The Zapata Times 12/10/2014

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AUSTIN

Abbott’s priorities Gov.-elect avoids hot-button themes

By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Monday that his administration’s top priorities will be bolstering early education, securing the Texas-Mexico border, cutting taxes and pumping $4 billion annually into the state’s overloaded road and water infrastructure networks — goals that may be more

exciting to policy wonks than his conservative base.

Abbott, who takes office Jan. 20, met with the media to discuss his primary agenda but offered little beyond campaign promises. Perhaps most surprising was what Abbott left off his top to-do list: divisive issues such as abortion and his past calls for open carry of handguns.

Following his predecessor Rick Perry’s lead, Abbott has said that he’d like a “continuous surge” of security along the nearly 2,000-mile Texas-Mexico border, including hiring 500 new Department of Public Safety troopers. He offered no new details, declaring only that while border security is a federal responsibility, “Texas is not going to stand idly by and wait for Washington.”

Abbott has been attorney general since 2002 and is leading a coalition of 20 states that have sued the Obama administration over the president’s recently announced executive action on immigration.

The governor-elect was at the White House on Friday as part of a group of newly elected leaders and

See ABBOTT PAGE 11A

Photo by Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman | AP

Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott announces key staff positions and outlines his priorities for the upcoming legislative session, Monday.

US BORDER PATROL

ZAPATA COUNTY

WOMEN WANTED

Arrested for firearm Man in the country illegally caught with weapon

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Photo by U.S. Border Patrol | AP

Crystal A. Diaz, a U.S. Border Patrol agent with the Tucson Sector in Arizona, rides her ATV while on patrol. The Border Patrol is on a hiring spree for a very specific type of agent: a female one. Only 5 percent of its approximately 21,000 agents are women, and the agency has long called this a problem.

Agency looking to boost number of female agents ASSOCIATED PRESS

EL PASO, Texas — The U.S. Border Patrol is seeking to increase the number of female agents in its ranks to help with the influx of women who are in the country illegally.

The agency on Dec. 1 issued a job posting aimed at women only. The application deadline is Wednesday.

“This is the first time we’ve had a job announcement for female agents only,” said

Border Patrol Agent Yesenia Leon, a spokeswoman for the agency’s El Paso sector.

Just 5 percent, or 1,039, of the Border Patrol’s 20,824 agents nationwide are female.

In the El Paso sector, 150 women work as Border Patrol agents, or 6 percent of the 2,500 agents in the sector.

Leon told the El Paso Times that women were just 16 percent of applicants to an October posting. The agency often needs more female agents for pat-downs and other processing for women detained at the border

The agency hasn’t set an overall hiring goal.

In the fiscal year that ended in October, 120,000 undocumented women immigrants were detained by the agency nationwide, compared with about 44,000 in fiscal year 2011, Leon said. That increase came mostly from the influx of mothers and their children from Central America, she said.

Women who are ages 18 to 37 can apply if

See WOMEN PAGE 11A

A man hunting in Zapata County was arrested for being in the country illegally while possessing a rifle, according to federal court records filed Monday.

A criminal complaint charges Santos Hernandez-Hernandez with illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. He remains in federal custody.

On Dec. 3, Zapata County dispatch requested assistance from U.S. Border Patrol on a vehicle stop conducted by Texas Park and Wildlife Department game wardens on U.S. 83, south of Zapata.

Game wardens told agents the occupants were hunting without a license.

Game wardens further stated they believed two of the three occupants were in the country illegally because they could not provide identification and spoke no English, according to the complaint. Border Patrol determined that Hernandez was in the country illegally.

Then, Hernandez allegedly admitted to shooting a deer using a .243 caliber Remington Model 770, according to court records. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents examined the rifle and determined it previously traveled in and affected interstate commerce, the complaint reads.

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

LAREDO FEDERAL COURT

3 attempted to smuggle $7.4M in drugs

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Three people accused of trying to smuggle a combined $7.4 million in narcotics in unrelated cases over the weekend have been identified in Laredo federal court records.

Feather Jacquelyn Saldaña, 64, and her daughter Shawna Phalene Johnson, 40, were charged in connection with the first drug smuggling attempt. They faces charges of importation of a controlled substance, conspire to possess with intent to distribute

cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Steven Alexis AlverioMorales was charged with importation of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute liquid methamphetamine in connection with the second attempt. All three suspects remain in federal custody, pending a detention hearing.

CBP said the first attempt occurred at 10:22 a.m. Friday after Saldaña and Johnson approached the primary inspection at the Gateway to the Ameri-

A K-9 unit alerted agents to possible contraband in the rear gas tank area of the vehicle. CBP officers said they inspected the area and found 151 pounds of methamphetamine valued at $4.8 million. cas International Bridge in a 2008 Chevy Malibu. CBP said Johnson was the vehicle’s registered owner.

An inspection of the ve-

hicle yielded an aftermarket compartment in the backseat. CBP officers said they discovered 27 packages containing a combined

84 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $2.6 million.

CBP officers informed the women of the discovery. At that time, Johnson began complaining of stomach pains and requested EMS crews. Johnson was taken to the Laredo Medical Center, where doctors later discharged her.

The second drug smuggling attempt occurred Saturday, when a 1995 Ford pickup driven by AlverioMorales attempted to enter the country via the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. A K-9 unit

alerted agents to possible contraband in the rear gas tank area of the vehicle.

CBP officers said they inspected the area and found 151 pounds of methamphetamine valued at $4.8 million.

“Alverio-Morales admitted to knowingly transporting the drugs for financial gain,” states the criminal complaint.

Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating both cases.

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

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

THURSDAY, DEC. 11

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spanish Book Club, Laredo Public Library, Calton Road, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

The Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association’s Christmas Party and Bingo, 11 a.m.

Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall.

Bring toy and books donations, volunteer hours and steps.

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 10, the 344th day of 2014. There are 21 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 10, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”

On this date: In 1520, Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant, or face excommunication.

In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for helping mediate an end to the RussoJapanese War. In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; the co-recipient was Nicholas Murray Butler.

In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first black American to receive the award.

In 1962, “Lawrence of Arabia,” David Lean’s epic film starring Peter O’Toole as British military officer T.E. Lawrence, had its royal gala premiere in London.

In 1984, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush picked Samuel Bodman to be the new energy secretary.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a humble acknowledgment of his scant accomplishments and a robust defense of the U.S. at war.

One year ago: South Africa held a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, during which U.S. President Barack Obama energized tens of thousands of spectators and nearly 100 visiting heads of state with a plea for the world to emulate “the last great liberator of the 20th century.” (The ceremony was marred by the presence of a sign-language interpreter who deaf advocates said was an imposter waving his arms around meaninglessly.)

Today’s Birthdays: Soap opera creator Agnes Nixon is 87. Former Agriculture Secretary Clayton Yeutter is 84. Actor Tommy Kirk is 73. Actress Fionnula Flanagan is 73. Actress-singer Gloria Loring is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ralph Tavares is 66. Rhythmand-blues singer Jessica Cleaves (Friends of Distinction) is 66. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 63. Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 57. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 54. TV chef Bobby Flay is 50. Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 49. Rock musician Scot (cq) Alexander (Dishwalla) is 43. Actress-comedian Arden Myrin is 41.

Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 40. Rapper Kuniva (D12) is 39. Actor Gavin Houston is 37. Violinist Sarah Chang is 34. Rock musician Noah Harmon (Airborne Toxic Event) is 33. Actress Raven-Symone is 29.

Thought for Today: “Beauty is not caused. It is.”

— Emily Dickinson, American poet (born this date in 1830, died in 1886).

FRIDAY, DEC. 12 “The Great Gatsby” Christmas Party, 7 p.m. Laredo Country Club.

Contact Nancy De Anda at 7639960.

St. Agustine Christmas Bazaar, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. St. Agustine Cafeteria.

Local boutiques, unique gift items, clothing, jewelry, homemade candies, cake and more.

SATURDAY, DEC. 13 Laredo Main Street — El Centro de Laredo Famer’s Market, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jarvis Plaza. The El Centro de Laredo Farmers Market is a program of Laredo Main Street, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to build community support, interest, and economic growth for Laredo’s historic downtown commercial area and surrounding neighborhoods. The mission of the Market is to encourage, support, and promote the entrepreneurial efforts of local, independent, and small-scale farmers seeking to sell products directly to the consumer within a 200-mile radius. A strong focus on sustainability, food grown without pesticides, and a commitment to healthy cooking techniques and products with natural/organic ingredients and no preservatives are the goals we strive for as the market develops.

Zapata Winter Market. From 10 p.m. to 3 p.m. Holiday Restaurant, 506 U.S. Hwy 83. Participating businesses are Younique by Yvette Garza, It Works by Jessica Davila, Hypnosis Marta Garza, Jesica Sanchez Photography, Wreaths by Beatriz Guzman, Brush Country Insurance, Scentsy by Lilonee Garza and Simple Detail Bowtique.

TUESDAY, DEC. 16 Planetarium movies from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and Science Center.

Contact Claudia Herrera claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or www.tamiu.edu/planetarium.

THURSDAY, DEC. 18 Planetarium movies. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and Science Center .Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit the Website at www.tamiu.edu/planetarium for more information.

For more information call 956.326.DOME (3663).

SUNDAY, DEC. 21 “Ring we now of Christmas” from 4 to 5 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland. Linda Mott at lmott@stx.rr.com or the church office at 722-1674.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Astronaut Luca Parmitano stands beside his spacesuit sitting under a medical imaging scanner Monday in Houston as he talks about his 2013 space walk when he nearly drowned in his helmet. The imaging technology was demonstrated for an annual event that brings three of Houston’s biggest industries to discuss ideas that could be shared by the different fields.

Fixing a spacesuit issue

By JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — The empty spacesuit that sat on the operating table in a lab at Houston Methodist Hospital’s research institute made for an unusual patient.

The bulky garment ended up in the stateof-the-art research lab after NASA sought innovative ways to pinpoint problems with its spacesuits in the wake of an Italian astronaut nearly drowning in his helmet during a 2013 spacewalk on the International Space Station. It happened when debris clogged a pump mechanism inside his spacesuit.

