The Zapata Times 12/9/2015

COWBOYS STILL IN THE HUNT

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9, 2015

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ZAPATA COUNTY

FEDERAL COURT

Chairman busted

Smuggler gets 18 months

Laredo official arrested for aggravated assault

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Raymond Bruni, chairman of the board of commissioners for the Laredo Housing Authority, was arrested Thursday in Laredo on an aggravated assault charge, authorities said.

Bruni, 68, was served with a warrant charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

The Webb County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bruni on a warrant out of Zapata shortly before 11 a.m. Zapata County sheriff’s deputies later took custody of Bruni, who has denied the accusations against him.

The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

A criminal complaint filed in Zapata with Precinct 2 Jus-

tice of the Peace Juana Maria cords.

Gutierrez alleges “(The man) stated that Bruni fired a that he was standing gun at a ranch, by the doorway of causing the comthe ranch house plainant, a relative when suddenly Bruof Bruni, to fear for ni began walking tohis life. ward him and statA Sheriff’s Office ing, ‘I’m going to deputy responded to shove this rifle up a person with a gun your (expletive) and report at the Barropull the trigger,’” cito Ranch, off states the complaint.

BRUNI Aguilares Road, at “(He) then stated 7:34 a.m. Nov. 14. Records state that Bruni began to walk a man had gone outside a away and stated that he was ranch house and saw Bruni going to kick everyone in his pulling up in a vehicle. Bruni family’s (expletive), then got allegedly shot his rifle into the back into his vehicle and left.” ground, states the affidavit.

Records state the ranch has The complainant went in- been divided through mediaside the home to avoid prob- tion but it does not take effect lems with Bruni, according to until May. court documents. “(The complainant) believes However, Bruni fired more that Bruni was upset because shots in the air with a lever- the ranch house does fall into action .30-30 caliber rifle, au- the portion of the ranch grantthorities allege in court re- ed to him, but that (the com-

plainant) and his family were on the property since it still belongs to everyone until May.” He did not know why Bruni was upset with him but he did “fear for his life and his family’s safety due to recent threats,” states the complaint.

Bruni was also recently served with a protective order in connection with the case.

“The court finds that there is a clear and present danger of family violence unless Raymond is ordered to do or refrain from doing certain acts,” reads the order. “The court finds that there is an immediate need for the following protective orders to prevent family violence and protect applicant and other members of the family.”

Bruni is out on bond.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

CUBANOS EN LIBERTAD

CUBAN REFUGEES

Man had been arrested in Zapata County in February

By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES

A man who had a hand in the smuggling of about 500 pounds of marijuana in February in Zapata County was sentenced Friday in federal court in Laredo to 18 months in prison.

An indictment filed March 3 charges Rene Romeo Guerra with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.

Heraldo Chapa, a co-defendant in the case, is charged in the same indictment.

Guerra accepted a plea agreement April 30 and pleaded guilty to the possession charge.

Chapa pleaded guilty to both counts May 1. He will be sentenced at a later date.

During Guerra’s sentencing hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen ordered Guerra to 18 months in prison. His incarceration is to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

On Feb. 5, federal agents said they received reports of a white pickup in the Falcon Lake area that had pulled into an abandoned warehouse. Agents said they then saw four people leaving the area.

An investigation led to the arrest of Chapa and Guerra.

Agents said they found 509 pounds of marijuana inside the warehouse. The contraband was valued at $407,200, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 10.

Chapa allegedly admitted to transporting the marijuana during a post-arrest interview Feb. 6. Agents said Chapa’s role was to open

See SMUGGLER PAGE 9A

ZAPATA CO. SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Man charged for public intoxication Man allegedly tried to start a fight with neighbors

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photo by Jerry Lara | San Antonio Express-News

Standing by the Cubanos en Libertad office, Cuban refugee Eduardo Tamayo, 40, puts on his belt after he was released from the U.S. Port of Entry at Laredo, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. Tamayo claimed political asylum upon arriving at the Laredo port.

More than 28,000 Cubans cross quietly each year

By AARON NELSEN SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

LAREDO — On a chilly overcast morning, two men stood amid the throng of foot traffic crossing the Laredo international bridge.

"Bienvendios, Cubanos," a chorus of voices rang out.

For much of the past year, Cubanos en Libertad, an informal organization composed of Cuban expatriates, has been there to welcome thousands of their road-weary countrymen as they take their first steps on U.S. soil.

While immigrant children from Central American and Syrian refugees have been a prime focus of the heated immigration debate, a stream of more than 28,000 Cubans

quietly crossed the Texas border in fiscal year 2015, often to open arms.

Cuban migrants say they are driven by fears that thawing relations between Washington and Havana, announced last December, could signal an end to the so-called dry foot provisions of the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which all but ensures that Cubans who reach the U.S. will receive legal residency in a year.

‘A real difference’ But in recent days the number of islanders entering the country through South Texas appears to have dropped sharply, according to Cubanos en Libertad volunteers.

"We were seeing 80, 100 Cubans a day," said Alex Ruiz, the public notary who created Cubanos en Libertad in 2014.

"Now we see only a few, sometimes none at all."

The decline comes as thousands of Cuban migrants have been stranded in Costa Rica since Nicaraguan officials denied them passage on Nov. 15.

One exit plan could take nearly 3,000 Cuban migrants by plane to Belize. In another blow, Cubans fleeing the island must now secure a visa to enter Ecuador, the only country in the region that did not previously require them to have a visa.

Meanwhile treatment of Cuban immigrants in the U.S. is cast in sharp relief to the visceral response Central Amer-

ican and Syrian refugees have stirred in political circles.

A wave of tens of thousands of Central American immigrant children and families pouring into the Rio Grande Valley last summer prompted U.S. officials to pressure Mexico into stepping up efforts to deport migrants at its southern border, even as Cubans were allowed to continue on their journey to the U.S. border.

For its part, Texas approved $800 million this year for border security largely in response to the migrant surge.

Texas has also attempted to block Syrian refugees from resettling in the state, stoked by fears that terrorists could be

See CUBANS PAGE 9A

A man was recently arrested for attempting to start a fight with neighbors in the Siesta Shores neighborhood, according to the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office.

County authorities also said the suspect, Rigoberto Barrientos, appeared to be intoxicated and had narcotics on him.

Barrientos, 39, was charged with possession of a controlled substance and cited for public intoxication. He remained in custody Tuesday at the Zapata County Regional Jail.

Deputies said they responded to reports of a man wanting to fight with neighbors in BARRIENTOS the 5300 block of Peña Lane.

Deputies arrived and saw a man, who appeared to be intoxicated, yelling in the middle of the street.

Authorities identified that man as Barrientos.

Reports state deputies approached Barrientos to avoid an altercation. However, Barrientos reacted aggressively toward authorities and got arrested, according to reports.

Additionally, deputies said they Barrientos had 0.02 grams of crack-cocaine in foil wrapping in his left front pant pocket, reports state.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

Thursday, December 10

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LARSEA monthly meeting at Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall, 2219 Galveston St. at 11 a.m. Members can enjoy their Christmas celebration and Bingo.

Family Fun Night at the Imaginarium from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Mall del Norte. Free admission for adults and children. For more information call 728-0404.

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2015. There are 22 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History: On Dec. 9, 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated TV special featuring characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, was first broadcast on CBS. On this date: In 1608, English poet John Milton was born in London.

In 1854, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” was published in England.

In 1935, the Downtown Athletic Club of New York honored college football player Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago with the DAC Trophy, which later became known as the Heisman Trophy.

In 1940, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II. In 1958, the anti-communist John Birch Society was formed in Indianapolis.

In 1962, the Petrified Forest in Arizona was designated a national park.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a $2.3 billion seasonal loan-authorization that officials of New York City and State said would prevent a city default.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, addressing a political fundraiser in Minnesota, said the United States would wage an unrelenting battle in Iraq to protect Americans at home.

Five years ago: In Britain’s worst political violence in years, student protesters rained sticks and rocks on riot police, vandalized government buildings and attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, after lawmakers approved a controversial hike in university tuition fees.

One year ago: U.S. Senate investigators concluded the United States had brutalized scores of terror suspects with interrogation tactics that turned secret CIA prisons into chambers of suffering and did nothing to make Americans safer after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Kirk Douglas is 99. Actor-writer Buck Henry is 85. Actress Dame Judi Dench is 81. Actor Beau Bridges is 74. Jazz singer-musician Dan Hicks is 74.

Football Hall-of-Famer Dick Butkus is 73. Actor John Malkovich is 62. Country singer Sylvia is 59. Singer Donny Osmond is 58. Rock musician Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 57. Comedian Mario Cantone is 56. Actor David Anthony Higgins is 54. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is 49.

Rock singer-musician Thomas Flowers (Oleander) is 48. Rock musician Brian Bell (Weezer) is 47. Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 46.

Country musician Brian Hayes (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 46. Actress Allison Smith is 46. Songwriter and former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi (dee-ohGWAHR’-dee) is 45. Country singer David Kersh is 45. Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 43.

Thought for Today: “The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.” — B.F. Skinner, American behaviorist (1904-1990).

Friday, December 11 Flannel and Chill concert at 5:30 p.m. at Caffé Dolce, 1708 Victoria St. An article of warm clothing or a blanket for local homeless or a $2 donation will be the entrance fee. This event marks the one year anniversary of the Laredo Free Thinkers. We want to celebrate with the community by spreading love and awareness.

TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Stars of the Pharaohs; 7 p.m.: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956326-DOME (3663).

Saturday, December 12 St. Patrick’s Church’s 25th annual 5K Walk in Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe at 7 a.m. beginning in front of Alexander High School. The walk continues down Del Mar Boulevard with those in the procession praying the Rosary. Matachines will join the procession at 7:45 a.m. in front of the McDonald’s and continue on to St. Patrick’s Church, 555 Del Mar Blvd., for Mañanitas and Mass at 7:55 a.m. Afterward there will be a children’s play in the parish hall. Refreshments will be served.

Laredo Book Festival: The Best of Texas and Beyond! At the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival celebrates local authors and illustrators.

There will be book signings, books for sale, arts and crafts, readings and more.

El Centro de Laredo Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jarvis Plaza in downtown Laredo. There will be a chef demo featuring healthy living with Texas produce, a Christmas photo booth, holiday music with DJ The Pop Rocks, tamales, local seasonal produce and much more. There is free parking courtesy of El Metro Transit Center with a market purchase voucher.

Third Annual Home for the Pawlidays, presented by City Councilman Roque Vela, at Blas Castaneda Park, 5700 McPherson Road, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Give a homeless pet the gift of a family this holiday season. There will be free coffee, sodas and hot dogs.

