are fleeting,” he said in a speech with several pauses. “Games become more precious.

Chances for success diminish. Your potential successor has arrived, injured two years in a row and now in the mid-30s, the press is whispering, everyone has doubts, you’ve spent your career working to get here.”

And now Romo’s a backup again.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans finally got their first road win this weekend.

Now they face a much bigger challenge with a trip to Mexico City next Monday night to face the Oakland Raiders , winners of three in a row.

“I think they’re playing as one of the best teams in the league,” coach Bill O’Brien said.

The Texans needed a defensive touchdown and special teams help to down the Jaguars, who have won just two games, 24-21 on Sunday . O’Brien knows the Texans will have to improve to compete with the Raiders (7-2), the AFC West leaders who had consecutive wins over the Jaguars, Buccaneers and Broncos before their bye last week.

“No yards are going to be easy,” O’Brien said. “So it’s going to be a very, very challenging game for us.”

Houston continues to look for more consistency from quarterback Brock Osweiler , who threw for just 99 yards on Sunday to leave the Texans last in the NFL in yards passing with 187.3 per game. He did throw two touchdowns against the Jaguars, and O’Brien said he was satisfied with the way he directed the offense.

Osweiler and his paltry passing numbers were helped by a running game that piled up a seasonhigh 181 yards. The group was led by Lamar Miller’s 83 yards rushing and Akeem Hunt added 52 one day after being elevated from the practice squad.

Though he was complimentary of his running

backs, O’Brien noted that the line should also receive plenty of credit for the big day on the ground. The group has weathered the loss of right tackle Derek Newton, who is out for the season with knee injuries, with the help of left tackle Duane Brown. The veteran is finally playing like himself again after missing the first four games this season recovering from a quadriceps injury.

“Duane is playing really well ... I think he’s having a really good season,” O’Brien said. “I think overall they all played a good game (Sunday) ... whenever you rush for (181) yards, it’s not just the backs obviously. Those guys upfront are doing a good job and that was good to see.”

The Texans struggled to stop the run through the first seven games, but have shored up their run defense in the last two by allowing just 58 and 80 yards rushing. Their work on Sunday was more noteworthy since they did it with rookie D.J. Reader filling in at nose tackle for injured veteran Vince Wilfork.

“We’ve done a good job of setting the edge of the defense, building a wall inside against Detroit and against Jacksonville,” O’Brien said. “We’ve tackled well ... I think it’s a collective effort. The safeties have tackled when it’s gotten to the safeties, and that’s a good thing.”

The group will be tested this week with an Oakland running game that is fourth in the NFL with 127.8 yards a game.

The Raiders have split carries between Latavius Murray and DeAndre Washington and the pair has combined for 695 yards.

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

Losses mounting again for Texas’ Strong

By Jim Vertuno ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Michael Thomas / Associated Press

Charlie Strong and Texas fell to 5-5 Saturday with a 24-20 loss at home against No. 10 West Virginia.

AUSTIN — The losses keep coming for Charlie Strong, no matter what promises were made in the past.

For the third year in a row, Strong’s Texas Longhorns have lost at least five games, rekindling questions of whether the program has improved enough for him to earn a fourth year and another $5 million, or if the losing is just too much for one of the nation’s blue-blood schools to stomach.

“I look at how we’re playing. I don’t ever make

excuses. There are no excuses,” Strong said Monday. “The losses are mounting. There’s games we should win and we had our opportunity.”

Rewind to November 2014, when the Longhorns were 6-5 in Strong’s first season and he boldly predicted that five losses “will never happen in this program again.” Texas finished that year 6-7, then went 5-7 and missed the postseason in 2015.

The dreaded five-loss threshold was crossed again over the weekend with a 24-20 home loss to No. 10 West Virginia, when the Longhorns

never led and couldn’t win despite forcing four turnovers. Texas (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) still isn’t bowl eligible with two games left at Kansas on Saturday and at home against TCU the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Strong was asked how he would sell that his team is making progress if he were in a job evaluation.

“You still have a football team that’s still competing, still playing hard. That’s what you like to see happening,” Strong said.

Texas has two wins over top 10 opponents Notre Dame and Baylor, even though neither program is anywhere near

that lofty status any more.

