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NAFTA
OPERATION RANCH ROAD 13
Latest round of talks sputter
Marijuana felony charges
By Josh Wingrove, Eric Martin and Andrew Mayeda B L OOMBE RG NEWS
The latest round of NAFTA talks wrapped up without major breakthroughs, the latest signal talks have bogged down on controversial proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Negotiators fell short of finishing work on any individual section of the agreement during this round, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. A senior U.S. official briefing reporters on NAFTA on Tuesday didn’t identify any specific areas or indicate that agreement was reached on any new chapters. While the U.S. has presented the bulk of its proposals, it’d like to see counteroffers and more engagement, including on vehicles, according to the American
Several men indicted, including a Zapata resident SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
The District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that several men, including a Zapata resident, have been indicted in connection with a drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting marijuana from South Texas to Houston. In 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Border Patrol initiated an investigation targeting a significant drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting marijuana. During the operation, dubbed Ranch Road 13, it
was discovered that two members of the group, Miguel Angel Mendoza, of Zapata, and Eliberto “Blackie” Vela Vela, of Oilton, were responsible for planning, organizing, supervising, coordinating and directing the transport of approximately 3 tons of marijuana, the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Mendoza and Vela allegedly arranged for other members of the drug trafficking organiza-
tion to transport marijuana through certain Webb County area ranches in order to navigate around and avoid Mendoza Border Patrol checkpoints, according to authorities. It is alleged that between Aug. 28, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014, Mendoza and Vela, along with Oscar Ivan Avila, Luis Gerardo Retana-Escobedo, Edgar AguileraEspinoza and Egladimer Aguilera-Pineda, carefully transported the marijuana using
several vehicles. All members communicated with each other through cellphones and other means of communication to provide descriptions of the ranches, directions, routes, entry gates, gate locks and other information to execute the transport of the marijuana, the District Attorney’s Office said. During the course of the investigation, DEA and Border Patrol made three seizures totaling over 6,000 pounds of marijuana from members of the organization. Charges continues on A9
PIEDRAS NEGRAS, COAHUILA MEXICO
REPORT DETAILS ZETAS TOTAL CONTROL OVER MEXICAN PRISON
NAFTA continues on A8
SANCTUARY CITIES
Judge blocks Trump’s order Efforts violate amendments
Adriana Alvarado / AP
Soldiers guard an entrance to the state prison in Piedras Negras, Mexico in 2012. Officially it was a prison, but inside it was a center of operations for the Zetas drug cartel, according to a College of Mexico report released Tuesday.
Cartel members used facility as center of operations
By Eli Rosenberg
By Maria Verza
WA S H INGT ON P O ST
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
A federal judge issued an injunction to permanently block President Donald Trump’s executive order to deny funding to cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration officials, after finding the order unconstitutional. The ruling by District Judge William H. Orrick in San Francisco comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the city of San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County, and follows a temporary halt on the order that the judge issued in April. Orrick, in his summary of
MEXICO CITY — Officially it was a Mexican prison, but inside it hid another reality: a center of operations where the Zetas drug cartel modified vehicles, manufactured uniforms, locked up kidnapped victims and cremated bodies using diesel fuel. Some details of the case were previously known. But a report released Tuesday by two university professors who specialize in human rights sheds new light on how one of Mexico’s bloodiest criminal organizations took complete control of the state prison in 2010 and 2011 in Piedras Negras, just across the border from Texas, without any
Judge continues on A8
resistance from Coahuila state officials. The report is based on witness statements, official documents and public data and takes a closer look at the use of the Piedras Negras prison as “key to the business and terror framework” of the Zetas. The investigation, which was conducted by Sergio Aguayo of the College of Mexico and Jacobo Dayan at Iberoamericana University, includes more than 1,500 pages and describes surreal life inside the prison’s walls. For some Zeta leaders, the prison served as a hideout and a place to host parties where cows would be slaughtered to feed attendees. According to the report, the prison’s Zeta boss, a former
municipal policeman who was not identified in the report, regularly left the prison escorted by guards to have coffee, shoot at people “just for fun” and have sex with the wives of other prisoners. He had 34 close associates inside the prison and another 58 inmates making uniforms and modifying vehicles, the report said. But at its most gruesome, the prison also served as a chilling “extermination” site. According to witnesses, some victims arrived alive and were killed on site with a shot or hammer blow to the head. Others were dismembered and burned immediately below a guard tower, which was controlled by the Zetas through threats and punishments.
The most sensitive job — and also the best paid at $300 a night — was disposing of the bodies in fuel. “When they cooked up people they would get smaller and they would hit them with a metal bar until there was nothing left ... (later) they would tip over the barrel to dump what was left on the ground ... and the truth is there was very little,” the unidentified Zeta boss is quoted as saying in December 2014. Overall, testimony from recent trials of Zeta members in Texas suggests about 150 bodies were disposed of inside the prison. Remains were dumped at nearby locations, including a river and a soccer field. Zetas continues on A5
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 22
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions. Teen Volunteers Weekly Meeting. 6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Middle school and high school students can earn community hours.
THURSDAY, NOV. 23 Preschool Books & Boogie: Songs and crafts for toddlers. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free event.
SATURDAY, NOV. 25 Jabin Botsford / Washington Post
FamilySearch.org Workshop (Genealogy): Research your family history. 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. All ages. Free event.
TUESDAY, NOV. 28 A family night event. St. Patrick Church Men's Club bowling tournament fundraiser. 5:30 p.m. Jett Bowl North for scholarships and other parish needs. $125 per team of five. Lane sponsorships are $500, $300, $200. Information call Dennis Eveland 286-2118 or Narciso Castro 740-2226. Knit with Us: Learn to Knit. For adults. Free and open to the public. 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. For more information, call 956-7952400, ext. 2403. LEGO Night. 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Play with LEGOs and LEGO robotics. All ages. Free and open to the public. Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-México Boundary. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series presentation featuring Ronald Rael, author and associate professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. The event is free and open to the public. The author will be available for book signing following the lecture.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions. Teen Volunteers Weekly Meeting. 6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Middle school and high school students can earn community hours.
THURSDAY, NOV. 30 Preschool Books & Boogie: Songs and crafts for toddlers. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free event.
SATURDAY, DEC. 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, DEC. 16 8th annual Birdies on the Rio golf tourney. 7 a.m. registration at the Max Mandel Municipal Golf Course. Join the Rio Grande International Study Center for the biggest, baddest golf tournament in town. $150 per golfer (allinclusive). Register at www.rgisc.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, JAN. 6 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited.
President Donald Trump pardons Drumstick at the National Thanksgiving Turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House on Tuesday.
