The Zapata Times 11/29/2017

TEXANS LOSE ANOTHER GAME HOUSTON’S PLAYOFF HOPES DWINDLING, A7

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SAN YGNACIO, TEXAS

NAFTA

History lives on at restored ranch Brett Gundlock / Bloomberg

Demonstrators hold a banner and flags during a protest against the North American Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.

Wage gap is actually widening

By Eric Martin and Nacha Cattan BL OOMBERG NEWS

Billy Calzada / San Antonio Express-News file

The Treviño-Uribe Ranch fort was built in 1830 in San Ygnacio and has survived largely intact as a rare example of Mexican vernacular architecture. It will be open to the public to tour on Dec. 3.

Treviño-Uribe fort set to open as museum

By Julia Wallace LA R ED O MORNI NG T IME S

Those who visit the Treviño-Uribe Rancho fort in San Ygnacio have many tiny details to catalog.

It’s a seemingly simple sandstone structure. There’s a couple of kitchens, two bedrooms, a parlor room, a courtyard. Dirt floors, dusty walls, empty rooms.

But this home’s oldest parts were finished in 1830, and it was continuously inhabited until the last person who lived there died more than 160 years later.

So there are signatures of life if you know where to look. In one of the bedrooms, a mason carved into the sandstone an equilateral triangle split into four. And a ceiling beam in the old parlor room is dated: Dec. 3, 1871.

This has turned out to be an important date for the fort, not just because it is inscribed, but because on Dec. 3, 2017, this gem of historic Mexican

NAFTA continues on A5

ABORTION LEGISLATION

Billy Calzada / San Antonio Express-News file

Restoration expert Frank Briscoe examines a door at the Treviño-Uribe Ranch fort in this Sept. 15, 2016 file photo.

Ranch vernacular architecture will open to the public as a museum for the first time.

The River Pierce Foundation In the ‘80s, an acclaimed contempo-

rary artist named Michael Tracy took up a long residency in San Ygnacio to work in quiet isolation. In 1989, he founded the River Pierce Foundation.

Tracy’s idea was to bring artists to

The Air Force acknowledged Tuesday that it failed to report at least dozens of service members charged or convicted of serious assault to a federal gun background-check database, negligence that allowed Texas church gunman Devin Kelley to purchase weapons used in killings inside a Texas church this month.

Kelley should have been barred from purchasing firearms and body armor because of his domestic-violence conviction in 2014 while serving at Holloman Air Force Base in New

chase a rifle and another firearm he used to kill more than two dozen churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Tex., on Nov. 5.

Air Force spokesman Ann Stefanek said Tuesday that the failure to follow Pentagon guidelines to report Kelley’s crimes to the FBI was “not an isolated incident and similar reporting lapses occurred at other locations.”

It is unclear how many installations beyond Holloman have experienced problems with submitting criminal information to civilian authorities, she said.

The Air Force’s disclosure comes the same day Joe and Claryce Hol-

By Chuck Lindell COX NEWSPAPERS

Mexico. But his crimes were not properly documented in the FBI National Crime Information Center database.

The lapse allowed Kelley to purShooting continues on A5

Abortion continues on A8

Museum continues on A8

Air Force failed to report violent service members WA S H INGT ON P O ST

State of Texas is ground zero in legal battles AUSTIN — The Texas Legislature is among the most aggressive in the nation when it comes to regulating the practice of abortion, churning out a steady stream of laws since 2011 that have been met with an equally aggressive legal response by abortion providers.

The result is a well-worn path between the Capitol and the federal courts, leading most recently to U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s decision last week to strike down a Texas law limiting the most common second-trimester procedure.

It was the seventh time this decade that a federal judge has blocked an abortion-related law or regulation that had been championed by the state’s Republican leaders, putting Texas in a familiar position — ground zero in the abortion wars. “Texas is certainly one of the most active states when it comes to anti-abortion legislation,” said Molly Duane, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which has filed five lawsuits against Texas this decade, including the challenge to the second-trimester law.

“It’s fair to characterize Texas as one of the most restrictive states when it comes to regulating abortion out of existence,” Duane said.

State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, has been a leading advocate for tighter restrictions on abortion since he entered the Texas House in 2003.

The success in passing laws this decade was the result of strong Republican majorities in the Legislature and committed opposition to abortion by

TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTING

By Alex Horton

What’s the opposite of a growth miracle?

Whatever the term, it applies in spades to Mexico in the NAFTA era.

Poor countries are expected to grow faster than rich ones, and they need to. Trade agreements are supposed to help. Yet by almost any benchmark — certainly the ones trumpeted by the deal’s architects a quarter-century ago — the Mexican economy’s performance has been dismal.

Growth of 2.5 percent a year since 1994 is less than half the developing-world average. It’s pretty much the same as the U.S. and Canada.

But even that’s misleading. Because Mexico’s population expands much faster, the economic pie has to be divided among more and more people. So the average Mexican earns less today, relative to U.S. and Canadian peers, than before NAFTA. “The main idea was to promote convergence in wages and standards of living,’’ said Gerardo Esquivel, an economics professor at the Colegio de Mexico. “That has not been achieved.’’ And what meager growth there’s been, says Esquivel, has mostly gone to “the upper part of the distribution.’’

File photos / AFP/Getty Images

These two photos show 26-year-old Devin Kelley who walked into the church in Sutherland Springs with an assault rifle on November 5, killing 26 people and wounding 20 more. The US Air Force said on Tuesday it has found several dozen cases where it failed to report military convictions to civilian police.

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29

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. 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 Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images

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 (all-inclusive). Register at www.rgisc.org.

US First Lady Melania Trump makes garland with children in the East Wing as she tours holiday decorations at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday.

FIRST LADY GOES WITH CLASSIC DECOR WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump has opted for a more traditional decor for her family’s first Christmas in the White House, adding a few new touches to the standards.

New this year are wreaths hanging from the exterior of every window. Another new touch are glistening wintry branches lining an East Wing hallway that leads guests to a tree decorated with the Trump family’s official Christmas ornament, a gold-toned bauble featuring the presidential coat of arms surrounded by a wreath of holly.

The family Christmas card is framed and on display. “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” says the card signed by President Donald Trump, the first lady and Barron, their 11-year-old son.

Among the Christmas standards is an 18-foot fir tree in its traditional spot in the Blue Room, decorated with ornaments bearing the seals of every state and U.S. territory.

The 350-pound gingerbread house this year offers a view of the White House from the south. — Compiled from AP reports

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. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

Judge sides with Trump’s pick to take over consumer agency WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump scored a victory Tuesday when a federal judge refused to block the president’s choice to temporarily run the nation’s top consumer financial watchdog and, for the moment, ended a two-way battle for leadership of the agency.

Judge Timothy Kelly declined

to stop the Republican president from putting Mick Mulvaney in place as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In doing so, Kelly ruled against Leandra English, the bureau’s deputy director, who had requested an emergency restraining order to stop Mulvaney from becoming the acting director.

Mulvaney and English had claimed to be the rightful acting director, each citing different federal laws. The leadership crisis developed over the weekend after the bureau’s perma-

nent director, Richard Cordray, resigned and appointed English as his successor. Shortly afterward, the White House announced that Mulvaney, currently budget director, would take over the bureau on an interim basis.

The judge’s ruling Tuesday is not the final decision in the case. But in making his decision, the judge said that English had not shown a substantial likelihood that she eventually would succeed on the merits of her case. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD

SATURDAY, FEB. 3 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.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3 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.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 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.

SATURDAY, MAY 5 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.

North Korea launches ICBM in longest-range test SEOUL, South Korea — After 2 1/2 months of relative peace, North Korea launched its most powerful weapon yet early Wednesday, a presumed intercontinental ballistic missile that could put Washington and the entire eastern U.S. seaboard within range.