The offense under firstyear coordinator Sterlin Gilbert and led by powerhouse running back D’Onta Foreman, who averages 178 yards per game, is a complete turnaround from the previous two seasons. Other than Foreman, Texas’ best players have been sophomores and freshmen, including quarterback Shane Buechele, giving whoever coaches Texas in 2017 a bright future.

“We’re a good team,” Buechele said. “Coach always says our record doesn’t define us ... We can beat anybody.”

A8 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

As fires torch South, burn bans enacted, arson investigated

By Jonathan Mattise A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As drought-stressed forests burn across much of the South — including a blaze scorching a Manhattan-sized area of north Georgia — some traditional outdoor activities are now banned.

Starting campfires, lighting fireworks, smoking cigarettes, even parking a car off-road is prohibited, for fear that a hot tailpipe could ignite dry leaves below.

U.S. Forest Service

spokesman Adam Rondeau has said the agency is tracking wildfires that have burned a total of 80,000 acres across the South.

The Tennessee Valley Authority issued a burn ban Tuesday on its public lands across Tennessee and in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. The authority said its ban applies to anything that might produce an open flame.

Gov. Bill Haslam, meanwhile, banned outdoor burning outright in more

John Bazemore / AP

Firefighter Kevin Zimmer works to control a wildfire Tuesday, in Clayton, Ga.

than half of Tennessee’s counties through December 15.

Also, two men were arrested Monday on charges related to setting separate fires along roadsides in Tennessee. Of the 1,238 wildfires in the state so far this year, officials suspect arson in almost

half of them.

In Alabama, Fire Marshal Scott Pilgreen said state officers are investigating two of nearly 1,100 statewide wildfires as possible arson. No arrests have been made, but officers have issued misdemeanor citations for allegedly violated the statewide

no-burn order.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has banned the ignition of all fireworks in much of the state due to the wildfire risk. Fire officials said the largest active wildfire in the South has now burned more than 19,000 acres in the north Georgia moun-

tains — an area larger than New York’s Manhattan.

The fires in North Carolina now cover in excess of 40,000 acres. Federal and state forestry officials said Tuesday that cloudy conditions allowed firefighters to make progress on containment.

5 Utah students stabbed in boy’s locker room, teen detained

By Brady McCombs and Lindsay Whitehurst A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

OREM, Utah — As a group of boys at a Utah high school changed Tuesday morning into gym clothes for physical education class, a straight-A student pulled out a knife in the locker room and stabbed five of his classmates, sending the injured running for their lives and covered in blood, police said.

The 16-year-old suspect with no record of disciplinary trouble also stabbed himself in the neck and was cornered by school workers until a police officer assigned to Mountain View High School got to the locker room and subdued him with a Taser shot.

Four of the injured students were still hospitalized Tuesday afternoon in conditions ranging

from fair to critical after suffering neck and torso injuries, said Orem police Lt. Craig Martinez.

A fifth injured student and the suspect were treated and released following the attack that spread fear and panic among students who described a gruesome scene immediately after the stabbings.

Police said the knife used in the attack had a 3-inch blade but they did not identify the suspect who remained in custody by name because of his age.

School district spokeswoman Kimberly Bird said the suspect was a new sophomore student who was previously homeschooled. There were no indications he was having problems or being bullied, she said.

Investigators are talking to students who witnessed the attack and who

Rick Bowmer / AP

Parent Alicia Ransom wipes tears from her face while being reunited with her son outside Mountain View High School where several students were stabbed Tuesday, in Orem, Utah.

knew the suspect as they try to determine a motive, said Gary Giles, the police chief in the city of Orem about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City where the attack happened.

“Is it a fight? Is it somebody who is upset with somebody? Is there more to do it than that?” Giles said. “I don’t have those answers.”

In the mayhem immediately after the attack,

Junior Karen Martinez said she saw three victims run from the locker room toward the school’s central office, one suffering from a head wound and another with a neck injury. One had blood running down the back of his shirt, she said.

“It was awful,” said Martinez, her eyes filled

with tears. “It was so terrifying. I didn’t know any of the kids but still it was like an awful feeling to see all those kids getting hurt.”

Eduviges Sanchez had just dropped her son off at the school when she saw a student outside with a blood gushing from a large cut in the side of his neck.

Student Paxton Ransom was in the locker room when it happened.

He saw blood on the floor and thought it was fake until he looked around the corner and saw someone on the ground who had been stabbed. He ran away and hid with other students in the school’s the weight room, texting his mother “There’s been a stabbing but I’m ok.”