“The Spanish Nutcracker” at LCC’s Martinez Fine Arts Center from 7:30 – 10 p.m. A Spanish-themed twist on a holiday classic comes to life as Laredo Community College and El Estudio de Cristina Greco present "The Spanish Nutcracker." Presale tickets are available. Proceeds from the event will benefit student scholarships. Tickets are $10. For more information call the Martinez Fine Arts Department at 7215334.

TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Wonders of the Universe; 3 p.m.: Season of Light; 4 p.m.: Mystery of the Christmas Star; 5 p.m.: Let it Snow (Music Show.) Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. The 3 p.m. show is $1 less. For more information, call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Tuesday, December 15 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Wonders of the Universe; 7 p.m.: Seven Wonders. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Thursday, December 17 Spanish Book Club. From 6-8 p.m. Laredo Public Library-Calton. For more info please contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Friday, December 18 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Stars of the Pharaohs; 7 p.m.: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956326-DOME (3663).

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, right, speak about the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S., during their joint news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday.

Syrian families settled

By NOMAAN MERCHANT AND BRIAN SLODYSKO ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Syrian families have been settled in Texas and in Indiana, the groups helping them said Tuesday, defying efforts by the conservative states’ governors to stop their arrival.

A family of six went to live Monday near relatives already living in the Dallas area, said Lucy Carrigan, a spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee.

“They seem very happy,” Carrigan said, noting that they were put up in an apartment with basic furniture and a stocked refrigerator. “And it was almost like breathing a sigh of relief that they have arrived. This has been a long journey for them, and it’s been a long journey for a lot of Syrian refugees.”

Carrigan declined to make family mem-

bers available for an interview, but she said they were not fazed by the state’s fight or concerns that they might not be welcome in Texas. Fifteen more Syrians are expected to arrive in Houston this week, according to court filings made by federal officials.

Meanwhile, a Syrian couple and their two small children arrived safely Monday night in Indianapolis, where they have relatives, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis said in a statement. It said the family fled Syria three years ago and underwent two years of security checks before being allowed to enter the U.S. Archbishop Joseph Tobin said he considered Gov. Mike Pence’s request to not bring the family until Congress had approved legislation regarding refugees. But he welcomed them because helping “is an essential part of our identity as Catholic Christians.”

West Texas oil well spews College professor accused College shooting survivor out hydrogen sulfide of soliciting minor hit by truck, dies SEMINOLE — Emergency officials have evacuated a 2-mile radius near a West Texas oil well that blew out and spewed a mixture of dangerous hydrogen sulfide.

Gaines County Judge Tom Keyes says nobody was hurt in Tuesday morning’s accident at a rural site about 4 miles eastnortheast of Seminole. Keyes says about two dozen homes were evacuated, as a precaution.

Keyes says the well is operated

by Tabula Rasa Energy of Houston. Company officials didn’t immediately return a message.

Authorities haven’t said what caused the blowout. Keyes says emergency personnel are monitoring winds for any shifts that could mean expanding the isolation area.

Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable, poisonous gas with an odor similar to rotten eggs.

Seminole is a town of about 6,400.

TYLER — An East Texas college professor has been accused of conversing with a 12-year-old girl online and trying to meet her for sex.

Judd Harrison Quarles of Tyler was charged with online solicitation of a minor under age 14.

Smith County jail records Tuesday didn’t list an attorney for the 31-year-old Quarles, who was arrested Friday and freed on $350,000 bond.

Quarles taught economics and government at Tyler Junior College. He was suspended following his arrest.

An affidavit says Quarles had sexual conversations with the girl, who pretended to be 18, but told police that he was never going to meet her.

A message for comment, sent Tuesday to his college email, was returned as undeliverable.

Quarles previously was chief of staff for state Rep. Matt Schaefer of Tyler.

CONROE — A man who survived being shot six times during 2013 gunfire at a Houston-area college has died after being hit by a vehicle.

Investigators are seeking the driver in a hit-and-run accident that killed 28-year-old Jody Neal.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says Neal was walking along a road Friday night when he was struck. Authorities are examining pieces of a pickup truck left behind.

Three people were wounded during January 2013 gunfire at a Lone Star College campus. Investigators say Neal bumped into Trey Foster, the pair argued, went their separate ways, ran into each other again and argued again.

Police say Foster shot Neal and two bystanders.

Foster pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Facebook lifts content ban on rival social site SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook has lifted a ban that blocked material from Tsu.co, a small rival challenging the world’s largest social network’s financial dependence on free content shared by its 1.5 billion users.

The reversal comes a month after The Associated Press published a story airing concerns that Facebook might be abusing its power to thwart competition and stifle the concept advanced

by Tsu that people should be paid for the stories and images that they post on social networks.

Volkswagen lawsuits to be consolidated in Cali NEW ORLEANS — A judicial panel has decided to consolidate hundreds of lawsuits against Volkswagen over its emissions cheating scandal in California, a

CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Mark Lennihan | AP file

In this Nov. 4, 2015 file photo, Sebastian Sobczak, CEO of Tsu.co, poses for a photo in his company’s New York office. On Tuesday, Facebook lifted a ban that blocked material from Tsu.co, a small rival challenging the largest social network. focal point of the carmaker’s troubles.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Tuesday gave U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco oversight of more than 450 suits filed against the carmaker across the

nation.

The panel met last week in New Orleans to hear from numerous lawyers who were seeking to get the suits consolidated in a particular federal district. — Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net

Local & State

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

‘Nutcracker’ shows this weekend SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata High School Drama Department along with the Zapata High School Drama Alumni and The Dance Studio are presenting “The Nutcracker” this Friday and Sunday.

The performance will take place at the Zapata High School Auditorium, 2009 State Hwy 16.

The Friday show begins at 7 p.m. and Sunday’s begins at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5.

For more information, contact Diana Ramirez at 849-9197.

Bus wreck kills one, several hurt ASSOCIATED PRESS

VICTORIA, Texas — Investigators say an 80-year-old driver has died after his vehicle going the wrong way on a South Texas highway hit a passenger bus bound for Laredo.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says the bus driver and three passengers were hurt in the wreck Monday night on U.S. 59 near Victoria.

DPS Trooper Ruben San Miguel says the pickup truck driver, Paul J. Bittlebrun of Victoria, died at the scene. The Los Chavez Autobuses driver and the injured passengers were transported to hospitals.

Details weren’t immediately available on their conditions.

Authorities are trying to determine why Bittlebrun was driving the wrong way and his truck collided with the bus traveling from Houston. Another bus picked up the uninjured passengers.

A message left with the bus company wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday.

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Exonerated man helps others

By JENNIFER EMILY THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

DALLAS — Christopher Scott figures he has 30 seconds to grab the attention of the person who comes to the door.

The Dallas Morning News reports he opens with a sure winner.

“My name is Christopher Scott. I was wrongly convicted of murder. The actual perpetrator came forward 12 years later and confessed to the crime. I’ve made it my mission to help others locked up for crimes they didn’t commit .”

At this point, the chain usually slides off and the door opens.

He’s hooked them. They often don’t need to hear the story of the man standing next to him, Johnnie Lindsey, another Dallas County exoneree with his own horror story of wrongful conviction.

Scott and Lindsey are invited in and, more often than not, served lemonade and cookies.

Together with another exoneree, Steven Phillips, they run House of Renewed Hope, an organization that does just what Scott tells people at their door.

Christmas lights both sustained him and made spending the holiday behind bars more difficult.

He and several other inmates who vigorously trumpeted their innocence vowed in prison that whoever got out first would help the others.

Scott was the first one. Some of those other men have been exonerated. But others remain behind.

Scott, Lindsey and Phillips are currently working four cases, including one for a man Photo by Lara Solt/The Dallas Morning News | AP file on death row and another for a In a July 13, 2012 photo, exoneree and Director of House of Renewed man who has served nearly 40 Hope Christopher Scott poses for a photo at his menswear store. years for a robbery the three don’t believe he committed.

But their investigations — “It’s a miracle that I’m here They get a letter or call a day DNA tests, polygraphs — cost today,” said Scott, sitting on a about other cases. But to make money. They’re holding a fund- brown ottoman recently inside progress, they must limit the raiser Thursday at the Rich- his Cedar Hill clothing store, load. ardson Woman’s Club.

Christopher’s Men’s Wear.

Attorney Michelle Moore, Scott, who founded the or- “How many people would who volunteers her time with ganization and is working on come back and confess to a the group and has helped free his private investigator license, capital murder case when the wrongly convicted, said the calls the fundraiser “Believe in there’s no statute of limitations men reach people who Miracles” because Christmas on murder? wouldn’t otherwise talk. is the time for such things.

“This is the time of the year “They have street cred,” Scott was freed in 2009, when miracles happen.” said Moore. “Witnesses actualalong with another man, after It’s also the time of year ly talk to them.” serving 12 years in a Dallas when he struggled the most in Moore advises House of ReCounty capital murder case. prison. Memories of his moth- newed Hope on what they need They were the first non-DNA er loading him and his siblings legally when seeking to clear exonerations in the county. into a station wagon to see someone’s name.

Arlington officers punished ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON, Texas — Four Arlington jailers face either dismissal or suspension over the March death of an inmate who was physically restrained by as many as four officers.

Authorities said late Monday that they plan to fire three detention officers and give a supervisor a five-day suspension following the administrative investigation into the death of 42-year-old Jonathan Paul.

All four officers facing punishment — Sgt. Frank Vacante and detention officers Wes Allen, Matt Fisher and Pedro Medina — can appeal.

Medina was indicted last month on a charge of criminally negligent homicide in Paul’s death. In a disciplinary letter, commanders said he exhibited “unbecoming conduct” and failed to exercise appropriate judgment when he allegedly restrained Paul for longer than necessary.

Another officer, Stephen Schmidt, retired before being indicted on the same charge.

Robert Rogers, an attorney representing Medina and Schmidt, did not return The Associated Press’ call for comment Tuesday but told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last month that the men did not deserve to be charged.

“Every officer involved, in-

cluding Pedro and Steve, acted completely within the training and accepted practices of the Arlington Police Department,” Rogers said. He also contends the officers were forced to restrain Paul because he was in the midst of a drug-induced psychotic episode.

Paul was arrested March 9 following a domestic disturbance call to his apartment complex, where witnesses said he was screaming and throwing items out of an upstairs window.

The next day, jail surveillance video showed officers restraining Paul, who appeared agitated or in distress.

He became motionless after

being taken to another cell where he was further restrained. He later died at a hospital.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office has listed Paul’s cause of death as “in-custody death with application of physical restraints” and also listed “acute psychosis” as a significant condition.

The manner of death was undetermined.