NASA hopes the advanced imaging equipment in the lab, including a CT scanner attached to a robotic arm, can help it create 3-D pictures of its spacesuits that can be used to better diagnose malfunctions that might happen in the future.

Luca Parmitano, the Italian astronaut who survived the harrowing experience with the spacesuit, said the work NASA and the hospital are doing is a step forward in preventing others from going through what he faced.

“I never thought about seeing a spacesuit lying on a surgeon’s table. That is a first for me,” said Parmitano, as he stood next to the spacesuit, which was not the same one he wore during the spacewalk.

The imaging technology was demonstrated on the spacesuit during “Pumps & Pipes,” an annual conference that brings three of Houston’s biggest industries — medicine, energy and aerospace. Parmitano, an officer in the Italian Air Force, described to an audience at the event how the water began building behind his head in his helmet and later started to cover his ears, eyes and nose.

Sheriff: Inmate attacks Harris County jailers

Sheriff: Man, 21, found dead in oil field

Police: man recorded sexual assault of teen

HOUSTON — Houston-area authorities say two jailers have been hospitalized after an inmate attacked them with the sharpened end of a hair brush.

The Houston Chronicle reports 33-year-old Waylin Alford was charged with aggravated assault on a public servant on Monday. The Harris County Sheriff ’s Office says Alford attacked the guards after refusing to be handcuffed during a sanitation check.

MIDLAND — Deputies in West Texas are investigating the death of a man whose body was found at the base of an oil well.

Jonathan Brazell, 21, was found dead on Monday. Deputies believe he died accidentally after falling from an oilfield pumpjack. They found alcoholic beverages at the scene.

ROUND ROCK — An Austinarea man has been charged after police say he sexually assaulted an underage teenager and a recording of the assault was uploaded to Facebook.

Round Rock police say the teenage girl learned of the attack after her mother saw the online recording of her daughter nude in Mar-Grafias’ bed. The teen says she went to his home after work in late November and that he gave her alcohol and cocaine.

Fake Dallas nurse guilty of fraud in ID theft case

FORT WORTH — A Texas judge will decide who should have the original casket that Lee Harvey Oswald was buried in after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Oswald’s brother filed a lawsuit against Baumgardner Funeral Home, which tried to sell the coffin at auction for $87,000 in 2010. Robert Edward Lee Oswald says he thought the damaged pine box had been destroyed.

DALLAS — A North Texas woman who stole personal documents from a registered nurse and faked being a health care worker faces up to 15 years in prison.

Jada Necole Antoine of Dallas pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud in connection with means of identification.

Texas judge hears testimony in coffin case

Texan used slingshot to break windows SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man has been accused of using a slingshot to break windows in drive-by vandalism targeting stores and public buses.

Police say 39-year-old Thomas Marion Keller faces nine counts of criminal mischief. Police are investigating more than 24 cases.

— Compiled from AP reports

MONDAY, DEC. 22 Webb County December Adoption Meeting. Starting at 6 p.m.

DFPS Offices, 1500 N. Arkansas. For more information, contact Cornelia Garza 361-516-0943.

MONDAY, DEC. 29 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group.

6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center.

Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English.

Richard Renner (English) at 6458649 or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 237-0666.

(Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.)

AROUND THE NATION Lawsuit over $60M gift to Catholic order in court PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island Supreme Court justices are raising questions about the conduct of a disgraced Roman Catholic order, but they also are expressing doubts that lawsuits against the order will be able to move forward.

Justices heard arguments Tuesday in a case over $60 million given to the Legion of Christ.

Mary Lou Dauray says her late aunt, Gabrielle Mee, would not have given the money if she knew its founder secretly fathered three children and molested seminarians. She says her aunt was manipulated into donating.

Teacher quits after student pens pot story RIO RANCHO, N.M. — A New Mexico high school teacher has left her job after a student rew-

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In this Nov. 30, 2004 file photo, Pope John Paul II gives his blessing to Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, during a special audience at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion in 2010. rote the biblical story about Jesus handing out bread and fish to the poor into a narrative about Jesus handing out marijuana to the sick.

Katrina Guarascio, a creative writing teacher at Cleveland High School in the Albuquerque

suburb of Rio Rancho, had assigned students to take a fairy tale or legend and rewrite it in modern times. The teacher says she recently quit after the district put her on administrative leave. — Compiled from AP reports

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Local

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Affordable Care Act to fund Gateway THE ZAPATA TIMES

A local health center is among the recipients of $1.8 million in Affordable Care Act funding, U.S. Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said $1,808,005 in Affordable Care Act funding to 66 health centers in Texas to recognize health center quality improvement achievements and invest in ongoing quality improvement activities. Gateway Community Health Center in Laredo will receive $23,154.

Texas health centers receiving the money are proven leaders in areas such as chronic disease management, preventive care and the use of Electronic Health Records to report quality data, Health and Human Services said.

“This funding rewards Texas health centers that have a proven track record in clinical quality improvement, which translates to better patient care, and it allows them to expand and improve their systems and infrastructure to bring the highest quality primary care services to the communities they serve,” Burwell said. “With these funds, health centers in Texas will continue to provide access to high quality, comprehensive primary and preventive health care to the patients that need it the most.”

Texas health centers receiving these funds are being recognized for high levels of quality performance in one or more of the following categories: Health center quality leaders received awards if they were among the top 30 percent of all health cen-

17-year-old arrested for shoplifting

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Zapata County resident was arrested Monday night at a Laredo mall for allegedly shoplifting earrings valued at about $12, according to authorities.

Destiny Oceguera, 17, was charged with theft, a Class C misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $500.

She was cited and released.

Laredo police said the incident was reported at 9 p.m. Monday. That night, officers responded to a theft call at J.C. Penney at 5301 San Dario Ave. A loss prevention officer stated that she allegedly witnessed Oceguera select a pair of Liz Claiborne earrings.

Oceguera then allegedly removed the earrings from the box and concealed them OCEGUERA in the left pocket of her sweater. Oceguera made her way to the exit, making no attempt to pay for the earrings which were valued at $12, according to police.

Loss prevention officers approached Oceguera outside the store and escorted her back inside until police took her into custody.

Surveillance video of the alleged theft was stored into evidence.

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

ters that achieved the best overall clinical outcomes, demonstrating their ability to focus on quality in all aspects of their clinical operations; 17 Texas health centers received funding in this category for approximately $572,285.

National quality leaders received awards for exceeding national clinical benchmarks (Healthy People 2020 objectives and health center national averages) for chronic disease management, preventive care, and perinatal/prenatal care, demonstrating the critical role that health centers play in promoting higher quality health care nationwide; two Texas health centers received funding in this category for approximately $77,962.

Clinical quality improvers received awards if they demonstrated at least a 10 percent improve-

ment in clinical quality measures between 2012 and 2013, showing a significant improvement in the health of the patients they serve; 62 Texas health centers received funding in this category for approximately $902,747. Gateway received part of this money.

Electronic Health Record reporters received funding if they used EHRs to report clinical quality measure data on all of their patients, a key transformational step in driving quality improvement for all health center patients across the nation; 17 Texas health centers received funding in this category for approximately $255,000.

“These funds reward and support those health centers that have taken steps to achieve the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” said

Health and Resources Administration Administrator Mary K. Wakefield.

In Texas, 70 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 405 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 1,124,022 patients. Nationally, nearly 1,300 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 22 million patients in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin.

For a list of FY 2015 Quality Improvement Awards recipients, visit hrsa.gov/about/news/2014tables/qualityimprovement/.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act and Community Health Centers, visit http:// bphc.hrsa.gov/about/healthcenterfactsheet.pdf.

Zapata Valley man on Most Wanted Winter Market slated SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata Chamber of Commerce is encouraging shoppers to support local, small businesses at the Zapata Winter Market. The market will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Participating businesses are Younique by Yvette Garza, It Works by Jessica Davila, Hypnosis Marta Garza, Jesica Sanchez Photography, Wreaths by Beatriz Guzman, Brush Country Insurance, Scentsy by Lilonee Garza and Simple Detail Bowtique.

The market will be located at Holiday Restaurant, 506 U.S. Hwy 83.

A man accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child and who has ties to the Valley has been added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive List.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Tuesday it has added Omar Cruz, 30, to the list, and a cash reward up to $7,500 is now being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Amarillo Crime Stoppers is also offering an additional reward for Cruz’s arrest. Cruz has a violent criminal past, and is wanted for aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14 and forgery of a financial instrument. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

Cruz’s last known address was in Amarillo, and he also has ties to the Rio Grande Valley area. His criminal history includes burglary of a habitation, unauthorized

use of a vehicle, unlawful carrying weapon and evading arrest.

For more inforCRUZ mation or updates in the event of his arrest, see his wanted bulletin at dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/fugitiveDetails.aspx?id=266.

Cruz is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds. He has tattoos on his right leg and scars on his back, left wrist and right hand.

Cruz has previously worked in restaurants and the landscaping field.

Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, there are five different ways to pro-

vide anonymous tips: Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252TIPS (8477).

Text the letters DPS – followed by your tip – to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.

Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.

Submit a Facebook tip at facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App. The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store.

All tips are anonymous – regardless of how they are submitted.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

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

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Body cams won’t prevent controversy

By MARK DAVIS THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

For a while there, it looked like a great week to suggest body cameras on all police officers to prevent disastrous flare-ups like we’ve seen in Ferguson, Missouri.

The cameras are a great idea. When protesters bent on racial revenge ignore a thoughtful grand jury’s examination of actual testimony and evidence, our system of justice is threatened. Actual footage of Officer Darren Wilson defending himself against an attacking Michael Brown might have left some Ferguson businesses standing and some race-hustlers silenced.

But now comes proof that the presence of video will not always settle arrest controversies. The July 17 images of Eric Garner’s fatal struggle with New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo document a melee sufficiently disturbing to spark calls for an indictment across racial and political lines.

When it was announced that the officer would not be indicted, protests sprang up instantly, as did a debate over whether justice had been done.

The differences between Garner’s Staten Island death and Michael Brown’s are instantly clear.

In Ferguson, there is no video, but there is a mountain of evidence indicating Officer Wilson used deadly force to protect himself against a violent attack.