She joined hundreds of parents who rushed to the

school to find out if their children were safe, letting him go back to classes after giving him a hug.

The school, which has 1,300 students, was put on lockdown after the stabbings for about an hour until police determined there was no danger for students. Some parents took their children home and others allowed them to finish the school day.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s children attended the school years ago, and he tweeted that “It’s a community close to our hearts. My prayers are with the students and staff.”

The school plans investigate if the suspect had had been acting in a way recently that should have been addressed by school officials prior to the attack, Bird said.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 |

A9

BUSINESS

After election rupture, CEOs seek unity for staff, customers

By Ken Sweet A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — Apple CEO Tim Cook is telling his employees to “keep moving forward.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is saying “progress does not move in a straight line.” T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere tweeted “let’s see what an out of the box, non-typical, nonpolitician can do for America!”

CEOs of major companies are taking stands about the results of the election — a departure from the traditional model of not mixing politics with business that major brands have long espoused.

Some are using it as an opportunity to bring their employees together following a divisive election campaign. Others are using it as an opportunity to stress their companies’ values and mission, or an opportunity to make nice with Trump, who many CEOs were publicly against during the campaign.

The men and women who head the nation’s biggest companies know that having a hostile relationship with the Trump administration could make doing business difficult. They also know that they operate in liberal bastions like New York and San Francisco just as much as in Trump-leaning places like Fort Wayne, Indiana, or Charleston, West Virginia.

“Neutral is the best

policy,” says John Challenger, CEO of workplace consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

T-Mobile’s Legere, who long was vocally opposed to Trump, congratulated the president-elect on Twitter for his victory last week, while holding off on judging the presidentelect’s policies. Meanwhile another telecommunications executive, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, himself an immigrant and personally opposed to Trump, sent an email to employees saying that “it’s our obligation to accept the will of our fellow Americans and respect the new leader.”

It’s possible that Legere and Claure made nice because the president appoints the chairman and commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, an agency that holds enormous influence over the telecommunications industry.

All five FCC commissioners will see their terms expire during Trump’s first term.

CEOs of automakers, including Ford’s Mark Fields, have also struck a conciliatory tone, partly because Trump has called for the repeal or renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has allowed the automakers to set up shop in Mexico tariff-free.

Many CEOs publicly expressed hope that the tensions dividing the country will diminish, and that American consumers will set aside their fears and get back to what

Mary Altaffer / AP file

In this July 10, 2013, file photo, T-Mobile CEO John Legere speaks during a news conference in New York.

they do best: shop.

“We are hoping that in the postelection we are just going to see people ready to spend,” said Marvin Ellison, CEO of JCPenney.

CEOs and companies that try to bring people together are “going to be the winners,” says Dr. Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. “That always works better from a brand perspective,” he says.

Wall Street, which donated heavily to Hillary Clinton, also now faces an administration that could provide both profit and peril.

Trump has said he wants to roll back some of the regulations in the Dodd-Frank law that was passed after the financial crisis, a move that would benefit big Wall Street banks. But the Republican Party’s platform also contains a provision calling for the return of the

Glass-Steagall Act, a Great Depression-era law that broke up big banks.

There’s talk of a massive, $1 trillion infrastructure program that could rely on tax credits to private funding sources.

Many of those programs will require Wall Street’s army of investment bankers and lawyers to help underwrite and finance.

“The president-elect’s commitment to infrastructure spending, government reform and tax reform — among other things — will be good for growth and, therefore, will be good for our clients and for our firm,” said Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, according to a transcript of a voicemail he sent companywide.

In an email to his employees, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the election of Trump shows “the frustration that so many people have with the lack of economic

opportunity and the challenges they face.”

Trump’s victory drew a range of responses from CEOs in Silicon Valley, where popular sentiment had tilted strongly against Trump because of his statements on immigrants, women, overseas manufacturing and the use of encryption in consumer products like Apple’s iPhones.

In a postelection email to employees, Apple CEO Cook didn’t mention Trump by name but acknowledged that many people had strong feelings about the outcome of the vote. Cook had let it be known during the campaign that he didn’t support Trump, although he generally avoided taking a public stance on the candidates. In his email, Cook said Apple would continue to support diversity.

Cook didn’t mention encryption, which he has previously argued is essential to protect consumers’ privacy. But he added, “While there is discussion today about uncertainties ahead, you can be confident that Apple’s North Star hasn’t changed.”