In May, Paul’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the city of Arlington and police Chief Will Johnson, alleging excessive force. A message left with the attorney representing Paul’s family was not returned.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

‘Pioneer’ aptly named bus line for Houston outskirts In the late 1950s, Houston’s metropolitan bus service didn’t reach out nearly as far as it does today. So, a laborious transportation process was my tricky, nomissed-deadline method for getting to the University of Houston for classes and a job.

After two years at Sam Houston State (then) Teachers College in Huntsville and a year’s interruption of my education to earn enough money to continue, I transferred to the UH where I could live with relatives economically, still work and continue my studies.

My Aunt Olga, Mother’s sister, and her family lived in northeast Houston — the hinterlands in those days — and to reach the University, it took an hour and a half and involved a transfer from the privately owned Pioneer Bus Lines to Houston Rapid Transit downtown. HRT carried me to the campus on Cullen Boulevard, just off the Gulf Freeway (also known as IH-45 South).

Aunt Olga’s house was just over a mile from the end of the Pioneer route that ended downtown. Pioneer indeed.

That necessitated that my aunt and her son, Lowery, drive me to the end-of-line bus stop for the ride to connect with the city bus line to the campus. The area near their home — close to a major Northeast Houston street, Laura Koppe — was the area in which the then notorious Laura Koppe Gang, allegedly led by one Pug Barfield, operated.

The gang would catch unknowing, ill-prepared and defenseless pedestrians, then beat them unmercifully and rob them.

Economic needs were aided to a large degree by a Houston Press Club scholarship for my junior year. Still, working was necessary to finance my education.

My day at UH began at 8 a.m. with my $1-perhour job as secretary-receptionist-job placement director (yep, what of it!) for the journalismgraphic arts department. That required catching a 6:30 bus a mile from Olga’s house, which put me out at the Pioneer station downtown and then walking to a HRT stop to catch

the bus to UH. I then had to jog about 200 yards with a full load of books and a sack lunch to get to J-GA on time to start my job.

Part of my duties also included compiling a syndicated column from microfilm copies of 1860s and 70s Texas newspapers. It was then mailed to 150 subscribing Lone Star State papers.

The job ended at 1 p.m. at which time I had a two-day-a-week, $5 job as copy editor of the student newspaper. Three afternoons a week, I was a commissioned ad sales representative for a suburban weekly newspaper.

Then, it was back to the campus for two classes an evening (Monday-Thursday), 6-9:30, then sprint to the HRT bus stop to catch the last bus downtown which would get me there in time to catch the final Pioneer “stage coach” home. There, a mile from the house, Olga and Lowery would wait in the car, windows rolled up and no air-conditioning. Lowery sat there with a baseball bat in his lap in hopes that they’d never be challenged since it was probably not enough to face off a gang.

Friday was strictly a daytime schedule with work and no classes.

The first year, though, there was a Saturday morning class of three hours duration, then a bus home to an afternoon job as a commissioned salesman in a men’s store at a nearby mall. The owner taught me to hold a pair of slacks for a customer and say, “Nice material.”

My senior year, 195960, Dad helped me buy a 1952 Chevrolet coupe and I had a full-time job as general manager of the aforementioned suburban newspaper, attending night classes four nights a week. I actually had Saturday’s off.

No more bus riding. I certainly didn’t miss it a bit.

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience.

He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters.

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COLUMN

What to tell Donald Trump After the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, some people’s minds flew to the materialistic element of the atrocity — the guns that were used in the killing. But the crucial issue, it seems to me, is what you might call the technology of persuasion — how is it that the Islamic State is able to radicalize a couple living in Redlands, California? What psychological tools does it possess that enable it to wield this farflung influence?

The best source of wisdom on this general subject is still “The True Believer,” by Eric Hoffer, which he wrote back in 1951. Hoffer distinguished between practical organizations and mass movements. The former, like a company or a school, offer opportunities for self-advancement. The central preoccupation of a mass movement, on the other hand, is self-sacrifice. The purpose of an organization like the Islamic State is to get people to negate themselves for a larger cause.

Mass movements, he argues, only arise in certain conditions, when a once sturdy social structure is in a state of decay or disintegration. This is a pretty good description of parts of the Arab world. To a lesser degree it is a good description of isolated pockets of our own segmenting, individualized society, where some people find themselves totally cut off.

The people who serve mass movements are not revolting against oppres-

“

DAVID BROOKS

sion. They are driven primarily by frustration.

Their personal ambitions are unfulfilled. They have lost faith in their own abilities to realize their dreams. They sometimes live with an unrelieved boredom. Freedom aggravates their sense of frustration because they have no one to blame but themselves for their perceived mediocrity. Fanatics, the French philosopher Ernest Renan argued, fear liberty more than they fear persecution.

The successful mass movement tells such people that the cause of their frustration is outside themselves and that the only way to alter their personal situation is to transform the world in some radical way.

To nurture this self-sacrificing attitude, the successful mass movement first denigrates the present. Its doctrine celebrates a glorious past and describes a utopian future, but the present is just an uninspiring pit. The golden future begins to seem more vivid and real than the present, and in this way the true believer begins to dissociate herself from the everyday facts of her life: Her home, her town, even her new child.

Self-sacrifice is an irrational act, so mass move-

ments get their followers to believe that ultimate truth exists in another realm and cannot be derived from lived experience and direct observation.

Next mass movements denigrate the individual self. Everything that is unique about an individual is either criticized, forbidden or diminished. The individual’s identity is defined by the collective group identity, and fortified by a cultivated hatred for other groups.

There’s a lot of self-renunciation going on here.

Ironically the true believer’s feeling that he is selfless can lead to arrogance and merciless cruelty. It can also be addictive. If the true believer permitted himself to lose faith in his creed then all that self-imposed suffering would have been for nothing.

These movements generate a lot of hatred. But ultimately, Hoffer argues, they are driven by a wild hope.

They believe an imminent perfect future can be realized if they proceed recklessly to destroy the present. The glorious end times are just around the corner.

This kind of thinking is fantastical. “In the practice of mass movements,” Hoffer continues, “makebelieve plays perhaps a more enduring role than any other factor.” The fanatics stage acts of violent theatricality, acutely aware of their audience. They dress up in military costumes. They rent myste-

rious black SUVs. Shooting a bunch of unarmed innocents couldn’t be more pathetic, but they play it with all the theatrical dramaturgy of a Hollywood action movie.

Hoffer summarizes his thought this way, “For men to plunge headlong into an undertaking of vast change they must be intensely discontented yet not destitute, and they must have the feeling that by the possession of some potent doctrine, infallible leader or some new technique they have access to a source of irresistible power. They must also have an extravagant conception of the prospects and potentialities of the future. Finally, they must be wholly ignorant of the difficulties involved in their vast undertaking. Experience is a handicap.”

The big thing that has changed in the past 60 odd years is that you don’t actually have to join a mass movement any more. You can follow it online and participate remotely.

The correct response is still the same, however.

First, try to heal the social disintegration that is the seedbed of these movements. Second, offer positive inspiring causes to replace the suicidal ones.

Third, mass movements are conquered when their charisma is destroyed, when they are defeated militarily and humiliated.

Then they can no longer offer hope, inspiration or a plausible way out for the disaffected.

EDITORIAL

Farm subsidies make no sense THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A glut in the peanut market, government stockpiles of the crop and a looming bailout illustrate, once

again, why farm subsidies do not make economic sense (other than to the large, well-connected farming interests that benefit).

As with many other agricultural commodities, the

federal government offers price and revenue subsidies to peanut farmers, as well as loan guarantees. The government’s "reference price" — used to determine subsidies when they exceed mar-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ket price — $535 per ton far exceeds market prices, now less than $400 a ton. Farm subsidies cost taxpayers about $20 billion a year, and are expected to rise to $30 billion a year by 2018.

State

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Ex-commissioner, ex-judge confess to bribery charges ASSOCIATED PRESS

DEL RIO, Texas — A former county commissioner and a former justice of the peace have pleaded guilty to bribery charges in an ongoing probe of public corruption in their corruption-plagued South Texas border county.

Former Maverick Coun-

ty Precinct 3 Commissioner Jose Luis Rosales pleaded guilty in Del Rio on Monday to receiving a bribe, while former Maverick County Justice of the Peace Cesar Iracheta pleaded guilty to paying a bribe.

Rosales took kickbacks after manipulating bidding on Maverick County construction contracts in 2012.

Iracheta, who also had a construction business, paid up to $10,000 to a county commissioner in return for construction contracts worth about $49,000.

Each faces up to 10 years in prison. In February, three ex-Maverick County commissioners were sentenced to 10 years in prison each for taking bribes.

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

National

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

80 more sick after eating Chipotle

By CANDICE CHOI AND BOB SALSBERG ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON — Boston College said Tuesday the number of students complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at a Chipotle this weekend has climbed to 80, up from the 30 it reported the previous day.

The illnesses prompted the temporary closure of a Chipotle restaurant in Boston where the students ate, and come as the chain’s sales are already being slammed by a multistate outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants.

Chipotle says it thinks the Boston College illnesses are an isolated case of norovirus and unrelated to the E. coli cases that have turned up in nine states.

“All of the evidence we have points in that direction,” said Chris Arnold, a Chipotle spokesman.

Boston College said it is

working with state health officials and that all students who reported symptoms have been tested for both E. Coli and norovirus.

It said results will not be available for at least two days.

According to a report from the Boston Inspectional Services department, which is responsible for inspecting the city’s restaurants, an employee at the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle was sick while working a shift Thursday.

William Christopher, the department’s commissioner, said it was not immediately known if management at Chipotle was aware of the employee’s symptoms. He said the restaurant’s permit to operate has been suspended by the city and that a disinfection process has begun.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infected workers cause about 70

Photo by Steven Senne | AP

A man walks near a closed Chipotle restaurant on Monday in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood of Boston. Chipotle said late Monday that it closed the restaurant after several students at Boston College reported gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at the chain. percent of reported norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food. Each year, norovirus causes 19 million to 21 million illnesses.

The virus can spread from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, the agency

says. It is very contagious and can spread quickly in places such as daycare centers and cruise ships.

Common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.

If tests confirm that the Boston illnesses are the result of norovirus, it would

support Chipotle’s previous statement that whatever ingredient that was likely to blame for the E. coli is out of its restaurants by now.

The CDC has not yet determined the ingredient responsible for sickening 52 people in the E. coli outbreak, but 47 of the individuals reported eating at a Chipotle before they got ill. The first cases were reported at the end of October in Oregon and Washington, with additional cases being reported later.

The most recent illness started Nov. 13, according to the CDC. At a presentation Tuesday for analysts in New York City, Chipotle executives noted the exposure period for the E. coli cases appears to be over. The company has said it is tightening its food safety procedures, and that some of its local produce suppliers might not be able to meet the new standards.