PRESIDENT TRUMP PARDONS TURKEYS WASHINGTON — President Trump wielded his pardon power Tuesday to spare a pair of turkeys from the Thanksgiving roaster, joking that he would also let last year’s turkey pardons stand despite his penchant for overturning Obama-era orders. In a brief and humorous White House ceremony, Trump extended the annual presidential tradition of pardoning turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving, an act of leniency that prolongs the lives of Minnesota-bred gobblers Wishbone and Drumstick. Trump said he and the first lady have
Haitians relieved to stay in US for now, upset status to end MIAMI — Yolnick Jeune couldn’t sleep for days, anxious over the fate of a program that has staved off the deportations of both herself and tens of thousands of other Haitians in the U.S. Then, President Donald Trump’s administration this week announced one last 18month extension of the Temporary Protected Status that has
welcomed many special visitors to the White House, including world leaders, Congress members “and, along the way, a few very strange birds. But we have yet to receive any visitors quite like our magnificent guest of honor today, Drumstick.” “I’m pleased to report that unlike millions of other turkeys at this time of the year, Drumstick has a very, very bright future ahead of it,” he said. Trump announced that Drumstick and Wishbone will spend the rest of their lives on the campus of Virginia Tech. — Compiled from AP reports
allowed her to work and provide for her five children, including a 7-year-old, U.S.-born girl. “I can breathe a little and get some rest. This buys me time to figure out what’s next,” Jeune said Tuesday in Miami. But at the same time, Jeune is upset that the government on Monday said she and nearly 60,000 Haitians must return home July 2019, ruling out any further extensions of the immigration benefits given to Haitians who came before and in the aftermath of the Caribbean country’s 2010 earthquake.
“I am very depressed to know that within 18 months, I have to go back,” she said. Having been in Miami since 2009, Jeune has not returned to Haiti but hears from her sister and other relatives back in her native Port-de-Paix that conditions have not improved for those whose lives were upended by the earthquake. The Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that conditions in Haiti have improved significantly since the earthquake. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD Mugabe resigns after 37 years as Zimbabwe’s leader HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who once vowed to rule for life, resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough. The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year-old leader’s resignation letter had been read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Well into the night, cars honked and people danced and sang in a spectacle of free expression that would have been
Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / AP
President Robert Mugabe is seen at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare. Mugabe resigned after 37 years in power.
impossible during his years in power, whose early promise after the end of white minority rule in 1980 was overtaken by economic collapse, government dysfunction and human rights violations. “Welcome to the new Zimbabwe!” people chanted outside the conference center where the lawmakers had met. “This
is the best day of my life,” one man declared. Euphoric citizens celebrated on top of cars, clustered around a tank and shook hands with soldiers who were hailed as saviors for their role in dislodging Mugabe, a once-formidable politician who crushed dissent or sidelined opponents. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND TEXAS 3rd man gets prison for $6M diamond investment scam DALLAS — A Houston man is joining two North Texans in federal prison after what prosecutors called a diamond investment scheme that defrauded victims out of more than $6 million. A federal judge in Dallas sentenced Christopher Arnold Jiongo on Tuesday to 46 months — almost four years — in prison and ordered to pay
Today is Wednesday, Nov. 22, the 326th day of 2017. There are 39 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas; Texas Gov. John B. Connally, in the same car as Kennedy, was seriously wounded; a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president. On this date: In 1718, English pirate Edward Teach — better known as "Blackbeard" — was killed during a battle off presentday North Carolina. In 1890, French president Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France. In 1914, the First Battle of Ypres during World War I ended with an Allied victory against Germany. In 1928, "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel had its premiere at the Paris Opera. In 1935, a flying boat, the China Clipper, took off from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the first transPacific airmail flight. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss measures for defeating Japan. In 1954, the Humane Society of the United States was incorporated as the National Humane Society. In 1967, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it had captured the previous June, and implicitly called on adversaries to recognize Israel's right to exist. In 1975, Juan Carlos was proclaimed King of Spain. In 1977, regular passenger service between New York and Europe on the supersonic Concorde began on a trial basis. In 1980, death claimed actress Mae West at her Hollywood residence at age 87 and former Democratic House Speaker John W. McCormack in Dedham, Massachusetts, at age 88. In 1990, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, having failed to win re-election of the Conservative Party leadership on the first ballot, announced she would resign. Ten years ago: Retailers lured shoppers to stores and online on Thanksgiving Day ahead of the traditional Black Friday kick-off. A man shot and killed his ex-wife, their three children, ages 12, 10 and 6, and himself in a park in Laytonsville, Maryland. Five years ago: Two people died and more than 80 people were hurt when at least 140 vehicles collided on a stretch of highway near Beaumont, Texas, in foggy conditions. In a series of constitutional amendments, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi granted himself sweeping new powers and placed himself above judicial oversight. One year ago: President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 21 groundbreaking actors, musicians, athletes and others; among those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom were Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Michael Jordan, Kareem AbdulJabbar, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bill and Melinda Gates, Ellen DeGeneres and Vin Scully. A 7.4 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, the strongest since a devastating quake and tsunami five years earlier. Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Callan is 82. Actor Allen Garfield is 78. Animator and movie director Terry Gilliam is 77. Actor Tom Conti is 76. Singer Jesse Colin Young is 76. Astronaut Guion Bluford is 75. International Tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King is 74. Rock musician-actor Steve Van Zandt is 67. Rock musician Tina Weymouth is 67. Retired MLB All-Star Greg Luzinski is 67. Actress Lin Tucci is 66. Rock musician Lawrence Gowan is 61. Actor Richard Kind is 61. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is 59. Alt-country singer Jason Ringenberg is 59. Actress Mariel Hemingway is 56. Actor Winsor Harmon is 54. Actor-turned-producer Brian Robbins is 54. Actor Stephen Geoffreys is 53. Rock musician Charlie Colin is 51. Actor Nicholas Rowe is 51. Actor Michael K. Williams is 51. Actor Mark Ruffalo is 50. International Tennis Hall of Famer Boris Becker is 50. Actress Sidse Babett Knudsen is 49. Country musician Chris Fryar is 47. Actor Josh Cooke is 38. Actor-singer Tyler Hilton is 34. Actress Scarlett Johansson is 33. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower is 29. Singer Candice Glover is 28. Actor Alden Ehrenreich is 28. Actress Mackenzie Lintz is 21. Thought for Today : "If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help." — From the address President Kennedy never got to deliver in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
CONTACT US almost $3.8 million in restitution after pleading guilty to a wire fraud count. Earlier this month, Craig Allen Otteson of McKinney was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Jay Bruce Heimburger of Dallas drew an eightyear prison term for their guilty pleas to mail fraud. Each of the two also must repay $4.7 million.