Microsoft’s chief executive was more conciliatory. In a post on LinkedIn, the social networking site that Microsoft is buying, Satya Nadella wrote: “We congratulate the president-elect, and look forward to working with all those elected yesterday.”

But Nadella added that Microsoft is committed to “fostering a diverse and inclusive culture.”

Facebook’s Zuckerberg, who had previously criticized Trump’s call for building a wall on the Mexican border, sounded subdued in a post on his own social network.

“I thought about all the work ahead of us to create the world we want for our children,” he wrote. “This work is bigger than any presidency and progress does not move in a straight line.”

The most combative response came from the CEO at Grubhub, an online food delivery service based in Chicago. Matt Maloney said in an email to employees that he rejects Trump’s “nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics,” adding that anyone who disagrees should immediately resign “because you have no place here.”

Maloney later backtracked in a tweet that said “Grubhub does not tolerate hate and we are proud of all our employees — even those who voted for Trump.”

Other companies have taken the election and its aftermath as a marketing opportunity, most notably airlines. British Airways ran ads on Facebook urging people to visit London, using the tag line “had enough of this house?” under a photo of the White House. Air New Zealand ran ads on Instagram and elsewhere highlighting the results of the election and inviting people to visit New Zealand. Spirit Airlines promoted a 75 percent off sale for flights to Canada.

Facebook’s fake news problem: What’s its responsibility?

By Barbara Ortutay A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — Facebook is under fire for failing to rein in fake and biased news stories that some believe may have swayed the presidential election. Its predicament stems from this basic conundrum: It exercises great control over the news its users see, but it declines to assume the editorial responsibility that traditional publishers do.

On Monday, Facebook took a minor step to address the issue, clarifying its advertising policy to emphasize that it won’t display ads on sites that run information that is “illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news.” The company said it was merely making

explicit a policy that was already implied.

Its move followed a similar step by Google earlier on Monday, after the search giant acknowledged that it had let a false article about the election results slip into its list of recommended news stories.

In the case of both companies, the aim is to discourage fake-news sites by depriving them of revenue.

Facebook is also said to be facing brewing internal turmoil over its influence and what it can and should do about it.

Employees have expressed concern over Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation and racist memes largely associated with the alt-right, according to The New York Times and BuzzFeed. Some have reported-

ly formed an unofficial task force to investigate the role the company played in the election.

Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, insists that Facebook remains a neutral technology platform where its users can share anything they want, with only a tiny fraction of it fake or problematic.

Last week, Zuckerberg called the idea that voters might have been influenced by what they saw on Facebook — fake, uberpartisan stories, such as a false one about Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump for president — “pretty crazy.”

People update to Facebook so frequently that the company has no choice but to filter what everyone sees in their news feeds — the main artery through which

users see posts from their friends, family, businesses, news sources and celebrities they follow.

The company’s secret algorithms are designed to deliver the posts from friends and other sources that will draw people in and lead them to read and click and “like” and share — “maximizing their engagement,” in Facebook’s jargon.

Facebook frequently tweaks its algorithm to improve engagement.

Various changes have been aimed at shutting out sites that promote clickbait and other garbage that users say they don’t want to see, even as they click on it and share away. When users are surrounded by posts they want to see, they’re more likely to stick around.

That’s key to Facebook’s advertising business. But

it can be problematic when it comes to false but highly interesting posts.

Facebook’s news feed “maximizes for engagement. As we’ve learned in this election, bulls—t is highly engaging,” former Facebook product designer Bobby Goodlatte wrote in an Election Day post.

“Highly partisan, factlight outlets” on both the right and the left, he wrote, “have no concern for the truth, and really only care for engagement. ... It’s now clear that democracy suffers if our news environment incentivizes bulls—t.”

Social media companies today have to acknowledge that they are news organizations, said Jeffrey Herbst, president and CEO of the Newseum, a journalism museum in Washington. “Not like news companies of the

20th century,” he added.

“But not just pipes where people get their news.

They determine what is news.” In a post Saturday night, Zuckerberg rejected that idea.

“News and media are not the primary things people do on Facebook, so I find it odd when people insist we call ourselves a news or media company in order to acknowledge its importance,” he wrote.

“Facebook is mostly about helping people stay connected with friends and family.”