Executives said the chain may eventually raise prices to make up for its food safety investments.

In its annual report, Chipotle has noted it may be at a higher risk for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses because of its “fresh produce and meats rather than frozen, and our reliance on employees cooking with traditional methods rather than automation.”

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., based in Denver, has more than 1,900 locations, primarily in the U.S. The company has already warned that sales are expected to fall as much as 11 percent at established locations for the fourth quarter as a result of bad publicity from the E. coli cases.

That would mark the first time the sales figure has declined since Chipotle went public in 2006.

Chipotle shares closed down 1.7 percent at $542.24 Tuesday.

Defense turn in Gray case after uneven start

By DAVID DISHNEAU AND JULIET LINDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

BALTIMORE — Prosecutors in the manslaughter trial of a Baltimore police officer rested their case Tuesday in the same way they began — with testimony that Officer William Porter failed in his duty to ensure the safety of Freddie Gray.

Defense attorneys will start their presentation Wednesday, aiming to expand on the damage they’ve already done to the state’s case. Perhaps most notably, there was an audible stir in the courtroom Monday when the state’s star witness, Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Carol Allan, conceded under aggressive cross-examination that she would not have ruled Gray’s death a homicide had the driver of a police transport van followed Porter’s instructions and taken Gray to a hospital.

The van driver, Officer

Caesar Goodson, instead picked up a second prisoner and then drove to a West Baltimore police station, where Gray was found unresponsive and paralyzed from a broken neck. He had been in the back of the van for 45 minutes, handcuffed and shackled for most of the ride, and the defense sought to shift blame to Goodson.

Goodson is one of six officers charged and faces the most serious allegation, second-degree “depraved heart” murder. His trial begins next month.

As for Porter, he showed “a callous indifference to life,” prosecutor Michael Schatzow said Tuesday.

The defense disagreed.

“There’s no testimony that what Officer Porter did was any sort of deviation from what a reasonable police officer would do,” defense attorney Gary Proctor said in arguing for dismissal of all charges.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams denied the motion, refusing to throw

Photo by David Dishneau | AP

Michael D’Antuono, of New York, demonstrates outside the Baltimore courthouse where police officer William Porter is on trial. out the case for the second time in as many days.

The death on April 19 of Gray, a 25-year-old black man arrested after he ran from police in his neighborhood, set off protests and a riot in the city, and became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Porter, also black, is the first officer to face trial, and is expected to take the stand in his own defense.

His jury, seven women

and five men, is considering four charges: manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

He could face about 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Jurors heard from 16 state’s witnesses over five days and watched Porter’s videotaped interview with Baltimore detectives as the prosecutors centered on what he did and didn’t do

for Gray, who repeatedly asked for medical attention.

“He intentionally didn’t call a medic and he intentionally didn’t buckle him in a seat belt,” Schatzow said.

The first and last witnesses were police instructors who testified that Porter had a duty under Baltimore Police Department policies to call a medic after Gray requested one and asked the officer to help him off the floor. Criminal justice professor Michael Lyman also testified that Porter shared with other officers a duty to buckle Gray in, as required by department policy.

The defense suggested that Porter either didn’t know or had forgotten those directives.

Prosecutors contend Gray was gravely injured by the fourth of six stops the van made en route to the police station, when Porter opened the doors and lifted him from the floor onto a bench. The defense maintains that Gray’s fatal inju-

ry came after he last spoke with Porter, at the fifth stop.

Defense attorney Joe Murtha also raised the possibility that a prior back injury might have contributed to Gray’s death. The evidence? Gray had told a detective in March, weeks before his fatal encounter, that he couldn’t sit up straight in a chair because he had hurt his back.

Murtha’s aggressive style drew a warning Monday from the judge, who threatened to hold him in contempt if he didn’t stop “testifying,” by posing questions about information not in evidence, during his cross-examination of the assistant medical examiner.

Prosecutors had to call Allan back to clarify a statement she’d made under Murtha’s questioning, that her autopsy report was theory and not fact. She eventually told jurors that her conclusions were based on medical records, police statements and the autopsy itself.

Oregon pummeled by heavy storms

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon and the rain are synonymous — but the downpours that have caused flooding, landslides and evacuations in the state this week are getting to be too much even for the Pacific Northwest.

Residents in the Portland area and throughout northwest Oregon and southwest Washington were pummeled by a second barrage of heavy rains on Tuesday, as rain continued to soak already saturated ground, inching area creeks and rivers closer to flood stage.

Officials warned that residents could face a repeat of Monday’s scenario: streets turned into creeks, flooding near rivers and streams, landslides and delays in traffic and mass transit.

Some buildings and residences were stacking up sandbags to prevent further flooding.

The National Weather Service’s flood watch for much of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington remains in effect through Thursday afternoon.

Even before the downpour returned, several of the previously flooded streets remained closed throughout the area. The

Photo by Dave Killen/The Oregonian | AP

Pouring rain and clogged storm drains caused flooding in the streets in Portland, Ore. on Monday. state Department of Transportation said parts of several highways in western Oregon were closed because of

high water.

Officials were also trying to figure out how to repair massive sinkholes that had

Georgia man to be executed for killing mother’s friend

By KATE BRUMBACK ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — A Georgia man convicted of forging checks and killing a close friend of his mother is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening despite his claims of innocence.

Brian Keith Terrell, 47, was to receive a lethal injection planned at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson.

He was convicted in the June 1992 killing of John Watson in Covington, a community about 35 miles east of Atlanta.

Defense lawyers said Terrell is innocent, that no physical evidence connects him to the crime and pros-

ecutors used false and misleading testimony to get the conviction. State lawyers say courts already have heard and rejected the defense arguments.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the TERRELL only entity with authority to commute a death sentence in the state, on Monday denied Terrell’s request for clemency. He filed appeals Tuesday after state and federal courts rejected his challenges.

Prosecutors said Terrell was on parole when he stole and forged checks be-

longing to Watson, who reported the theft but asked police not to pursue charges if Terrell returned most of the money. On the day Terrell was to return the money, he had his cousin drive him to Watson’s house, where he shot the 70-year-old man several times and severely beat him, lawyers for the state have said.

Terrell’s cousin, Jermaine Johnson, was his codefendant and had been in jail for more than a year facing the possibility of the death penalty when he agreed to a deal with prosecutors to testify against Terrell. Johnson was allowed to plead guilty to a robbery charge, receiving a

five-year prison sentence.

A defense investigator wrote in a sworn statement that Johnson told her and defense attorney Gerald King that he was 18 and facing the death penalty and was pressured by police and the prosecutor to testify against his cousin.

He said he’d like to give a sworn statement telling the truth but is afraid he might be arrested and put in prison for perjury if he does, Goodwill wrote.

Prosecutors also misleadingly presented the testimony of a neighbor of Watson’s, incorrectly asserting that she said she saw Terrell at the scene, Terrell’s lawyers wrote.

opened up on Monday — one in front of Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, a Portland suburb, and another on Highway 22 in Yamhill County.

The college remained closed on Tuesday.

Several school districts cancelled classes or evening activities. The Oregon Zoo remained closed for the second day in a row. More than a thousand customers in the Portland area were without power. And officials in Gladstone issued a health alert after raw sewage overflowed into the Clackamas River.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department also issued a beach safety alert

on Tuesday for coast visitors, as strong winds and extremely high waves are in the forecast. A high wind warning remains in effect until early Wednesday morning, with gusts on beaches and headlands potentially reaching up to 70 mph, the National Weather Service reports.

The service predicts waves could break on shore at up to 40 feet high — higher than a two-story building — tossing logs and debris on shore. Already, several beach areas have been closed because of flooding and winds. A flood watch is also in effect on the central coast through Thursday.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Playoff hopes still alive Despite worst record in NFC, Cowboys a game out of first in East

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — Players and coaches in the NFC East won’t be apologizing anytime soon for their woeful division having a spot in the playoffs — with a home game, no less.

Neither will Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

"I’m going to go back to that old saying: it’s an ugly baby, but it’s my baby," Jones said on his radio show Tuesday, a day after the Cowboys beat Washington to drop the Redskins into a three-way tie with Philadelphia and the New York Giants for the East lead at 5-7.

Dallas, which won the division at 12-4 last season, is one game back despite just two victories in 10 weeks. And the Cowboys (4-8) are headed to Green Bay after finally winning without quarterback Tony Romo — a first in eight tries this season.

"The bottom line is, ’Why not?’" Jones said. "We can go up there and the defense put together a game like that, a little more confidence in our offense, and here we go. Why not?"

The rest of the NFL might have a different question. Like, why?

"Does it matter?" Eagles

Photo by Mark Tenally | AP

Dan Bailey hit a game-winning 54-yard field goal with nine seconds left Monday night as the Cowboys won 19-16 in Washington. The victory pulled Dallas within a game of the NFC East lead despite the worst record in the NFC at 4-8. tackle Jason Peters countered.

"We can win the division and that’s what matters. If a team was 12-0 and we were 11-1, it’s no different. The records aren’t as good, but it’s all about winning your division."

The same questions were circulating a year ago about the NFC South. Carolina recovered from 3-8-1 to win four

straight for a 7-8-1 finish before beating Arizona at home in the wild-card round. The Panthers haven’t lost in the regular season since, a winning streak that’s up to 16 games now.

There is one other fairly recent example of a painfully weak division getting a wildcard win from its champion:

Seattle in the NFC West in 2010, when the Seahawks rode their rowdy home crowd to a victory over defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans after a 7-9 finish.

"Records aren’t good, but they’re good teams," coach Jay Gruden said after the Redskins blew a chance to be the division’s only .500 team.

The Eagles gave up 45 points in consecutive blowouts before getting three touchdowns from the defense and special teams in a 35-28 win over Super Bowl champion New England last weekend. The Cowboys, Giants and Redskins each lost to the Patriots.

The Giants keep giving away fourth-quarter leads with questionable decisions in game management by coach Tom Coughlin. And the Redskins just can’t keep a good thing going. They had five straight home wins before again failing to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

The Cowboys have the best excuses, with Romo missing seven games with a broken left collarbone and now out for the rest of the regular season at least with another break in that shoulder. All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant sat five games with a broken foot and didn’t look much like himself in the first few weeks back.

Dallas couldn’t find ways to win close games until Monday night, when the Cowboys bounced back from allowing Kirk Cousins’ tying touchdown pass to Jackson in the final minute and got in position for Dan Bailey’s winning 54yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining.

PÁGINA 8A

Zfrontera

Agenda en Breve EL CASCANUECES The Nutcracker (El Cascanueces) será presentado en el Auditorio de Zapata High School, 2009 State Hwy 16, el viernes 11 de diciembre a las 7 p.m.; y el domingo 13 de diciembre a las 2 p.m. El costo del boleto es de 5 dólares. Organizado por el Departamento de Teatro de ZHS, en coordinación por Ex Alumnos de Teatro de ZHS y The Dance Studio.