Resuming its torrid testing pace in pursuit of its goal of a viable arsenal of nucleartipped missiles that can hit the U.S. mainland had been widely expected, but the apparent power and suddenness of the new test still jolted the Korean Peninsula and Washington.

The launch at 3:17 a.m. local time and midday in the U.S. capital indicated an effort to perfect the element of surprise and to obtain maximum attention in the United States.

The firing is a clear message of defiance aimed at the

SATURDAY, JUNE 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.

SATURDAY, JULY 7 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.

SATURDAY, AUG. 4 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave.

Lee Jin-man / AP

A man watches a TV screen showing a local news program reporting North Korea's missile launch Wednesday.

Trump administration, which had just restored the North to a U.S. list of terror sponsors. It also ruins nascent diplomatic efforts, raises fears of war or a pre-emptive U.S. strike and casts a deeper shadow over the security of the Winter Olympics early next year in South Korea.

A rattled Seoul responded by almost immediately launch-

ing three of its own missiles in a show of force. The South’s president, Moon Jae-in, expressed worry that North Korea’s growing missile threat could force the United States to attack the North before it masters a nuclear-tipped longrange missile, something experts say may be imminent. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Texas Congressman Joe Barton draws GOP challenger after nude photo surfaces on social media AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Congressman Joe Barton has drawn a Republican primary challenger a week after a nude photo of him circulated on social media.

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2017. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 29, 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews; 33 members, including the United States, voted in favor of the resolution, 13 voted against while 10 abstained. (The plan, rejected by the Arabs, was never implemented.)

On this date: In 1890, the first Army-Navy football game was played at West Point, New York; Navy defeated Army, 24-0.

The Imperial Diet, forerunner of Japan's current national legislature, opened its first session.

In 1924, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels before he could complete his opera "Turandot."

(It was finished by Franco Alfano.)

In 1956, the musical comedy "Bells Are Ringing," starring Judy Holliday, opened on Broadway.

In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.

In 1967, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced he was leaving the Johnson administration to become president of the World Bank.

In 1972, the coin-operated video arcade game Pong, created by Atari, made its debut at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California.

In 1981, actress Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.

In 1986, actor Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, at age 82.

In 1987, a Korean Air 707 jetliner en route from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents with the loss of all 115 people aboard.

In 1991, 17 people were killed in a 164-vehicle pileup during a dust storm on Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. Actor Ralph Bellamy died in Santa Monica, California, at age 87.

In 2001, George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle," died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

Ten years ago: A court in Sudan convicted British teacher Gillian Gibbons of insulting Islam for letting her pupils name a teddy bear "Muhammad" and sentenced her to 15 days in prison. (Gibbons was pardoned after spending more than a week in custody; she then left the country.)

Five years ago: President Barack Obama had lunch with defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the White House's private dining room; the White House says they discussed America's leadership in the world.

One year ago: President-elect Donald Trump continued to fill out his Cabinet, choosing former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as secretary of the Treasury Department, Georgia Rep. Tom Price to oversee the nation's health care system, and Elaine Chao, a former labor secretary and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to lead the Department of Transportation.

Today's Birthdays: Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 90. Former French President Jacques Chirac is 85.

Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 84. Actress Diane Ladd is 82. Songwriter Mark James is 77. Composermusician Chuck Mangione is 77. Country singer Jody Miller is 76. Pop singermusician Felix Cavaliere is 75. Former Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 71. Actor Jeff Fahey is 65. Movie director Joel Coen is 63. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 62. Former Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano is 60. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is 58. Actress Cathy Moriarty is 57. Actress Kim Delaney is 56. Actor Tom Sizemore is 56. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 55. Actor Don Cheadle is 53. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 52. Musician Wallis Buchanan is 52. Pop singer Jonathan Knight is 49. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 49. Actress Jennifer Elise Cox is 48. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 47. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 47. Actress Paola Turbay is 47. Contemporary Christian singer Crowder is 46. Actress Gena Lee Nolin is 46. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 45.

Actor Julian Ovenden is 42. Actress Anna Faris is 41. Gospel singer James Fortune is 40. Actress Lauren German is 39. Rapper The Game is 38. Actress Janina Gavankar is 37. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 36. Actor-comedian John Milhiser is 36. Actor Lucas Black is 35. Actor Diego Boneta is 27. Actress Lovie Simone (TV: "Greenleaf") is 19.

Thought for Today: "If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime."

— Jack Kerouac, American author (1922-1969).

CONTACT US Jake Ellzey, a retired Naval combat pilot and member of the Texas Veterans Commission, filed paperwork Tuesday.

The 68-year-old Barton, from Ennis, south of Dallas, announced his re-election campaign last month. An explicit picture of him appeared on Twitter last week.

The Washington Post has reported that Barton told a woman that he would complain to U.S. Capitol Police if photographs and other materi-

al from their relationship were made public.

Texas law prohibits posting explicit material of someone without permission.

Tim O’Hare, Republican Party chairman in Barton’s home county of Tarrant, said in a statement Tuesday that the congressman shouldn’t seek re-election and should retire by year’s end. — Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 |

Death row inmate gets reprieve A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A 36-year-old Texas prisoner set for execution next month for a robbery-slaying in San Antonio 14 years ago has won a reprieve.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has sent Juan Castillo’s appeal back to his Bexar County trial court to review arguments from defense attorneys that a witness presented false testimony at Castillo’s 2005 trial.

Castillo was set for

lethal injection Dec. 14 for the December 2003 fatal shooting of 19-yearold Tommy Garcia Jr. in an ambush robbery plot that also involved Castillo’s girlfriend and two others.

Castillo’s attorneys argue a Bexar County jail inmate who testified against Castillo now says he made up his testimony to try to help his own legal problems. Prosecutors opposing the reprieve said testimony from other witnesses corroborated the inmate’s testimony.

Five killed in 3-vehicle collision in rural west A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ANDREWS, Texas — Five people have been killed in a three-vehicle collision in West Texas.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says its troopers were sent to the crash scene Sunday night at an intersection on the desert outskirts of Andrews, Texas, about 35 miles northwest of Odessa.

A DPS statement Tuesday said 27-year-old Augustin Lujan ran a stop sign in his Ford Mustang

and slammed into the side of a northbound semitrailer, pushing it into a southbound F-150 pickup truck.

Lujan died at an Odessa hospital while the semitrailer driver, 51-yearold Juan Ramirez, died at the scene. All three occupants of the F-150, 51-yearold Silverio Gonzales, 42-year-old Maria Cepeda-Orona and 7-year-old Allison Gonzales, also died at the scene.

The relationship of the F-150’s occupants was unclear.

A3

Theft suspect shot inside mall may have been suicidal ASSOCIATED PRE SS

ARLINGTON, Texas — Police say a shoplifting suspect shot when he pointed a pellet gun at an officer at a busy Dallas-area shopping mall may have been suicidal.

An Arlington police

spokesman says 21year-old William Paul Dodd was a convicted Dodd felon and known offender who made a 911

call Sunday in which he threatened to kill officers.

Police Lt. Christopher Cook says officers tracked the man inside The Parks at Arlington later Sunday after he was accused of stealing sunglasses at a store inside

the mall. Cook says the man pulled a replica handgun from his waistband and was shot by an officer.

Authorities say no one else was injured. Cook says Dodd is hospitalized under sedation in critical condition.

Former nurse pleads guilty in jail inmate’s death ASSOCIATED PRE SS

TEXARKANA, Texas — A former nurse who refused medical treatment to a Texas jail inmate who later died has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent homicide.

Brittany Danae Johnson, 27, was charged after 20-year-old Morgan Angerbauer died in July 2016 at the jail in Texarkana, a town along the Arkansas border. She will serve about three months jail.

An autopsy determined Angerbauer died

of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that results from blood sugar reaching severely high levels.