In New York, we have video — long minutes of clear, detailed video — and it settles nothing.

Yes, Garner is breaking New York’s stupid law against selling loose cigarettes. Yes, he resists arrest. But he did not instigate the tensions by assaulting an officer. And when the officer’s arm goes around Garner’s neck as he repeatedly says "I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe," you can hear the rumbling of a possible indictment coming down the tracks from miles away.

So why didn’t it happen?

Unlike Ferguson, the Garner death invites principled disagreement that can actually yield constructive progress — at least if we can keep agitator Al Sharpton away from cameras and microphones, and if President Obama and his outgoing attorney general can restrain themselves from using these events to paint a false portrait of a racially poisonous America.

But the Garner case should serve as a caution: While body cameras are a valuable tool that can provide far better evidence than the shifting and fictitious testimony some witnesses offered in Ferguson, they offer no guarantees that future arrests will be slam dunks either for or against officer indictments.

On Wednesday night, while NBA legend-turnedsocial commentator Charles Barkley told CNN that "when the cops are trying to arrest you and you fight back, things go wrong," erstwhile Obama confidant and momentary TV pundit Van Jones was tweeting that "Police lynched a man on video and got away with it."

COLUMN

Murthy faces tough fight

By ASEEM R. SHUKLA THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

The shadow of C. Everett Koop looms large at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Much has changed since he started here in 1946, but his fundamental discoveries in our discipline inform our work daily. And Koop was not reticent. Moved that even the littlest newborns with severe congenital defects could be saved by modern surgical techniques, the evangelical Christian Dr. Koop wrote and spoke forcefully against abortion.

When Koop was nominated for surgeon general, those views tormented his months-long confirmation process in 1981. If those hearings had gone another way, Americans would have been deprived of perhaps the most successful, high-profile public health interlocutor of our times.

Koop would turn the tide against tobacco-related illness and make America conversant about the AIDS epidemic.

Thirty-three years later, Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Obama’s nominee for surgeon general, sits in another confirmation limbo, hobbled not by abortion, but over disagreements on health care and guns. And time is running out. If the nomination does not come up for a vote in this lame-duck session, it is unlikely to go

anywhere in a GOP-majority Senate in January.

Murthy founded an advocacy organization, Doctors for America, which supported the Affordable Care Act as a good beginning to health-care reform. That support is polarizing enough in today’s political climate, but despite Murthy’s insistence that his focus as surgeon general would be on obesity, mental health, and vaccine-preventable illness, what really threatens his nomination is the National Rifle Association.

The NRA is vilifying Murthy for Doctors for America’s position on gun violence in the wake of Sandy Hook. The group called for reversing restrictions on gun-violence research and for limitations on access to assault rifles, positions completely consonant with the American Medical Association and dozens of law-enforcement, community, and health-care associations.

Murthy is targeted as a radical for advocating firearm restrictions that are less stringent than what Koop called for then — what nearly every major physician group calls for today. It is ironic that a physician, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), placed a hold on Murthy’s nomination, perhaps for political reasons of his own. Will the Senate face down the NRA and give Murthy the same opportunity it offered Koop?

COLUMN

Commentary: The New Republic’s Rebellion

By JOE NOCERA NEW YORK TIMES

I asked Marty Peretz the other day whether his goal during the nearly four decades that he had owned The New Republic was ever to make a profit.

"Absolutely not," he bellowed. "I think we were profitable maybe three or four years." One year, he said, the magazine’s staff threw a pizza party to celebrate being in the black — "and the party put us back in the red." He was only half-joking.

No, Peretz owned The New Republic because it gave him a megaphone on issues he cared about, like Israel. Influence accrued to him, as did a certain social status that came with owning a magazine that mattered to the policy elites in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Strange as this may seem, this has long been the "business model" for policy and political magazines. Harper’s Magazine is published by Rick MacArthur, and its losses are covered by the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation.

For years, Mort Zuckerman, the real estate mogul, picked up The Atlantic’s losses.

Peretz told me that during his tenure, The New Republic lost an annual sum in the low six figures, which he covered. So long

as the losses were manageable, the owner would write a check. If the losses became too onerous, then the owner would look to sell.

Thus it was that in 2012, with The New Republic’s losses rising to around $3 million, Peretz sold the magazine to Chris Hughes, who got rich by being one of the original executives at Facebook.

(He was Mark Zuckerberg’s roommate in college.) With a net worth said to be around $700 million, Hughes was in a position to subsidize his new toy for a very long time. "I told him that if he wanted to maintain a serious and substantial publication, he should look forward to losses for some years," Peretz said.

In the two years that Hughes has owned it, The New Republic regained its reputation for smart, lively, engaging journalism.

But he also appears to have quickly tired of losing money. A few months ago, he hired a new chief executive, Guy Vidra, from Yahoo. Vidra immediately began using words like "disruption" and "innovation" and "breaking stuff" (though he didn’t use the word "stuff"). The first time many New Republic staff members heard their company described as a "vertically integrated digital media company" was when Vidra

made his first big presentation to the writers and editors. In an op-ed article that Hughes wrote in The Washington Post — after The New Republic’s editor-in-chief and literary editor had resigned, and most of the staff had walked out with them — he said that The New Republic could no longer be a "charity," and that his goal was to make it a "sustainable business." In other words, he wants to make a profit.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It is just hard to see how he is going to get there.

The truth is, the jury is still out on the profit-making ability of digital publications. Slate, which has been around since 1996, makes money, but not much. The Atlantic under David Bradley, its current owner, has a terrific digital presence, not to mention 500,000 print subscribers. It also makes money.

But, again, those profits are modest. Venture capitalists are throwing money at new online media ventures like Vox, but we are a long way from knowing whether they will ever be profitable. None of the digital media companies have gone public, so their profits or losses are hidden from view.

The New Republic, on the other hand, has a print circulation of around 42,000. Its current

website is lively, but clearly it wasn’t generating the number of clicks that its new owner wanted. Even before Vidra joined, The New Republic’s business executives were trying to get the editors to do things that would attract more clicks. One executive suggested that Michael Kinsley — a former New Republic editor himself — come up with a listicle, a la BuzzFeed. ("10 reasons why health care isn’t a free market.")

Is it any wonder that the staff walked out when this plan was finally unveiled? Their earnest little magazine is the opposite of BuzzFeed. That’s what they loved about it. Or at least it was.

When I spoke to Vidra late Monday, he stressed to me that The New Republic was not going to abandon its heritage of thoughtful journalism and provocative ideas. When I asked him whether he would follow the model of The Atlantic, he demurred. He instead suggested that Vox Media was a more appropriate model for what he had in mind.

After we spoke, I went to the Vox website. I scrolled down until I saw a headline that stopped me cold.

"Everybody farts," it read. "But here are 9 surprising facts about flatulence you may not know."

Goodbye, New Republic.

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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

State

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

Gun bills expose Perry is hungry for redemption divide in ranks

By PHILIP RUCKER

THE WASHINGTON POST

By MORGAN SMITH TEXAS TRIBUNE

As momentum grows behind a push to let Texans carry handguns openly, the biggest fight may be among Second Amendment advocates themselves.

A conflict is emerging over how far changes to the current state law should go, and some gunrights supporters fear that the divide may sink efforts to lift handgun restrictions during the legislative session that begins in January.

“If the acrimony between the various groups gets too pronounced, then nothing will pass,” said Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who helped get the state’s concealed handgun law passed in 1995, when he was a state senator. “Their challenge very simply is to recognize that the legislative process is designed to kill legislation and to drop their disagreements, even if it’s not perfect.”

The law allows the open carrying of long guns like rifles and shotguns. Texas is one of six states that specifically prohibit the open carrying of handguns, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

In the last two legislative sessions, Texas lawmakers have unsuccessfully pushed to allow handgun license holders to openly carry their firearms. Five nearly identical bills that would do that have already been filed.

A sixth, from state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a Republican, would allow Texans to carry a handgun openly without a license.

“There are a lot of people who are sick and tired of paying a fee for their basic rights and liberties,” Stickland said. “It’s rejecting the notion that we need to beg government for permission to do things like protect ourselves.”

Stickland’s proposal has attracted the support of ac-

tivists who object to the costs of obtaining a concealed handgun license and the restrictions the state places on applicants.

C.J. Grisham, a retired Army officer who founded Open Carry Texas last spring after he was arrested while walking near his home with an AR-15, said his group would oppose any bill that stopped short of allowing what he called the “constitutional carry” of handguns. (Grisham was fined $2,000.)

“We will not compromise on our rights,” he said. "We absolutely will not."

Other gun rights advocates said that while they supported the unlicensed carrying of handguns philosophically, an incremental change to the law was more likely to succeed.

“We are supporting what will pass,” said Alice Tripp, the legislative director of the Texas State Rifle Association. “A lot of these folks are learning to be lobbyists, and they think if they scream hard enough and long enough and are abrasive enough, they’ll get the job done.”

Grisham spoke critically of established groups, including the National Rifle Association, which has denounced the tactics of his group and others like it, including armed rallies where protesters have carried weapons on city streets.

“The NRA likes to play nice,” he said. “What I mean by that is that they try to do nice things and get favors in return. We believe we shouldn’t have to buy our rights back.”

Catherine Mortensen, an NRA spokeswoman, said in a statement that the organization was reviewing all gun-related legislation filed for the next session. “We look forward to protecting and even expanding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans in this year’s legislative session,” Mortensen said.

AUSTIN — The man who could be president is ambling through the Texas governor’s mansion on his own, whistling "Frosty the Snowman" as he approaches the parlor room to greet a reporter.

Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, leads a tour and points out a historically inaccurate depiction of frontiersman Davy Crockett in an oil painting in the foyer ("His coonskin cap — that’s a myth"). In Sam Houston’s bedroom upstairs, Perry lifts an antique upholstered settee, a gift from the French, to read an engraving signifying Texas’s early-1800s ties to France.

He shows off a Civil Warera saber that belonged to a Union general and mentions having just read a thesis that his friend’s black father wrote in 1970 on race in America.

Rick Perry is trying to show that he’s not the Rick Perry you remember. Gone, it seems, is the blustery bravado, the empty rhetoric, the cowboy boots - and, yes, the "Oops" moments.