DECORACIÓN DE ÁRBOL NAVIDEÑO El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata invita a la población en general a admirar los árboles navideños participantes en el concurso de decoración del 8 al 11 de diciembre. Corresponderá a la comunidad elegir, por medio de voto, el árbol ganador. El costo de entrada para votar es de 3 dólares, para adultos, y 1 dólar para niños. El museo se ubica en 805 N. US Hwy 83. Informes en el (956) 765-8983.

MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MX El jueves 10 de diciembre se realizará “La Segunda Gran Muestra de Talentos”, por alumnos de la Casa de la Cultura, en el Salón Millenium de Miguel Alemán, México, a partir de las 6 p.m. La entrada es gratuita.

Los asistentes podrán admirar la exposición plástica “Colores de Navidad” a cargo de alumnos del taller de pintura; el recital navideño “Dancing Bells” interpretado por las alumnas del taller de danza contemporánea; la exhibición de los cortometrajes “Parálisis del Sueño”, “Es Cosa de Chicas”, “Despedida”, “Me Llamo Alex”, “Brindis de Año Nuevo”, “Andrea” y “Feliz Cumpleaños Hijo Mío” elaborados por alumnos del Taller de Cinematografía; la presentación de villancicos interpretados por alumnos del Taller de Violín; la presentación de la pastorela “Una Navidad Feliz” y la recitación del poema “Brindis de Año Nuevo” a cargo de alumnos del Taller de Teatro.

MIÉRCOLES 9 DICIEMBRE DE 2015

TEXAS/INDIANA

Asientan a sirios “

POR NOMAAN MERCHANT Y BRIAN SLODYSKO ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Algunos grupos dijeron el jueves que lograron asentar una familia de refugiados sirios en Texas y otra en Indiana, desafiando los esfuerzos de los gobernadores de esos estados conservadores por impedir su llegada.

Una familia siria de seis integrantes fue a vivir el lunes cerca de familiares que ya residían en el área de Dallas, dijo Lucy Carrigan, vocera del Comité Internacional de Rescate. Y una pareja siria y sus dos pequeños hijos llegaron a salvo a Indiana el lunes por la noche, dijo la arquidiócesis católica de Indianápolis en una declaración.

Los gobernadores Greg Abbott de Texas y Mike Pence de Indiana figuraron entre más de dos docenas de gobernadores republicanos

Han sobrellevado un viaje muy largo, al igual que muchos refugiados sirios”.

LUCY CARRIGAN, VOCERA DEL COMITÉ INTERNACIONAL DE RESCATE

que dijeron que rechazarían a todo nuevo refugiado sirio después de los ataques mortíferos del 13 de noviembre en París, vinculados al grupo extremista Estado Islámico que opera en Siria.

Pero funcionarios federales y agencias de refugiados han continuado con el asentamiento de los refugiados. Dicen que los estados están negando asentarse a familias desplazadas por la guerra, y que no tienen autoridad para ello.

En Dallas, la familia de seis integrantes se instaló en un departa-

mento con mobiliario básico y una heladera llena de comestibles, dijo Carrigan.

“Parecen muy felices”, agregó.

“Y fue un verdadero alivio que hayan llegado. Han sobrellevado un viaje muy largo, al igual que muchos refugiados sirios”.

Texas ha recibido más refugiados que cualquier otro estado en los últimos cinco años, incluso unos 250 sirios. Pero también fue el más enérgico en sus esfuerzos por impedir la entrada de más refugiados sirios después de los ata-

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, MÉXICO

ZCSO

TRADICIÓN NAVIDEÑA

Indican hombre quería pelear POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

RECORRIDO DE CASAS Se invita a recorrer las decoraciones en casas ubicadas en La Hacienda De Las Flores, Torres Homes, Lozano Home y Treviño Ranch el domingo 13 de diciembre, de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. La entrada tiene costo de 7 dólares. Adquiera su boleto en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Webb, 805 N. US Hwy 83.

También se le hará entrega de un mapa. Informes en el (956) 765-8983.

PRESA MARTE R. GÓMEZ Fue repoblada la presa Marte R. Gómez, ubicada en Camargo, México. El Presidente Municipal de la ciudad, Blas López realizó la gestión necesaria, por la cual Diputados Federales, incluyendo a Yahleel Abdala, lograron obtener los recursos para que unas 200.000 crías de tilapia, con inversión aproximada a los 300.000 pesos, fueran llevados a la presa.

Foto de cortesía | Nueva Ciudad Guerrero

Familias de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, participaron en la ceremonia de encendido del Pino Navideño durante el fin de semana.

Además, el Sistema DIF ofreció un espectáculo infantil, entregó bolsitas con dulces y se rompió una piñata.

TAMAULIPAS

Paisanos estarán protegidos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas puso en marcha el operativo “En tu camino cuentas con nosotros” el cual busca apoyar a el Programa Paisano que anualmente se aplica en la frontera México-EU por parte del Gobierno de la República.

El programa permanecerá activo hasta el 8 de enero en las ciudades de Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Matamoros y Altamira, México.

Es el quinto año consecutivo en que se aplicará el operativo donde

las diversas corporaciones policíacas se coordinan para coadyuvar en la atención y cuidado de los paisanos que vienen a México en estas fechas, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa.

De acuerdo con el Instituto Tamaulipeco del Migrante, al menos 200.000 paisanos procedentes de EU cruzarán hacia México con la intención de celebrar con sus familiares las fiestas de Navidad y Año Nuevo.

A decir del Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, Tamaulipas es el estado con mayor recepción y trán-

sito de paisanos.

“El programa ‘En tu camino cuentas con nosotros’ orienta sus acciones a garantizar que el ingreso, tránsito y salida de territorio tamaulipeco de los paisanos, sea con absoluto respeto a sus derechos y a la seguridad a sus bienes”, declaró Torre Cantú.

Con el operativo se logra incrementar el patrullaje en los tramos carreteros por donde transitan los paisanos, además de tener mayor presencia policíaca en las Centrales de Autobuses y sus perímetros.

Recientemente un hombre fue arrestado por intentar iniciar una riña entre vecinos en el sector de Siesta Shores, de acuerdo con la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata.

Autoridades del condado también dijeron que el sospechoso, Rigoberto Barrientos, parecía estar intoxicado y tenía narcóticos con él.

Barrientos, de 39 años, fue acusado con posesión de una sustancia controlada y se le entregó citatorio por intoxicación pública. Él continuaba en custodia el martes en la Cárcel Regional del Condado de Zapata.

Oficiales dicen que respondieron a reportes de un hombre deseando pelear con vecinos en la cuadra 5300 de Peña Lane. Oficiales llegaron y vieron a un hombre, quien parecía estar intoxicado, gritando en medio de la calle.

Autoridades lo identificaron como Barrientos.

Reportes indican que oficiales se acercaron a Barrientos para evitar un altercado. Sin embargo, Barrientos reaccionó de manera agresiva hacia las autoridades y fue arrestado, de acuerdo con los reportes.

De manera adicional, oficiales dijeron que Barrientos tenía en su poder 0.02 gramos de crack-cocaína envuelta en papel aluminio en el bolso izquierdo del frente de su pantalón, indican reportes.

(Localice a César G. Rodriguez en el 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)

COLUMNA

DÍAZ ORDAZ, MÉXICO Policías de Fuerza Tamaulipas aseguraron a 25 migrantes originarios de El Salvador y Honduras en el municipio de Díaz Ordaz, México, el 4 de diciembre. El grupo está compuesto por 23 salvadoreños (siete mujeres y 16 hombres) y dos hondureños.

Los hechos ocurrieron en un domicilio ubicado en calle 5 de febrero, entre carretera Ribereña y el canal de la colonia La Conchita, en el poblado Valadeces del municipio de Díaz Ordaz, respondiendo a una denuncia ciudadana.

El grupo fue puesto a disposición de Migración para auxiliarles en el retorno a su país.

ques de París.

El comisionado de salud de Texas envió cartas a las agencias de reasentamiento de refugiados amenazándolas con retirarles la cooperación estatal si seguían trayendo refugiados sirios al estado. Estas interpusieron enseguida una demanda ante el Comité Internacional de Rescate y el gobierno federal.

El estado después se retractó de su demanda de detener inmediatamente la llegada de refugiados sirios. Se anticipa una audiencia sobre la demanda la semana próxima.

Según legajos judiciales presentados por funcionarios federales, se espera en Houston la llegada de otros 15 sirios esta semana.

(Slodysko reportó desde Indianápolis. El periodista de AP, Tom Davies, en Indianápolis, contribuyó a este despacho)

Crónicas descubren caudales del río Bravo Tamaulipas posee el único municipio que en nuestro país toma el nombre del río Bravo.

POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Al mediar el siglo XVIII permanece aún sustraída a la conquista extensa franja en la parte noreste del virreinato novohispano. Cuando José de Escandón la coloniza surge el Nuevo Santander, hoy Tamaulipas. Fray Vicente de Santa María describe ése tercio superior de la siguiente manera.

“El río Bravo o Grande del Norte […] atraviesa […]

Nuevo México, […] Coahuila y […] entra” al espacio novosantanderino, “donde se hace de nuevos caudales y como a seis leguas antes de su embocadura se abre en tres brazos, de los cuales el principal continúa […] dentro del mar, donde muere”.

Santa María especifica “se halló el año de [17]47 […] cierta nación de indios […] descendientes de los africanos […] y se les llamó mulatos […] Decían que […] habían venido sus mayores […] negros enteramente, en

no poco número, armados y expeditos”.

El franciscano conjetura la posibilidad de que los “negros enteramente” sobrevivieran al naufragio de una nave esclavista o de que huyeran de ella, aunque no explica acerca de que llegaron sin grilletes ni cadenas y además provistos de armas.

Tras proclamarse la independencia, en la ribera meridional y de izquierda a derecha cuenta Tamaulipas con Revilla – ahora Guerrero –, Mier, Camargo, Reynosa y Matamoros. De lado

contrario, hacia el poniente nomás existe Laredo. Es Manuel Payno quien lo relata.

“Llegamos a la boca del río”; “turbio, ya robustecido con […] muchos ríos que le rinden tributo […] empuja y choca […] con el mar formando un impresionante y prolongado ruido”, apreciándose “el mar […] turbio también por las aguas del río”, publica en 1842.