Johnson’s attorney, Jeff Harrelson, initially said she was willing to plead “no contest” to negligent homicide. But the judge declined to accept a plea other than guilty, the Texarkana Gazette reported . Johnson pleaded guilty on Monday.

Court records allege Angerbauer asked Johnson to check her blood sugar but Johnson refused, saying jail staff members were in charge

of deciding when medical attention was needed.

Angerbauer was found unconscious in her cell early the next morning.

A police affidavit states Johnson “admitted that she was fully aware of the severity of Angerbauer’s medical diabetic situation, but rather than treat her, she told her that ‘things don’t work that way. If you miss your medical call, you have to wait until it’s time for your next medical call.”’

One jail staff member testified that he told

Johnson they should immediately call for emergency help, but that Johnson refused for more than a half hour. Angerbauer was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

“She was lying on the floor of her cell with no blanket in her own vomit,” said Jennifer Houser, Angerbauer’s mother, in a victim impact statement. “You refused to treat my child when you could have saved her.”

Records with the Texas Nursing Board show Johnson’s nursing license has been suspended.

Couple blames Air Force for church shooting, files claim

By Juan A. Lozano ASSOCIATED PRE SS

HOUSTON — A couple whose son was among eight members of one family killed in a Texas church shooting has filed a legal claim with the U.S. Air Force,

saying the military branch is partly to blame.

Joe Holcombe and his wife Claryce say the Air Force’s failure to report the gunman’s criminal history to an FBI database used to check backgrounds of gun buyers

helped cause the Nov. 5 shooting in Sutherland Springs that left more than two dozen dead.

They filed the claim Tuesday in their 60-yearold son Bryan Holcombe’s death. It could lead to a lawsuit if the Air Force denies it was at

fault.

Joe Holcombe says the Air Force made a “very serious mistake” and he doesn’t want it to happen again.

An Air Force spokeswoman didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Zopinion

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A4 | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

The biggest tax scam ever

By Paul Krugman N EW YORK T I ME S

Donald Trump likes to declare that every good thing that happens while he’s in office — job growth, rising stock prices, whatever — is the biggest, greatest, best ever. Then the factcheckers weigh in and quickly determine that the claim is false.

But what’s happening in the Senate right now really does deserve Trumpian superlatives.

The bill Republican leaders are trying to ram through this week without hearings, without time for even a basic analysis of its likely economic impact, is the biggest tax scam in history. It’s such a big scam that it’s not even clear who’s being scammed — middle-class taxpayers, people who care about budget deficits, or both.

One thing is clear, however: One way or another, the bill would hurt most Americans.

The only big winners would be the wealthy — especially those who mainly collect income from their assets rather than working for a living — plus tax lawyers and accountants who would have a field day exploiting the many loopholes the legislation creates.

The core of the bill is a huge redistribution of income from lower- and middle-income families to corporations and business owners. Corporate tax rates go down sharply, while ordinary families are nickel-and-dimed by a series of tax changes, no one of which is that big a deal in itself, but which add up to significant tax increases on almost two-thirds of middle-class taxpayers.

Meanwhile, the bill would partially repeal Obamacare, in a way that would sharply reduce aid to lower-income families and raise the cost of insurance for many in the middle class.

You might wonder how such a thing could possibly pass the Senate.

But that’s where the scamming comes in.

While the underlying structure of the bill involves raising taxes on the middle class, the bill also includes a number of temporary tax breaks that would, at first, offset these tax increases. As a result, in the first few years most middle-class families would see modest tax cuts.

But the operative word here is “temporary.” All of these tax breaks either dwindle over time or are scheduled to expire at some point; by 2027 the bill is, as I said, a tax increase on the middle class used to pay for tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy.

Why would anyone write a bill full of provisions that evaporate over time? There’s no economic or policy logic behind it. Instead, it’s all about trying to have it both ways, making a safe space for political double talk.

Here’s how it works: If you point out that the bill hugely favors the wealthy at the expense of ordinary families, Republicans will point to the next few years, when the class-war nature of the plan is obscured by those temporary tax breaks — and claim that whatever the language of the law says, those tax

The core of the bill is a huge redistribution of income from lower- and middle-income families to corporations and business owners.

breaks will actually be made permanent by later Congresses.

But if you point out that the bill is fiscally irresponsible, they’ll say that it “only” raises the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade and doesn’t raise deficits at all after that — because, you see, those tax breaks will expire by 2027, so the tax hikes will raise a lot of revenue. By the way, the claim that middle-class taxes will rise is crucial to passing the bill: Only bills that don’t raise deficits after 10 years can bypass the filibuster and be enacted by a simple Senate majority.

The point, of course, is that these claims can’t both be true. Either this bill is a big tax hike on the middle class, or it’s a huge budget-buster.

Which is it? Nobody really knows; probably even the people who wrote this monstrosity don’t know. But someone is being scammed, bigly.

Oh, and ignore claims that tax cuts for corporations would jump-start the economy and pay for themselves. Of the 42 ideologically diverse economists surveyed by the University of Chicago on the impact of Republican tax plans, only one agreed that they would lead to substantial economic growth, while none disagreed with the proposition that they would substantially increase U.S. debt.

So it’s a giant scam.

And while the exact nature of the scam may be unclear, ordinary American families would end up being the victims either way.

For suppose those temporary tax breaks did end up becoming permanent, so that the budget deficit soared on a longterm basis. Then what?

You know the answer: Republicans would suddenly revert to the pretense that they’re deficit hawks, and demand “entitlement reform” — that is, cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, programs that ordinary families depend on. In fact, they’re already talking about those cuts — they’ve started the switch even before getting the suckers to take the bait.

So will they manage to pull off this giant con job? The reason they’re rushing this to the Senate floor without a single hearing, without a full assessment from Congress’s own official scorekeepers, is their hope that they can pass the thing before people figure out what they’re up to.

And the question is whether there are enough Republican senators with principles, who believe that policies should not be sold with lies, to stop this bum’s rush.

Paul Krugman is a columnist for the New York Times.

COLUMN

What now with the lethal North Korean mess?

By Andrew Malcolm SPECIAL TO MCCLATCHY

Economic sanctions on misbehaving nations such as North Korea haven’t worked. So, perhaps more of them will.

That’s pretty much where the Trump administration and its Asian allies are right now as they continue a decadeslong international effort to halt that recalcitrant rogue regime’s rapidlyadvancing nuclear weapons development program.

In recent years, sanctions against countries, individuals and companies have become the go-to political ploy for Western nations needing another press release to appear to show they’re really doing something to rein in another country.

President Donald Trump laid more of them on Pyongyang the other day.

The toughest ever, he said, while strengthening U.S. military forces in the area.

Trump also finally restored North Korea to the list of nations officially sponsoring terrorism.

A list it never should have left in 2008 by the hands of George W. Bush.

Here’s the problem: Asian nations, friend and foe alike, have been around for millennia.

They know U.S. administrations - and their policies - come and go in a few years. So they ignore threats, nod politely or simply wait out the tough talk. Back in the mid-’70’s Jimmy Carter was alarmed by growing trade deficits with Japan. He waged word wars against Tokyo trade policies. It didn’t work.

Now, it’s Trump’s turn.

Sanctions are supposed

to inflict such economic pain on their targets that the misbehaving nation and its leaders change course to make them stop. President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on Russia and Putin aides in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea and inciting Ukrainian insurrection.

Obama claimed the restrictions hurt Russia’s economy and ruble. True, they did. Trouble is, that wasn’t the goal. The goal was to change Putin’s policies. And that’s totally failed. Same for Obama sanctions on Syria and its dictator Bashar al-Assad, which even included freezing his British-born wife’s credit cards. Assad used poison gas on Syrians at least twice this year.

Now, Trump officials say sanctions are hurting North Korea’s economy.