This Perry comes across as studious, contemplative and humble. He said he is at peace with his 2012 presidential campaign, in which his shoot-first-aimlater approach proved catastrophic, but is hungry to redeem himself.

As Perry packs up his belongings at the governor’s mansion after 14 years in office, he is undergoing exhaustive preparations to run again for president in 2016. He is striving to make a better second impression than his first one.

"We are a substantially different, versed candidate," he said. He noted that other politicians who endure such humiliation might "scurry off to the quietness and the comfort of some obscure place and I wasn’t interested in doing that. I think that this country is begging for leadership."

Perry sat down with The Washington Post for a

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Texas Gov. Rick Perry sits with his dog, Aurora Pancake, as he waits to begin an interview with The Associated Press at the historic Texas Governor’s Mansion, Tuesday in Austin. wide-ranging 90-minute interview over lunch here Monday. He discussed his political rehabilitation, which this month includes day-long tutorial sessions with conservative scholars.

Perry also is hosting seven dinners at the mansion this month for about 600 potential campaign donors from around the country.

At each dinner - funded by Texans for Rick Perry - he plays a three-minute, amped-up video promoting his economic legacy of transforming Texas into "a haven of opportunity" with "unparalleled prosperity."

Perry insists that he has not decided whether to run, and said he won’t announce a decision until May or June, but nonetheless offered a rationale for his candidacy.

"You want the guy in the front left seat to be more than a low-time, private pilot," he said. "You’d like to have the person in the front left seat of your aircraft being a rather hightime, experienced aviator."

Perry, who served as an Air Force pilot before becoming the longest-serving governor in his state’s history, said he sees himself as this metaphorical aviator.

"If you’re looking for that steady hand that’s going to make a clean break with the administration’s

policies that are in place today, I am a very clear and compelling individual to support," said Perry, 64.

He said he believed he could attract voters in a general election with an optimistic economic message centered on helping grow businesses and expanding educational opportunities. He argued that President Barack Obama won reelection in large part because Republican nominee Mitt Romney alienated voters, especially Hispanics.

"To make the statement of ’self-deportation’ was very offensive to the people that we should have been reaching out to and giving reasons to be for us," Perry said.

A potentially significant complication is Perry’s recent indictment on two felony counts of abuse of power. He and his supporters, as well as some liberal legal scholars, view the case as a farce. "It’s an affront to the Constitution," Perry said. But a judge has not yet ruled on whether to dismiss the charges.

American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research group, published a guide to Republican contenders on Monday and wrote: "Will Perry be able to overcome a criminal indictment and the embar-

rassment from his last campaign to mount a serious run for president?"

Perry will be out of public office for the first time since 1985 and is losing his security detail and staff entourage. He and his wife, Anita, are moving into a two-bedroom condo in downtown Austin while construction is completed on a new house in Round Top, which Perry described as a rural oasis ("really dark and really quiet").

After Republican Greg Abbott is sworn in as governor on Jan. 20, Perry’s immediate priority will be to make serious money, something he has never done. He is considering writing a memoir — how a Boy Scout from Paint Creek became governor and presided over "the Texas miracle" economic boom — as well as giving paid speeches and serving on corporate boards, his advisers say.

Experts at top think tanks have been flying to Austin to tutor the governor. On Thursday, he will sit down for six hours with former Bush administration economists Greg Mankiw, Keith Hennessey, Glenn Hubbard and Diana Furchgott-Roth to discuss economic growth, labor markets, taxation and regulation.

Nation

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

No terrorism link in stabbing

By KAREN MATTHEWS AND ULA ILNYTZKY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune | AP file

Alicia Englert, accused of dumping her newborn in a trash can to die, makes her initial appearance in court, in Salt Lake City.

Mother allowed to visit baby

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY — A judge is allowing a goodbye visit for a Utah woman accused of dumping her newborn in a trash can to die.

Alicia Englert will have one supervised 90-minute visit with the now 3-monthold baby, Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills decided during a conference in her chambers Monday.

Prosecutor Robert Parrish said he opposed the visit because Englert never had a relationship with the child. The girl is in the process of being adopted by another family after the 23year-old woman waived her parental rights a few weeks ago.

“I’m pretty sure Alicia said goodbye to the baby when she put the baby in the neighbor’s trash can,” Parrish said.

Defense attorney Weyher Fulkerson said in a statement the case is complicated and very sad, and the visit is separate from the criminal proceedings.

Parrish said it was granted as an exception to a nocontact order in the case.

Englert’s parents said they have decided not to seek custody of the baby girl, and plan to attend the visit scheduled for Monday to say goodbye.

Robert and Tammy Englert said in a statement released through their attorney that the meeting will bring them some closure.

Englert gave birth at her home in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns, according to charging documents. She left the baby without food or medical care for at least a day before wrapping her in a towel and abandoning her in the trash Aug. 26, police said.

Prosecutors say the baby would have died if she hadn’t been found by a neighbor who thought she heard a purring cat. The girl was inside a trashcan under bags of garbage and suffering from hypothermia, respiratory distress and a blood-borne infection.

She was flown to a hospital and recovered after she was placed on a ventilator.

Parrish said Tuesday the baby is doing well.

Englert faces an attempted murder charge in the case, and a review is expected to determine whether she’s mentally competent to stand trial. She was released on bail in October. If convicted, Englert faces up to life in prison.

Englert’s family has said she has a learning disability, didn’t know she was pregnant and couldn’t understand why what she did was wrong.

NEW YORK — A man with a history of mental illness slipped into the headquarters of a major Jewish organization in Brooklyn in the middle of the night and stabbed an Israeli student in the head as he was studying in the library.

Then, as the screaming, bloody victim was taken away, the attacker lunged at police with his knife and was shot and killed, authorities said.

Calvin Peters, 49, could be seen on amateur video waving the knife inside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Crown Heights around 1:40 a.m.

Tuesday after the attack on 22-year-old Levi Rosenblat. Rosenblat, wounded in the side of the head, was listed in stable condition.

Police said the stabbing was not believed to be connected to terrorism.

But it shook the Jewish community, still reeling over an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue by two Palestinian cousins last month that left four worshippers and an officer dead.

“The entire Jewish community is impacted by these cruel and senseless attacks,” said New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, whose Brooklyn constituents are largely Orthodox Jews. “How can we help but be reminded of the recent, horrible tragedy ... which left five innocent people dead?”

At least one witness said he heard Peters repeatedly saying, “Kill the Jews!” according to Rabbi Chaim Landa, a ChabadLubavitch spokesman.

Police were still interviewing witnesses but quoted Peters as saying instead, “I’m going to kill all of you.” The case was not immediately classified as a possible bias crime.

Chabad-Lubavitch is a

Photo by Mark Lennihan | AP

A member of the Lubavitch community, center, leaves the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic headquarters guarded by members of the New York Police Department, left, Tuesday in New York. large, worldwide Hasidic movement that runs schools, synagogues and other institutions and reaches out to nonobservant Jews to encourage them to embrace their heritage and religious traditions. It is active on college campuses and in cities around the globe.

Peters had wandered into the building earlier Monday and was ushered out, then returned after midnight and asked: “Do you have any books in English?” before he was escorted out again, police said. The building, which also contains a synagogue, is open 24 hours a day.

Chabad-Lubavitch officials said security at the building was tightened after the stabbing. They would not say what measures were in place at the time of the attack.

Devorah Halberstam, whose son Ari was killed in a 1994 shooting on the Brooklyn Bridge, said there is nothing more sacred in the community than shul, or synagogue.

“This is where we feel the most safe, when our kids leave the house and we know they went to shul either to pray or to learn,” she said. “To know that something like that has happened and in-

filtrated within our own community is so troubling.”

The jerky clip of the final confrontation posted online showed Peters in a waist-length jacket and hat with a knife in his right hand, surrounded by officers with drawn weapons and Jewish students wearing traditional plain Orthodox clothing.

Some of the students appeared to be trying to defuse the situation, urging Peters to calm down and asking officers not to shoot him.

Peters eventually put the knife down at an officer’s urging and stepped away, but quickly picked it up again as the officer approached him, apparently to arrest him.

Officers yelled at him repeatedly to drop the weapon as Peters moved around, and a single gunshot could be heard. The shooting itself took place outside camera range.

Police said Peters had lunged at the officer with the 4 1/2-inch blade.

Chaim Grossbaum, a 19-year-old who was studying at the center, said Peters had put his knife down, then picked it up again, “and starts walking toward them, and then the cops shoot him.”

Peters had a document-

ed history of mental illness and had been arrested 19 times since 1982, most recently in 2006 for drugs, police said.

Attorney Jeffrey A. St. Clair, appearing at the Peters family’s front door in Valley Stream, on Long Island, described him as bipolar. St. Clair said the family had no warning of an outburst.

“Calvin Peters was a loving and devoted father,” he said. “And the family is quite frankly shocked and disappointed at what happened.”

Next-door neighbor Lorraine McCartney called Peters as “a very nice man” who had attended parties in her backyard. “I would never believe that of him. Never,” she said.

The Crown Heights neighborhood is home to a large ultra-Orthodox Lubavitch community and was the site of racially charged riots between Jews and blacks in 1991 following the fatal stabbing of a rabbinical student.

In 2008, Pakistani gunmen attacked a Chabad center in Mumbai, India, as part of a rampage through the financial capital that left 166 people dead, six of them at the Jewish site.

Photo by Matt Rourke | AP

Photo by Daniel Mears/Detroit News | AP

Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer speaks during a news conference Tuesday in Philadelphia. Elevenyear Philadelphia firefighter veteran Joyce Craig Lewis was killed in the line of duty.

Detroit Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr, right, leaves U.S. District Court in Detroit. Orr says the city no longer will be in a financial emergency when it officially exits bankruptcy.

Female firefighter dies

Detroit’s financial emergency over

By MICHAEL R. SISAK ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — A firefighter hailed for her work ethic and the pride she took in being assigned to the city’s busiest engine companies died Tuesday after she became trapped in the basement of a burning row home where an elderly woman was later rescued, officials said.