Back in 2013, Zuckerberg said he wanted Facebook to be people’s “own personal newspaper,” one that delivers the stories most interesting and important to them. That’s still the company’s goal — though minus any reference to itself as a media company of any kind.

A10 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

House GOP nominates Ryan as speaker, with Trump’s support

By Erica Werner A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul Ryan unanimously won his GOP colleagues’ votes on Tuesday for another term at the helm of the House. He told fellow Republicans he had President-elect Donald Trump’s support, and heralded “the dawn of a new, unified Republican government.”

“It feels really good to say that actually,” Ryan told reporters. “This will be a government focused on turning Presidentelect Trump’s victory into real progress for the American people.”

While victory was the GOP unifier, Democrats were verging on disarray.

House Democrats abruptly announced Tuesday that they were delaying their own leadership elections set for Thursday until Nov. 30 to give lawmakers more time to process disastrous election results.

It’s not clear whether the election delay might morph into a real challenge to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

She has led House Democrats for more than 12 years and has consolidated support with strong fundraising and an ability to deliver votes, but there’s long been grumbling from Democrats who say new leadership is needed at the top.

As for Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican still has to win a floor vote for speaker in January, when all members of the House will cast ballots, including Democrats.

But he secured the nomination at a closeddoor GOP conference vote Tuesday afternoon with the strong backing of his fellow House Republicans, even though a few conservative dissenters pushed unsuccessfully to delay the balloting.

Those grumblings of dissent could hardly be heard over the buzz of enthusiasm as House Republicans convened for their first regular conference meeting since Trump won the presidential election. Even though a number of House Republicans, including Ryan, had opposed Trump or were critical along the way, most said they’re now firmly on board and prepared to try to enact Trump’s agenda on immigration, infrastructure, energy and jobs.

CONVICTS From page A1 ing these people like we are.”

Of the 6,761 felons in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons who federal officials have determined are in the U.S. illegally — and already have filed paperwork to deport when they are released — almost half were eligible for parole at the end of October, state records show.

Of those eligible, 1,903 are serving time for violent crimes. Prisoners not eligible for parole include 3,537 serving long sentences for violent crimes, including murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, indecency with children and robbery. Ten of those are on death row, and 54 others are serving life without parole.

If all of those eligible for parole were removed from Texas prisons, the annual savings would be $61 million, at the official per-prisoner cost of $52 a day.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Vice President-elect Mike Pence walks past the media as he leaves Trump Tower with his wife Karen, Tuesday, in New York.

Amid signs of transition trouble, Trump huddles with Pence Cliff Owen / AP

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin participates in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday.

Republicans also backed California’s Kevin McCarthy to continue as majority leader and Steve Scalise of Louisiana to stay on in the No. 3 job of House whip.

Lawmakers trooped out of their morning meeting in the basement of the Capitol smiling, pledging quick action to roll back President Barack Obama’s accomplishments and clutching red “Make America Great Again” hats.

“That was a nice fun touch. Now here’s my problem: Every member wants it autographed,” said GOP Rep. Chris Collins of New York, who has been tapped as congressional liaison to the transition team. “I’m going to have to say, ‘President-elect Trump, bring out your Sharpie, we’ve got to do a lot of autographing.”’

During the meeting, Ryan told colleagues that he’d spoken Tuesday morning with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who said that he and Trump “are very supportive of the leadership team and are looking forward to working with them,” said Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. Coming after a campaign full of very public GOP infighting and clashes between Ryan and Trump, it’s “a validating moment,” said Lummis.

Republicans had widely been seen at risk of losing the Senate and suffering major losses in the House, but instead lost just two Senate seats and a half-dozen in the House, giving them fullscale control of Washington for the first time in a decade.

For Democrats, illfeeling was only magnified in defeat.

“Everything’s not good.

Business as usual is not gonna work,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

“This is about our con-

With the state facing a budget shortfall when the Legislature convenes in January, “I can promise you that this is going to be a major point of discussion,” Whitmire said, echoing the sentiments of several colleagues.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Trump said his first priority on illegal immigration is to get those with criminal records out of the country.

“What we are going to do is to get the people that are criminals and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, it could be 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of this country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said.

After that, Trump said, his administration will come up with a plan to deal with as many as 8 million or 9 million additional people in this country illegally who have not committed crimes.

For more than 20

stituents. Saying we have heard you. We have clearly missed the mark with regard to legislation and messaging.”