The result? North Korea has launched 10 percent more missile tests this year so far.

But wait! Maybe the sanctions aren’t the problem. Maybe the problem is actually inconsistent Western policy patterns toward the North. Policies that appear to Western eyes to punish and look tough in its media but actually over time tacitly acquiesce to the North’s recalcitrance and incremental drive to acquire a nuclear arsenal.

In 1988, Pyongyang was labeled a state sponsor of terror for downing a South Korean airliner killing 115 and assassinating Seoul diplomats in Burma.

Does 1988 sound familiar? Twenty-nine years ago last week a Libyan bomb downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 243.

Longtime strongman Muammar Gadaffi later paid compensation to families and, in return for Western promises of forgiveness, also relinquished his flourishing nuclear weapons program.

Gadaffi’s reward? Obama joined European forces to overthrow the Libyan leader in October 2011. A mob tore him apart.

Nine weeks later, another coincidence. Kim Jung-un became North Korea’s dictator. Think maybe he noticed Western duplicity?

Under a succession of ruthless Kims since the early ’90’s the impoverished North agreed to rein in its weapons programs in return for economic goodies like foods and a winter’s-worth of heating oil.

Under a succession of hopeful and painfully patient U.S. presidents unwilling to display a credible threat of force, the North’s program has continued to progress to such a point that Washington intelligence officials now estimate Kim’s nuclear missiles could reach the U.S. mainland as early as next year.

Inevitably, the Communist regime was caught serial cheating, lured back to the table with further concessions, then renewed its cheating. It’s exported missiles and rockets to Iran. Kim’s regime has kidnapped Japanese, abducted Americans and bombarded South Korean islands and boats.

In February using a banned nerve agent, Kim agents in Malaysia assassinated his exiled elder brother, rumored as a possible puppet replace-

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ment if the current Kim was ousted.

In 2007, the North helped Syria build a nuclear reactor for weapons development. The U.S. declined to do anything.

Israel bombed it into rubble.

Just nine months later President Bush erased the North off the terror list, vainly hoping once more to encourage change. "If North Korea continues to make the right choices," Bush said, "it can repair its relationship with the international community."Continues?

While appealing to China for stricter sanctions help, Trump has said he will not allow this country to become a hostage to Kim’s nuclear threats. The dictatorship, he said, must stop supporting international terrorism and "end its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile development."

Months away from the North’s calculated capability to hit the U.S. mainland, three American carrier strike groups, including nuclear subs, now cruise the Western Pacific with allies, a rare occurrence certainly representing a credible force.

While saying he much prefers a diplomatic solution, the American commander-in-chief has stressed an end to a quarter-century’s worth of ineffective "strategic patience," meaning U.S. administrations have finally run out of street to kick the North Korean can down.

Andrew Malcolm is an author and correspondent for McClatchy Washington Bureau.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 |

A5

FROM THE COVER NAFTA From page A1 For an emerging market, Mexico has an impressive collection of billionaires, including the world’s sixth-richest man. Its poverty rate, meanwhile, is still around early-1990s levels — more than half the population, encompassing a permanent class of the underemployed.

Crime and corruption are rampant.

All this poses a problem for the U.S., especially now that Donald Trump’s in charge. Mexico’s glacial economy means there’s still a lively incentive for the things Trump hates: the flow of underpaid Mexican labor northwards, and American factories the other way. No wonder, as his trade team trudges through round after round of renegotiation, that the U.S. president is still threatening to blow up the pact altogether.

It’s a much more urgent matter for Mexicans. And they’ll have a chance to do something about it in presidential elections next year. The early frontrunner, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, says he’ll usher in a new economic model. What role NAFTA would play in that, if any, remains vague.

In Mexico’s policy circles, there’s little inclination to blame NAFTA. Some point out that, while the economy clearly hasn’t boomed, it’s at least avoided the busts that sunk several Latin neighbors in the last two decades. Others say the trade pact couldn’t be expected to solve deep-seated problems on its own.

“To hold NAFTA responsible for overall growth in Mexico is putting too much weight into NAFTA,” central bank Governor Agustin Carstens said in an interview on Monday. “It’s a very important ele-

ment,” he said. “But Mexico needs to take care of many different assignments in other areas to make the Mexican economy more productive and really exploit our full capacities to grow.”

Still, there’s broad consensus among economists that the promises made by Presidents Carlos Salinas and Bill Clinton at the dawn of NAFTA haven’t been fulfilled. Rapidly expanding trade with the world’s biggest economy hasn’t been a panacea.

Or even, some say, a paracetamol.

“Mexico’s basic mistake was to assume that integrating into the world economy, and the U.S. market in particular, would suffice,’’ said Dani Rodrik, an economics professor at Harvard University. “Other aspects of development strategy were ignored.’’

SHOOTING From page A1 combe, members of a family ravaged by the shooting, filed a civil damages claim against the service. They’ve alleged its failure to report Kelley’s criminal background led to their loved ones’ slayings. Their son Bryan was killed in the church, along with seven other family members that included children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, in addition to a future great-grandchild.

The dozens of reporting failures are only a segment of 60,000 potential cases in a review ordered

by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff David Goldfein. A team of 30 investigators is sifting through each case and retroactively submitting incidents of crimes such as domestic violence and sexual as-

sault that preclude offenders from purchasing firearms under a federal law meant to curb violence against spouses.

Kelley spent a year in a military brig for crushing his young stepson’s skull and assaulting his wife, resulting in his bad-conduct discharge from the Air Force.

Officials point to “training and compliance” gaps, rather than proper reporting procedures, as the key problem in the submission of criminal information. Several measures were newly established to confirm that reports have been submitted, Stefanek said, such as requiring the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to print out or take a screen shot of a confirmation from the FBI database.

It will take months to complete the review, Stefanek said. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered similar reviews across the

military to determine whether similar problems exist among other services.

Those problems go back two decades. In 1997, an internal review found the military was “not consistently submitting criminal history data to the FBI criminal history files.” The Pentagon’s inspector general review found a mostly unused notification system meant to alert federal law enforcement about crimes committed by troops that would lead to prohibition of the purchase of firearms, such as Kelley’s domestic-violence convictions.

The Army and Navy failed in more than 80 percent of cases to forward FBI fingerprint-card files to the bureau. The Air Force failed to send them in 38 percent of cases. The probe concluded that the services were plagued by unclear direc-

tives from the Defense Department on how and when to submit the forms.

A review in 2015 found an improvement of reporting rates, with 30 percent of the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps failing to submit fingerprint cards and final case outcome reports to the FBI. The Army was not evaluated, because of limited data, the report said.

Yet the Air Force had other opportunities to help the FBI keep guns out of the hand of Kelley.

Despite the severity of his crimes, Kelley received a discharge one step below a dishonorable discharge.

A dishonorable discharge would have also barred him from purchasing firearms, but a decision to try him by a jury, which military law experts say often leads to more-lenient punishments than a judge would deliver, may have contributed to his relatively light sentence.

Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE DIF Guerrero 1 Las personas que reciben beneficios del DIF Nueva Ciudad Guerrero pueden pasar el día de hoy 29 de noviembre en horario de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. por paquetes de despensas.

1 Tradicional bingo el 29 de noviembre a partir de las 4 p.m. en las instalaciones del DIF Nueva Ciudad Guerrero ubicado en la Avenida Eisenhower

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.

Bingo a beneficio 1 Bingo a beneficio del Zapata Mariachi Booster Club el domingo 3 de diciembre a las 2 p.m. en el Zapata County Pavilion. Donación de 10 dólares por tres cartas.

LAREDO

ZAPATA

Policía busca Dos son acusados de heridas a niño de 2 años hombre

Abuso de menor Por César G. Rodriguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un menor de dos años de edad mostraba señales físicas de abuso, incluyendo lo que parecían ser marcas de quemaduras de cigarro en diferentes partes del cuerpo, de acuerdo con una querella criminal obtenida el lunes.