Joyce Craig Lewis is the first female member of the Philadelphia Fire Department to die in the line of duty. She was part of a three-member hose team sent to attack the fire inside a home in the city’s West Oak Lane neighborhood at about 3 a.m. Tuesday, fire commissioner Derrick Sawyer said.

Commanders quickly changed tactics and ordered the company to withdraw as the fire intensified, with chimney-like conditions billowing smoke and heat toward firefighters, Sawyer said.

Craig Lewis, an 11-year veteran and mother of two, could not escape and issued a mayday call, officials said. Firefighters raced back inside and found the 36-year-old unconscious with no vital

signs, Sawyer said.

Paramedics performed CPR and rushed her to a hospital. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

Mayor Michael Nutter called the death “a tremendous loss” and a “very sad day” for all Philadelphians.

A procession of fire vehicles led an ambulance with Craig Lewis’s body to the city medical examiner’s office. Black bunting was hung from firehouses.

Craig Lewis is survived by a 16-year-old son and a 16-month-old daughter, Nutter said.

The Philadelphia native was one of 58 women among the city’s 1,800 firefighters, according to firefighters union President Joe Schulle. She worked in Germantown and a busy North Philadelphia firehouse before requesting a transfer to Engine 64 in Lawncrest, one of the city’s most active fire stations.

He said he believed she was working an overtime shift Tuesday morning.

“Everybody on that fire (scene) inevitably today is sitting at home reflecting, thinking what they could have done differently, how this could have been prevented,” Schulle said.

“They’re heartbroken.”

However, he said the intense heat and deteriorating conditions may have made it nearly impossible to escape.

“If you are in a flashover, you have seconds — not minutes — to get out of there,” Schulle said.

Craig Lewis, a certified EMT, previously had been commended for attacking a fire while colleagues rescued residents from a burning home, Sawyer said. Her efforts Tuesday to keep the fire contained to the basement came as other firefighters rescued the elderly woman from another part of the home.

“She was just all-consumed by this job,” boyfriend Jason Anderson told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“That was her thing.”

Her equipment has been preserved for a pending investigation, Sawyer said.

More than 40 Philadelphia firefighters have been killed in the line of duty since 1943, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters.

The last, Capt. Michael Goodwin, died April 6, 2013, in a roof collapse while battling a fire in the city’s Queen Village section.

By COREY WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — Kevyn Orr has agreed to step down as Detroit’s emergency manager, saying in a letter released Tuesday that the city will no longer be in a financial emergency once it exits bankruptcy.

Orr also told Gov. Rick Snyder in his letter, dated Monday, that he has implemented the city’s two-year budget that reflects the elimination of about $7 billion in debt through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

The budget order brings an end to Orr’s 22-month stay and efforts to solve one of the largest fiscal emergencies ever to face a major U.S. city.

Snyder told Orr in a letter Tuesday that he agreed with the determination and “approves termination of the financial emergency status, the receivership of the city of Detroit, and your contract as emergency manager.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes is expected to sign off on the budget

order. A hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court to determine Detroit’s bankruptcy exit date.

The bankruptcy’s effective date is merely one step in Detroit’s journey, Orr said in the letter to Snyder.

“There remains much work for the city to complete and much yet to accomplish,” he wrote. “I hope and firmly believe that the city’s leadership can continue to build on the solid foundation the restructuring process has created for them.”

Orr — a turnaround expert who helped steer Chrysler through the automaker’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy — had been the official face of Detroit government since he was appointed in March 2013

by Snyder.

Orr took the $275,000 annual job under an 18month contract and soon determined the city was drowning in about $18 billion in overall debt, unable to pay its bills or provide adequate city services for its 700,000 residents.

Detroit filed for bank-

ruptcy on July 18, 2013.

Rhodes allowed the city’s bankruptcy petition on Dec. 3, 2013, and last month approved Orr’s long-term restructuring plan.

Most of the city’s creditors, including about 30,000 employees and retirees, approved the plan, which wipes out about $7 billion of $12 billion in city debt not tied to funding sources, while retaining $1.4 billion to improve police and fire and other city services.

The final plan came after months of intense negotiations with major banks, bond companies, unions, the city’s two pension groups and others. It was bolstered by a unique promise of $800 million from foundations, major corporations and the state to help make up cuts to retiree pensions while protecting city-owned pieces in the Detroit Institute of Arts from possible sale.

Control of Detroit’s finances was returned in September to Mayor Mike Duggan and the nine-member City Council when Orr’s contract ended.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NBA: HOUSTON ROCKETS

More injury woes Photo by Bill Wippert | AP

Johnny Manziel cwill start his first NFL game Sunday for the Cleveland Brows after backing up Brian Hoyer all year.

Manziel to start for Cleveland

By TOM WITHERS ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND — Johnny Football’s days as a backup are over this season.

He’s getting his chance to start.

Rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel will make his first NFL start Sunday against Cincinnati, replacing the slumping Brian Hoyer as Cleveland tries to pump life into its sagging playoff hopes.

After moving up in May’s draft to get him and waiting seven months as he learned and watched from the sideline, the Browns are finally setting one of college football’s most captivating players loose with three games left in the season.

Browns coach Mike Pettine made the expected switch on Tuesday after meeting with his staff and general manager Ray Farmer, then informing both quarterbacks. Many Browns fans have wanted the change for weeks as they watched Hoyer fumble away his dream job.

“We are trying to get the offense to perform at a higher level,” Pettine said. “Johnny has worked very hard to earn this opportunity and it will be very important for every member of the offense to elevate their play for us to obtain our desired result.”

Photo by David J. Phillip | AP

James Harden is yet another Houston Rocket to have trouble with injuries. Still, the Rockets have been able to find replacements each time a star goes down.

James Harden struggling with back spasms

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Add James Harden to the long list of Houston Rockets dealing with injuries.

Harden is struggling with back spasms and is listed as questionable for Houston’s game at NBA-leading Golden State on Wednesday night.

Harden’s back problem began in Saturday night’s game.

“Still a little tight,” he said Tuesday. “Getting better every single day

though.”

All-Star center Dwight Howard is improving and practiced with the team on Tuesday, but is doubtful to play against the Warriors. He has missed the last nine games with a strained right knee.

“Dwight went through the majority of what we did which was the first time he’s done that since he’s been out,” coach Kevin McHale said. “So I guess (Wednesday) we’ll see how he feels.”

McHale said that Howard has been

running and doing work away from the team, but that his return to practice was an encouraging step. Howard is averaging 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Rookie Tarik Black has filled in for him nicely and has helped the Rockets go 7-2 in his absence, including winning their last four. He’s averaged more than six points and seven rebounds a game since Howard has been out.

“We’re interchanging pieces right now which is kind of weird, but we’re getting it done,” Black said.

Mexico

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

Mexico vows to sell dollars to halt peso’s slide

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY — Mexico is ready to intervene in currency markets to fight the peso’s fall against the dollar amid concerns over dropping oil prices and a possible increase in U.S. interest rates.

Mexico’s Exchange Commission said that as of Tuesday, the government will hold a daily auction of $200 million whenever the peso falls at least 1.5 percent from the previous day.

The idea is to provide liquidity to a currency market that has been volatile in recent weeks. Experts attribute the instability to fears that investment in Mexico could slide in coming years in the face of lower oil prices and the possible flight of dollars away from Mexi-

can debt toward higher interest rates elsewhere.

The peso closed Monday at 14.40 per dollar and Tuesday was at 14.36, an improvement that would not trigger a dollar auction.

The commission, composed of the Central Bank and Treasury Department, announced the measure Monday. It was first instituted during the 2008 international financial crisis and has been used in various moments since.

While the peso’s depreciation is a boon for Mexican exporters who deal in dollars, over the long term it could be seen as negative for the country as a whole.

Alfredo Coutino, director for Latin America for the consultant Moody’s Analystics, said it was oil’s plunge that sparked the volatility, “and unfor-

Photo by Banco de Mexico | AP file

This file composite, made from images released by the Bank of Mexico, shows the new 500 peso bill that began circulating on Aug. 30. tunately Mexico has a high dependence on oil exports.”

“The fall in the price of oil affects investment decisions,” he said. One-third

of Mexico’s revenue comes from oil and the country recently passed historic energy reforms aimed at attracting private investment that could revive the country’s declining production. But as oil prices fall, Coutino said, “Mexico isn’t as attractive and that could affect big companies’ investment decisions in 2015 and 2016.”

After reaching $100 a barrel, oil has slumped in recent months and now sells at $56.70 a barrel.

Economists also expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2015, after keeping them low for six years trying to stimulate the economy. If that happens, those holding Mexican debt could pull their money out of Mexico to invest in the U.S. “That generates the mentality that it is time to

begin to leave Mexico,” Coutino said.

Joel Virgen, assistant director of economic research at Grupo Financiero Banamex, said that so far they have not detected a flight of dollars from the country, but the nervousness is evident in the currency market.

“This should be seen as a preventative measure,” he said. “It’s like when you buy auto insurance: Basically, you buy it to not use it.”

The peso has fallen 10 percent against the dollar this year, but not much more than other currencies that have reacted similarly. MetAnalisis, a Mexican consulting company, notes that the Brazilian real has fallen 9.6 percent, the euro 11.8 percent, the Chilean peso 16 percent and the Colombian peso 20 percent.

MIÉRCOLES 10 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2014

Ribereña en Breve MERCADO INVERNAL Este sábado 13 de diciembre se realizará el “Zapata Winter Market”, evento diseñado para apoyar a los negocios locales y pequeñas empresas.

Los asistentes podrán comprar de 10 a.m. a 3 p.m., en 506 Hwy 83.

FOTOGRAFÍAS CON SANTA CLAUS El sábado 13 de diciembre, la Ciudad de Roma patrocinará Fotografías con Santa Claus, que serán gratuitas para los asistentes.

El evento se realizará en el Falcon State Park Rec. Hall, a partir de las 9 a.m. y hasta las 12 p.m.

El costo de entrada será de 3 dólares para adultos y niños de 12 años o mayores.

Los primeros 50 niños en acudir recibirán un juguete gratis. Habrá actividades para los niños, entre ellas la creación de adornos navideños.

Durante el evento también se repartirán galletas y chocolate, gratis.