For Republicans, though, it was heady times after they’ve spent years watching their legislative priorities get stymied, if not by Democrats in the Senate then

by Obama’s veto pen.

The situation also brings risks since Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves if they can’t deliver on Trump’s promises. Already GOP leaders and Trump himself have been shifting on some of his pledges, including the border wall and a full repeal of Obama’s health care law.

On Tuesday, Ryan refused to answer directly when asked if Congress would go along with Trump’s plan to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. “These are things we’re working on. ... The point is Donald Trump wants jobs,” he said.

Ryan also avoided a direct answer on Trump’s appointment of Stephen Bannon to a senior White House role. Bannon’s Breitbart website, which embraces white nationalist currents, has frequently singled out Ryan himself for attacks.

“Look, I would just simply say that the president is going to be judged on his results,” Ryan said. “I’m not looking backwards, I’m looking forward.”

In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats were meeting separately Wednesday to pick their leadership teams. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is keeping his job in a chamber that Republicans will control by 52-48. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is retiring after a 30-year Senate career and will be replaced by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

By Ken Thomas and Julie Pace ASSOCIATED PRE SS

NEW YORK — Hidden from the public in his Manhattan high-rise, Donald Trump huddled Tuesday with Vice President-elect Mike Pence as he tried to fill out key posts in his Cabinet. But the transition team appeared to be straining under the enormous challenge of setting up a new administration.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, a respected Republican voice on national security issues, announced he was quitting the transition effort. And an apparent clerical oversight effectively halted the Trump team’s ability to coordinate with President Barack Obama’s White House.

With Trump out of sight for several days, his allies engaged in an unusual round of public speculation about his potential appointments — including their own futures — as the presidentelect and his aides weighed the nation’s top national security posts.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani seemed to be angling for secretary of state. But Trump’s transition team was reviewing Giuliani’s paid consulting work for foreign governments, which could delay a nomination or bump Giuliani to a different position, according to a person briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Giuliani founded his own firm, Giuliani Partners, in 2001, and helped businesses on behalf of foreign governments, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. He also advised TransCanada, which sought to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, and helped the maker of the painkiller drug OxyContin settle a dispute with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A Trump official said John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United

Eric Gay / AP

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Sector Chief Manuel Padilla Jr. talks to the media during a news conference, Monday, in Edinburg, Texas. In response to a surge in asylum-seekers from violence-wracked Central America, the Border Patrol has sent 150 reinforcements from neighboring states to the Rio Grande Valley.

years, Texas has worked in a partnership with federal immigration officials to hold hearings at a Huntsville prison as foreign convicts are discharged, so those who are ordered deported can be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Prison officials acknowledged Monday that deportation of Texas convicts has been an issue for years.

Almost three decades ago, several lawmakers proposed building a prison on a Caribbean island and transferring the offenders there. More recently, legislative leaders have endorsed deportations to save money, as federal officials drastically cut reimbursements to cover Texas’ costs. ThenGov. Rick Perry sidelined that discussion by asserting that since the foreign convicts did their crimes in Texas, they

Nations, remained in contention for secretary of state. Bolton has years of foreign policy experience, but he has raised eyebrows with some of his hawkish stances, including a 2015 New York Times op-ed in which he advocated bombing Iran to halt the country’s nuclear program.

Businessman Carl Icahn disclosed on Twitter, based on conversations with the presidentelect, that Trump was considering Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker, and Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, to lead the Treasury and Commerce departments.

Pence, now running the transition team, ignored questions from reporters both as he entered Trump Tower, a thick binder tucked under his arm, and as he left six hours later. He took over from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who spent months running transition operations before his demotion last week.

The switch has slowed Trump’s ability to coordinate with the White House. Pence has yet to sign a memorandum of understanding facilitating interactions between his team and Obama administration officials. Christie had signed the document, but Pence’s promotion makes it invalid.

A person familiar with the transition efforts said different factions in Trump’s team “are fighting for power.”

Indeed, Trump effectively created two power centers in his White House even before taking office. He named Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as his chief of staff and flame-throwing media mogul Steve Bannon as his chief strategist, but called them “equal partners.” Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is also deeply involved in the transition, creating another layer of uncertainty about who is making decisions.

“That organization

right now is not designed to work,” according to the person close to the efforts, who like others involved in the transition, insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the internal process.

Former GOP national security official Eliot Cohen blasted Trump’s team on Twitter, calling them “angry, arrogant.”