De pronto el autor suaviza: “En las tardes” aparecen “muchachonas blancas […] de […] mórbidas proporciones”, encaminándose “a los

‘esteros’ […] del río […] con sus túnicos azules y sus cántaros en la cabeza, a sacar agua. No se concibe cómo […] tan lindas” jóvenes “puedan vivir entre […] los espinos del bosque”.

Merced a la ofensiva anexionista de 1846-1848, EU recorre sus fronteras al río Bravo. Ante el bloqueo unionista de puertos texanos, los confederados exportan productos algodoneros por la ribera de México, que de 1863 a 1867 combate a invasores franceses.

(Según fuera publicado en La Razón de Tampico, MX)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

ROMAN HERNANDEZ

JOHN E. VAUGHN

Aug. 9, 1931 – Dec. 4, 2015

Oct. 10, 1949 – Dec. 6, 2015

Roman Hernandez, 85, passed away on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 at his residence in Zapata, Texas.

Mr. Hernandez is preceded in death by his wife, Paula Hernandez.

Mr. Hernandez is survived by his sons, Juan Guadalupe (Maria Alejandra) Hernandez, Mateo Hernandez, Juan Carlos (Veronica) Hernandez, Jorge (Lydia) Hernandez, Jose Angel (Meli) Hernandez; daughters, Olga Yolanda (+Paulino) Lopez, Maria Elena Araujo, Maria Felix (Salvador) Vidales, Rocio Hernandez, Martina (Raul) Guillermo, Guadalupe (Roel) Hererra, Romanita (Fausto) Salgado, Maria De Los Angeles (Melecio) Ayala, Sylvia Hernandez; and by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at

Rose Garden Funeral Home.

Burial services were held on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015 at Panteon Municipal in Mier, Tamaulipas.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.

Photo by Ben Curtis | AP file

In this July 7 file photo, a lion sits with other members of the pride in the early morning, in the savannah of the Maasai Mara.

Garden Funeral Home.

Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.

3 arrested for poisoning lions

By TOM ODULA ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARIA ELENA VALDEZ Sept. 26, 1959 – Dec. 3, 2015 Maria Elena Valdez, 56, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas.

Mrs. Valdez is preceded in death by her two baby girls; father, Rogelio Molina; mother-in-law, Maria Martinez and sister-inlaw, Rosa Maria Hurtado.

Mrs. Valdez is survived by her husband, Juan Valdez Sr.; son, Juan Valdez Jr. (Sely Tobias); daughter, Josefina G. Valdez; grandchildren, Alberta Garza, Rey Roy Solis, Alex Peña, Erik Castellanos; great-grandchildren, Yamilet Soto, Tatiana Soto; mother, Ramona V. Molina; brothers, Rogelio (Rafaela) Molina, Juan R. (Amada) Molina, Francisco (Annette) Molina, Jaime Molina, Victor (Anna) Molina; sisters, Albeza (Cole) Salazar, Dalia (Jorge) Flores and by numerous nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at

John E. Vaughn, 66, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015 at his residence in Zapata, Texas.

Mr. Vaughn is preceded in death by his parents, James and Amelia Vaughn; and brothers, Raymond Vaughn and James Vaughn Jr. Mr. Vaughn is survived by his wife, Nora A. Vaughn; son, Rosendo Javier Flores; daughters, Pamela (Jesus), Nora Eliza Vaughn (Arthur Quiroz), Amelia V. (Ivan) Lopez, Lidia (Roberto) Ramirez, Jaime Lee Vaughn (Oscar Salinas, Jr.); 25 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sisters, Hattie (+Edward) Wayda, Joann (Blas) Reyes; sisters-in-law, Nery Vaughn and Gloria Vaughn; and by numerous nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, at 1 p.m. with a chapel service at 2:30 p.m. at Rose

Russia launches new airstrikes

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.

MOSCOW — Russia has unleashed another barrage of airstrikes on Syria, including the first combat launch of a new cruise missile from a Russian submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, the country’s defense minister said Tuesday.

The Kalibr cruise missiles launched by the Rostov-on-Don submarine successfully hit the designated targets in Raqqa, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin. The submarine was in a submerged position during the launch, he added.

Putin noted that the new cruise missile can be equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads, adding he hopes that the latter “will never be needed.”

Shoigu said Tu-22 bombers also took part in the latest raids, performing 60 combat sorties in

the last three days. He said the targets destroyed in the latest wave of Russian airstrikes included a munitions depot, a factory manufacturing mortar rounds and oil facilities.

Shoigu said the Russian military had informed Israel and the United States about the airstrikes before launching them. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed that Russia notified the U.S. in advance.

The U.S. official said at least 10 cruise missiles were launched from Russian surface ships in the Caspian Sea and at least one missile was fired by a Russian submarine in the eastern Mediterranean.

Shoigu also told Putin that Syrian army forces had overtaken the area near the border with Turkey where a Turkish jet shot down a Russian warplane on Nov 24.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan authorities have arrested three Maasai herdsmen for allegedly poisoning a famous pride of lions, killing two, in the Masai Mara Game Reserve after the lions killed two of their cows, officials said Tuesday.

A fourth suspect is still at large, said Moses Kuyioni, the reserve’s chief warden.

The lions attacked the herdsmen’s cattle in the park in western Kenya on Sunday night, Kuyioni said. The men are suspected of setting out poisoned meat for the lions.

Two lions from a pride known as the Marsh Pride died, said the Kenya Wildlife Service.

The Marsh Pride was featured in the popular BBC television series “Big Cat Diary” which aired from 1996 to 2008.

Zoologist Jonathan Scott, who co-presented the series and has been following the pride since 1977 mourned the deaths in a post on his website titled “The Marsh Lions: End of an Era.” The poisoning not only affected the lions but will move through the food chain, said wildlife expert, Paula Kahumbu. Six vultures were found dead

near the poisoned meat.

Other scavengers such as jackals, hyenas, and smaller predators will be feeding on the dead animals, too, Kahumbu said.

Land division and urbanization have reduced the traditional grazing lands of the Maasai herdsmen who have responded by allowing their cattle to browse on the plains of the game reserves.

Kenya’s lion population has declined to about 2,000, largely because of human wildlife-conflict, said Kahumbu.

“Lions generally cannot coexist with humans, which is why protected areas are so vital. Sadly in Mara the pastoralists are entering the reserve nightly to graze livestock, so of course lions get killed,” Kahumbu said.

In order to conserve Kenya’s remaining lions, Kahumbu said, there should be zero tolerance for cattle grazing in parks. Authorities need to make it easier for lions to survive inside and outside of protected areas as the big cats follow the antelopes, zebra and gnu outside the park, she said.

Also, people who live in areas near parks need incentives to coexist with the lions, she said: “Currently there are only costs for living with lions.

No rewards.”

Venezuela opposition wins supermajority

By JOSHUA GOODMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition won a key two-thirds majority in the National Assembly in legislative voting, according to final results released Tuesday, dramatically strengthening its hand in any bid to wrest power from President Nicolas Maduro after

17 years of socialist rule.

More than 48 hours after polls closed, the National Electoral Council published the final tally on its website, confirming that the last two undecided races broke the opposition coalition’s way, giving them 112 out of 167 seats in the National Assembly that’s sworn in next month. The ruling socialist party and its allies got

55 seats.

The publication ends two days of suspense in which Maduro’s opponents claimed a muchlarger margin of victory than initially announced by electoral authorities, who were slow to tabulate and release results that gave a full picture of the magnitude of the Democratic Unity opposition alliance’s landslide.

The outcome, better than any of the opposition’s most-optimistic forecasts, gives the coalition an unprecedented strength in trying to rein in Maduro as well as the votes needed to sack Supreme Court justices and even remove Maduro from office by convoking an assembly to rewrite Hugo Chavez’s 1999 constitution.

Although divided gov-

ernment should foster negotiations, Maduro in his first remarks following the results showed little sign of moderating the radical course that voters rejected.

Even while recognizing defeat, the former bus driver and union organizer blamed the “circumstantial” loss on a rightwing “counterrevolution” trying to sabotage Vene-

zuela’s oil-dependent economy and destabilize the government.

On Tuesday, Maduro visited Chavez’s mausoleum in the 23 of January hillside slum where the government suffered a shock loss in Sunday’s vote. Accompanied by members of his top military command, he accused his opponents of sowing discrimination.

be

reached at 728-2528 or pbal-

li@lmtonline.com)

asylum, Cubans are paroled into the country after a few hours.

To Ruiz, the newly arrived Cubans appeared lost, and perhaps a little homesick.

"When Cubans cross that bridge, they’ve had everything taken from them," Ruiz said. "Some have no family, they don’t know where they’re going. We created something to help them."

Ruiz rented a house in downtown Laredo where Cubans can rest, shower and have a home-cooked meal. Yusiel Coca, 24, spent 10 days there, waiting for a friend in Miami to send him cash for a bus ticket out of town.

"I sold my house," Coca said. He made $4,000 from the sale, giving his father $1,000, then he bought a plane ticket to Ecuador.

"When that ran out I worked construction in Panama to raise another $1,000."

Coca planned to find work in Miami, then send money to his family in Cuba. Remittances from the U.S., raised from $2,000 to $8,000 this year, play a vital role in the Cuban economy.

The new limit to any one Cuban national per remitter is $8,000.

The average Cuban salary is around $20 per month.

indication from U.S. officials the policy will change any time soon.

"The Cuban Adjustment Act doesn’t require the Department of Homeland Security to parole Cubans, it permits the agency to do that," said Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington.

"The administration could change its interpretation in a memo."

As the sun set over the international line that Tamayo and Castro had crossed hours before, the men grew frustrated as their travel plans fell apart. They spoke of the jobs they hoped to find in Houston’s burgeoning Cuban immigrant community, and of one day bringing their families to join them.

"It’s frustrating," muttered Castro, but after a lifetime of hardship he wore smile. "At least we’re here."

SMUGGLER Continued from Page 1A and close the ranch gates to

allow the vehicle to pick up

the marijuana.

(Philip

Balli

may

CUBANS Continued from Page 1A hiding among them.

Gov. Greg Abbott "has been quite outspoken about his rejection of Syrian refugees, and very supportive of the detention of Central American children and their mothers," said Denise Gilman, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law. "There does seem to be a real difference in how refugees are treated based on matters that shouldn’t be relevant, like race and religion."

Nearly 44,000 Cubans requested asylum in fiscal year 2015, ending Sept. 30, a sudden rise from the roughly 24,000 that requested asylum a year before. Most spend up to $7,000 to fly to Ecuador, then travel overland to the U.S. border in an perilous journey that can take weeks, or longer.

"There’s a sense of complete hopelessness," said Joe Azel, a senior scholar at the University of Miami’s Insti-

tute for Cuban and CubanAmerican Studies. "In a totalitarian regime, the distinction between an political exile and economic refugee is blurred."