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 9A

CONDADO DE ZAPATA

Ejecutan arresto POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Un hombre que se encontraba de caza en el Condado de Zapata fue arrestado por estar en el país de manera ilegal mientras estaba en posesión de un rifle, de acuerdo con registros de la corte federales presentados el lunes.

Una querella criminal acusa a Santos Hernández-Hernández con cargo por ser inmigrante indocumentado en posesión de un arma de fuego. Él permanece en custodia federal.

El 3 de diciembre, el Condado

Patrulla Fronteriza detuvo a un hombre que supuestamente se encontraba en el país de manera ilegal y en posesión de arma. de Zapata solicitó asistencia de Patrulla Fronteriza en una detención de tráfico realizada por guardas de caza del Departamento de Parques y Vida Silvestre, en U.S. 83. al Sur de Zapata. Los guardas de caza dijeron a los agentes que los ocupantes estaban cazando sin

licencia.

Más adelante los guardas señalaron que creían que dos de los tres ocupantes del vehículo se encontraban en el país de manera ilegal, ya que no pudieron entregar identificaciones y no hablaban inglés, de acuerdo con la que-

TAMAULIPAS

TXDOT

RECONOCEN LABOR

Consejos evitarían choferes ebrios

CAMPAMENTO DE SOFTBALL La Ciudad de Roma, Texas estará realizando un campamento de softball dirigido a jugadores de entre 8 y 14 años de edad.

El evento se llevará a cabo el sábado 13 de diciembre, dentro de las instalaciones del Roma High Softball Field, en los siguientes horarios: de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m.; de 12 p.m. a 1 p.m. (se proporcionará la comida); y de 1 p.m. a 3 p.m.

Los asistentes recibirán entrenamiento para cubrir las áreas de picheo, bateo, cubrir las bases, moverse entre campos, robar bases, entre otros aspectos. El costo del campamento será de 25 dólares, e incluirá la comida y una playera.

Para más información puede llamar a Joel Hinojosa Jr., al 353-1442.

PROGRAMA PECDA 2015 El Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA), a través del Instituto Tamaulipeco para la Cultura y las Artes (ITCA), de México, han anunciado el cierre para las convocatorias del Programa de Estímulo a la Creación y al Desarrollo Artístico (PECDA) 2015.

Los solicitantes deben ser originarios del Estado de Tamaulipas o comprobar una residencia continua mínima durante los últimos tres años.

Los proyectos seleccionados se harán acreedores a un estímulo económico que les facilite las condiciones para continuar con su labor en las disciplinas de artes plásticas, arte urbano, artes visuales, danza, letras, música, patrimonio cultural y teatro. Los postulantes deberán ser mayores de 18 años y harán llegar todos sus documentos y material de apoyo en forma electrónica mediante el portal http://www.pecdaenlinea.conaculta.com.mx, a través de la opción “Registrar nuevo usuario”.

El cierre de la convocatoria es el 17 de diciembre.

VISITA DE PAISANOS Se fortalecerá la vigilancia en las carreteras del Estado de Tamaulipas, señala un comunicado de prensa del Estado.

Durante una reunión entre el Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, las fuerzas federales y estatales que integran el Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas, se acordó implementar la vigilancia y la presencia policial durante la temporada decembrinas, periodo durante el cual crece el número de paisanos que visitan México, a través del Estado.

rella. Patrulla Fronteriza determinaron que Hernández estaba en el país como indocumentado.

Entonces, supuestamente Hernández admitió haber disparado a un venado utilizando un arma calibre .243 Remington, modelo 770, de acuerdo con registros de la corte. Agentes especiales del Buró de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos, revisaron el rifle y determinaron que viajó previamente y afectó el comercio interestatal, se lee en la querella.

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

POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas, a través de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Estatal, entregó 300.000 pesos en estímulos económicos, a 16 policías estatales y tres custodios, como reconocimiento a su labor.

Oficiales recibieron estímulo económico TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Reconocer el trabajo y desempeño de los oficiales estatales y custodios del Estado de Tamaulipas, fue el propósito de estímulos económicos entregados a miembros de las corporaciones de seguridad del Estado, dijeron autoridades tamaulipecas.

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas, a través de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Estatal, entregó 300.000 pesos en estímulos econó-

micos, a 16 policías estatales y tres custodios.

“El personal reconocido se ha destacado por el cumplimiento de su deber, honestidad y valentía”, se lee en un comunicado de prensa. “Con este estímulo, se reconoce el esfuerzo que todos los días realizan hombres y mujeres para seguir construyendo un Tamaulipas seguro y en paz”.

Asimismo durante la ceremonia de reconocimiento se indicó que se han invertido 32.479.815 mi-

llones de pesos en uniformes y equipo táctico para policías estatales y custodios, así como 49.469.614 millones de pesos en parque vehicular, señala el comunicado.

“La integridad física, seguridad y tranquilidad de las familias tamaulipecas es y seguirá siendo una prioridad para la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado”, sostuvo el general Arturo Gutiérrez García, Secretario de Seguridad Pública.

NACIONAL

BP solicita agentes mujeres POR ASTRID GALVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

TUCSON, Arizona— Patrulla Fronteriza de Estados Unidos lanzó una convocatoria para contratar un tipo específico de agente: mujeres.

Sólo 5% de sus aproximadamente 21.000 agentes son mujeres, y la agencia ha descrito esto como un problema.

La situación es particularmente preocupante en el suroeste, donde casi 120.000 mujeres fueron detenidas por cruzar la frontera de manera ilegal en el año fiscal que ter-

minó el 31 de octubre. Eso es un incremento significativo respecto al año fiscal 2011, cuando cerca de 43.000 mujeres fueron aprehendidas. La región suroeste de la agencia incluye Arizona, Texas y California.

Pero aunque la cantidad de mujeres que cruzan la frontera ha crecido, el número de agentes fronterizos mujeres ha seguido bajo.

Seis de cada diez mujeres inmigrantes son agredidas sexualmente en su trayecto transfronterizo, de acuerdo con Amnistía Internacional.

El equipo de rescate de la Pa-

trulla Fronteriza (Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue) es responsable de auxiliar a inmigrantes perdidos o heridos, y de administrar primeros auxilios.

La Patrulla Fronteriza atiende cientos de casos cada año de inmigrantes que necesitan ser rescatados al cruzar el desierto. La agencia realizó 509 rescates en el año fiscal 2014 en el sector Tucson. El Valle del Río Grande en Texas ha registrado el mayor número de inmigrantes detenidos. Casi 49% de los inmigrantes arrestados ahí por entrar en el país sin autorización son mujeres.

Con las fiestas a la vuelta de la esquina, el Departamento de Transportes de Texas y Servicios para Menores y Adultos en Necesidad (SCAN, por sus siglas en inglés) hicieron equipo a principios del mes para recordar a la comunidad no ingerir bebidas alcohólicas y conducir.

Los días de fiesta están por venir.

Y donde se celebra una convivencia, hay alcohol, dijo Verónica Jiménez, directora del programa para la Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Webb. Dijo que las personas se colocan detrás del volante sin saber que el alcohol puede afectar su equilibrio y reacción. “(Tomar y conducir) no solamente expone al conductor, también expone a los pasajeros”, dijo Jiménez.

En Texas, hubo 25.253 choques relacionados con el alcohol en 2013, de acuerdo con autoridades de TxDOT. Estos accidentes dieron lugar a 1.036 personas muertas y 2.471 personas con heridas de incapacidad, dijo Blanca Treviño-Castro, especialista en seguridad de tráfico para TxDOT. Treviño-Castro dijo que la mayoría de las personas creen que está bien beber y conducir después de consumir una o dos bebidas alcohólicas. Pero en realidad, el alcohol afecta a las personas de diferentes maneras.

“La mayoría de las personas piensan que tienes que estar muy, muy ebrio para causar estos accidentes. Pero en realidad, en cualquier ocasión en que estés en un restaurante, bar o la casa de alguna persona, e ingieren solo una bebida, estás colocando tu vida, o la vida de alguien más en tus manos, mientras estás bajo la influencia del alcohol”, dijo.

Treviño-Castro recomendó los siguientes consejos de seguridad.

Planear con anticipación.

Llamar a un amigo sobrio y a un miembro de la familia.

Llamar un taxi. Tener un número de contacto en el teléfono celular.

Utilizar transporte público.

Quedarse y/o pasar la noche.

Cada año TxDOT gasta alrededor de 3 millones en programas de prevención de conductores intoxicados que incluyen campañas de medios, educación pública, intensificación de aplicación y entrenamiento.

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

REYNOSA, MÉXICO

Oficiales logran asegurar hidrocarburos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El municipio de Reynosa, México, fue el escenario para el decomiso de cuatro vehículos, que transportaban más de 8.000 litros de hidrocarburo, señaló el Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas.

El lunes se dio a conocer que elementos de

seguridad, estatales, federales y miembros del ejército lograron el aseguramiento de cuatro vehículos con nueve bidones que contenían 8.100 litros de hidrocarburo, en el marco del “Operativo Frontera”.

El decomiso tuvo lugar después de que fuerzas estatales y federales detectaran cuatro vehículos mal estacionados y con las puertas abier-

tas, durante un patrulleo en Colonia La Joya de la ciudad de Reynosa.De los nueve bidones asegurados, cinco de ellos tienen capacidad para 1.000. Los restantes almacenan 1.200 litros cada uno.

Los recipientes e hidrocarburo fueron puestos a disposición del Ministerio Público de la Federación.

Nation

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

Detainees force-fed rectally by CIA

By JIM SNYDER BLOOMBERG NEWS

A CIA-led interrogation program kept suspects in cold cells, doused them with refrigerated water and force-fed some rectally, according to graphic details revealed today in a report

by Senate Democrats.

At least one detainee died in an unheated cell.

Another tried to chew his arm and committed other acts of self- mutilation. Others hallucinated, suffered from paranoia and exhibited other signs of psychosis.

The report issued today

by Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee goes into gruesome detail about what supporters described as enhanced interrogation techniques. It concluded that the techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency were largely ineffective at providing useful information and sometimes werent reviewed by the Justice Department.