Cohen opposed Trump during the campaign, but in recent days, he said those who feel dutybound to work in a Trump administration should do so. But he said Tuesday that after an exchange with Trump’s team, he had “changed my recommendation.”

Meanwhile, Trump made time to call New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to pass on his sympathies for the powerful earthquake there that killed two people. In the call, which was announced not by Trump’s office but by Key’s, the two also discussed New Zealand’s economy and trade issues.

With Trump’s team divided, emboldened Republicans on Capitol Hill moved forward with a united front. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a lukewarm Trump supporter during the campaign, unanimously won his GOP colleagues’ votes for another term at the helm of the House. He told fellow Republicans he had Trump’s support, and heralded “the dawn of a new, unified Republican government.”

Democrats, reeling from sweeping defeats in the election, focused their ire on Bannon, a man celebrated by the white nationalist movement.

“If Trump is serious about seeking unity, the first thing he should do is rescind his appointment of Steve Bannon,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said. “As long as a champion of racial division is a step away from the Oval Office, it would be impossible to take Trump’s efforts to heal the nation seriously.”

should do their time here.

In 2010, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said the state could save more than $100 million if as many as 5,000 foreigners were removed from state prisons. The Legislature changed state law to allow the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to approve convicts for early release on the condition that they would be deported to their home countries for both violent and nonviolent crimes.

Even so, officials said those paroles mostly stopped over equal-protection questions — whether the parole board should parole someone just because he would be deported and not because he otherwise qualified for early release — and because some offenders were posting immigration bails and then disappearing to avoid deportation.

Reports of paroled convicts who returned to Texas and committed new crimes also raised the anger of lawmakers and slowed parole approvals under the law.

Marc Levin, director of the Austin-based Center for Effective Justice and policy director of Right on Crime, both national conservative advocacy groups, said Trump’s proposal is likely to spur new debate on the issue.

“But, as we have seen in the past, it gets complicated,” he said.

Whitmire said he believes that prison officials do not want to see many of the undocumented immigrant convicts paroled and deported because they are trustees who help cook food, clean and maintain state prisons. Prison officials have denied that.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who appoints members of the parole board, on Monday seemed to be sticking with Perry’s policy of requiring convicts to finish their sentences.

“Gov. Abbott believes that criminal immigrants who have been convicted of a crime in Texas should serve out their prison sentences and then be deported,” said John Wittman, his press secretary.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 |

A11

FROM THE COVER MASSACRE From page A1

steps are being taken to punish those responsible for the mass disappearance. The killings happened months before Moreira took office, but the state has been subject to harsh criticism, in part because so little information has been released about the massacre.

Many of the details about the killings emerged during a series of money laundering and drug trafficking trials of Zetas associates in Texas, culminating in the July trial of Marciano Millán Vázquez in San Antonio.

Millán, who was the regional leader for the Zetas in Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, was convicted of drug conspiracy and killing while engaged in drug trafficking, among other charges. He faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced in January.

During the trial, other traffickers testified that

ZAFFIRINI From page A1 Vice Chair of the Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs Committee, Zaffirini also serves on the Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development, State Affairs and Health and Human Services committees and the Texas Judicial Council. A member of the Energy Council since 2009, she organized the Eagle Ford Shale Legislative Caucus in 2012.

She has sponsored and passed 895 bills and 52 substantive resolutions.

Showing her bipartisan effectiveness, in the 2015 Republican-dominated Texas Legislature she

Millán was present as Zetas operatives rounded up family members and associates of former smugglers who were cooperating with the U.S. government. One trafficker, Adolfo Efren Tavira, testified that he saw as many as 40 people gunned down at a compound in Piedras Negras on the orders of Zetas leader Miguel “El 40” Treviño Morales, who was arrested and jailed in Mexico.

When a San Antonio Express-News reporter and photographer visited Allende last year, abandoned and heavily damaged buildings sat untouched, mementos of the massacre. Ana Maria Sandoval, a resident of Allende, told journalists that in 2011 a gangster named “El Canelo” — she didn’t know his real name — ruled the town with an iron fist. Sandoval said “El Canelo” was responsible for the kidnapping of two of her sons, one of whom never returned.

passed 102 bills, breaking her personal record and passing more bills than any other legislator that year.