Coming with nothing Eduardo Tamayo, a 40year-old restaurant worker from Bayamo in eastern Cuba, didn’t have the financial resources for a plane ticket, so he built a boat.

For as long as he can remember, Tamayo struggled to provide for his family.

With many of his compatriots eager to leave the island, he decided to pool his money with others to purchase the materials to build a boat. After their first two attempts were thwarted by Cuban authorities, a group of 46 men and women leaving from Manzanillo in a jerry-built boat made it to open water.

"We were lost for days,"

Tamayo said. "We ended up in Cayman, then we lost our way a second time."

Without a functioning compass to guide them, the group drifted into Honduran waters, where they were intercepted by officials, who granted them safe passage through the country.

In Laredo, Tamayo and Yuliecer Castro, 37, were greeted by Cubanos en Libertad. A sign welcoming the newcomers spans the length of Ruiz’s office, conveniently positioned across from the international bridge. Most of the volunteers arrived a few months ago and returned to work for Cubanisima, a transport business Ruiz helped set up to shuttle Cubans across the country.

Ruiz said the daily tide of Cubans was unmistakable among the daily bridge traffic. Unlike other immigrants, who are usually detained and sometimes deported when they ask for

Provisions disputed But others have taken advantage of their newfound status, returning to their homeland once they’ve obtained a green card, spurring calls to end the dry foot provisions, led by Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, who proposed legislation in October.

The issue took center stage during biannual U.S.Cuba migration talks last week as Havana officials blamed the dry foot provisions for inciting the Cuban exodus. There has been no

PAGE 10A

Zentertainment

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

‘Charlie Brown’ actor gets prison time ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision | AP file

In this Nov. 7, 2015 file photo, Gwyneth Paltrow attends LACMA 2015 Art+Film Gala at LACMA in Los Angeles, Calif.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s pop shop robbed ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Authorities are searching for three men who robbed Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop pop-up shop in New York City of more than $173,000 worth of jewelry and watches.

It happened Saturday afternoon at the lifestyle website’s temporary store inside The Shops at Columbus Circle in midtown Manhattan’s Time Warner Center. The store had one of its busiest days Saturday.

Police say one of the suspects used some kind of object to open a cabinet containing the merchandise while the employees were distracted.

A statement from Goop says its customers and staff are safe, and the store remains open for business “with proper security precautions in place.”

The store is open through Dec. 24.

SAN DIEGO — A former child actor who was the voice of Charlie Brown in beloved “Peanuts” TV specials was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Monday for making criminal threats.

Peter Robbins, 59, pleaded guilty last month to sending threatening letters to a manager at a mobile home park in suburban Oceanside, where he lived. He also sent letters to members of the media in which he offered to pay money to have San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore killed.

Prosecutors said he also threatened a San Diego judge, but that charge was not part of a plea agreement.

Robbins, who made numerous outbursts in earlier hearings, was relatively subdued

at his sentencing, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

His attorney, Joey Super, made a request on his client’s behalf to withdraw his plea.

William Chidsey Jr., a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge who was brought in to handle the case after San Diego judges recused themselves, sentenced the former actor to four years and eight months in prison.

Robbins has said he has bipolar disorder and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

From age 9 to 13, Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown in a series of 1960s animated classics, including “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

Two years ago, Robbins pleaded guilty to threatening a former girlfriend and her plastic surgeon.

Photo by John Gibbins/U-T San Diego | AP file

In this Jan. 23, 2013 file photo, Peter Robbins appears for his arraignment in San Diego, on charges of stalking and threatening his former girlfriend and a plastic surgeon. The former child actor, Robbins, who was the voice of Charlie Brown is headed to prison.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

THE MARKET IN REVIEW STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

d

d

NYSE 10,198.37 -106.16

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Last Chg%Chg Name

JGWntwth ComstkRs NaviosMar Cementos Costam pfD TargaRsLP CorEn pfA SunCokeEn NY&Co MPLX LP

2.07 2.23 3.12 7.15 17.85 16.18 16.66 6.48 2.44 30.81

+22.5 +21.9 +15.1 +14.2 +12.8 +11.9 +11.1 +11.1 +10.9 +10.5

NASDAQ 5,098.24

-3.57

Last Chg%Chg

Staff360 rs 5.40 +1.65 +43.9 PierisPhm 2.79 +.73 +35.4 EaglePhm 100.21+18.29 +22.3 HarvApR h 2.37 +.37 +18.5 Galapag n 54.93 +6.97 +14.5 BonTon 2.14 +.26 +13.8 GigaTr h 2.10 +.24 +12.9 CentGard lf 16.98 +1.92 +12.7 ChildPlace 54.88 +6.12 +12.6 WMIH 2.89 +.32 +12.5

Last Chg%Chg Name

Last Chg%Chg

B&N Ed n RAIT Fin Navistr pfD RAIT pfA RAIT pfC Seadrill ForsightEn RAIT pfB RAIT Fn 24 C&J Engy

9.31 2.97 3.17 15.50 17.11 5.17 2.57 16.34 17.95 4.56

44.04-14.02 36.91 -7.12 3.40 -.59 6.70 -1.17 6.28 -1.07 4.49 -.76 2.05 -.33 2.57 -.36 3.09 -.40 5.99 -.76

-27.3 -26.7 -17.0 -15.8 -14.8 -13.3 -13.2 -13.1 -12.2 -10.8

Outerwall UtdNtrlF EmpireRes FuelCell rs Midatech n Harmonic Alliqua Aemetis AurisMed VanNR pfB

-24.1 -16.2 -14.8 -14.8 -14.6 -14.5 -13.9 -12.3 -11.5 -11.3

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Name

Vol (00)

Last Chg Name

Vol (00)

KindMorg 1500648 15.72 -.70 Staples BkofAm 834576 17.19 -.35 Apple Inc FrptMcM 572707 6.74 -.49 Microsoft GenElec 527668 30.19 -.18 SiriusXM Alcoa 486091 8.52 -.52 Facebook Petrobras 415789 4.76 +.19 Qualcom ItauUnibH 392915 7.40 +.06 Netflix s Vale SA 387584 3.12 -.10 Cisco EgyTrEq s 307056 13.20 +.21 Yahoo FordM 300164 13.97 -.15 MicronT

Volume

1,038 2,091 89 3,218 29 363 4,077,801,097

Last Chg

378054 10.08 -.58 334651 118.23 -.05 320287 55.79 -.02 249889 4.00 -.04 200458 106.49 +.88 185461 49.48 -2.95 183023 126.98 +1.62 182891 27.15 -.34 182620 34.85 +.17 175605 14.60 -.25

DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows

Dow Jones industrials

17,920

Close: 17,568.00 Change: -162.51 (-0.9%)

17,660 17,400

18,400

18,351.36 9,257.44 657.17 11,254.87 5,231.94 947.85 2,134.72 1,551.28 22,537.15 1,296.00

10 DAYS

17,600

DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows

Volume

1,126 1,672 172 2,970 31 210 1,826,316,767

15,370.33 7,452.70 539.96 9,509.59 4,292.14 809.57 1,867.01 1,344.80 19,619.26 1,078.63

Name

Last

Dow Industrials Dow Transportation Dow Utilities NYSE Composite Nasdaq Composite S&P 100 S&P 500 S&P MidCap Wilshire 5000 Russell 2000

17,568.00 7,663.24 562.26 10,198.37 5,098.24 921.18 2,063.59 1,424.25 21,365.03 1,159.39

YTD 12-mo Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg -162.51 -.92 -1.43 -1.31 -221.54 -2.81 -16.16 -14.66 -.64 -.11 -9.03 -7.12 -106.16 -1.03 -5.91 -5.98 -3.57 -.07 +7.65 +6.96 -6.58 -.71 +1.41 +1.03 -13.48 -.65 +.23 +.18 -10.19 -.71 -1.94 -1.22 -124.17 -.58 -1.41 -1.16 -4.90 -.42 -3.76 -2.41

16,800

MONEY RATES

16,000

CURRENCIES

Last PvsWeek

15,200

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE) Name

-3.49 -1.08 -.65 -2.91 -2.97 -.79 -.39 -2.46 -2.50 -.55

STOCK MARKET INDEXES 52-Week High Low

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name

+.38 +.40 +.41 +.89 +2.03 +1.72 +1.66 +.65 +.24 +2.92

DAILY DOW JONES

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST Last

YTD Chg %Chg

Name

Div

Yld

PE

AT&T Inc Alcoa AEP BkofAm B iPVixST Caterpillar CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil CSVLgCrd rs Dillards EmpIca ExxonMbl FordM FrptMcM GenElec HP Inc HomeDp iShEMkts Intel IntlBcsh

1.88 .12 2.24 .20 ...

3.08 1.98 ...

2.96 ... .28 ...

2.92 .60 .20 .92 .50 2.36 .84 .96 .58

5.6 1.4 4.0 1.2 ...

4.6 2.7 ...

6.1 ... .4 ...

3.9 4.3 3.0 3.0 4.1 1.8 2.5 2.8 2.2

37 33.85 -.42 +.8 13 8.52 -.52 -46.0 15 55.88 -.37 -8.0 13 17.19 -.35 -3.9 ... 19.23 +.58 -39.0 13 66.54 -1.82 -27.3 ... 74.33 -.84 -14.1 9 26.37 +.16 -51.1 54 48.30 -.69 -30.1 ...

4.87 -.05 -90.0 9 71.86 -.72 -42.6 ...

1.09 +.18 -77.8 16 74.63 -2.17 -19.3 12 13.97 -.15 -9.9 ...

6.74 -.49 -71.1 ... 30.19 -.18 +19.5 ... 12.19 +.04 -33.1 25 133.84 -.09 +27.5 ... 32.95 -.37 -16.1 15 34.75 -.24 -4.2 13 26.90 -.68 +1.4

Name

Div

IBM KindMorg Lowes Lubys MktVGold MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine Penney Petrobras S&P500ETF SanchezEn Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SonyCp UnionPac USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo

5.20 3.8 2.04 13.0 1.12 1.5 ... ... .12 .9 1.50 3.0 2.20 ...

1.44 2.6 ... ... ... ... ... ...

4.13 2.0 ... ...

2.00 2.8 ... ... ... ...

2.20 2.9 .20 2.8 .40 .3 1.96 3.3 1.50 2.8

Yld

PE

Last

YTD Chg %Chg

9 138.05 -1.50 -14.0 30 15.72 -.70 -62.8 24 77.17 +.72 +12.2 ...

4.51 -.09 -.9 ... 14.08 -.12 -23.4 12 49.23 -.89 -9.0 ... 17.05 -.29 -18.0 37 55.79 -.02 +20.1 ...

9.02 -.18 -33.7 ...