A team from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons inspected one of the secret detention facilities, saying they had never been in a facility where individuals are so sensory deprived, according to a December 2002 e-mail in the reports summary that redacted the identity of the sender and receiver.

There is nothing like this in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The CIA contracted with two psychologists to develop, operate, and assess its interrogation operations, although they had no experience as interrogators nor specialized knowledge of alQaeda.

Detainee Death In the fall of 2002, a detainee died of hypothermia while shackled to a concrete floor. Another detainee was held for 17 days in the dark without anybody knowing he was there. At least 26 didnt meet the standards for being held, according to the report.

Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in 2002, was initially cooperative with in-

LA votes to oversee cops

By BRIAN MELLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to create a civilian commission to oversee the scandal-plagued Sheriff’s Department.

Supervisors voted 3-2 to in favor of the panel to review and provide recommendations on the operation of the department that patrols unincorporated areas of the county and several suburbs while running the nation’s largest jail system.

The department has been beset with allegations of inmate abuse by deputies and costly lawsuits.

Sheriff Lee Baca stepped down in January after 18 underlings were charged with federal crimes ranging from beating inmates and jail visitors to obstructing justice.

“The Sheriff’s Department has long required a level of scrutiny that has been missing. The time has come,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who authored the measure.

“New department leadership has been elected with a mandate for reform.”

Opponents said the panel will have little authority over the elected sheriff, and a newly established inspector general should be allowed to do his job.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell issued a statement in favor of creating an advisory panel.

Photo by U.S. Geological Survey | AP

This Dec. 1 shows a narrow lava channel near the leading tip of an active lobe from the June 27 lava flow near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Photo by Stephen Crowley/New York Times | AP

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, en route to the Senate floor, in Washington, Tuesday. terrogators. He identified Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the planner of the Sept.

11 attacks, for example.

As he recovered from wounds suffered in his capture, however, the interrogation techniques grew harsher. Officials believed he was withholding information about pending attacks.

Zubaydah was shackled naked during interrogations and was forced to stay awake. He spent 47 days in isolation without being asked any questions. After that he was subjected to waterboarding, which prompted him to vomit and caused his body to convulse in involuntary spasms.

including on three occasions being subjected to a method of simulated drowning known as waterboarding.

On-site interrogators said al-Nashiri was compliant, but officers at CIA headquarters disputed that contention and sought to continue his interrogations, according to the report.

The report said interrogators used unauthorized techniques against al-Nashiri, including forcing him to stand with his hand over his head for 2 1/2 days. A CIA officer placed a pistol near al-Nashiris head while he was blindfolded. He was also given a forced bath with a stiff brush.

11 Days

Sleep Deprivation

He spent a total of 11 days and two hours in a box the size of a coffin and 29 hours in a box that was even smaller, at 21 inches wide, 2 1/2 feet deep and 2 1/2 feet high. Daily cables from the site where he was interrogated said Zubaydah frequently cried, begged, pleaded and whimpered, the report said.

The CIA later concluded Zubaydah didnt know about any pending attacks.

Another detainee, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who was suspected of being involved in the bombing of the USS Cole and the 1998 East Africa U.S. embassy bombings, was subjected to four periods of enhanced interrogation techniques,

Muhammad Rahim, described as an al-Qaeda facilitator who was thought to have information about Osama bin Ladens whereabouts, was subjected to eight extensive sleep deprivation sessions after his capture in 2007, according to the report.

Rahim was usually shackled in a standing position, wearing a diaper and a pair of shorts, the report said. His diet was almost entirely limited to water and liquid Ensure meals.

Other detainees were subjected to rough takedowns where they were dragged naked down long corridors while being slapped and punched by CIA officers.

Journalists, students take first lava tours ASSOCIATED PRESS

HILO, Hawaii — More people are getting a firsthand look at the lava threatening a rural Big Island community.

A group of journalists got their first official tour of the lava flow Monday, following the first of a series of field trips to the area by local schoolchildren.

About 20 journalists trudged across the cracked, black lava at the town of Pahoa’s waste transfer station, where the flow came within feet of burning structures before losing momentum and stalling.

The lava’s surface there had cooled and hardened but was still releasing small, warm columns of air, the Hawaii TribuneHerald reported.

The lava from Kilauea volcano emerged from a vent in June and crept through uninhabited areas until this fall, when it reached Pahoa, crossed a rural road and burned a house.

On Tuesday, the flow

front remained about 2.3 miles upslope of the intersection of Highway 130 and the town’s main road after advancing 225 yards overnight, said Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County civil defense administrator.

The front was about 150 to 200 yards wide and wasn’t posing an immediate threat, he said.

Civil defense and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials guided the journalists’ tour. Earlier in the day, they took a group of schoolchildren to the section of molten rock that crossed a country road.

It was one of several planned field trips aimed at educating area students about the science of eruptions.

Officials say the pilot program will help them decide whether to offer viewing tours to the wider public. Access so far has been restricted because of safety concerns.

Journalists weren’t allowed to be at the site while the students were there because of privacy

concerns and to avoid subjecting students to more stress, the Tribune-Herald reported. The approaching lava forced the closure of several schools, requiring students to be rerouted to other schools or a temporary site.

Up to 1,000 students are expected to view the lava by week’s end.

“The students didn’t know a lot about the lava flow when they first got out here, and they had a lot of questions,” said Keaau Elementary Principal Keone Farias, incoming superintendent for Kau, Keaau and Pahoa schools.

Farias said a highlight of the children’s visit was getting to meet Oliveira, known for his leadership in preparing the community for the lava.

“He was definitely a hit,” Farias said. “It was putting a face to civil defense.”

Kilauea volcano is one of the world’s most active volcanos. It has been erupting continuously for more than 31 years.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Lawmakers agree on $1.1 trillion bill

By DAVID ESPO AND ANDREW TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Time running short, Republicans and Democrats agreed Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and delay a politically-charged struggle over President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy until the new year.

In an unexpected move, lawmakers also agreed on legislation expected to be incorporated into the spending measure that will permit a reduction in benefits for current retirees at economically distressed multiemployer pension plans. Supporters said it was part of an effort to prevent a slow-motion collapse of a system that provides retirement income to millions, but critics objected vehemently.

At 1,603 pages, the spending bill adheres to strict caps negotiated earlier between the White House and deficit- conscious Republicans, and is also salted with GOP policy proposals. As described by unhappy liberals, one would roll back new regulations that prohibit banks from using federal deposit insurance to cover investments on some complex financial instruments.

Elsewhere, there were tradeoffs. Democrats won increases for enforcement activities at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while Republicans emerged with a $60 million reduction at the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The federal government’s going to run out of money in two days. ... We’ve been trying to work with Republican leaders to avoid a shutdown,” Senate Majority Lead-

WOMEN Continued from Page 1A they are U.S. citizens and have lived in the country for the last three years. Applicants also must pass medical, fitness and polygraph tests and meet other requirements.

The annual, starting salary for a Border Patrol agent ranges from $39,012 to $44,403, according to the agency’s job posting.

Another jobs announcement for both women and men will be posted in January, Leon said.

Recruiting more women is a good public relations move for the agency whose image needs help, said Erik Lee, executive director of the North America Research Partnership, a San Diego-based research organization which looks at economic and other issues along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“By its own admission, the Border Patrol lags other federal law enforcement agencies in the number of women” agents, he said.

Applications are taken online only at www.cbp.gov/careers.

Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP

In this file photo from Sept. 10, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, left, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DNev., right, attend a ceremony remembering the attacks of September 11, 2001, at the Capitol in Washington. er Harry Reid of Nevada said at midafternoon as final negotiations dragged on.

Speaker John Boehner said he hoped for a vote on the measure on Thursday, and officials expressed confidence they could overcome opposition from tea party-backed Republicans and avoid a government shutdown.

Senate approval would then be required to send it to Obama — one of the final acts of a two-year Congress far better known for gridlock than for accomplishment.

Not only a two-year Congress, but also a political era was drawing to a close as the lights burned late inside the Capitol on a December night.

For the first time in eight years, Republicans will have a Senate majority in January after their hugely successful midterm election, and newly elected GOP senators-elect participated in closeddoor strategy sessions during the

day.

Before time runs out on his majority, Reid said he wanted to assure confirmation of nine more of Obama’s judicial nominees and approve the appointment of Vivek Murthy as surgeon general.

Also on Congress’ must-do list is legislation to renew a series of expiring tax breaks, and a bill to authorize the Pentagon to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State forces in the Middle East.

The compromise spending bill will permit virtually the entire government to operate normally through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security.

Funds for that one agency will run out again on Feb. 27. Republicans are expected to try and use the expiration as leverage to force Obama to roll back a decision that will suspend the threat of deportation for an estimated 4 million im-

ABBOTT Continued from Page 1A said he mentioned to two Cabinet members and a member of the president’s staff that Texas would like the federal government to reimburse it for the $500-plus million it has spent securing the border since an influx of people began crossing into Texas without legal permission this summer.

“None of them had any answers at that time,” Abbott said Monday.

Abbott also renewed promises to offer expanded, higher-quality pre-kindergarten programs, saying he’d like every Texas student to read and do math at grade level by third grade.

When it came to tax cuts, Abbott said he’d push for breaks for businesses and property taxes, but didn’t offer specifics. He added that he wants to see which proposals “the greatest number of legislators will agree with.” The Texas Legislature reconvenes Jan. 13.

Abbott also called for

$4 billion per year in spending for water infrastructure — a concern after a yearslong drought in much of the state — and improving roads clogged by a booming population. As he did during the campaign, Abbott promised to do both without raising taxes, fees or tolls. That’s possible since voters each of the last two years have approved state constitutional amendments taking billions from Texas’ cash reserves for water and road improvements.

The governor-elect didn’t mention gay marriage until he was asked about the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which next month will hear a case in which a judge in February struck down Texas’ ban. Some advocates have asked other Texas judges to begin performing gay marriages pending the appeal, but Abbott said that would be “deeply offensive” since it “would be a clear rebuke of the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction.”

migrants living in the country illegally.

Not all Republicans agreed with the strategy of postponing a fight over immigration. Some conservative lawmakers demanded a change in the spending measure to deny the use of federal funds to carry out the president’s new policy. The leadership ruled otherwise, gambling that even with conservative defections, enough bipartisan support existed for the funding bill to assure its passage.