2 held in shooting death of boy, 5,
brother hurt DENISON — Police say two North Texas teenagers have been arrested after a 5-year-old boy was killed and his 11-yearold brother wounded by shots fired into a house. Denison police say 18-yearold Ryan Clay and 17-year-old Sabrina Nino, both of Sherman, were being held Tuesday on charges of capital murder of a child under age 10. Bond is $1 million each. — Compiled from AP reports
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 |
STATE
A3
FBI says Border agent’s death a ‘potential assault ’
Mexican man set for his fifth deportation
By Claudia Lauer and Emily Schmall ASSOCIATED PRE SS
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A 44-year-old Mexican man is set for deportation for a fifth time but first must serve more than 11 years in prison for being in the U.S. illegally and for possession with intent to distribute 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of methamphetamine. Brownsville-based U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen added 12 months to Juan Francisco Lopez-Hernandez’s sentence Tuesday for committing the most recent offenses while on probation for a previous conviction of being in the U.S. illegally. Lopez-Hernandez, from Matamoros, Mexico, pleaded guilty in August 2016. He was arrested in April 2016 after prosecutors say he sped away from a traffic stop in Brownsville, crashed his vehicle and tried to run off. Hidalgo County deputies found the methamphetamine in his wrecked vehicle. He had previous convictions in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
DALLAS — An FBI official said Tuesday that the bureau is investigating the death of a border patrol agent and severe injuries to another as “potential assault,” but he wouldn’t rule out that they could have been hurt in some other way. Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. said during a news conference in El Paso that investigators are still trying to “gather the facts,” but they are currently treating it as an assault on a federal officer. The couched language comes more than two days after U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Rogelio Martinez succumbed to traumatic head injuries and broken bones suffered while on duty, and after several politicians portrayed his death as the result of an attack. Martinez died Sunday and his partner, whose name has not been released, was seriously injured. They were found late Saturday in a culvert near Van Horn, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the border
Mark Lambie/The El Paso Times / AP
FBI Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso field office Emmerson Buie Jr. speaks during a press conference at the FBI field office, Tuesday in El Paso about the death of a border patrol agent and the severe injuries of a second agent. FBI officials said Tuesday that officers are investigating the incident as a potential physical assault on federal officers, but said there are several scenarios that might have led to the agents injuries.
with Mexico and 110 miles (175 kilometers) southeast of El Paso. At Tuesday’s news conference, Buie and U.S. Border Patrol Acting Chief Victor Velazquez did not say why they believed the agents may have been attacked. Authorities haven’t said whether they have any suspects. The state of Texas is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest or conviction, and the FBI on Tuesday tacked on an additional $25,000.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the investigation told the Associated Press Martinez may have fallen into the culvert. The official said Martinez’s partner, who radioed for help, was still recovering in the hospital and has no memory of what happened. The official, who was briefed on the investigation spoke on condition of anonymity and is not authorized to speak publicly, said it happened after dark in an area that’s known for drug activity and where
agents often look for drugs in culverts. Rush Carter, a border patrol supervisor for the region that includes the area where the agents were injured, said Monday night that reports it was an attack were “speculation.” But several elected officials, including President Donald Trump, referred to it as such. When asked about the president’s remarks Tuesday, Buie said he had not briefed Trump on the investigation. An FBI spokeswoman told the San Antonio Express-News on Sunday that the agents were “not fired upon,” but she didn’t elaborate. Martinez’s mother, Elvia Martinez, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she and her husband are also awaiting more information. She said she didn’t yet know any details about the circumstances surrounding their son’s death. “He was a very accomplished person and loved his work,” she said tearfully and in Spanish. Rogelio Martinez, father to an 11-year-old, joined the Border Patrol in 2013. Chris Cabrera, a
spokesman for a border patrol agents union, the National Border Patrol Council, told The Associated Press that the two agents appeared to have been struck in the head with a rock or rocks. Cabrera said agents who responded to the scene described it as “grisly” and said Martinez and his partner had “extensive injuries.” Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to insist that Martinez’s death underscores the need for a wall along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The president offered his condolences to Martinez’s family. He also said Martinez’s partner was “brutally beaten and badly, badly hurt” but that it “looks like he’ll make it.” Authorities haven’t said whether they think drug smugglers or people who were in the country illegally were involved. Martinez is the second agent to have died this year. The Border Patrol website lists 38 agents, not including Martinez, who have died since late 2003. Some were attacked while working along the border and others were killed in traffic accidents.
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Zopinion
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A4 | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Uncertain times and future in media industry By Ken Herman COX N EWSPAPE RS
I recently manned a table at career day at North Austin’s Padron Elementary School. It didn’t take me long to confront, in my head, the stark reality that I was talking to kids about a career that (a) might not look like it does now or (b) won’t exist when they age into the labor force. I work at a newspaper, which these days means it also includes a robust online operation delivering news. Coincidentally, a headline leading the newspaper’s website I had on display for the kids as they came by to hear about what I do for a living read: “Statesman’s parent company puts newspaper up for sale.” So that was nagging at me as I checked out the other folks at career day tables near mine and mulled what their line of work will look like in 20 years. Christy Seguin was at a table on one side of mine. A sign identified her as the “rock and roll cake diva.” She bakes wonderfully artistic cakes. Cake will be around in 20 years. (At least I hope so because I plan to be around in 20 years.) At the table on the other side from me were Alma McElroy and Lauren Carberry of Levy Architects. Buildings will be around in 20 years. A few tables away was a Star Flight pilot. First responders will be around in 20 years. They may have individual jetpacks, but it will still be a career. (And, FYI, I still want to be a Star Flight pilot when and if I grow up.) At another nearby table, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department was represented by Merv Griffin. (Extra points if you remember the other Merv Griffin.) Parks will be around in 20 years. So will recreation. And near Griffin was Bunny Stark, a pastor at Greater Mt. Vernon Zion AME Church, who, about halfway through the two hours of talking with energetic grade-school kids, agreed with me that it was nap-time. Faith will be around in 20 years. Newspapers? In 2037? Who knows? It’s important that journalism still exist, despite what our current president thinks of the industry. But the troubled industry is in transition. To what? Stay tuned. This career day came a day after Atlanta-based Cox Media Group announced its plan to sell the Austin AmericanStatesman and the company’s Palm Beach, Florida, newspapers, as well as the related websites at these papers. This was not a shock. The industry upheaval/demise/metamorphosis is well-known. I’ve seen it take the jobs of many top-notch journalists in recent years. But it’s jarring nonetheless when it hits your career home. Those of you who’ve worked at a business in transition understand the angst the newspaper staff is enduring. I now work among talented colleagues uncertain about their futures in a line of work that is far more than just a job. All of this was in my brain as my mouth told the Padron kids -- so polite, so bright, so fun to talk with -- about what I do for a living. Is it some-
Newspapers? In 2037? Who knows? It’s important that journalism still exist, despite what our current president thinks of the industry. But the troubled industry is in transition. To what? Stay tuned. thing they’ll be able to do for a living? The answer is a definite maybe. We’ll always need professional delivery of the news. How it is delivered is evolving. The big question is whether the new, online way will be a profitable way and one that will offer a career with paychecks that can help support a family. I tried to explain the industry tradition and transition to the kids at career day, how online is the future and that sometime in the future print -at least in the form of a daily newspaper as we’ve known it -- could be the past. Aware that some of the kids were born around 2010 (several years after I got the shirt I was wearing), I always started by asking if they knew what a newspaper is. “It’s where it tells you the news,” said a second grader. “It’s a paper that tells you things that happen in real life,” said a Padron student. “You use it to find out ideas,” said yet another. Correct, correct and correct. And I was happy to see many hands shoot up when I asked if anybody sees newspapers in their homes. It was at that point I tried to explain to them that the day could come when nobody will see newspapers in their homes but that the information in them, so important to a community, increasingly and perhaps exclusively will show up in the new forms we’re already using. I remain bullish enough about journalism to believe our nation needs it to be a viable career, regardless of method of delivery. Meanwhile, there’s great uncertainty here at the newspaper as we wait to see who’s going to buy us and what it will mean. Sure, there have been lots of side conversations rife with speculation about whether it will be Gannett or Hearst or another newspaper chain or just some rich folks who think it would be fun to own a newspaper. (The answer is yes, it would be fun, unless you believe guaranteed profit is a necessary component of fun.) But here’s what’s been going on the most here at the newspaper in the days since the sale was announced: Journalism for the benefit of the community we serve. Our thanks to those of you who think it’s a product worth supporting. It’s support we know must be earned with our product, regardless of how it’s delivered and who signs our paychecks. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.