7.72 -.16 +19.1 ...

4.76 +.19 -34.8 ... 206.95 -1.40 +.7 ...

3.69 -.09 -60.3 24 71.50 -1.30 -16.3 ... 20.13 +.15 -39.0 ... 24.80 -.50 +21.2 13 75.60 -1.69 -36.5 ...

7.09 ... -73.5 18 120.28 +3.19 +8.1 13 59.61 -.89 -30.6 13 54.40 -1.02 -.8

Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants.

Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week.

Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.

Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year

3.25 3.25 0.75 0.75 .00-.25 .00-.25 0.25 0.56 1.66 2.22 2.96

0.20 0.41 1.59 2.15 2.90

Australia Britain Canada Euro Japan Mexico Switzerlnd

Last

Pvs Day

1.3882 1.4997 1.3589 .9183 123.05 17.0075 .9927

1.3766 1.5060 1.3514 .9223 123.33 16.9015 1.0000

British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.

MUTUAL FUNDS Name AB GlbThmtGrA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m

Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV WS 534 88.30 ST 2,882 61.74 SH 1,027 12.98 SH 15,086 232.01 SF 438 70.03 ST 182 27.80 ST 485 74.14 SF 109 12.99 ST 1,573 76.86 SF 1,291 86.27 ST 3,277 127.16 ST 3,116 120.39 ST 3,222 41.00 SH 11,799 229.53 ST 3,377 14.79

Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-year -0.6 +3.4/A +3.2/E +0.1 +11.5/B +12.1/C +0.9 +3.5/C +19.3/D 0.0 +11.8/A +33.4/A -3.5 -7.2/E +8.5/C -4.8 -8.0/E +4.0/E -3.8 -9.0/E +8.1/E -3.1 -3.4/C +13.4/A +0.2 +5.1/D +13.8/A -2.2 -3.8/D +9.1/C -0.3 +14.3/A +17.4/A -0.7 +10.9/B +11.2/C -0.8 +10.0/C +12.9/B +1.5 +9.2/A +21.9/C -2.2 -0.8/E +13.8/A

Pct Min Init Load Invt 4.25 2,500 5.75 2,000 5.75 1,000 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 3,000 5.75 750

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, ST - Technology, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.

Kimberly-Clark announces alliance with Disney ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — KimberlyClark Corporation announced a new strategic alliance today with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As part of the alliance, Kimberly-Clark’s trusted brands will increase their availability and offerings within Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line on multiple fronts, including Baby Care Centers hosted

by Huggies.

The Baby Care Centers offer parents a dedicated environment to care for children and manage tasks like changing diapers dur-

ing visits to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. Additionally, Kimberly-Clark’s baby care and family care products such as Huggies diapers and wipes, Kleenex tissues, and Pull-Ups training pants will be available for purchase in the Baby Care Centers and select retail areas throughout Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.

This agreement expands upon the existing relationship between KimberlyClark and Disney Consumer Products, Media Networks, and The Walt Disney Studios. With millions of families visiting the

parks annually, the alliance is a natural extension.

"Today marks an important day in our 20-year relationship with Disney.

Our well-known KimberlyClark brands are trusted around the world, and have been built based on a strong, emotional connection with families.

Through this expanded relationship with Disney, we will take the next step in making lives better," said Mike Hsu, Group President, Kimberly-Clark North America. "This relationship will provide millions of parents each year with convenient access to their favorite family prod-

Shares of Pep Boys rise

ucts featuring Disney licensed characters as well as comfortable diaper changing areas as they experience the joy of visiting Disney parks with their children."

In addition to the Baby Care Centers hosted by Huggies, highlights of the Kimberly-Clark and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts alliance include: Kimberly-Clark’s wellknown global brands, including Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kleenex, and Cottonelle products, will be available for purchase in select merchandise locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland

Resort and on Disney Cruise Line ships and at the Baby Care Centers hosted by Huggies.

Kimberly-Clark Professional’s trusted line of products will be utilized in various locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and on Disney Cruise Line ships.

Stroller rental locations sponsored by Huggies brand will be featured throughout Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.

Disney Junior - Live On Stage! will be sponsored by Pull-Ups brand at Walt Disney World Resort

and Disneyland Resort.

A collaboration between Kimberly-Clark and Disney Baby will be created to develop unique social media elements and digital content.

"We’re thrilled to expand the Kimberly-Clark and Disney relationship to include Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line," said Tiffany Rende, senior vice president of Disney Corporate Alliances and Operating Participants.

"This alliance enables us to offer guests even more convenient options to care for their families while enjoying a Disney vacation."

Signs of weakness in China sink materials stocks; oil falls

By BERNARD CONDON

By JOSEPH N. DISTEFANO THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

PHILADELPHIA — Shares of Pep Boys - Manny Moe & Jack rose Tuesday as investors bet that Bridgestone Corp. will boost its $15-a-share offer to beat billionaire Carl Icahn’s Monday bid of $15.50-a-share for the Philadelphia-based auto parts sales and service chain.

Shares closed at $16.30, up 1.5 percent or 24 cents, in Tuesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That’s the highest closing daily price since 2008 for the marginally profitable chain.

On Tuesday morning, Pep Boys said its board recognizes that Icahn’s offer may be "a superior proposal," compared to the deal it agreed to accept from Bridgestone in October.

But for now, at least, the original Bridgestone offer is still on track to go before Pep Boys shareholders, led

by New York investor Mario Gabelli’s Gamco funds, which own 20 percent of the company.

Pep Boys, which has 800 locations nationally, employs 500 at its headquarters.

Bridgestone wants to merge Pep Boys garages into its Nashville, Tenn.based, 2,200-store Firestone chain. Icahn wants to combine its retail stores with his Auto Plus chain.

"Since the market is bidding up the stock price well above Icahn’s offer, it appears the general consensus is that Bridgestone will increase its offer," said Damien J. Park, managing partner at Philadelphiabased Hedge Fund Solutions, which advises companies on takeover offers.

"It’s typical Icahn - heads he wins, tails he wins," Park added: If Bridgestone out-

bids the billionaire corporate raider, Icahn stands to earn millions in profits on the 12 percent of Pep Boys shares he owns.

And Icahn could still make an offer later for Pep Boys’ retail locations, if Bridgestone cuts them loose from the company’s garage, tire and fleet-service units, as some analysts expect.

"I wouldn’t bet against Icahn," who has a long career valuing businesses for their earnings potential and can raise vast funds to support a transaction, said Andrew Greenberg, managing director at investment bank Fairmount Partners in suburban Philadelphia.

"It seems like (Icahn) thinks Bridgestone was trying to get the stores somewhat cheap," Greenberg added. A 2013 report by Stifel & Co. estimated that Pep Boys controlled real estate alone that was worth over $700 million, close to the total value of Bridgestone’s offer.

"Pep Boys has been beaten up by three trends: the emergence of more adroit competitors, the extension of online commerce to auto parts and supplies, and the greater efficiency of newly manufactured automobiles," Greenberg said. "These businesses are going to be subject to consolidation. It is just a question of whether it occurs in a single transaction, or multiple, sequential ones."

Now that the board has a better offer, it could decide to change its recommendation on the deal, or terminate the agreement and make a new one with Icahn, according to Pep Boys’ deal with Bridgestone.

Under the original deal, Bridgestone has until February 2016 to get a majority of Pep Boys shareholders to approve its offer or it will lapse.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell for a second day on Tuesday following a wave of selling abroad on fears that a slump in commodity prices was far from over.

The selling began in Asia on disappointing trade figures from China, then spread to Europe where stock indexes in Germany, France and Britain each dropped more than 1 percent. In the U.S., stocks fell sharply in the morning, but later made back much of the losses.

Still, the selling was broad, with nine of the 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index closing down. Suppliers of raw materials fell the most, down 1.9 percent.

Energy companies dropped 1.5 percent.

A big focus for investors — oil — slid again. After dropping for 1 1/2 years, U.S. benchmark crude costs just $37.51 a barrel, near a seven-year low.

“The energy sector has done a good job grappling with mid-$40 oil, but it’s tougher as you go under $40,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management. “The energy sector is having trouble adapting.”

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 162.51 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,568. It was down 245 points earlier.

The S&P 500 gave up 13.48 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,063.59.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 3.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,098.24.

In Asia, Chinese customs data showed exports from the world’s second largest economy contracted 6.8 percent in November, worse than October’s 3.6 percent fall. Imports dropped 8.7 percent.

Mining stocks in particular were slammed because China is a major importer of raw materials, accounting for as much as 50 percent of global demand, according to consultants PwC. FreeportMcMoran slumped 7 percent. It’s down 71 percent this year.

John Manley, chief stock strategist at Wells Fargo Funds, said raw material suppliers ramped up

Photo by Seth Wenig | AP file

This Aug. 24 file photo shows the New York Stock Exchange. U.S stocks fell in trading Tuesday, following a sell-off in Asia and Europe as the price of oil continued to slide. production too much a few years ago as China stoked its economy after the global financial crisis.

“It surprised producers that China was soaking up so much,” Manley said. “As China slows, and shifts to more consumer growth, these producers have been hit.”

Iron ore, off 43 percent since the start of 2015, fell again Tuesday, shedding 15 cents to close at $39.25 a metric ton. Copper inched up less than a penny to $2.05 a pound. It is down 29 percent this year.

Among other stocks making big moves: — Outerwall plunged $14.02, or 24 percent, to $44.04 after lowering its earnings guidance and announcing the head of its moviekiosk division, Redbox, was leaving as rentals fall.

— Chipotle Mexican Grill fell $9.51, or 1.7 percent, to $542.24 on reports that 80 Boston College students were sickened after eating at one of the company’s restaurants. The stock is down 21 percent so far in 2015 as the food chain struggles with the fallout from an E. coli outbreak linked to its restaurants. The company said

it believes the Boston College cases are due to the norovirus, not E. coli.

— Norfolk Southern fell $5.20, or 5.7 percent, to $86.32 after rejecting Canadian Pacific’s latest takeover offer. Norfolk Southern has said it doubts regulators would approve the merger anyway. Canadian Pacific fell $4.47, or 2.5 percent, to $171.64.

U.S. government bond prices were flat. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.23 percent. The euro edged up to $1.0897 from $1.0843 late Monday.

The dollar fell to 123.02 yen from 123.33 yen.

Precious metals futures closed mixed. Gold edged up 10 cents to $1,075.30 an ounce, silver fell 22 cents to $14.12 an ounce.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, lost 47 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $40.26 a barrel in London.

In other trading of energy futures in New York, wholesale gasoline fell 0.6 cents to close at $1.204 a gallon, heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.259 a gallon and natural gas edged up 0.3 cent to $2.07 per 1,000 cubic feet.

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015