Earlier in the day, House Republicans removed one obstacle to passage of the spending measure by announcing they would pass legislation separately to renew a requirement for the federal government to assume some of the insurance risk in losses arising from terrorism.

In talks with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Republicans led

by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas., agreed to the renewal, but said

they wanted to roll back portions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that tightened federal regulation on the financial sector.

The stand-alone bill seemed likely to clear the House, but its fate in the Senate was uncertain.

The pension-related talks between Rep. John Kline, R-Min., and George Miller, D-Calif., were designed to preserve benefits of current and future retirees at lower levels than currently exist, but higher than they would be if their pension funds ran out of money.

“We have a plan here that first and foremost works for the members of the unions, the workers in these companies and it works for the companies,” said Miller, retiring at year’s end after four decades in Congress.

Not everyone agreed.

The AARP, which claims to represent millions of retirement-age Americans, attacked the agreement as a “secret, last-minute closed door deal between a group of companies, unions and Washington politicians to cut the retirement benefits that have been promised to them.”

Also driving the talks was concern over the financial fate of the fund that assures multiemployer pensions at the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The agency said in its most recent annual report that the fund’s deficit rose to $42.2 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept, 30, up from $8.3 billion the previous year, and that the likelihood of its bankruptcy is 90 percent by 2025.

Agency figures show as many as 1.5 million retirees could be affected by any change in law to permit a reduction. An estimated 400,000 of them receive benefits from the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund.

West Virginia exec accused of fraud

By JEF FEELEY BLOOMBERG NEWS

West Virginia Executive Accused of Fraud in Spill Bankruptcy The former president of Freedom Industries Inc., the chemical maker that contaminated drinking water for more than 300,000 West Virginia residents, was charged with fraud in connection with the company’s bankruptcy filing.

Gary Southern, an executive of Charleston, West Virginia- based Freedom since 2009, was arrested and accused of lying during bankruptcy proceedings in hopes of protecting about $8 million in personal assets, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation complaint filed yesterday.

The chemical maker sought bankruptcy protection from creditors in January, days after state offi-

cials discovered that a leak from one of Freedom’s tanks sent about 7,500 gallons of a cleaning agent used in coal-mining operations spilling into the Elk River. The spill contaminated drinking water for about 300,000 people in the Charleston area and sent more than 100 residents to the hospital.

Shortly after the leak was discovered, “Southern engaged in a pattern of deceitful behavior, which included numerous false and/or fraudulent statements” about his role at Freedom, FBI Special Agent James Lafferty said in court filings.

Southern couldn’t immediately be located for comment and a lawyer for him wasn’t listed in court documents.

The spill, West Virginia’s fifth major industrial accident since 2006, forced some residents of the

U.S.’s third-poorest state to buy bottled water for more than a month. Almost 18 percent of West Virginia residents live below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census figures.

Southern, who owns a house on Marco Island, Florida, was arrested yesterday on bankruptcyfraud and wire-fraud charges and appeared before a federal magistrate in Fort Myers today, the Associated Press reported.

He was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond and ordered to hand over his passport.

He’s accused of misrepresenting his role at Freedom Industries and his involvement in the December 2013 sale of the chemical maker to Chemstream Holdings Inc., a company controlled by Pennsylvania coal-mining magnate J. Clifford Forrest.

PAGE 12A

Zentertainment

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

Anderson goes back to Cali for ‘Inherent Vice’

By JAKE COYLE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The numbers are unavoidable. Paul Thomas Anderson has made seven feature films and he has made seven films set in California.

“It’s just there, isn’t it?” sighs Anderson. “If there was ever any kind of intention to have a wide variety of work, all of it’s gone out the window.”

Such a fate is ironic to the 44-year-old director, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley preferring Westerns that were shot in Arizona or Texas, as opposed to those (he could tell) in the soft rolling hills of California. “And there I am making ‘There Will Be Blood’ on these soft rolling hills in California,” he says. “In other words, there was zero master plan.”

Having already chronicled the Valley’s colorful pornography industry in “Boogie Nights” and dramatized the early days of Scientology in “The Master,” Anderson has yet again been lured back to his native state. “It’s cinematic, I suppose, and it’s dirty,” he says.

“It’s got a long, sad history, but it’s also got a long, beautiful history.”

Anderson’s latest, “Inherent Vice,” is an absurdist romp about a stoned, hippie detective (Joaquin Phoenix) mumbling his way through the darkening haze of post-’60s Los Angeles, after the Manson murders. It’s the first big-screen adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel (the author’s third California-set book), so Anderson notes he’s really “piggybacking” on Pynchon’s obsessions.

If anything, Anderson

Photo by Richard Drew | AP

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and Britain’s Prince William are escorted by Joe Daniels, president & CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in the Hall of Faces, during their visit.

Photo by Wilson Webb/Warner Bros. Pictures | AP

Actor Joaquin Phoenix, left, and director/writer/producer, Paul Thomas Anderson, right, on the set of Warner Bros. considered avoiding “Inherent Vice,” since it would mean another California movie: “All these reasons not to do it, they don’t matter at a certain point and you just find yourself doing something that you can’t help,” he says.

In an interview earlier this fall shortly before “Inherent Vice” debuted at the New York Film Festival, Anderson — a little shaggy, like his protagonist, but a lot more lucid — exhibited serenity, if a little surprise, at the directions his curiosity pulls him. But he acknowledged the night before the film’s unveiling was sleepless, “like a bad montage.”

Pre-premiere nerves would be understandable: “Inherent Vice” is Anderson’s most audaciously outon-a-limb film yet, which is saying something for a filmmaker who’s made it rain frogs ("Magnolia”) and concluded a movie with a brutally wielded bowling pin ("There Will Be Blood”). “Inherent Vice” is a looney “The Big Sleep,” a far-out detective story that embraces a helter-skelter, anything-

goes farce. The slapstick of “Police Squad” was an influence.

“They make you feel like there’re no rules in a movie.

If it’s going to work, it’s OK. It’s very encouraging to the mischievous side of making a film,” says Anderson.

“When you read Pynchon’s work, he does make you feel that way, too. This is a book, but it can go anywhere, as long as it seems right and it’s from a genuine place.

Go for it.” Such improvising has regularly been Anderson’s way. Phoenix, who also starred as the drifting World War II veteran Freddie in “The Master,” says with Anderson there’s “genuine exploration.”

“He has the knowledge and the technical know-how to achieve anything. He can design a scene with a series of shots, but he doesn’t do that,” says Phoenix. “He likes to paint himself into a corner. He wants to think of something fresh and he wants it to be organic. You start working on something and you think it’s going one direction, and then he’ll just scrap an hour’s work and reset the shot to find it.”

Rapper, wife tried to reconcile ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Rapper Earl Warren Hayes and his estranged wife were trying to reconcile and she was optimistic about their chances only days before Hayes killed her and committed suicide, a police detective said Tuesday.

The bodies of Hayes, 34, and 30-year-old Stephanie Elyse Moseley were found Monday morning inside their Park La Brea unit in the Fairfax district after neighbors reported hearing gunshots and a woman screaming, police said.

Hayes was an acquaintance of professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and police have asked to interview him following media reports that he may have spoken to Hayes before the murder-suicide, homicide Detective Scott Masterson said.

“We know that there’s a relationship there,” Masterson said. “If he has anything significant to add to the investigation, we want to know.”

Two attorneys for Mayweather told The Associated Press that they had not heard from the boxer. He was due in San Antonio for a fight on Friday.

Moseley was a dancer and actress who appeared in the VH1 cheerleader drama “Hit the Floor.”

“We are incredibly saddened to hear the news of the passing of Stephanie Moseley,” VH1 said in a statement. “VH1 and the entire ‘Hit the Floor’ family send our thoughts and condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time.”

Hayes and Moseley had been married for five years before separating “but they had recently gotten back together and were trying to work things out,” Masterson said.

Moseley had spoken to family members in Canada last Thursday and told them that “things were go-

Photo by Arnold Turner/Invision | AP

In this Dec. 2012 file photo, Stephanie Moseley attends Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women & Children Holiday Toy Drive. ing pretty (well) and that she was upbeat and optimistic about things,” the detective said.

Investigators don’t know “what made it turn so violent Monday morning,” he said.

Prince William, Kate visit 9/11 Memorial

By JENNIFER PELTZ AND COLLEEN LONG ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, paid their respects with a handwritten note Tuesday at the Sept.

11 museum and told its leaders they were struck by the enormity of the loss in the 2001 terror attacks.

“In sorrowful memory of those who died on 11th September and in admiration of the courage shown to rebuild — William and Catherine,” she wrote in a note the couple left with flowers on the memorial pools lined with the names of the nearly 3,000 victims.

Making their first visit to New York, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited its most somber site amid a three-day agenda filled with events linked to their charitable interests in conservation and youth development, receptions with actors and others in cre-

ative and technology fields, and a bit of all-American entertainment — a pro basketball game.

As the royals toured the museum devoted to the attacks, they examined such artifacts as preserved trident columns from one of the fallen twin towers’ facades and viewed rows upon rows of victims’ portraits. Like other visitors, they left virtual signatures to be projected on a crucial underground wall that survived the attacks and held back the Hudson River, with Kate looking on with a smile as hers appeared.

And they asked questions about the memorial pools’ design, about how victims’ families had responded to the museum, and about the attacks themselves, National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum President Joe Daniels said.

"You could see in, really, both of their eyes, the sort of care and curiosity they had for the story of what

happened and the people who died that day,” Daniels said.

William remarked on “how much people understand and need to understand how impactful the scale of loss was” on American history, Daniels said.

Kate noted the enormity of the museum’s space, which stretches seven stories belowground amid the fallen towers’ footprints, and “talked about how moving the memorial was and being able to touch the names of the victims,” museum chief of staff Allison Blais said.

The royals, now 32, were beginning their studies at the University of St. Andrews when the attacks happened. Sixty-seven British citizens died that day, the highest toll of any country other than the U.S. After the museum, the royal couple watched dance and storytelling performances at The Door, a youth development organization.