La policía de Laredo había puesto recientemente una búsqueda por Mario Enrique Estrada, de 37 años de edad. Él fue arrestado el jueves. La policía primero arrestó a la madre del menor, Alexis Ramírez, a principios de este mes. Cada uno se enfrenta al cargo de heridas a menor.

Registros de custodia muestran a Ramírez y a Estrada libres bajo fianza.

El caso data del 5 de marzo, cuando la policía respondió a un reporte de herida a menor en el Laredo Medical Center. Un

doctor de la sala de emergencia indicó que Ramírez llegó al hospital con su hijo de 2 Estrada años de edad con “múltiples heridas serias no accidentales”.

Las heridas incluían un “sangrado nuevo al interior del cerebro” y “heridas en sanación de sangrado de cerebro” que eran consistentes con traumatismo por objeto contundente en la cabeza, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

“El menor también tenía múltiples heridas circulares visibles en la cabeza, piernas, espalda y muslos. Estas heridas eran consistentes con el tipo de marcas por quemaduras que se forman si un cigarrillo encendido es puesto contra la piel”, indica la querella.

La policía dijo que el

supuestamente dijo que el menor había estado bajo el cuidado de la familia de Ramírez en Nuevo Laredo, México.

En marzo, la policía cuestionó a Ramírez de nuevo. Ella indicó que había mentido cuando dijo que vivía sola. Ella dijo que ella y Estrada mintieron cuando dijeron que el menor se quedaba con familiares en México, dice la querella.

“Ramírez indicó que ella y Estrada accedieron a decir que el menor había estado en México, y que no sabían de las heridas del menor para no meterse en problemas con las fuerzas del orden y Servicios Protectores de Menores”, dice la querella.

Ramírez dijo que cada vez que llegaba a casa del trabajo, ella notaba un “moretón nuevo” en el menor después de dejar al niño con Estrada, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

TAMAULIPAS

Desfile de Navidad 1 El Desfile de Navidad y la iluminación de la Plaza del Condado se realizarán el jueves 7 de diciembre, los tres coches alegóricos 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 ubicado en la Plaza del Condado, donde Santa estará repartiendo regalos a los asistentes.

menor tenía chipotes, moretones e hinchazones en diferentes Ramírez partes de su cuerpo.

Además, el menor tenía quemaduras aparentes de cigarro en el torso, espalda, tobillos y partes privadas, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

Una tomografía computarizada también reveló moretones en sanación al cerebro, heridas recientes de sangrado al cerebro y costillas rotas, indica la querella. Registros indican que el menor tuvo que ser llevado vía área al Hospital Universitario en San Antonio.

Inicialmente, Ramírez indicó que ella vivía sola.

Pero una investigación reveló que vivía con Estrada. Él negó conocer cómo el menor resultó herido, muestran registros. Él

NO SEGUIRÁN SIMULACIONES

Festejo desata atención mediática 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.

1 La Ciuda 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 956-849-1411

Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Botes de basura

Pago de impuestos 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa que los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la ciudad 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.

Autoridades de Zapata se encuentran pidiendo la ayuda de la comunidad para encontrar el paradero de un hombre acusado de un delito grave.

González La organización Zapata Crime Stoppers y la Oficina del Alguacil de Zapata compartieron en redes sociales una fotografía de un individuo buscado por robo con agravantes.

La publicación identificaba al sospechoso como Rolando González Jr., e indicaba ya se había emitido una orden de arresto en su contra.

Zapata Crime Stoppers pagará una recompensa en efectivo a quien pueda proporcionar información anónima que lleve a un arresto.

Para proporcionar información sobre el paradero de González llame a la Oficina del Alguacil de Zapata al 956-765-9960 o a Zapata Crime Stoppers al 765TIPS (8477).

GUERRERO AYER Y HOY

Aviario

1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad.

TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía

El Gobernador de Tamaulipas Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca señaló que su gobierno no seguirá con las simulaciones del pasado, relacionadas con el combate a la delincuencia, la corrupción y la violencia.

Gobernador celebra foro Sumemos Causas E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas— Al presidir el foro Sumemos Causas por la Seguridad, “Ciudadanos más Policías”, junto a la presidenta de la organización ciudadana Causa en Común, María Elena Morera Mitre; el gobernador Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca señaló que su gobierno no seguirá con las simulaciones del pasado, relacionadas con el combate a la delincuencia, la corrupción y la violencia.

“El grado de deterioro y violencia que se vivió durante muchos años en nuestro estado no fue producto de la casualidad, fue producto de la irresponsabilidad, pero sobre todo, de la complicidad de unos cuantos políticos, que en aras de mantenerse en el poder, entregaron lo más sagrado que tenemos los tamaulipecos: nuestra libertad y seguridad”, dijo García Cabeza de Vaca.

“Este gobierno está empeñado en acabar con las simulaciones y sacar adelante a Tamaulipas”, agregó el gobernador, al destacar acciones contra el crimen organizado en la entidad, como el cierre de casinos, el cierre de establecimientos de compra- venta clandestina de autopartes, así como el

robo de hidrocarburos, entre otras actividades, que funcionan como fuente de recursos económicos para las organizaciones criminales.

García Cabeza de Vaca expresó todo su respaldo a la Policía Estatal Acreditable y la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado en materia de modernización y profesionalización para el cabal cumplimiento de sus tareas, bajo estrictos estándares de control y confianza que garanticen la correcta ejecución de sus funciones.

Por su parte, Morera Mitre aseguró que el foro “permitirá conocer mejor los retos que enfrenta Tamaulipas en materia de seguridad pública, sobre todo, confío en que resulte en un acercamiento de la sociedad civil y sus autoridades. Necesitamos construir estas alianzas en todo el país, no veo otra forma de hacerlo”.

Sumemos Causas por la Seguridad es un espacio de reflexión y propuestas para el fortalecimiento de las instituciones de seguridad y justicia, que conjunta en mesas de trabajo a autoridades de los tres órdenes de gobierno, organizaciones ciudadanas, analistas y académicos, con el objetivo de participar en la construcción de

ciudadanía en materia de seguridad y consolidar sus instituciones.

Asimismo, previo a la celebración del foro Morera Mitre, fundadora de la organización, reconoció la voluntad política del gobernador para fortalecer las instituciones de seguridad y procuración de justicia en la entidad.

“Nosotros hasta el momento si vemos que el gobernador tiene voluntad política de cambiar las cosas. No se puede cambiar el estado en un sexenio, esa es una mentira, pero debemos conocer realmente cuales son las prioridades que tiene el gobierno”, sentenció la activista.

En conferencia de prensa junto al director general de Causa en Común, José Antonio Polo Oteyza, señaló deficiencias en la profesionalización, convocatoria y controles de confianza de algunas policías estatales y las urgió a cumplir con los requerimientos mínimos para conformar fuerzas de seguridad civiles profesionales a lo largo del país.

“Con esto, me parece que el gobernador si tiene ganas de hacer las cosas, ahora hay que exigir que se nos muestren las prioridades y el cronograma para lograr estos objetivos”, agregó Morera Mitre.

El año 2000 estuvo señalado para una gran celebración con motivo del 250 aniversario de la fundación de Guerrero Viejo, y nos aprestábamos a un festival el 10 de octubre en la Antigua Ciudad.

La noticia trascendió, y nuevamente se desató gran ola publicitaria para “Guerrero Viejo”.

Nuestros teléfonos sonaban con frecuencia para concertar visitas a aquella ciudad y pedirnos compañía, en calidad de guías. También varios reporteros nos pedían información vía telefónica.

Durante los meses de julio y agosto, el diario Express, de San Antonio, Texas, por medio de su reportera Bonnie Pfister, se ocupó bastante de Guerrero Viejo.

El periódico “Dallas Morning News”, hizo otro tanto por medio de sus reporteros Brenda Rodríguez y Johnny García, a quienes acompañamos en su visita a Guerrero Viejo.

El viernes 6 de octubre, la Autoridad Municipal solicitó nuestra presencia para acompañar a la Antigua Ciudad a reporteros de TV Azteca.

Había gran entusiasmo para la gran reunión en Guerrero Viejo, pero la naturaleza nos sonrió enviando la lluvia, y la celebración se efectuó en la Nueva Ciudad.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 |

A7

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

Texans look ahead after loss dwindles playoff chances

By Kristie Rieken A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are trying to regroup and move on after another turnover-filled performance by Tom Savage on Monday night dropped them to 4-7 and made their chances of reaching the postseason slim.

Savage led Houston to a touchdown on the first drive against Baltimore, but the Texans failed to move the ball consistently for the rest of the game and were done in by three turnovers from the quarterback in the 23-16 loss.

“It’s tough. It’s just a terrible feeling. It’s been a season of a lot of those,” coach Bill O’Brien said.

“We’re going to look back on it, and I know that we had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of. We’ll just have to figure out moving forward how to do a better job.”

The Texans had the ball with a chance to tie it late in the fourth quarter on Monday night, but Savage was sacked

by Terrell Suggs and fumbled to allow the Ravens to secure the victory.

It was the seventh fumble Savage has lost this season, which leads the NFL. That number is concerning by itself, but is even more troublesome considering Savage has started just five games after being benched in the opener for rookie Deshaun Watson. Adding to his turnover total, Savage has thrown five interceptions with all of them coming in the past three

Scott Taetsch / Getty Images

Quarterback Tom Savage is sacked during the Texans’ 23-16 loss at Baltimore on Monday night.

Houston is now 4-7 as its playoff hopes have tanked since the injury to rookie QB Deshaun Watson.

games.

The Texans were one of the most potent offenses in the league with Watson at quarterback, scoring 30 points or more in his last five starts.

In the four games since Watson sustained a seasonending knee injury they’ve surpassed the 30-point mark just once, in a 31-21 win over

the Cardinals last week.

Houston has lost the three other games without Watson, and the offense has been held to 16 or fewer points in each of those games with Savage committing eight turnovers combined.

O’Brien said he isn’t considering a quarterback change “right now,” but didn’t rule it

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS

Doug Fister signs $4M deal with the Rangers

out in the future if Savage doesn’t figure out a way to protect the ball better.

“We’re going to sit down and watch the tape and we’ll see if we can get it corrected,” he said. “It has to get corrected because if not we’re going to have to go in a different direction.”

If O’Brien does bench Sav-

age, the Texans would look to T.J. Yates who is the only other quarterback on the roster.

Yates, who was signed after Watson was injured, hasn’t thrown a pass since he appeared in four games for Houston in 2015.

The Texans haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention, but their chances of reaching the postseason for the third straight season are dwindling as they trail AFC South leaders Tennessee and Jacksonville by three games.

Houston has gone 9-7 in each of the past two regular seasons to win the division, but would need to win out to match that record this season.

This team’s struggles are understandable considering the Texans lost star defenders J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus in Week 5 before Watson went out for the season and rookie running back D’Onta Foreman tore his Achilles tendon last week. But despite the mounting injuries, the Texans believe they can and will improve.

“There’s no sense making excuses. We just need to play better,” offensive lineman Xavier Su’a-Filo said. “Now, we will try to figure out a way to get that done.”

Houston’s defense should get a boost this week with the return of middle linebacker Brian Cushing, who is coming off a 10-game suspension for performance-enhancers.

O’Brien said he was glad to have him back, but they’d need to catch him up on what he’s missed and evaluate if he’s in football shape before they decide when he’ll play.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

By Stephen Hawkins A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Right-hander Doug Fister spent a lot less time on the free agent market this offseason, signing a $4 million deal Tuesday with the pitching-needy Texas Rangers.

After being unsigned last season until May, Fister is now the first free agent to finalize a big league contract and the first to switch teams.

“The Rangers approached me with a quality offer, and I figured it was definitely a fair one, and I think that was something we both can benefit from,” Fister said.

“That’s kind of why I went ahead and went with it.”

Asked if his experience last year made him want to move a bit more quickly this offseason, Fister responded, “I’m sure that it had something to play into all of this.”

Fister moves into a Rangers rotation that had only left-handers Cole Hamels and Martin Perez signed for next season. Fister will get a $3.5 million base salary for 2018, and the contract has a $4.5 million team option for 2019 that includes a $500,000 buyout.

The 33-year-old righthander agreed last May to a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. He made three Triple-A starts before he requested his release and was claimed off waivers by Boston.

Fister made his debut with the Red Sox on June 25, and went 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA while starting 15 of his 18 games. He had a sevenstart stretch from July 1Sept. 6 when he went 5-2 with a 2.79 ERA and held opponents to a .194 batting

Brandon Wade / Associated Press file

Former Cowboys running back Darren McFadden retired on Tuesday after being released two days ago by Dallas.

Bill Kostroun / Associated Press file

The Rangers have made the first move toward replenishing their starting rotation, agreeing on a contract with free agent right-hander Doug Fister.

average.

“I really feel like I’ve reverted back to some of my old ways, of pitching philosophy and physical mechanics,” said Fister, who also got his sinker back.

In 230 games over the past nine major league seasons with five different teams, Fister is 82-85 with a 3.68 ERA. His best season was with Washington in 2014, when he was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 25 starts.

After going 5-7 for the Nationals in 2015, he went to Houston as a free agent and was 12-13 with a 4.64 ERA in 32 starters before his extended free agency.

“Doug profiles the kind of guy we were looking for, excellent makeup, pounds the strike zone, success in the American League,” general manager Jon Daniels

said. “Without elite velocity, he has got excellent command and excellent movement.”

Daniels said the Rangers are still in the market for starting pitching and bullpen help. Texas is among the teams interested in Shohei Ohtani, the star pitcherhitter from Japan.

Fister said he was able last season to make changes that allowed him to repeat his delivery and get his pitch quality back where it used to be. He also looks forward to being able to prepare for and go to spring training.

“Having that natural timeline of getting into the season I feel like is going to be a benefit for me,” Fister said. “I feel 100 percent healthy and being able to get back and manipulate the baseball the way I used to.”

McFadden retires two days after release by Cowboys ASSOCIATED PRE SS

FRISCO, Texas — Darren McFadden has decided to walk away from football.

McFadden announced his retirement on Tuesday, two days after he and the Dallas Cowboys parted ways.

McFadden, 30, spent the final three years of his 10-year career with the Cowboys. He was the league’s fourth-leading rusher in 2015 with 1,089 yards, but saw his playing time diminish the previous two seasons.

McFadden played in just three games last season coming off elbow surgery, and was active in just one of the Cowboys’ first 11 games this season.

McFadden, the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft out of Arkansas, finished his career with 5,421

rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.

He rushed for 1,000-yards twice (2010 in Oakland and 2015 in Dallas).

In a statement posted to his Twitter account, McFadden thanked his family, coaches and teammates throughout his journey. He mentioned Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown and the Jones family by name in his statement.

"Finally, I just want to say that I make this decision not with sadness or without further opportunity, but with a couple of days to reflect on how I feel and where I am at this stage of life," McFadden said. "I know that this is the right move for me. I look forward to what the future holds — spending some more time with my family, pursuing some outside interests and, of course, going to a few Arkansas football games! #WPS."

A8 | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER MUSEUM From page A1 work on the banks of the Rio Grande, according to the foundation’s Executive Director Christopher Rincon, who took up his residency in San Ygnacio in 1995.

At the time, there was no art curriculum at San Ygnacio’s elementary school, so visiting artists would teach the kids as part of their residency.

Eventually, Zapata County ISD picked up on the benefits of this program, and made art a permanent part of their curriculum, Rincon said.

A few years down the road, the role of the River Pierce Foundation was recast. The Treviño-Uribe Rancho was nominated to be a National Historic Landmark in 1997, and one of the fort’s owners approached Tracy to buy his share, about half of the property, split diagonally through the home.

“He knew if he could get his share into our ownership, we would be able to continue the resources to preserve it,” Rincon said.

The foundation officially acquired half of the fort in 1998, and didn’t come to own the rest until 2008, when other family members decided to sell their portion.

In the years since, the River Pierce Foundation has been raising money, through private donors, charitable foundations and federal grants, to preserve and restore homes in San Ygnacio, especially the TreviñoUribe fort.

Six years ago the foundation got a huge boost when it was awarded $269,130 from the National Park Service through the Save America’s Treasures grant program.

After years of conducting extensive research on the site, the River Pierce Foundation finally began reconstruction at the fort

last summer.

But it was almost 20 years ago, when the foundation acquired the first half of the property, that Tracy began to think about how the space should be presented to the public. And in a few days, that vision will finally come alive.

The soundtrack Visitors to the TreviñoUribe Rancho fort will not see any kind of visual symbolism pointing to what this house would have looked like in 1936, its period of interpretation.

The rooms are in fact stark. The modest bed frame is missing from the bedroom. There’s nary a cast iron pot, wooden chair or plastic banana in the kitchen. There are no explanatory plaques or labels.

“Michael has always had this idea that instead of having period furniture in the building, that we would have something like a soundtrack,” Rincon said. “That it would be a commissioned artist to do this piece, and it would be treated like musical composition rather than like an audio recording.”

The foundation planned to open the Treviño-Uribe fort to the public last December, but the weather was terrible — rainy, muggy and hot.

They invited people from Laredo, and ZCISD invited people as well. But no one came, Rincon said.

The plan to have the grand opening last December was aggressive, Rincon said, so when the weather snubbed their plans, the foundation’s board met a month later and decided to move forward in commissioning a sound composer and designer for the fort’s soundtrack, to be ready by the second try for a grand opening.

Omar Zubair had previously worked with Tracy on some restorative

sound work for a few of his films. Rincon said Zubair already knew Tracy’s philosophy and had been coming to San Ygnacio for years, so he seemed like an easy fit for this project. Zubair is an accomplished sound designer out of Brooklyn.

In 2016 his music was presented at the Whitney Museum in New York and Le Grand Palais in Paris.

Each room in the fort has its own soundtrack that Zubair has designed, layering countless recordings to create the correct atmosphere. The kitchen is full of crackling cooking noises, a slow, steady pot-scraping sound, and the close murmur of a woman humming a tune.

At a certain point the peace is interrupted when she drops the pan and lets out an “aye!” Each track runs between five and 20 minutes.

Zubair began recording sounds for this project over the summer, and was still collecting little bits of sound when he was installing his work in the fort in October.

In the fort’s oldest room, his sounds evoke steady construction of the space itself, with heavy thumps and clanks of stone and masonry tools, and then, a moment later, sudden, violent destruction — the cacophony of an Indian raid.

The idea of listening to the atmosphere of the fort’s history while simultaneously seeing its current, physical reality will let visitors really be in the space, Zubair said. The sounds are a springboard for people to sense, not see, what it was like to live here.

“If there was a screen here that had the images with the sound, one would watch the screen, kind of have a vague, peripheral sense of the space, and then the screen would be the ‘real.’

And oddly enough, counterintuitively, the space

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would be the symbol,” Zubair said. “The sound activates the space, but the sound doesn’t become confused with the space.”

What it meant to be here at the Treviño-Uribe fort, either in 1936, 1830 or 2017, is protean and interpretive. Rincon thinks of the triangle a mason carved in the stone in one of the bedrooms. The mason’s design is about finding the golden ratio, he said.

“It really blew my mind to think: these people had what we think of dusty old ranch hands sitting there, fearing for their lives and keeping themselves distracted, so they’re talking about the Pythagorean Theorem,” Rincon said. “It’s like, who were these people really?”

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com

ABORTION From page A1 Gov. Greg Abbott and his predecessor, Rick Perry, Hughes said.

But a second important factor was a shift in strategy away from efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade — the U.S. Supreme Court case out of Texas that established a right to abortion in 1973 — toward a focus on “limits we can place on abortion,” Hughes said.

“Pro-lifers in America still want to see Roe v.

Wade overturned, but in the meantime we want to save as many little babies as we can,” he said.

A stinging defeat In 2011, the Legislature passed a law requiring pre-abortion sonograms.

The regulation required abortion doctors to describe what the sonogram revealed, including the

size of the fetus, body features and internal organs. The law also mandated a 24-hour waiting period — or two hours for women who live more than 100 miles from the nearest clinic — in hopes that the information would prompt women to opt out of the abortion.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin blocked the law from taking effect, ruling that it violated the First Amendment by improperly requiring doctors and patients to engage in governmentmandated speech.

Sparks’ decision, however, was overturned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the sonogram law remains in force.

In 2011, Yeakel blocked Texas from removing Planned Parenthood from a state program to provide low-income women with contraceptives and other medical care.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 |

A9

BUSINESS

Holiday shoppers spending more online and in stores

By Anne D’innocenzio A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — A retail trade group estimates that people who shopped both online and in stores from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday spent more than those who stuck to one or the other.

The National Retail Federation estimated Tuesday that more than 174 million Americans shopped in stores and online during those five days, higher than its previous 164 million forecast.

The group finds those who shopped online and in stores spent or were planning to spend $82 more on average than online-only shoppers, and $49 more on average than store-only shoppers.

Meanwhile, Adobe Analytics says Cyber Monday was the biggest U.S. online shopping day ever, with a record $6.59 billion spent, up 17 percent from last year.

The NRF said the average expected spending per person was $335.47. The group didn’t offer a comparable number from last year because it changed its methodology, but said it was in line with expectations. About 75 percent of the spending went specifically toward gifts, and the biggest spenders were

Carlos Gonzalez / The New York Times

Jennifer Gammell and her son Bryce Lee Garcia, shop at a Target store on Thanksgiving Day. More than 174 million Americans shopped from Thursday through Monday, about 10 million more than it had forecast.

people aged 25 to 34, who spent $419.52 on average.

The group surveyed more than 3,200 people Saturday and Sunday about their spending so far and their plans.

“We are encouraged that we are starting from a position of strength,” said Matthew Shay, CEO and president of the NRF. But he warned that the weekend is not a definite predictor of the rest of the holiday period. The Thanksgiving weekend traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season, but stores have increasingly started their sales earlier in the month.

More than 64 million planned to or shopped both online or in stores from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, the NRF said, while more than 58

million were doing their shopping online only and over 51 million were going to stores only.

The higher spending from those who go back and forth to stores and online underscores how retailers need to offer services that make it easy for shoppers to switch back and forth. It also highlights the importance of physical stores to expand their online business, while more online retailers find they need to have a physical presence.

Online leader Amazon has entered into the holiday season with a newly magnified brick-andmortar presence, with more than a dozen Amazon Books stores, which also sell toys, electronics and small gifts.

Cyber Monday was the

biggest U.S. online shopping day ever, according to Adobe Analytics, the research arm of software maker Adobe. The company said $6.59 billion was spent online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, up nearly 17 percent from the year before. And $2 billion came from shoppers who were buying from their smartphones, also a record, Adobe said.

The numbers show Cyber Monday is still a draw, even as retailers are spreading out their deals over more days.

“It’s become a habit and tradition for some people to look what’s out there on Monday,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, a retail analyst at Forrester Research.

Shay reiterated the group’s forecast that holiday sales will be up as much as 4 percent, but he doesn’t anticipate it will be higher than that. Last year, holiday sales, which exclude sales from autos, gas and restaurants but includes online spending, rose 3.6 percent.

And despite an improving economy, shoppers are still fixated on deals. Last year, the NRF found that more than a third of customers surveyed said that all of their purchases were on sale. The group said the level was similar this year.

Tax bill advances, final Senate vote uncertain

By Stephen Ohlemacher and Marcy Gordon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — A key Senate committee advanced a sweeping tax package to the full Senate on Tuesday, handing Republican leaders a victory as they try to pass the nation’s first tax overhaul in 31 years.

The Senate Budget Committee voted 12-11 to advance the bill as two committee Republicans who had said they were considering voting against the measure — Bob Corker of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — backed the legislation.

President Donald Trump personally lobbied Republican senators at the Capitol on Tuesday and the bill passed with little fanfare other than a few protesters who tried to disrupt the vote. All 11 Democrats were opposed.

The White House celebrated the vote.

“The momentum driv-

ing our shared priorities of job growth, economic competiveness, and fiscal responsibility through tax reform is undeniable,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

As a sweetener for some Republicans, the budget committee added a provision to the tax bill that would allow oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Drilling in the refuge has long been a contentious issue, pitting environmentalists against those who want to increase domestic oil production.

The bill still faces hurdles in the Senate with at least six senators raising sometimes contradicting concerns.

It got a boost Tuesday when Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, won support to amend the bill to allow homeowners to deduct at least a portion of their local property taxes on their federal tax returns.

The current Senate bill repeals the entire state and local tax deduction, which helps more than 43 million families reduce their federal tax bills.

Collins said Trump and Senate GOP leaders agreed to amend the bill to allow homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, which is similar to a provision in the House-passed bill.

When asked if she is now more likely to support the bill, Collins said that is a “fair assumption.”

Johnson has complained that the package doesn’t cut taxes enough for business owners who report business profits on their individual tax returns. Corker said he is concerned that the package will add to the federal government’s $20 trillion debt.

After Trump’s meeting with Senate Republicans, Corker said, “I think we’re getting to a very good place on the deficit issue.”

Corker and other deficit

hawks want the package to include a “trigger” that would automatically increase taxes if the legislation fails to generate as much revenue as they expect.

An estimate by congressional analysts says the Senate tax bill would add $1.4 trillion to the budget deficit over the next decade. GOP leaders dispute the projection, saying tax cuts will spur economic growth, reducing the hit on the deficit.

Many economists disagree with such optimistic projections. The trigger would be a way for senators to test their economic assumptions, with real consequences if they are wrong.

The provision, however, is drawing opposition from some Republicans.

“I am not going to vote to automatically implement tax increases on the American people,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “If I do that, consider me drunk.”

Dominick Reuter / AFP/Getty Images

This photo shows hand guns for sale at a gun shop in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The FBI said it received just over 203,000 requests Frodau. up from 185,713 last year and twice as many as in 2008.

Gun sales rebound thanks to Black Friday blitz

By Polly Mosendz and Kim Bhasin BL OOMBERG NEWS

NEW YORK — Black Friday was a blockbuster for the gun industry.

While no exact count of firearms sold in the U.S. exists, a common barometer is the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

This year, the FBI said it received just over 203,000 requests Frodau. up from 185,713 last year and twice as many as in 2008.

That increase came during a lull for the firearms industry. In past years, sales predictably increased after mass shootings. But the killing of almost 60 concertgoers in Las Vegas Oct. 1 did not light the usual fire under gun enthusiasts fearful of new regulations, or of being unarmed in future shootings. The combination of a Republican president and Congress may be helping to dissipate the usual knee-jerk reaction, according to an analysis of background check data by Bloomberg. In fact, after last year’s election, stocks of gun companies sank: American Outdoor Brands Corp., formerly Smith & Wesson, has seen a double digit stock decline since the presidential election.

Black Friday background checks in each of the past three years outdid Dec. 21, 2012, once the biggest ever day for guns as shoppers rushed for firearms after the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 young children were shot to death.

Those in the gun industry are cognizant of how political climate impacts sales. American Outdoor Brands noted in its annual report that it

"can affect the demand for our products." Edward Stack, chief executive of Dick’s Sporting Goods, acknowledged the nexus of the 2016 election of Donald Trump and poor sales on an earnings call this month: "I think that gets a little bit better because as we’ve anniversaried the election now," he said. "I don’t know if it gets better, but it gets less bad."

Helping to drum up sales in the face of this new reality, retailers this year turned Black Friday into a gun-buying bonanza by offering deep discounts.

Outdoors retailer Cabela’s held a gun sale, with deals including $400 off Seekins Precision scoped rifles and $300 off Benelli shotguns. You could buy a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic rifle and get a $50 Cabela’s gift card. The chain even gave away Browning pump-action shotguns and Ruger pistols to some shoppers who managed to land a spot at the front of the line Friday morning.

Bass Pro Shops promised "instant savings on guns" for anyone using an outdoor rewards Mastercard to buy a firearm. Its six-hour Black Friday sale highlighted Savage youth single-shot rifles in brown or pink, and offered parents a free wood frame with in-store Santa photos alongside a sale for Remington boltaction rifles and reflex sights.

Dick’s, meanwhile, boasted "all firearms on sale." Spend $1,000 and knock $100 off the price, or pick an item with a mail-in rebate to score a deal on a new shotgun.

Ammunition boxes were buy one, get one 50 percent off, though limited to 10 per customer.

A10 | Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT Prince Harry and Markle plan spring wedding at Windsor Castle

By Gregory Katz and Jill Lawless A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

LONDON — It will be a spring wedding on the glorious grounds of Windsor Castle for love-struck Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Royal officials — thrilled with the international response to news of the couple’s engagement, and the positive reaction to their first ever TV appearance — revealed a few key details Tuesday but kept mum on others, such as who will be Harry’s best man?

The wedding will be in May, but the date has not been chosen, Harry’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, told a packed briefing at Buckingham Palace. “In a happy moment in their lives, it means a great deal to them that so many people throughout the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world are celebrating with

Pool / AP

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle talk about their engagement during an interview in London. It was announced Monday that Prince Harry, fifth in line for the British throne, will marry American actress Meghan Markle in the spring.

them,” he said before fielding questions about things like how many of Markle’s rescue dogs would move to Britain with her.

Knauf said Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had given permission for the couple to wed at St. George’s

Chapel, the historic church on the Windsor Castle grounds that has long been a touchstone for royal rites of passage. He said the 91-year-old monarch will attend the wedding.

Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of the queen’s favor-

ite residences. St. George’s, the 15th-century chapel where the couple will wed, is more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Harry’s older brother, William, married Kate Middleton in 2011.

Knauf said Windsor “is a very special place for Prince Harry,” and that he and Markle have regularly spent time there since they began dating about a year and a half ago.

He said the wedding “will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom.”

The image-conscious royals also made clear in a statement that the royal family, not British taxpayers, will foot the bill for what is expected to be a grand extravaganza. The family will pay for the church service, the music, the flowers, the decorations and the reception that follows.

Harry’s press team is keeping some details private for the

moment — perhaps because final decisions have not been made.

It’s also not clear who will be Harry’s best man, though older brother William would seem to be a strong contender.

Knauf also would not say whether Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will preside over the service. And as for what titles will be given to Harry and Markle, that will be decided by the queen and revealed at a later date.

The palace was ready to answer some delicate questions about the 36-year-old Markle’s move to Britain and her taking up a senior role in the royal family, sometimes called “the firm.”

Knauf said she will comply with all immigration requirements and will become a British citizen, a process that may take several years, and will retain her U.S. citizenship throughout the process.

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