COLUMN
Immigrants do a great job at becoming Americans By Noah Smith BL OOMBERG
Immigration has lots of economic benefits, and few economic costs. Immigrants pay for nativeborn Americans’ retirement, start companies, and make the U.S. a desirable destination for investment, while not taking away jobs or depressing wages of the native-born. But people care about more than dollars and cents — culture is important. Immigration skeptics, including a few on the political left, often fret that immigrants won’t adapt to American culture. But they shouldn’t worry. The great American assimilation machine continues to work as designed. First, restrictionists misunderstand the nature of assimilation. Many seem to have an image of newcomers imitating the native-born, conforming perfectly to local traditions and customs. But this has never been the reality. In the 19th and 20th centuries, when religion was the key marker of culture, immigrants to the U.S. rarely converted. Despite heavy discrimination and even violence against Catholics, Catholicism became the plurality religion throughout much of the country. Instead of mass Catholic or Jewish or Orthodox Christian conversion, what happened was that the notion of American identity simply expanded to include all of these denominations. Assimilation, therefore, is really a process of integration — many cultures becoming one culture. E pluribus unum. American parents of all
races can expect their children to know how to use chopsticks and to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, just as older generations of Americans embraced German Christmas trees and Italian pasta. Cultural preservationists on all sides might be unhappy with this, while cosmopolitans will rejoice. But no matter what you think of cultural evolution, it’s important to realize that integration is nothing like the submissive, conformist abandonment of all ancestral culture that some nativists wrongly imagine prevailed in the past. The real question is: Is integration still happening? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. If anything, recent immigrant groups — Hispanic- and Asian-Americans — are integrating even more quickly and completely than the previous waves from southern and eastern Europe did a century ago. In the past, research has focused narrowly on linguistic adaptation. And here HispanicAmericans — by far the biggest of the recent immigrant waves — have been adopting English just as quickly as earlier immigrant groups. But cultural integration goes way beyond language. It involves so many things — customs, traditions, attitudes and modes of social interaction — that it’s hard to measure. But one very good indicator is intermarriage rates. There’s no act of integration deeper or more longlasting than choosing to spend your life with someone from a different ethnic, racial or cultural group. And here, we see that recent immigrant
groups have been intermarrying at rapid rates. A recent Pew survey found that the share of Americans who marry someone of another race or ethnicity has risen steadily, and now stands at 17 percent. That trend has only accelerated in recent years, possibly due to the prevalence of online dating. But for Hispanic- and AsianAmericans, the rates are much higher. Almost four out of 10 U.S.-born Hispanics marry someone of a different ethnicity, and for U.S.-born Asians the number is 46 percent. The overwhelming majority of those marriages are to white Americans. Intermarriage also allows us to test the hypothesis that multiculturalist rhetoric — common on liberal college campuses — will slow the rate at which immigrant groups integrate. In fact, Americans with a bachelor’s degree — who have, presumably, been exposed to much more multiculturalism — intermarry at a 19 percent rate, while for Americans with a high-school degree or less the number is only 14 percent. This gap has grown in recent years, suggesting that multiculturalism has done little to impede integration, and may even have contributed to its acceleration. The final fear that many immigration skeptics have relates to politics. There is a worry that voting will break down along racial lines, balkanizing the country into hostile ethnic blocs. The 2016 election, with its charged racial rhetoric and stark voting divides, certainly did little to
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
quiet those fears. But in many areas, this divide is far less in evidence. In Texas, Republican senatorial candidate John Cornyn won the Latino vote in 2014, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott won a respectable 44 percent. In 2004, George W. Bush appeared to be making inroads with Hispanics, winning 40 percent, while AsianAmericans broke Republican as recently as 1996. Meanwhile, a recent study by Alex Nowrasteh and Sam Wilson of the Cato Institute found that on the issues, immigrants and their descendants tend to hold many of the same views as native-born Americans. On issues like welfare spending, Social Security, environmental protection, income redistribution and marijuana legalization, immigrant positions are very similar to those of the native-born — and by the third generation, practically indistinguishable. So on politics too, integration is the reality for recent immigrant groups. In other words, not only are the economic fears of immigration skeptics unjustified, but the cultural anxieties are as well. Recent waves of immigrants have integrated into American culture — changing it, and being changed by it — just as quickly and completely as their European predecessors. American culture is doing what it has always done — taking diverse peoples, and forging a single polity from the disparate parts. Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 |
FROM THE COVER territory especially in the north and east of Mexico. Zetas have been implicated in a host of infamous massacres, including the killing of 72 migrants in 2010 and a Monterey casino fire that killed 52 in 2011. In March 2011, in what is believed to be revenge for a perceived traitor, Zetas came to the community of Allende and with the help of local police disappeared a still uncertain number of families. The College of Mexico report says that prisoners from Piedras Negras participated in that massacre. The authors have called on authorities to continue investigating and identify those responsible for the violence at the Coahuila prison. The International Criminal Court has not issued a decision about whether it will investigate if crimes against humanity were committed in Coahuila.
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Others believe there were more victims. “Truth and justice are still missing,” Dayan said Tuesday. “Who knew what, when and what did they do?” said Aguayo. The report estimates the prison generated about $75,000 annually, with good standing bought through drug sales and extortion proceeds. The threat of violence was always present. A number of prisoners working for the Zetas walked around the prison with guns, in contrast to the guards who were mostly unarmed. A representative of the Coahuila state government, Federico Garza, said at the report’s presentation that “we emphatically deny that there were crimes against humanity.” He added that the in-
vestigation into crimes at the prison continues. The report’s authors received some support in their investigation from the Coahuila state government, a victims support agency, the National Human Rights Commission and victims’ advocates, but said the federal Attorney General’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Relations declined to provide any information. Aguayo said Tuesday the authors had academic freedom in their endeavor, but added that there was “strong pressure to keep this from coming out.” He did not detail those pressures. Initially started by deserters from an elite military unit, the Zetas served as the enforcers of the Gulf cartel. During the 2000s, through gruesome violence, the Zetas broke away to become one of the country’s most feared criminal organizations. They expanded their
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Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE FESTIVIDADES NAVIDEÑAS
1 La Ciudad de Roma y el distrito escolar Roma Independent School District invitan al arranque de las Festividades Navideñas el jueves 30 de noviembre en la Plaza Guadalupe. Las festividades iniciarán con un desfile a las 6 p.m. Evento gratuito. DESFILE DE NAVIDAD
1 El Desfile de Navidad y la iluminacióm de la Plaza del Condado se realizarán el jueves 7 de diciembre, los tres coches alegoricos mejor decorados recibirán trofeos. El desfile comenzará a las 6 p.m. en 17th Ave. detrás de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Inmediatamente después se encenderán las luces del árbol de Navidad en la Plaza del Condado donde Santa estará repartiendo regalos. AVIARIO
1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero. Mayores informes al 956849-1411 BOTES DE BASURA
1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411 PAGO DE IMPUESTOS
LIGA MEXICANA DE BÉISBOL
Regresan Tecolotes Cabildo aprueba equipo, temporada comienza en marzo Por Melissa Santillana TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Autoridades de Laredo y Nuevo Laredo, México se reunieron el martes por la mañana para anunciar oficialmente el regreso de los Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos a la frontera, tras que el Cabildo de la Ciudad votara por su regreso. El Alcalde de la Ciudad de Laredo Pete Sáenz, agradeció a todos los involucrados en hacer el regreso de los Tecos una realidad, indicando que espera que la mala suerte de equipos anteriores quede atrás. “Estamos todos de acuerdo de que los Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos van a ser otro capítulo aquí en Laredo. Ellos ya tienen victorias, han tenido éxito, cinco campeonatos en Laredo”, dijo Sáenz. “En el pasado hemos tenido un poquito de mala suerte con otros equipos, pero aquí los Tecolotes siempre han traído ese ánimo, ese talento que nos gusta ver y escuchar”. Sáenz se mostró emocionado de que con el equipo, también vendrán otros equipos profesionales de la Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, “el más alto nivel que hay en México”.
De igual forma, el Administrador de la Ciudad Horacio de León, mencionó que era un placer, en especial para él, dar las noticias de los Tecos. De León dijo haber participado en 20012003 cuando los Tecolotes todavía jugaban en Laredo y se sentía orgulloso de haber participado para traerlos de vuelta. “Quiero dar las gracias a todos los que han trabajado en este proyecto incluyendo a la familia Mansur. Hemos tenido muy buenas negociaciones y pláticas y seguimos y queremos que se sientan en casa aquí en Laredo”, dijo de León. “Esperemos que este equipo siga aquí en Laredo por muchos años”. De León también tomó la conferencia de prensa como una oportunidad para pedir el apoyo del público y posibles patrocinios. “Laredo se promueve como un puerto terrestre, y los Tecolotes juegan a través de toda la República Mexicana, eso es una oportunidad de promover la Ciudad de Laredo”, dijo él. Por otra parte, Chara Mansur, hijo del propietario de los Tecolotes José Antonio Mansur, recordó cálidamente la época en que él iba a los juegos con su
papá y agradeció la oportunidad de estar entre las personas que anunciaban el regreso del equipo. “En mi caso yo crecí viendo a los Tecolotes en Nuevo Laredo y en Laredo. Mi papá me llevaba practicante todo los días que había partido”, dijo Chara Mansur. “Yo estuve en el 89 en el último campeonato de los Tecolotes contra Yucatán, en el juego número 6 que ganaron 6-1. Todavía me acuerdo, y ahora insisto, voy a llevar a mi papá pero también voy a llevar a mi hijo”. “En Nuevo Laredo si se pueden dar cuenta la gente está esperando que llegue el mes de marzo porque la tradición del béisbol es enorme”, dijo él. De igual forma José Antonio Mansur, indicó estar agradecido con Danny López y su hijo Chara por trabajar en hacer el regreso posible, así también dijo que sentirse muy orgulloso y motivado de poder estar en dos ciudades tan importantes. “Como yo digo son dos ciudades, dos países, dos idiomas, posiblemente dos culturas, pero una sola pasión: el béisbol”, dijo José Antonio Mansur. “Y la pasión de los Tecolotes va a unir a las dos ciudades. Hay quien quiere dividir a los dos países,
ZCISD
NARCOTRÁFICO
CELEBRAN DÍA DE ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS
1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St. PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día. LLENADO DE APLICACIONES
1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 956246-7177. 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 956-849-1411 GRUPOS DE APOYO EN LAREDO
1 Grupo Cancer Friend se reúne a las 6 p.m. el primer lunes del mes en el Centro Comunitario de Doctors Hospital. 1 Grupo de Apoyo para Ansiedad y Depresión Rayo de Luz se reúne de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. en 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430, cada primer lunes de mes
Foto de cortesía / ZCISD
Los estudiantes y el personal de la Escuela Primaria Zapata North celebraron la semana pasada el Día de Acción de Gracias. El distrito ZCISD reanudurá clases el próximo lunes.
GUERRERO AYER Y HOY
Finalizan restauración Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Nota del editor: Éste forma parte de una 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. En el mes de marzo de 1999, Rubén Flores Gutierrez donó una Placa Conmemorativa para la cruz de hierro forjado que se encuentra en el atrio de la Iglesia de la Nueva Ciudad; reliquia que, durante más de un siglo, estuvo coronando la parte superior del campanario central del Templo de la Antigua Ciudad, y con la colaboración del Ingeniero Óscar E. Flores García y un grupo de voluntarios, la placa fue colocada
en la base de piedra de la reliquia. El 9 de abril, el INAH, desde México, envió una comisión especial para colocar señalamientos carreteros indicadores de cómo llegar a la Antigua Ciudad Guerrero, y otras placas conmemorativas para ubicarse allá. En el mes de mayo del mismo año, Rose T. Treviño, residente en Laredo, entregó a Jaime Gutierrez, como obsequio a nuestra Asociación, una valiosa colección de fotos de la Antigua Ciudad. Al aproximarse el 4 de julio, iniciamos los preparativos para la celebración de una Misa Solemne en el Templo casi totalmente restaurado, y se hizo invitación especial al Sr. Obispo de la Diócesis Monseñor Ricardo Watty Urquidi, para que la presidiera.
nosotros vamos a trabajar por unir nuestras familias”. Él finalizó diciendo que agradece la oportunidad de poder representar a los Dos Laredos. Cuando llegó el turno de López al micrófono, refirió a lo que había dicho José Antonio Mansur y dijo que él también es un aficionado del deporte. “Estamos orgullosos, es algo con trayectoria no es algo inventado, el béisbol, la Liga Mexicana es algo que ya tiene trayectoria y estamos muy confiados que la audiencia de Laredo y Nuevo Laredo va a responder muy bien”, dijo López. El regidor de Nuevo Laredo Juan José Zarate puso fin a la conferencia de prensa emocionado por el regreso de los Tecolotes, indicando que el deporte es lo que ha unido a los ciudadanos de ambos lados en muchas ocasiones. “Compartimos un frontera, somos la aduana más grande de América Latina, pero también nos unen otro tipo de actividades como el beisbol”, dijo Zarate. “Nos congratulamos allá en Nuevo Laredo de que tengamos esta hermosa camiseta que va a decir ‘Dos Laredos’. Gracias y bienvenidos”.
Este proyecto no pudo realizarse. El 3 de julio por la noche y en las primeras horas del día 4, llovió copiosamente en este Municipio, y a las 8:00 horas el Sr. Párroco informó a esta Asociación sobre el reporte de las comisiones de mantenimiento en el Municipio, en el sentido de este informe, la misa se celebró en esta Nueva Ciudad. Nos dimos a la tarea de dar información oportuna de la situación imprevista, colocando un aviso en el entronque de la carretera ribereña a Guerrero Viejo, y se comunicó el cambio de la celebración, a los habitantes de esta Nueva Ciudad. La misa se celebró con la presencia del Sr. Obispo y de muchos visitantes, y en ella se ratificó la invitación al Viejo Guerrero para fecha próxima.
Acusan a residente de Zapata E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
La Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito dijo el martes que varios hombres, incluido un residente de Zapata, han sido acusados en relación con una organización del narcotráfico responsable de transportar marihuana desde el sur de Texas hasta Houston. En 2014, la Administración para el Control de Drogas (DEA por sus siglas en inglés) y la Patrulla Fronteriza comenzaron a investigar a una importante organización de narcotráfico responsable del transporte de marihuana. Durante la operación, denominada Ranch Road 13, se descubrió que dos miembros del grupo, Miguel Ángel Mendoza, de Zapata, y Eliberto "Blackie" Vela, de Oilton, se encargaban de planificar, organizar, supervisar, coordinar y dirigir el transporte de aproximadamente 3 toneladas de marihuana, dijo la Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito en un comunicado de prensa. Mendoza y Vela supuestamente realizaron preparativos para que otros miembros de la organización delictiva transportaran marihuana a través de ranchos del área del Condado de Webb para evitar los puestos de control de la Patrulla Fronteriza, según las autoridades. Entre el 28 de agosto de 2014 y el 23 de octubre de 2014, Mendoza y Vela, junto con Oscar Iván Ávila, Luis Gerardo Retana-Escobedo, Edgar Aguilera-Espinoza y Egladimer Aguilera-Pineda, supuestamente transportaron cuidadosamente la marihuana usando varios vehículos. . Todos los miembros se comunicaban entre sí a través de teléfonos
Vela
Mendoza
celulares y otros medios para proveer descripciones de los ranchos, direcciones, rutas, entradas, cerrojos de portones y otra información necesaria para ejecutar la operación de transporte de marihuana, dijo la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito. Durante el curso de la investigación, la DEA y la Patrulla Fronteriza realizaron tres incautaciones a miembros de la organización, con un total de más de 6.000 libras de marihuana. El 27 de septiembre, Mendoza, Ávila, Escobedo, Espinoza y Pineda fueron acusados de posesión de más de 2.000 libras de marihuana, un delito de primer grado. Los seis miembros, incluido Vela, fueron posteriormente acusados de conspiración para poseer marihuana, un delito grave de segundo grado. Además, un gran jurado en la Corte de Distrito 406 presentó una acusación por separado en contra de Vela por la posesión ilegal de un arma de fuego, un delito grave de tercer grado. La Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Webb y la Unidad Fiscal Fronteriza de Texas también participaron en la investigación. Hasta la fecha, dos acusaciones que involucran a seis personas de cargos graves están programadas para ir a juicio en la Corte del Distrito 406. Tanto Mendoza como Vela fueron procesados el martes.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 |
A7
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Cowboys missing Dak magic in losing streak Prescott won’t blame Elliott’s absence By Schuyler Dixon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott points to a poor throw here or a bad decision there while trying to explain possibly his worst game as a pro in a season quickly going south for the Dallas Cowboys. There’s one direction the star quarterback won’t look in seeking to understand the missing magic of a year ago — the absence of running back Ezekiel Elliott, his cocreator of a remarkable rookie season that helped carry the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC. Prescott’s first threeinterception dud in three years — the previous one was during his junior year at Mississippi State — came in the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year’s second game without Elliott, both lopsided losses. The 2016 league rushing leader is on a six-game suspension over alleged domestic violence. A year after winning a franchise-record 11 straight games, the Cowboys (5-5) are all but eliminated in the NFC East and just trying to stay in playoff
contention going into their annual Thanksgiving game, a visit from the Los Angeles Chargers (4-6). “For me it’s just about being the same whether it’s winning or losing,” Prescott said. “It’s about being the same and never wavering, never showing lack of confidence in myself and my teammates.” And that means rejecting any notion that Elliott’s absence is making it harder on the passing game. “No, can’t say they have,” Prescott said when asked if defenses looked different without Elliott. And it means shaking off the suggestion that he’s trying to do too much without his potent runner, such as when Prescott forced a downfield throw to Dez Bryant for his second interception in a 37-9 loss to Philadelphia that all but clinched the division for the Eagles last weekend. “If people were here I’d probably still want to take the shot downfield,” said Prescott, who is 15 points off last year’s NFL rookierecord passer rating of 104.9. “It has nothing to
do with people being absent or not. It’s just about me being aggressive.” With seven interceptions, Prescott already has three more than last season. He’s also lost a fumble in each of the past two games, including a 27-7 loss to Atlanta when he was sacked a career-high eight times. The Cowboys played both of those games without four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, who appears set to return against the Chargers after battling back and groin issues. Hold it, though, if you expect Prescott to acknowledge that Smith’s absence is why the Cowboys have one touchdown in two games and have bogged down inside the 20 after being one of the best in the league in that category. “We’re not saying that one was the issue,” Prescott said. “There’s a lot we’ve got to do better. But that will definitely help us out and benefit us.” Alfred Morris had 91 yards rushing against the Eagles, but it didn’t help Prescott in the passing
NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS
game. The 68 percent passer as a rookie was at just 58 percent (18 of 31) and had his third game without a touchdown toss. Prescott had three such games last season not counting a meaningless finale when he mostly sat. The loss to Philadelphia was the first time as a pro that Prescott has been intercepted without throwing at least one touchdown pass. “I’m not worried about that,” receiver Brice Butler said. “He’s going to play for a while. He’s not going to not throw picks, you know what I’m saying? He knows that. We all know that. It’s not like we’re looking at him any different.” Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan never looks at Prescott any differently. “He just proves his resiliency and his competitive nature and his nevergive-up attitude and approach,” Linehan said after Prescott’s eight-sack game, and before the three-interception game. “You’ve got to sustain some tough days once in a while and then bounce back.”
Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have lost two straight games since the suspension of star running back Ezekiel Elliott.
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS A&M AGGIES
SUMLIN TO BE FIRED
Sam Craft / Associated Press file
Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin is going to be fired after the Aggies showdown Saturday with LSU, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
The Texans cut Josh Johnson on Tuesday. The quarterback was signed a few weeks ago after the season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson.
Texans cut QB Josh Johnson By Aaron Wilson H OUSTON CHRONICLE
The Texans cut third quarterback Josh Johnson on Tuesday, according to his agent, Doug Hendrickson. The Texans are adding wide receiver Cobi Hamilton and running back Andre Ellington to the 53-man roster, placing running back D'Onta Foreman on injured reserve with a torn Achilles and signing running back Troymaine Pope to the practice squad. Johnson is a well-traveled former Tampa Bay Buccaneers fifth-round
draft pick. He's played for the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. He was cut by the New York Giants prior to the start of the regular season. Johnson played collegiately at the University of San Diego. Johnson, 31, is 6-3, 215 pounds For his career, he's passed for 1,042 yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 274 yards.
Report: Sumlin out after LSU game Saturday By Brent Zwerneman HOUSTON CHRONICLE
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will be fired following the Aggies' regular-season finale at LSU on Saturday night, multiple people with knowledge of the situation said. Sumlin is expected to be dismissed in the day or days following the A&M game against the Tigers. The Aggies are a doubledigit underdog to the Tigers, and an A&M victory wouldn't save his job at this point, the sources said. A resolute Sumlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference that he expects to be A&M's coach next season. Why wouldn't I?" he said in response to a question from the Chronicle about his future. Told that the Chronicle had heard he wouldn't be back next season, Sumlin responded, "I haven't heard that." The Aggies have been
good but not great under the sixth-year coach, failing to reach double-digit victories in the last five seasons since finishing 11-2 in Sumlin's first season and A&M's first year in the SEC in 2012. Even that season A&M finished third in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU, and the Aggies haven't come close to competing for a division title since. Sumlin has two years remaining on his contract that pays $5 million annually, and the two sides are expected to negotiate a buyout in the range of $10 million. The Aggies (7-4, 4-3) have finished 8-5 in each of the last three seasons, and would need an upset of LSU and a bowl victory to better that mark by a game this season. LSU has won all five of the team's prior meetings as SEC opponents, a tidbit particularly irking A&M's fan base, as the Aggies have tried establishing the Tigers as division rivals. Asked if he would have
been thought of differently at A&M had he won a few of those games against LSU, Sumlin replied, "It would probably be different if I won a couple of games against other people, too." A&M invested about a half-billion dollars in rebuilding Kyle Field and expanding its capacity to more than 102,000 fans a few years ago, and attendance was down this season as A&M lost at home to division foes Alabama, Mississippi State and Auburn. A&M chancellor John Sharp, an unyielding force behind the Kyle Field rebuild, has been adamant about producing a program that will compete with Alabama and others for SEC titles. The Aggies' top target is Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, according to multiple insiders. Fisher won a national title following the 2013 season with the Seminoles, but FSU is 4-6 so far this season, easily his worst showing in eight years as head coach in
Tallahassee, Fla. He's won at least 10 games in a season six times at FSU, something Sumlin has managed once at A&M in six seasons. Fisher's name first surfaced to the Chronicle as a candidate in September, after the Aggies blew a 34-point lead at UCLA in the season opener. Fisher, who's 82-23 at FSU, has said late this season that he will not address other jobs, including A&M. A&M athletic director Scott Woodward, brought onboard in part in 2016 to systematically evaluate Sumlin's tenure, and Fisher have a prior relationship from working together at LSU in the early to mid-2000s. Sumlin is a solid 51-25 at A&M, but his program's falters against division foes – especially late in the season – are what finally caught up to him. Sumlin has a losing record overall against the SEC West (16-19) and has finished no higher than fourth in the five seasons since 2012.
A8 | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
FROM THE COVER NAFTA From page A1
JUDGE From page A1
official. The U.S. has proposed increasing the regional content requirement for autos to qualify for NAFTA’s tariff benefits to 85 percent from 62.5 percent and add a rule that 50 percent of the car must be built in the U.S. Mexico and Canada have rejected this demand. The just-concluded negotiation was the first to not include the cabinet figures leading negotiations. Instead, less-senior staff and bureaucrats were tasked largely to plod ahead on more minor areas. Talks scheduled for next month in Washington will be on a smaller scale than previous rounds. Those will be followed by the official sixth round in Montreal Jan. 23-28. In the latest round, Mexico proposed limiting access to government contracts for U.S. firms, effectively a tit-for-tat proposal after the U.S. made a similar move. The U.S. official on Tuesday said Mexico’s offer doesn’t move the ball forward. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking in Ottawa on Tuesday, said there’d been “good progress” but that “significant differences remain” on key issues such as the auto rules-of-origin and dispute panels. The sprint for a U.S. tax overhaul this year has overtaken much of the agenda in Washington, diverting some attention from NAFTA. There’s still no clear path to a deal on a successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which governs more than $1 trillion in trade between the U.S. and its two biggest export markets.
the case Monday, found that the Trump administration’s efforts to move local officials to cooperate with its efforts to deport undocumented immigrants violated the separation of powers doctrine as well as the Fifth and Tenth amendments. “The Constitution vests the spending powers in Congress, not the President, so the Executive Order cannot constitutionally place new conditions on federal funds. Further, the Tenth Amendment requires that conditions on federal funds be unambiguous and timely made; that they bear some relation
to the funds at issue; and that they not be unduly coercive,” the judge wrote. “Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration enforcement strategy of which the President disapproves.” In court earlier this
year, the government’s lawyers had said that cities were overreacting to the order because federal officials had not yet moved to withhold funding from them. The ruling marks another blow to the Trump administration by the judicial branch. Other federal judges have reined in the administration’s travel ban
after questioning its constitutionality. Those rulings are still winding their way through federal appeals courts.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 |
A9
BUSINESS
FCC may scrap open internet access rules By Ryan Nakashima and Michael Liedtke A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
MENLO PARK, Calif. — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission set out Tuesday to scrap rules around open internet access, a move that would allow giant cable and telecom companies to throttle broadband speeds and favor their own services if they wish. Ajit Pai followed through on a pledge to try to repeal "net neutrality" regulations enacted under the Obama administration. The current rules treat internet service providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon as if they were utility companies that provide essential services, like electricity. The rules mandate that they give equal access to all online content and apps. Pai said those rules discourage investments that could provide even better and faster online access. Instead, he said new rules would force ISPs to be
transparent about their services and management policies, and then would let the market decide. “Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet,” Pai said in a statement. Pai distributed his alternative plan to other FCC commissioners Tuesday in preparation for a Dec. 14 vote. Pai promised to release his entire proposal Wednesday. Although the FCC’s two Democrats said they will oppose the proposal, the repeal is likely to prevail as Republicans dominate 3-2. The vote for net neutrality in 2015 was also along party lines, but Democrats dominated then. Equal treatment for all web traffic has been a fundamental principle of the internet since its creation but companies have increasingly put their thumb on the scales of access. AT&T, for example, doesn’t count use of its streaming service DirecTV Now against wireless data caps,
potentially making it seem cheaper to its cellphone customers than rival TV services. Rivals would have to pay AT&T for that privilege. Regulators, consumer advocates and some tech companies are concerned that repealing net neutrality will give ISPs even more power to block or slow down rival offerings. A repeal also opens the ability for ISPs to charge a company like Netflix for a faster path to its customers. Allowing this paid-priority market to exist could skew prices and create winners and losers among fledgling companies that require a high-speed connection to end users. Pai, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said in an interview on Fox News Radio that Trump did not have any input on his proposal. Asked whether deregulation would result in higher prices and put speedy internet access out of the reach of blue-collar Americans, Pai said “it’s
going to mean exactly the opposite.” “These heavy-handed regulations have made it harder for the private sector to build out the networks especially in rural America,” Pai said. In a Wall Street Journal editorial published Tuesday, Pai cited a report by a nonprofit think tank, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, that said investment by the dozen largest ISPs fell about 2 percent from 2015 to 2016, to $61 billion. The group didn’t link the drop solely to the stiffer rules introduced in 2015. The attempt to repeal net neutrality has triggered protests from consumer groups and internet companies. A data firm called Emprata that was backed by a telecom industry group found in August that after filtering out form letters, the overwhelming majority of comments to the FCC — about 1.8 million — favored net neutrality, compared with just 24,000 who supported its repeal.
Technology, health markets help set records By Marley Jay A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — The market’s biggest winners this year, technology and health care, powered U.S. stock indexes to more all-time highs on Tuesday. Huge technology companies like Apple and Facebook continued their ascent, while strong reports from companies including medical device maker Medtronic and construction and technical services company Jacobs Engineering helped health care and industrial companies, respectively. Basic materials companies, which have done better than the rest of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, also rose. Telecommunications companies declined, while energy companies and banks didn’t do as well as the rest
CHARGES From page A1 On Sept. 27, Mendoza, Avila, Escobedo, Espinoza and Pineda were indicted for possession of marijuana over 2,000 pounds, a firstdegree felony. All six mem-
of the market. Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, the five most valuable companies on the stock market, all rose more than 1 percent, and they’ve all had a very strong year. JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said that’s not about to stop. “They’re seeing better earnings, better sales, better growth,” he said. “It’s difficult to argue with that.” The S&P 500 index climbed 16.89 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,599.03. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 160.50 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,590.83. The Nasdaq composite added 71.76 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,862.48. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose for a fourth day and picked up 15.49 points, or 1
percent, to 1,518.89. All four indexes set records. The Russell had struggled in recent weeks, but on Tuesday it beat its record close from early October. Big-name technology companies lead the way overall. Apple rose $3.16, or 1.9 percent, to $173.14 and Facebook added $3.12, or 1.7 percent, to $181.86. Health care companies climbed as well. Those two sectors are the best-performing parts of the market this year. Homebuilders climbed after the National Association of Realtors said sales of homes grew in October. They’re down slightly from last year because there are so few houses on the market, but the tight supply and rising prices have sent homebuilder stocks soaring this year. On Tuesday, NVR advanced $59.69, or 1.8 percent, to $3,377, while
D.R. Horton gained $1.15, or 2.4 percent, to $49.35. Along with those reports, investors were cheered by projections from Goldman Sachs analyst David Kostin, who forecast that the S&P 500 will rise 14 percent in 2018 if corporate taxes are cut. Kostin, who didn’t think stocks would rise that much this year, now says the bull market could last three more years, with continued economic growth and lower taxes taking the S&P 500 to 3,100 by the end of 2020. Kinahan, of TD Ameritrade, said the potential tax cuts might help stocks in another way: usually, investors might sell some of their holdings after a better-than-expected year like this one. But right now, they’re not sure what their taxes will look like in 2018.
bers, including Vela, were subsequently indicted for conspiracy to possess marijuana, a second-degree felony. Additionally, a grand jury in the 406th District Court returned a separate indictment for Vela with unlawful possession of a firearm, a
third-degree felony. This criminal investigation developed into a multiagency task force. The Webb County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Border Prosecution Unit participated in the investigation as well. To date, two indictments
charging six people with felony charges are scheduled for trial in the 406th District Court. Both Mendoza and Vela were arraigned Tuesday. This operation continues. Assistant District Attorney Jack Frels is prosecuting the case for the State.
Alan Diaz / AP
A house is for sale in Coral Gables, Florida. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reported sales of existing homes in October.
Home sales rise as hurricane impact wanes By Christopher Rugaber ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Americans bought more homes last month, as sales snapped back in hurricane-hit Texas and Florida. Yet the market is still suffering from a dwindling supply of available homes. Sales rose 2 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s the fastest pace since June. Still, sales have slipped 0.9 percent from a year ago. The number of available homes has fallen 10.4 percent from a year earlier to just 1.8 million. That’s the lowest for any October since the Realtors began tracking the data in 1999. The tight supply is pushing up prices and thwarting many would-be home buyers. The median home price jumped 5.5 percent in October from a year earlier. And homes were on the market for just 34 days, down from 41 a year ago. The supply crunch is particularly acute among lower-priced homes. Builders are putting up more expensive houses to maximize profits. “Selection is slim across the board, driving up prices, but even more so for those seeking less expensive and entry-level homes,” Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, said. “Currently, roughly half of what’s available to buy is priced in the upper one-third of home
values, leaving scant options for those aging millennials and young families trying to get their foot in the door.” Buyers closed more deals in Houston, Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as other areas damaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. Sales were still recovering in Miami and other areas in south Florida. Steady hiring and still-low mortgage rates are boosting demand, spurring healthy traffic at open houses, Yun said. Yet many Americans are reluctant to sell their houses with so few alternatives available, which perpetuates the cycle of low inventory. Home builders will have to step up construction to relieve the supply crunch, economists say. Home construction jumped nearly 14 percent last month as building activity recovered from the hurricanes. But construction rose just 2.4 percent from a year ago. That’s not nearly enough to offset the decline in existing homes for sale. The number of homes for sale has fallen more than 200,000 in the past year. Yet homebuilders started work on just 75,000 single-family homes last month. With the unemployment rate at a 17-year low, builders complain that they can’t find enough workers to start more projects. Many also say that zoning rules in some cities limit the amount of available land.
A10 | Wednesday, November 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
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