“The 2017 Texas legislature will address critical issues, including public and higher education and health and human services, especially for the very young, the very old, the very poor and persons with disabilities,” Zaffirini said. “I encourage anyone interested in these or other issues to contact me or my staff so that we can consider any suggestions for improvement or additional legislation. Some of my best legislation was suggested by constituents, and no idea is too big or too small.”

Mayor resigns after racist Obama post ASSOCIATED PRE SS

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia mayor resigned her post Tuesday following a backlash after she posted a response to a racist comment about first lady Michelle Obama on Facebook.

The Clay Town Council accepted Mayor Beverly Whaling’s resignation in a meeting late Tuesday afternoon and said it would act quickly to name a replacement for the remaining three years of her term.

Council member Jason

CATHOLIC From page A1 becomes president after a three-year term, putting Gomez in line to be the first Latino head of the conference.

Both men come from regions with large numbers of immigrants. Mass is said in 16 languages in Houston-area parishes, DiNardo said. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is about 70 percent Latino.

On doctrine, both men have a strong focus on orthodoxy. DiNardo has called the government “coercive” to faith groups seeking conscience protections for objectors to gay marriage and abortion. Gomez is a member of Opus Dei. In their new positions, neither will set policy, but they will represent the bishops’ conference to President-elect Donald Trump, among other duties. While bishops could find common ground with Trump, who has pledged to appoint anti-abortion federal judges, church leaders are deeply unsettled by his promised crack-

Hubbard issued a brief statement condemning the “horrific” post and said “racial intolerance isn’t what this community is about.” He apologized on behalf of the town to anyone who is offended, including Michelle Obama.

Clay County Development Corp. director Pamela Ramsey Taylor made the post following Republican Donald Trump’s election as president, saying: “It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White

House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels.”

Whaling responded: “Just made my day Pam.” Taylor told WCHS-TV on Monday night that she was put on leave.

Meanwhile, Whaling issued a written apology to news media outlets saying that her comment wasn’t intended to be racist.

“I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that

I’m not in any way racist!”

Taylor did not return a call seeking comment.

The post, first reported

by WSAZ-TV, has caused a backlash and prompted calls for Taylor and Mayor Whaling to be fired. The post was shared hundreds of times on social media before it was deleted. The Facebook pages of Taylor and Whaling couldn’t be found Monday.

The nonprofit Clay County Development Corp. provides services to elderly and low-income residents in Clay County.

down on immigrants and refugees. During the campaign, Trump called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals and urged a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., although he later watered down that proposal.

“On the level of immigration, from our point of view, we certainly respect the government,” DiNardo said, at a news conference after the vote. “But we also have the shepherd’s heart. If there’s somebody hungry, we’re going to feed them. If there’s somebody thirsty, we’re going to give them something to drink. If there’s somebody who is a stranger, we want to make them welcome.”

Catholics are by far the largest faith tradition in the U.S., with more than 68 million members, according to the CARA research center at Georgetown University.

The U.S. church has a nationwide network of legal and social service programs for immigrants and refugees. “Our mission is to help people to be united in our country

and have hope,” Gomez said.

The bishops’ elections took place at their annual Baltimore meeting, which ends its public sessions Tuesday. DiNardo, who has served as vice president over the last three years, and Gomez each won a majority of votes across a slate of 10 candidates.

The current president, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, is ending his three-year term.

Church leaders at the conference said that like other Americans, they are only starting to grapple with how they should move forward under President-elect Donald Trump. DiNardo said he hoped he would have a chance to meet with the Trump administration to discuss, among other issues, extending the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for Medicaid coverage of most abortions.

Within the church, the bishops’ choice of leadership is seen as a measure of how far they have gone toward following the priorities set by Pope

Francis. The pope has emphasized mercy over rules, a dramatic shift from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who made upholding doctrine a core focus of their pontificates.

DiNardo was one of 13 cardinals who signed a letter to the pope more than a year ago objecting to how he organized a synod, or high-level summit, on family life. The synod addressed, among other issues, whether Catholics who divorce and remarry without an annulment could be allowed to receive Communion under some circumstances.

Bishops holding a hard line on doctrine objected to any opening, while others insisted the idea was consistent with church teaching. The letter was viewed as a rebuke of the pope, although the signers said they were only taking up Francis’ invitation for frank discussion.

In an interview last May with the Catholic news outlet Crux, DiNardo said that some Texas Catholics “think the pope’s too vague.”

A12 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES