The Zapata Times 12/23/2017

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MILITARY VETERAN

MEXICO

Military policing law OK’d John Gibbins / AP

Honorably discharged Marine Marco Chavez pulls a wagon with his belongings through Tijuana, Mexico, to get to the U.S. border on Thursday in San Diego. Chavez, who was deported to Mexico 15 years ago for his conviction on a minor offense returned to the U.S. on Thursday after winning his battle to regain permanent residency.

Pedro Pardo / AFP/Getty Images

People protest the approval of an Internal Security Law that grants surveillance powers to the army in Mexico City. Mexico approved the new security law which provides a legal framework for military deployment.

FORMER MARINE WINS HIS BATTLE

Objections from human rights groups ignored

By Peter Orsi

Deported 15 years ago to Mexico, Chavez returns to US

By Julie Watson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

A former Marine who was deported to his birth country of Mexico 15 years ago because of a conviction for a minor offense returned to the United States on Thursday after winning his battle to regain permanent U.S. residency.

Marco Chavez said he felt speechless when he walked into the United States.

“I was in disbelief,” he told reporters gathered

outside a McDonald’s several feet from the border crossing. “I believe it now that I am over here.”

He said it will be an unforgettable Christmas because he will spend it with his family.

“I’ll be able to wake up Christmas morning, hug them and let them know I’m home,” Chavez said, his father standing by his side.

His father, Antonio Chavez, told reporters in English and Spanish that he was grateful to have his

son finally home.

“I’m very thankful and happy,” said Chavez, his voice quivering. His son then hugged him.

The return gives hope to hundreds of other deported U.S. military veterans, said Nathan Fletcher, a Marine combat veteran whose organization lobbied on Chavez’s behalf.

“For those of us who have served and fought for this country, we can’t rest until they all come home,” said Fletcher, among the first to welcome Marco

Chavez back with a big hug.

Fletcher, a former California state lawmaker, founded the Honorably Discharged/Dishonorably Deported Coalition.

“We are here today because a group of people said if you are willing to die for a country, that country would not leave you behind, that country would not let you be deported,” he said.

Earlier this year at the request of Fletcher’s orgaVeteran continues on A8

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

MEXICO CITY — President Enrique Peña Nieto enacted a controversial bill Thursday giving the military a legal framework to operate as police on Mexican soil over widespread objections from human rights groups.

The Interior Security Law was passed by congress last week before going to Peña Nieto’s desk for his signature. With its publication in the country’s official gazette, it takes effect Friday.

The president said that he was aware the measure is “especially sensitive for public life in the country,” and that he would therefore hold off on decreeing military deployments under the law until Mexico’s high court determines its constitutionality.

“The nation’s Supreme Court will be the constitutionally legitimized arbiter to make a Military continues on A8

LA PAZ, LOS CABOS, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR

6 killed in northern Mexico Violence threatens tourists’ vacation beach destinations

By Christopher Sherman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MEXICO CITY — Authorities are investigating the murders of six people, four of whom were hung from highway overpasses, near the twin beach destinations of Los Cabos in Baja California Sur state, which has seen an explo-

sion of violence this year.

The state’s murder rate of 50 per 100,000 residents now ranks third in Mexico, trailing only Colima and Guerrero. Violence has surged over the past three years as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels battle for territory in the state.

The bodies were found early Wednesday hanging

from three overpasses, two of which were above highways running to the airports in La Paz and Los Cabos, raising the question of whether organized crime was specifically trying to hurt the tourism sector, which generates about 90 percent of the economic activity in Los Cabos.

These were the first known cases of bodies hung from bridges, a public terror tactic seen in other cities such as Nuevo Laredo and Mexico City.

The killings raised fears that cartel violence could affect tourism as it has to devastating effect in Acapulco in Guerrero state.

On Thursday, Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of Los Cabos Tourism Board, tried to allay those fears saying that the public and private sectors have invested heavily in security.

“We are confident that the destination will remain safe,” Esponda said.

He outlined several Violence continues on A8

Francisco Robles / AFP/Getty Images

The corpse of a man found wrapped in black plastic tied by the hands and with signs of torture lies on the highway at the municipality of "Los Organos de Juan R. Escudero" in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico. Grisly killings that were once rare in the country's tourism hotspots have risen in recent years as organized crime has grown.

Zin brief A2 | Saturday, December 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited.

Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SUNDAY, DEC. 31 New Year’s Eve celebration. 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Downtown Laredo at the Outlet Shoppes at Laredo parking lot.

Epoca de Oro Social Club’s annual New Year’s Scholarship Dance. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Magnolia’s Receptions at La Hacienda Hotel, 4914 San Bernardo Ave. Live music by The Three Amigos. BYOB and snack trays permitted. $30 presale and $35 at the door. For more information, call 337-7178, 740-3572, 290-7341 or 763-4458.

Mike Theiler / Bloomberg

SATURDAY, JAN. 6 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, FEB. 3 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, MAY 5 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, JULY 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

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

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a tax-overhaul bill after singing it into law in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday.

TRUMP SIGNS TAX CUT IN ‘RUSH JOB’ WASHINGTON — In the end, Donald Trump’s top achievement as president— a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul — was finalized in a “rush job” of an affair. And that was OK with him.

None of the members of Congress who muscled through the biggest tax overhaul in 30 years were in the Oval Office on Friday as Trump signed the measure into law.

That’s because the president was not pleased with news coverage that morning questioning whether he would get the bill signed before Christmas. So he ordered up a spur-of-the-moment signing event where he ticked through what he described as the “tremendous” accomplishments of his first year in office.

“This is the capper,” Trump said of the tax package, using his last moments of the year in the White House to sign the bill before flying to Florida for the holidays. He also signed a temporary spending bill to keep the government running and provide money to upgrade the nation’s missile defenses.

But the tax cut was at the top of Trump’s mind after months of struggling to deliver his agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress. Trump on Friday thanked the absent GOP leaders and called

the bill “something I’m very proud of.”

Then, with no legislators on hand, he offered to distribute pens from his signing event to reporters assembled in the Oval Office. Clearly feeling some end-of-year cheer, the president who loves to decry “fake news” gave reporters and camera crews credit for “working very hard” and said, “We really appreciate that.”

Starting next year, the new tax law will deliver big cuts to corporation and wealthy Americans and more modest reductions to other families. The tax law is the largest since 1986, but far from the biggest in American history, as the president repeatedly claims.

The first major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws since 1986 could add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Republican leaders have said they’re willing to take that step in pursuit of a boost to the economy. But some in the GOP worry their party could face a political backlash without an aggressive public relations tour.

Trump continued to pitch the new law as a win a for the middle class, insisting that even though polling indicates the tax cut is unpopular, the results will win people over.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE STATE Teen girl denied abortion threatened to hurt herself HOUSTON — An immigrant teen who was denied an abortion by a U.S. government official, even though her pregnancy was caused by rape, had threatened to harm herself if she was forced to have the child, according to a government memo released Friday.

The memo is addressed to Scott Lloyd, director of the

Office of Refugee Resettlement, which shelters thousands of unaccompanied immigrant minors in the U.S. without legal permission.

The American Civil Liberties Union posted the memo as part of its ongoing lawsuit over abortion access for immigrant minors in custody.

The document describes how the teen was raped in her home country and believed she had become pregnant as a result.

According to the memo, written by the Office of Refugee

Resettlement’s deputy director, she told a doctor during her first pre-natal visit that she wanted an abortion. The teen “disclosed to the medical doctor that she preferred to harm herself rather than to continue with her pregnancy.”

In later visits, the teen reported the pressure her mother and a potential sponsor were putting on her to keep the pregnancy. At one point, she reported facing “physical harm” if she had the abortion. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD UN imposes new sanctions on North Korea UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says is capable of reaching anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

The resolution adopted by the council includes sharply lower limits on North Korea’s refined oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.

But the resolution doesn’t include even harsher measures sought by the Trump administration that would ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.

Kena Betancur / AFP/Getty Images

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley speaks after voting on new sanctions against North Korea during a meeting on Friday.

The resolution, drafted by the United States and negotiated with the North’s closest ally China, drew criticism from Russia for the short time the 13 other council nations had to consider the draft, and lastminute changes to the text.

Two of those changes were extending the deadline for North Korean workers to re-

turn home from 12 months to 24 months — which Russia said was the minimum needed — and reducing the number of North Koreans being put on the U.N. sanctions blacklist from 19 to 15.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said after the vote that “the unity this council has shown in leveling these unprecedented

sanctions is a reflection of the international outrage at the Kim regime’s actions.”

The Security Council has stood united for the 10th time “against a North Korean regime that rejects the pursuit of peace,” she said.

President Donald Trump tweeted the 15-0 vote, adding: “The World wants Peace, not Death!”

China’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Wu Haitao, said it’s “imperative” to pursue a peaceful settlement and resume dialogue and negotiations at an early date, warning that resorting to force “will only lead to disastrous consequences.”

Deputy Russian Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov also demanded that key parties display “openness to genuine, meaningful political dialogue.”

Stressing the importance of “creative approaches,” he said that “isolation and pressure must give way to dialogue and talks.” — Compiled from AP reports

Today is Saturday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2017. There are eight days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 23, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, on his way home from a visit to Australia and Southeast Asia, held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican; during the two-hour conference, Johnson asked the pope for help in bringing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War. On this date: In 1788, Maryland passed an act to cede an area "not exceeding ten miles square" for the seat of the national government; about 2/3 of the area became the District of Columbia.

In 1823, the poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" was published in the Troy (New York) Sentinel; the verse, more popularly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. In 1928, the National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent, coastto-coast network.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored the civil rights of about 1,500 people who had been jailed for opposing the (First) World War. In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese.

In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.

In 1954, the first successful human kidney transplant took place at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston as a surgical team removed a kidney from 23-year-old Ronald Herrick and implanted it in Herrick's twin brother, Richard.

In 1968, 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

In 1975, Richard S. Welch, the Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Athens, was shot and killed outside his home by the militant group November 17.

In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, non-refueled round-theworld flight as it returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1997, a federal jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder.

Ten years ago: The New England Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th regular-season win, the best start in league history, as they beat the Miami Dolphins 28-7. Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson died in Mississauga, Canada, at age 82. Choreographer Michael Kidd, 92, died in Los Angeles.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launched her own special Royal Channel on YouTube.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie and other dignitaries attended a memorial service for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye at Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Jean Harris, the patrician girls' school headmistress who spent 12 years in prison for the 1980 killing of her longtime lover, "Scarsdale Diet" doctor Herman Tarnower, died in New Haven, Connecticut, at age 89.

One year ago: The United States allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law; the decision to abstain from the council's 14-0 vote was one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory. Actress-writer Carrie Fisher was transported to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a severe medical emergency on an international flight; she died four days later at age 60.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Ronnie Schell is 86. Emperor Akihito of Japan is 84. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Paul Hornung is 82. Actor Frederic Forrest is 81. Rock musician Jorma Kaukonen is 77. Rock musician Ron Bushy is 76. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 74. U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark is 73. Actress Susan Lucci is 71. Singer-musician Adrian Belew is 68. Rock musician Dave Murray is 61. Actress Joan Severance is 59. Singer Terry Weeks is 54. Rock singer Eddie Vedder is 53. The former first lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is 50. Rock musician Jamie Murphy is 42. Jazz musician Irvin Mayfield is 40. Actress Estella Warren is 39.

Thought for Today : "Only the thinking man lives his life, the thoughtless man's life passes him by."

— Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (1830-1916).

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, December 23, 2017 |

A3

CRIME

Deputies shoot, kill 6-year-old boy during manhunt A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SCHERTZ, Texas — Four sheriff’s deputies firing at a wanted felon shot and killed a 6-yearold boy when at least one round went through the wall of his San Antonioarea mobile home and struck him, sheriff’s officials said.

The woman, sought for offenses including car theft and who was being chased by Bexar County deputies, was attempting to break in to the trailer Thursday afternoon when the shooting happened, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. The woman was shot multiple times and died at the scene. The boy was struck in the torso and taken to a hospital where he was pro-

nounced dead.

The Bexar County medical examiner’s office on Friday identified the boy as 6-year-old Kameron Prescott. Sheriff’s officials a day earlier had said he was 7.

Authorities have not released the name of the woman. Salazar said she had no apparent connection to the child or his family.

“I can definitively tell you that myself and all the deputies involved, there’s not a single one us of that wouldn’t trade places with this child,” Salazar told reporters late Thursday.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the deputies to fire at the woman. No weapon was found on her after she

Bob Owen/The San Antonio Express-News / AP

Ron Lawrence, left, comforts his daughter Kallie Lawrence, 11, who knew the boy that was killed in the shoot out between Bexar County Deputies and a wanted suspect woman in Pecan Grove Trailer Park in Schertz, Texas, on Thursday. A stray bullet pierced the wall of six-year old Kameron Prescotts trailer. He died at a hospital.

died. One of the deputies who was involved in a two-hour search for the woman said she had earlier pointed a gun several times, Salazar said.

The events unfolded Thursday morning when a man reported that a woman he knew had stolen his car, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Deputies found the woman hiding in the

closet of a home where she pointed a gun at them before fleeing on foot, Salazar said. At one point she swam across a creek before running into a wooded area next to the trailer park where the boy lived.

It’s not clear if she lost the weapon or discarded it as she was being chased.

Salazar said the woman

Former boys ranch residents say they suffered abuse A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AMARILLO, Texas — The head of a ranch that houses at-risk children in the Texas Panhandle issued an apology after several former residents said they were abused by staffers there from the 1950s until at least the 1990s.

Former residents told The Guardian , a British newspaper, about abuse they suffered at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. Steve Smith, a 68-year-old from Amarillo, told the newspaper for the Wednesday story that after his mother left him there as a boy, he was beaten many times and had to watch helplessly as his younger brother, Rick, was beaten.

A statement from the organization Wednesday said it was aware of the claims regarding “harmful encounters they experienced at Boys Ranch years ago.”

“For those who left Boys Ranch having experienced abuse of any form, I am truly sorry, both as the leader of this organization and as a man,” Dan Adams, president and CEO of Cal Farley’s, said in the statement. “It is for these reasons that regulatory oversight and strength-based models of care in this field evolved, and Cal Farley’s strives to be a leader in observing both.

Adams told The Guardian that since he took over in 1996, corporal punishment has been phased out.

The privately funded, faith-based residential community is open to children ages 5 to 18 and

currently supports about 250 boys and girls. The ranch said at-risk boys and girls can be placed there by their parents, a managing conservator or guardian.

Rick and Steve Smith and others told The Guardian that the abuse was systemic and affected hundreds. Ed Cargill of New Mexico, whose time at Cal Farley’s overlapped with Rick Smith’s, said he made repeated escape attempts from the place he called “a paradise for adult abusers.” He said that after one escape attempt he was made to run back in front of horses.

“Anytime I floundered, they’d hit me with coiledup rope or run over me with the damn horse,” said Cargill, who said his dorm parent would also encourage other boys to administer physical punishment.

Bill Varnado, who was there at the same time as Steve Smith, said “you really didn’t have to ‘get in trouble’ for them to beat the hell out of you.” Normally, he said, “they used a belt, but as you got older they used their fists on boys.”

Rick Smith said he was raped by another boy at the ranch. Cargill said

that the wife of a staff member was having sex with him and three other boys.

Steve Smith told the Amarillo Globe-News they want more than an apology. Smith leads a Facebook group of other survivors that presented Adams in April with a proposal of how to deal with the past abuses.

The proposal included Boys Ranch issuing a public statement acknowledging wrongdoing, the creation of a fund for survivor care, utilization of best practices for abuse prevention and a review of marketing material to make sure information about the past is not misleading.

Smith also wanted the organization to stop honoring past staff accused of abuse. Cal Farley’s dedicated a new dormitory to a former superintendent at the ranch alleged to be one of the worst abusers.

The Child-Friendly Faith Project, a nonprofit that works to expose religious groups that abuse children, took the allegations to The Guardian after it became apparent Cal Farley’s was not going to act on the proposal, said Janet Heimlich, the nonprofit’s founder and a

former journalist.

Heimlich first came into contact with Smith and the Facebook group after writing a blog post in 2015 praising Boy’s Ranch for an advanced therapeutic model. Smith commented on the post and they got in touch.

Adams told the GlobeNews he didn’t want to initially make a public apology because it would give children, families and donors undue concern.

Heimlich agreed that Boys Ranch, which opened in 1939, had cleaned up since the 1990s and emphasized that it still maintains a “flagship model” for child therapy.

tried to break into several homes at the trailer park in an effort to evade authorities before she came to the home where Kameron was inside with other family members.

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Kameron was home because his elementary school let out students at noon for the Christmas break.

Anthony Fritcher, 33, told the Express-News that he was closing the back door of his home at the trailer park when the front door was flung open and the woman walked in, demanding the keys to a Kia Soul parked in the driveway. Fritcher, along with others in the home, charged at the woman, who ran outside and out of sight.

Official who imposed $4 billion bond reprimanded by judicial panel ASSOCIATED PRE SS

BELTON, Texas — A Central Texas court official who was criticized for imposing a $4 billion bond on a murder suspect and for overseeing a court hearing involving her son has been reprimanded by a state judicial panel.

The Temple Daily Telegram reports the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued its reprimand Thursday to Bell County Justice of the Peace Claudia Brown.

She had faced a peti-

tion to remove her from office but will remain and have to undergo additional judicial education.

Brown said she agreed with the commission’s decision.

Brown had said she set the high bond earlier this year as a protest against the legal system.

The Bell County District Attorney’s office reviewed her cases after Brown dropped some bonds below recommended levels for some defendants accused of violent crimes.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Saturday, December 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Baylor should have come clean from the beginning

By Sharon Grigsby DA LLA S MORNING NEWS

Once again, the courthouse is providing the details that Baylor University refused to reveal regarding its sexual assault tragedy.

For months and months, this newspaper called on the school’s Board of Regents to acquire and release a written version of the Pepper Hamilton investigation into the school’s failures in handling sexual violence reports.

We didn’t argue for the report’s release for voyeuristic motives, nor did we subscribe to the conspiracy theories that the leadership changes — both at the top of the university and in the athletic program — were the wrong ones.

No, we said Baylor would be mired for years in the drip-drip-drip of ugly details if it didn’t present the full narrative behind the sweeping — yet vague — statements of systemic failure. Continued secrecy, broken only by headline-grabbing courthouse filings, would only reinforce suspicions and unease.

Better to rip off the Band-Aid and get the full truth out there.

But as everyone who’s followed this story knows, the regents did nothing of the sort. Instead, Baylor students, alumni, faculty and all of Waco have been regularly slapped in the face throughout 2017 with one nasty set of specifics after another, courtesy of legal filings in Title IX cases.

With each revelation come more damning coast-to-coast headlines, more mistrust from stillskeptical alumni and more bloodying of the school’s reputation. Evidence of past injustices understandably garners way more attention than anything Baylor is doing right in 2017.

This week’s Bad News Bears headline, first reported by the Waco Tribune-Herald’s Phillip Ericksen, read: "Motion alleges ties to top Baylor administrators helped man under Title IX investigation."

The details Ericksen pulled from the court filings are potentially far more damning than the headline conveyed.

A motion filed Tuesday in a Title IX lawsuit on behalf of 10 Jane Does against the school alleges that a student accused of sexual misbehavior had a close relationship with then-President Ken Starr and other Baylor leaders and was, wait for it, overseeing women students and working on Title IX initiatives.

This man also seems to have been cleared of a sexual-violence complaint

after he personally lobbied Bethany McCraw, a Baylor student discipline officer, the same day his accuser reported him.

According to the motion, he wrote: "I’ve gotten myself into what may be a lot of trouble, and I would really appreciate your counsel on the matter. Do you have any openings today?" The case was closed the next day, according to the motion.

McCraw’s name has come up consistently — in contexts that would give no reasonable person confidence in her performance — in cases dating all the way back to the sexual assault trial of former Baylor football player Sam Ukwuachu. With so many firings, demotions and transfers involving key figures in this scandal, it’s stunning that McCraw still shows up on the Baylor Judicial Affairs page as Chief Judicial Officer.

Tuesday’s motion references documents and emails that the team led

by Waco attorney Jim Dunnam has examined as part of the legal proceedings. Baylor spokesman Jason Cook said in a statement that the school "will decline to comment in the media until legal counsel has an opportunity to thoroughly review the filing. Any response will be provided to the court in the appropriate legal forum."

The male student at the heart of this week’s revelations is referred to in the motion as Assailant 3, which as the Texas Tribune notes in its extensive report on the motion, signals that he has not just been accused of sexual harassment but of sexually assaulting one of the women who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

According to the filing, in one document the women’s legal team reviewed, Assailant 3 refers to Starr as "Uncle Ken." In another, he says he got a job in Starr’s office because he was "already bros" with Starr.

Even for those of us who have taken the time to read this motion and others, it’s difficult to know what to make of all these dribs and drabs, how significant they are and how they fit together — or not. Ditto for motions filed by Baylor that attempt to raise questions about the motivations and stories of the Jane Does.

With the trial date still far away, tentatively set for October 2018, expect the filings — and reminders of Baylor’s past transgressions — to continue.

Our newspaper has long said that Baylor was only hurting itself by refusing to offer a full accounting of its sexual violence tragedy. Pretrial discovery is proving out that point.

COLUMN

Radio reporter gives us hope for the holidays

By Ken Herman COX NEWSPAPERS

AUSTIN — Finding yourself in need of some hope for the holidays?

Sometimes it’s found in unlikely places. I found some where hopeless cynicism often resides.

It’s a little place near and dear to my heart. I call it journalism.

Jamie Dupree is a Washington journalist.

He’s 54, married and has kids ages 8, 11 and 13. He not only covers D.C., he’s of D.C. His parents met as congressional aides in the 1960s, and Dupree worked as a U.S. House page in the 1980s.

He’s covered the Capitol since 1986. Since 1989, he’s worked as a radio reporter for Cox Media Group, the outfit that, for now, owns the Austin American-Statesman. I got to know Dupree when I worked in the Cox Washington Bureau. Nice guy. Great voice. Solid journalist doing solid journalism.

For several years, he was a regular on Sean Hannity’s radio show, as Politico recently wrote, appearing as “the straight newsman to the partisan host.” Hannity has called Dupree “the most connected man in Washington.”

Dupree’s now a newsman in a place newspeople generally don’t like to be: in the news. The Politico story was headlined: “The Radio Reporter Who Lost His Voice But Still Covers Congress.” In the Washington Post, the big letters above the story said: “He was the ‘Golden Throat’ of Cox Radio.

Until the day he woke up and couldn’t speak.”

About 18 months ago, Dupree’s voice began giving him trouble. Earlier this year, his oncesmooth and confidenceinspiring voice pretty much gone, he was diagnosed with a rare malady

known as tongue protrusion dystonia, a neurological disorder for which there is no treatment.

“Dupree is a radio reporter without a voice,” Ben Strauss wrote in Politico.

“He’d become the radio man who could not talk,” Manuel Roig-Franzia wrote in the Post.

Can you imagine? A radio reporter who can’t talk. A dad who can’t talk to his family. At this point, you’re hoping to find out Dupree’s voice has returned. It has not.

But he’s still a source of hope. Stick around.

Dupree continues to report, writing down his questions and reporting the answers online at jamiedupree.com. There’s no one better than (at) jamiedupree on Twitter for congressional play-byplay with informed explanations. In a recent House floor speech, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said she’s known Dupree and his work for more than 20 years. She detailed his challenges.

“This is a rare condition which has no known treatment and it prevents Jamie’s brain from connecting to his mouth and causes his throat to push his tongue out of his mouth when he attempts to speak, squeezing the sound out of his voice,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “A radio reporter.”

“However, in spite of this severe health problem, Jamie has remained active through Twitter and his news blog. Mr. Speaker, Jamie Dupree is a perfect example of the positive role that devoted and professional journalists play in our free society and I wish him and his family all the best during this most difficult time. Thank you, Jamie.

Godspeed.”

Godspeed, indeed. And here’s where we find hope in two of our most important institutions as we

navigate a national landscape led by a president who, on an almost daily basis, seeks to drain hope in those important institutions.

In Ros-Lehtinen, we have a member of Congress reminding us of the indispensable nature of a free and robust press.

And in Dupree, we have a longtime journalist who’s urging us not to lose hope in Congress.

“I believe in Congress,” he told Politico. “I want to tell people to trust the institutions, to relax.”

Believe? Trust? Relax?

And this is from somebody who’s been covering Congress longer than most of its members have been in Congress. Determined to spread some of this hope this holiday season, I asked Dupree how he can believe in an institution in which so many Americans have lost faith.

“I do believe in the Congress,” he emailed.

“Yes, the House and Senate often look like a hot mess from afar. And up close, you can make the same case as well.”

But Dupree says he still believes Congress “can perform its duties and act as a ‘guardrail’ for any president who might try to wander off the right path.”

Solid reporter that he is, Dupree did not name any particular president.

“The House and Senate are filled with well-intentioned people,” he wrote. “Yes, they tend to downplay the transgressions of their own party and focus too much on the transgressions of the other. Welcome to the real world. We tend to do the same things in our personal lives. Just think of how you interact with your relatives.”

Dupree said he does not believe we’ve “reached some unprecedented point of no return in the Congress. Yes, it would be

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DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

nice if Republicans and Democrats would compromise ‘for the good of the country.’ But if you are holding out for that, I bet you are still waiting for your brother or sister to apologize for something awful they said over a holiday dinner a few years ago. That’s not going to happen is my point.”

Dupree is distressed by the disappearance of the moderate wings of each party: “Now, if you are in the middle, you are vilified by both sides.”

But he added this upbeat note based on his study of congressional history: “We (no longer) have people pulling pistols, we don’t have the fights that break out where lawmakers pull the wig off the head of another.”

I’m glad the pistols are gone. I would, however, be OK with an occasional de-wigging. But that’s just me.

“Maybe I’m naive,” wrote Dupree, who isn’t, “but I still think the place can work. The voters just need to give politicians the room to operate. No one gets everything that they want.”

Here’s a self-test about hope and government.

Regardless of what you think the tax reform package will cause, are you hoping the Repubs are right and it leads to better lives for many Americans, not just the mega-wealthy ones? Or are you, for political reasons, hoping the whole thing’s a dismal failure? And if you are, are you no better than the partisan lawmakers in which you’ve lost hope?

That last bit aside, there’s my attempt, with an assist from a colleague, to offer some hope for the holidays as some among us bemoan the state of our union. Dupree’s voice is gone — temporarily, we hope — but he’s still worth listening to.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, December 23, 2017 |

A5

BUSINESS

Consumer spending rises 0.6 percent in November

By Paul Wiseman ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg

A job seeker fills out a form during a Job News USA career fair. Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly declined last week as the Hurricane Harvey-related surge in Texas filings continued to reverse, Labor Department figures showed Thursday.

Texas jobless rate improves to 3.8 percent A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN — The Texas jobless rate improved for the seventh month in a row, with November unemployment slipping to 3.8 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.

The figure represents the lowest unemployment rate for the state in four decades. Texas unemployment during October was 3.9 percent, according to the state agency.

The nationwide jobless rate held steady last month at 4.1 percent.

Amarillo and Midland had the lowest unemployment rates in Texas last month at 2.6 percent. The Beaumont-Port Arthur area had the state’s highest jobless rate during November at 6.5 percent, the agency reported.

The Texas economy in November added 54,500 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs, according to the commission. Annual employment growth for Texas increased to 2.7 percent in November, marking 91 consecutive months of annual growth.

“The addition of 330,600 jobs over the year demonstrates the consistency with which employers in our state create job opportunities for the highly skilled Texas workforce,” said commission Chairman Andres Alcantar.

Nine of 11 major industries showed increased growth in November, including professional and business services with 14,700 jobs added. Construction added 8,200 positions last month, according to the commission.

WASHINGTON — American consumers stepped up their spending last month, a good sign for the holiday shopping season.

The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending rose a sharp 0.6 percent from October, outpacing a 0.3 percent increase in personal income. As a result, the savings rate fell to 2.9 percent of after-tax income in November, lowest since November 2007.

The numbers bode well for the holidays and for the overall economy: Consumer spending ac-

counts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic output.

Spending on both goods and services rose in November, led by increases in purchases of recreational goods, vehicles electricity and gas.

The savings rate has been falling steadily since February when it was at 4.1 percent.

“The saving rate can’t fall forever,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a research note, “so income growth needs to pick up if consumers are to continue spending at their recent pace.”

The measure of in-

flation favored by the Federal Reserve remained subdued, rising 1.8 percent in November from a year ago, 1.5 percent excluding volatile energy and food prices. Inflation is running below the Fed’s 2 percent annual target, but the central bank is still confident enough in the economy to have raised interest rates three times this year.

The overall U.S. economy has looked solid.

Growth clocked in at an annual pace of 3.2 percent in the third quarter and 3.1 percent in the second.

Unemployment has dropped to a 17-year 4.1 percent, helping boost consumer confidence.

Ted S. Warren / AP

Shoppers enter Nordstrom's flagship store in downtown Seattle. On Friday, the Commerce Department issued its November report on consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

New home sales skyrocket 17.5 percent

By Matt Ott A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — Americans stepped up their purchases of new homes at the fastest pace in more than 25 years in November, with sales skyrocketing 17.5 percent amid robust demand and a continued shortage of existing homes on the market.

New home sales last month jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units compared to 624,000 in October, the Commerce Department said Friday.

That’s the biggest monthly gain since January 1992 and the most homes sold in a month since July 2007, just months before the economic downturn.

The sharp upswing is a sign of the strong demand from would-be homebuyers amid the

Keith Srakocic / AP

Builders work on the roof of a new home under construction in Jackson Township, Butler County, Pa. On Friday, the Commerce Department reported on sales of new homes in November.

strengthening economy.

Sales of new homes can be volatile on a monthly basis, but purchases have climbed 9.1 percent year-to-date and outstripped the increase in construction of singlefamily houses.

The inventory of exist-

ing homes on the market has steadily fallen on an annual basis, while new construction has been unable to keep up with sales that are on their best annual pace since 2007.

The demand propelled in part by unemployment

at a 17 year-low has also exposed an underlying problem with the housing market: there simply aren’t enough homes being listed for sale.

The big November increase in new homes sales was somewhat tempered with revisions

for previous months, particularly October, which was revised down from 685,000 homes sold to 624,000.

The growth was led by sales in the West, which increased 31.1 percent.

Sales in the South were up 14.9 percent, followed

by the Northeast at 9.5 percent and the Midwest at 6.9 percent.

The median sales price of homes sold in November was $318,700, a 1.2 percent increase from a year ago.

A survey earlier this week showed that U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic than they have in nearly two decades. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday rose five points to 74 this month. That’s the highest reading since July of 1999, more than 18 years ago.

“No wonder homebuilders are feeling so good these days,” said analyst Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets in a note to clients. “Tight supplies in the existing market continue to spill over into new builds.”

Zfrontera A6 | Saturday, December 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Vacaciones de Navidad 1 El distrito escolar Zapata County Independent School District informa que las oficinas administrativas y las escuelas pertenecientes al distrito tendrán sus vacaciones de Navidad del 25 de diciembre 2017 al 5 de enero de 2018.

Foro empresarial 1 La Ciudad de Roma en conjunto con la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores invitan al Foro Empresarial para Emprendedores que se llevará a cabo el jueves 18 de enero de 5 p.m. a 7 p.m., en Roma Community Center, 502 6th Street. Evento gratuito, para inscripciones llame al 956-6657535.

Genealogía 1 ¿Desea saber más sobre su historia familiar? ¿Necesita ayuda para iniciar su genealogía? Venga y reciba ayuda personalizada para investigar a sus ancestros utilizando recursos en línea.

Voluntarios entrenados le ayudarán, todos los martes de 6:30 p.m a 8 p.m., en Roma Birding Center.

Evento gratuito patrocinado por la Iglesia de Jesús de los Santos de los Últimos Días.

Aviario 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero.

Mayores informes al 956-849-1411

Botes de basura 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411

Pago de impuestos 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St.

Pago en línea 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día.

Llenado de aplicaciones 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 956246-7177.

Laboratorio computacional 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411.

CASO LA GORDILOCA

Uso de información Por Julia Wallace TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

El reciente arresto de Priscilla Villarreal, mejor conocida como la estrella/ periodista ciudadana de Facebook Lagordiloca, por cargos sobre el mal uso de información es algo nuevo y potencialmente una violación de sus derechos de la Primera Enmienda, según varios expertos en derecho de medios que hablaron con LMT el viernes.

Villarreal fue acusada la semana pasada de dos cargos de uso indebido de información. La policía de Laredo dijo que recibió o solicitó información de uno de los suyos para obtener un beneficio. La policía, una veterana de 19 años, fue puesta en reasignación administrativa.

Supuestamente, Villarreal recibió regularmente información de arrestos, accidentes de tránsito y otras actividades policiales de una oficial de policía de Laredo antes de que se difundiera a través de los canales normales de la oficina del Departamento de Policía (LPD por sus siglas en inglés).

La demanda penal presentada contra Villarreal afirma que esto le dio una ventaja sobre “los medios de comunicación oficiales en la localidad, a

cambio de lo cual ganó popularidad en ‘Facebook’”.

Gilbert Villarreal Martínez, profesor de la Escuela de Periodismo y Comunicación Masiva de Texas State University, dijo que este “beneficio” de la popularidad de Lagordiloca en Facebook no es diferente del “beneficio” que reciben los medios de noticias tradicionales cuando presentan noticias de última hora, lo que podría traducirse en ingresos por publicidad.

Y los medios noticias tradicionales deberían estar buscando fuentes internas como la de Lagordiloca, dijo Martínez; ella no está haciendo nada diferente de lo que un reportero de noticias tradicional podría hacer.

Martínez señaló que nunca antes había oído hablar de un cargo criminal como este, y que es especialmente novedoso ya que se relaciona con un territorio más nuevo —las redes sociales.

Si esta queja fuera presentada ante la corte, ¿qué sugiere eso sobre el trabajo de un periodista tradicional ?, se preguntó Martínez. ¿Los periodistas

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO

se detendrían en las noticias de última hora para ver si alguien más lo ha informado primero? Él piensa que podría causar un efecto escalofriante.

La Oficina del Fiscal del Condado de Webb nunca ha procesado un caso de mal uso de información que involucre a un ciudadano, dijo el viernes el vocero de la oficina. La oficina no quiso ofrecer más comentarios sobre el caso.

Pero el abogado Joseph Larsen, un especialista en derecho de medios con Sedgwick LLP de Dallas, dice que el principal problema con los cargos contra Lagordiloca es que la información que publicó era pública.

Para acusarla de mal uso de la información, la información en cuestión debe clasificarse como algo a lo que el público en general no tiene acceso y cuya divulgación está prohibida en virtud de la Ley de Información Pública de Texas.

Y nada sobre los registros policiales está protegido por la Ley de Información Pública, dijo Larsen. No se puede prohibir que estos registros se divulguen a los ciudadanos.

LPD puede retener información solicitada si la Oficina del Fiscal Gen-

eral lo permite, dijo Larsen. Pero la información retenida no es lo mismo que la información prohibida.

Los registros médicos personales, por ejemplo, se prohíbe que se den a conocer debido a que son confidenciales. El tipo de información que se suministra a Lagordiloca no puede ser retenida, dijo Larsen, y nada de eso está prohibido que se revele. Él piensa que la policía falló en la presentación de cargos en este caso.

“Está mal. Han perdido el rumbo”, dijo Larsen.

Y más allá de perder el criterio de divulgación prohibida, Larsen dijo que LPD violó los derechos de la Primera Enmienda de Lagordiloca cuando la arrestaron.

Caracterizar la construcción de su audiencia de Facebook como un ‘beneficio’ en este caso pisotea la libertad de expresión, dijo Larsen.

“Realmente te estás metiendo en terrenos constitucionales”, dijo.

El investigador Joe E. Baeza, portavoz de LPD, dijo que debido a que la información que recibió Lagordiloca se obtuvo antes de que se hiciera pública, su divulgación estaba prohibida.

Y el Departamento de Policía de Laredo protege

la libertad de expresión incluso cuando está en contra del departamento, dijo Baeza. Lagordiloca tiene todo el derecho y el privilegio de decir lo que quiera, dijo.

Kelley Shannon, directora ejecutiva de Freedom of Information Foundation (Fundación para Libertad de Información) de Texas, dijo que no ha oído hablar de un cargo como este que tenga validez legal.

La fundación Freedom of Information Foundation de Texas tiene una línea directa que conecta a cualquier persona con una pregunta sobre leyes de gobierno abierto a abogados en todo el estado. La abogada Margaret Maddox de Daughtry & Jordan, PC, estaba de guardia el viernes. Ella dijo que este caso suena muy inusual.

“Mi corazonada es que a ellos no les gusta que transmita por Facebook Live”, dijo.

Larsen y Martínez aludieron a la misma idea.

Baeza refutó esto y dijo que LPD no tiene nada en contra de Lagordiloca.

“No tenemos una venganza personal o un hacha para lidiar con nadie”, dijo.

Maddox dijo que espera que Lagordiloca tenga un buen abogado.

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Celebran aniversario de museo municipal E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, México— Con el fin de celebrar el séptimo aniversario de la inauguración del museo municipal Trazos Regionales y por iniciativa de la Alcaldesa Beatriz Posada Noriega, en coordinación de la directora del museo, Magda García, se celebró en el salón Revilla una reunión y comida en la que el tema fue reconocer y honrar a aquellas personas interesadas en preservar y difundir la historia de ese municipio.

También se reconoció a aquellas figuras ciudadanas que migraron a la ciudad para realizar importantes labores y que ayudaron al desarrollo de lo que hoy es Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.

En este evento se distinguió al Ing. Humberto González Vela, por su trabajo voluntario y con el que con ayuda de algunos otros ciudadanos, elaboraron un plano en donde se pueden ubicar los hogares de muchas de las familias que habitaran la antigua ciudad Guerrero, además de sitios de particular interés en aquella población histórica.

Además se inauguró la exhibición fotográfica que participará en el Museo TAMUX en la capital del estado de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria, y que es obra del fotógrafo local Rubén Gerardo Rodríguez Martínez.

La administración municipal reiteró que es de suma importancia preservar la historia, las costumbres y las tradiciones del municipio.

CAMBIAN DOLOR POR ESPERANZA

Foto de cortesía / ZCISD

Los administradores, maestros, personal y estudiantes de la escuela primaria Villarreal Elementary School, se mostraron orgullosos por la generosidad de estos estudiantes que contribuyeron a la campaña “Change Hurt into Hope Toy Drive”, que organizó el distrito escolar Zapata County Independent School District en favor de Children's Advocacy Center.

COLUMNA

En medio de la espesura Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Al cabo de guerras, pugnas e invasiones, declina el siglo XIX mexicano.

La vida rural aún predomina, disputándole fueros el incipiente crecimiento urbano. Intempestivo suceso provoca espanto a los habitantes del munici-

pio de Tampico.

Hacia el noroeste, asoma la tragedia en Tancol.

Modesto rango administrativo merece Tancol, “cuya existencia es bastante antigua”, según informes de 1874. Refieren que población difícilmente rebasa el centenar. Ya en 1847 el jefe o “teniente de justicia” levanta “lista de vecinos que” elaboran “cal

y carbón en Tancol”.

Ambos productos, consumen grandes volúmenes de madera, ampliándose las superficies deforestadas. Por ende los jornaleros deben alejarse más cada vez del caserío, lo que incrementa el riesgo de toparse con animales salvajes.

Para reunir materia prima, sale temprano de

una vivienda un humilde “leñador que ganaba su vida llevando carbón a Tampico”. Él marcha hasta “internarse en … lo espeso del bosque”. Impuesto a que la esposa acuda con viandas, no olvida especificarle los terrenos donde estará.

Pero llega el día en que la señora permanece ausente. El marido hace

Picasa / Archivo General de la Nación

Mujer haciendo tortillas

recorrido de regreso y halla “el cadáver de su mujer … destrozado por una fiera”.

Rubrican el ataque zarpazos propios del puma. Huellas insinúan gigantesco ejemplar. Favorece enseguida la suerte que alguien lo cace.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, December 23, 2017 |

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

A7

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

It’s win or else for Cowboys, Seahawks Playoff hopes on the line Sunday

By Schuyler Dixon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ARLINGTON — Dak Prescott knows about the stack of scenarios required to get the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.

There’s no point in looking past the first one, especially since it applies to both teams when Seattle visits Sunday in the return of star Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott from a six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations.

The winning team is still in the NFC wild-card race. The loser isn’t.

“None of those scenarios mean anything if we don’t win,” Prescott said.

“So we can talk about them all we want, but the most important thing for us to do is win this game and then we’ll worry about it. Cross our fingers and hope on those scenarios, but all we can do is control this game against Seattle.”

The Cowboys (8-6) lost their first three games without Elliott, forcing them into what they figured was must-win mode with five games remaining.

They were right, and now Dallas has matched the three-game winning streak from before Elliott finally started serving his suspension after weeks of legal battles.

Seattle (8-6) is coming off the most lopsided loss in eight seasons under Pete Carroll, a 42-7 defeat to the Rams that put Los Angeles on the brink of the NFC West title. The Seahawks, who have dropped two straight, haven’t lost three in a row in December since 2010, when they made the playoffs at 7-9.

That won’t work this time for Seattle and its injury-depleted defense, most notably stars Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman. The Seahawks have made the playoffs five straight years.

“We have never really had to face adversity in the season like this,” receiver Doug Baldwin said.

“We’ve endured some pretty devastating losses before, but I think just the time frame in which we are in, the situation which we are in, the state of our roster, age-wise, so many different factors play into it. I think it’s a different

place for us.”

Things to consider with the Cowboys seeking consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2008-09: ELLIOTT’S RETURN Last year’s NFL rushing leader was terse in his first media session, abruptly ending it after a series of questions about his time in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during the suspension after saying he didn’t want to talk about the saga any longer. The Cowboys say he’s still the same fun-loving locker room presence from before the hiatus, and a motivated one at that.

“The fact that he probably never let his team down, never been in this position or situation, so to experience that, I know what it lit inside of him and, yeah, you’ll see it,” said Prescott, who was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with his backfield mate a year ago when the Cowboys had an NFCbest 13 wins.

RUN OVER At one time this season, Seattle had one of the best run defenses in the NFL. Not so much the past two

Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press file

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott returns from a six-game suspension on Sunday afternoon as Dallas faces Seattle with each team needing to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

weeks. Led by rookie Leonard Fournette (101 yards), Jacksonville had 156 yards rushing.

The Rams had 244, the second-most under Carroll. “It’s a situation where we’ve been down this road before and all it takes is focus and everybody doing their job to get back on the right track,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said.

COWBOYS INJURIES LT Tyron Smith injured his right knee against the Raiders and missed the first two practices of the week. Just selected to his fifth straight Pro Bowl, Smith missed two games earlier this season with back and groin issues.

Byron Bell replaced an ineffective Chaz Green in the first of those two games and will start if Smith can’t play. DL David Irving is likely to miss his third straight game with a concussion.

PROTECT RUSSELL Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was sacked seven times last week by the Rams. He was forced into a number of mistakes, including a costly fumble trying to spin away from one sack and a backward pass that lost 23 yards trying to avoid another. It was one of Wilson’s uglier performances on a stage where he’s excelled during his career. Wilson was 23-4 coming into last week following a Seattle loss.

LAST GASP It’s been nearly six full seasons since the Seahawks played a meaningless regular-season game.

That came in Week 17 of the 2011 season when Seattle finished the season 7-9 by losing at Arizona in overtime. “It’s a game that they have to have and a game that we have to have, so we’re going for it,” Carroll said.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

STEELERS PREPARE FOR TEXANS WITHOUT BROWN ers rookie. He’s also played 13 of 14 games, and despite the long slog from training camp doesn’t, he doesn’t like he’s run into the “rookie wall.”

“There’s no rookie wall at all,” T.J. Watt said. “I think if I hit anything, I feel like I’m refreshed the back half of season. I’m great. I’m hungry.”

Clowney, Texans try to stop recent losing skid

By Kristie Rieken A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

HOUSTON — Already in the playoffs after winning the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have plenty to play for in their last two games, starting with Monday’s matchup with the Houston Texans.

A win over the struggling Texans combined with a loss or tie by the Jacksonville Jaguars would assure the Steelers a first-round bye. They could also clinch the bye with a tie against Houston and a loss by Jacksonville.

Pittsburgh also has a chance to secure homefield advantage throughout the postseason if the team wins out and the Patriots lose at least one of their last two games.

The Steelers will have to try and do it without star receiver Antonio Brown, who leads the NFL with 1,533 yards receiving and is out indefinitely after injuring his left calf last week .

“A.B., you can’t replace him with one man,” Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.

“A.B. is not human, so we will have multiple guys trying to fill that spot, but I know that we have guys that are excited, willing to try and fill

Michael Wyke / Associated Press file

Jadeveon Clowney and the Texans are trying to get back in the win column Monday against a Pittsburgh team that will be without star wide receiver Antonio Brown.

those shoes.”

Rookie JuJu SmithSchuster, Eli Rogers, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter are among those who will try to pick up the slack with Brown out. SmithSchuster has had a solid season , and ranks third among NFL rookies with 699 yards receiving. Heyward-Bey, Hunter and Rogers have been used sparingly this year, with Heyward-Bey grabbing just two receptions for 47 yards, Hunter with three catches for 17 yards, and Rogers with 16 receptions for 142 yards.

Roethlisberger could also rely more heavily on tight end Jesse James, who has 363 yards receiving, highlighted by a 97-yard performance in a win over Baltimore two weeks ago. Pittsburgh’s

powerful offense also has Le’Veon Bell, who leads the NFL with 1,222 yards rushing and has 80 receptions for 627 yards.

Houston cornerback Johnathan Joseph expects Pittsburgh’s offense to be a little different without Brown, but knows slowing it down will still be a tall task.

“There’s no shortage of weapons,” Joseph said.

Some things to know about the first meeting between the Steelers and Texans since 2014: ENDING THE SKID? The Texans need a win Monday to avoid their first five-game skid since dropping the last 14 games of their 2-14 season in 2013. Houston has lost seven of its last eight games, including going 1-6 since rookie quarter-

back Deshaun Watson sustained a season-ending knee injury. The Texans (4-10), who won the AFC South in each of the last two seasons, will finish with a losing record for the first time since 2013 after going 9-7 in each of the first three seasons under coach Bill O’Brien.

WATT’S UP The first NFL meeting of Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt and his youngest brother, Steelers rookie linebacker T.J. Watt, never materialized thanks to a broken left leg in October that ended J.J.’s season.

T.J. has done a pretty decent impersonation of his big brother. Watt’s six sacks are tied for third on the team and are the second most by a Steel-

MUTUAL ADMIRATION When Roethlisberger was asked about Houston’s defense this week, his entire answer was dedicated to his admiration for defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

“When you got Clowney running all over the field, you’re going to have to have eyes and understand where he is all the time because he is a very, very special football player,” Roethlisberger said.

When Clowney was told of Roethlisberger’s comments he called him a “special player,” too.

The top overall pick in the 2014 draft, has a career-high nine sacks, but hasn’t had one in the last three games. He’s hoping to get to Roethlisberger, but knows he’ll still have work to do if he does.

“It’s not really (about) chasing him, it’s just getting him down,” Clowney said. “It’s like wrestling with a bear. It’s more of a wrestle than a chase. When you get to him you have to hold onto him, because he’s one of the biggest quarterbacks in the league.”

Tom Reel / SAEN File

Lil' Jordan Humphrey is one of three Longhorns including Toneil Carter and Garrett Gray that were suspended Friday for the upcoming Texas Bowl against Missouri.

Texas suspends three for bowl

By Mark Rosner ASSOCIATED PRE SS

AUSTIN — Texas has suspended three players for the Texas Bowl next week against Missouri, the latest challenge in an up-and-down season for first-year coach Tom Herman.

Sophomore receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, freshman running back Toneil Carter and junior tight end Garrett Gray were benched for Wednesday’s game in Houston for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Texas also said defensive tackle Chris Nelson will miss the game against Missouri (7-5) with an elbow injury.

The Longhorns (6-6) are in danger of suffering their third straight losing season, the first two under coach Charlie Strong.

Humphrey and Carter were critical to the offense this season. Humphrey ranked second on the team in receptions with 37 for 431 yards.

Carter gained 252 yards rushing with a 4.8 yard average. He made two starts but was then replaced by another freshman, Daniel Young.

Gary played sparingly, but Texas is very thin at tight end, a condition that became more severe when Chris Warren left the team after announcing that he plans to transfer. Nelson made 18 tackles in 11 games as a rotation player.

Herman already faced a shortage of players, too.

Junior left offensive tackle Connor Williams, a first-team All-American in 2016 who missed seven games this season, is skipping the bowl game to enter the NFL draft, as is junior safety DeShon Elliott, a firstteam All-American this season. A third junior, corner Holton Hill, was suspended late in the season and also is leaving for the NFL. Still uncertain is the status of junior linebacker Malik Jefferson, a second-team All-American who has a turf toe injury.

A8 | Saturday, December 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER

Woman killed mother, abducted her newborn girl

By David Warren A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

DALLAS — A woman who was hiding a recent miscarriage from her family fatally stabbed a mother and abducted her infant daughter, Houston police said Thursday.

Erika Jisela MirandaAlvarez, 28, is charged with capital murder in the death of 33-year-old Carolina Flores, police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference. He said Miranda-Alvarez had known Flores and Flores’ brother for about five years.

Miranda-Alvarez concealed her miscarriage

from family members and claimed that she had just returned Erika Jisela from the Mirandahospital Alvarez after giving birth, Acevedo said.

“The woman was due to have a baby in January and she lost that baby,” he said.

The body of Carolina Flores was discovered around midday Tuesday.

Police initially said they believed 6-week-old Shamali Flores was with her father, but he was found

late Tuesday in San Antonio without the girl. A statewide Amber Alert was issued as part of the search for her.

Acevedo would say only that “investigative efforts” led police to a southwest Houston apartment complex early Thursday where officers happened to spot a couple holding a baby. They questioned the couple and determined MirandaAlvarez was holding Shamali. The baby was not harmed.

Miranda-Alvarez was being held without bond at the Houston city jail.

Online jail records don’t indicate she has an at-

Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, third from left, speaks about the arrest of Erika Jisela Miranda-Alvarez during a press conference at the Houston Police Department on Thursday in Houston. Authorities allege that Miranda-Alvarez took Shamali Flores, a baby, after killing her mom, Carolina Flores. Detectives also allege that Miranda-Alvarez took Flores after failing to carry her own child to term.

torney who could comment on her behalf. The suspect’s boyfriend has not been charged and Acevedo said it appears he wasn’t aware of the miscarriage.

Investigators believed the couple was preparing to leave the area with Shamali, he said.

The baby was evaluated at a hospital and is in the custody of state Child Protective Services.

Police officials at a news conference Wednesday had said the person who took Shamali likely knew her family. They also said it’s possible the girl was taken by some-

one who had lost a child.

Acevedo on Thursday credited Houston police and FBI with using that theory to help direct the course of the investigation.

“Everything our investigators theorized turned out to be true,” he said.

Bishop Juvenile prison kept inmates inside for months expresses sorrow on killing ASSOCIATED PRE SS

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BROWNSVILLE — A Roman Catholic leader in South Texas has expressed sorrow to relatives of a slain teacher in a 1960 killing blamed on an ex-priest who this month went to prison for the crime. Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville on Wednesday released a statement , on behalf of the church, with prayers that the family of 25-year-old Irene Garza finds peace.

Jurors on Dec. 7 convicted 85-year-old John Bernard Feit of murder in the death of Garza, who belonged to his parish.

Feit received 57 years behind bars — the number of years since Garza was raped and killed.

Flores says the Diocese of Brownsville didn’t exist then and he has no special insight into what was done or not done by civil and church officials.

MILITARY From page A1 final decision,” Peña Nieto said. “But that does not mean there will cease to be intervention by the federation in matters of public security to aid those states that today need it.”

The Interior Security Law essentially codifies for the armed forces law-enforcement actions that they have been doing ad-hoc for over a decade: conducting raids, running highway checkpoints and pursuing and detaining suspects.

It lets the president decree one-year military deployments to certain states where there are

VIOLENCE From page A1 measures taken in Los Cabos in recent months to confront the violence: creation of a rapid response network to share information among hotels and businesses about security issues; expansion of surveillance cameras to 250 by the end of year from the current 40; construction of a new marine base as the military presence expands; formation of a hotel security committee to discuss security measures; and, implementation of international security training protocols for hotels and businesses.

Esponda said that tourist visits were up 16 per-

DALLAS — A juvenile correctional center in Dallas for years didn’t allow its inmates to go outside for months on end, according to former guards, probation officers and families of incarcerated teens.

The Lyle B. Medlock Youth Treatment Center houses teenage boys who have committed offenses

requiring secure placement. The inmates are supposed to receive counseling, life-skills training, drug education and outdoor recreation at the facility.

But Gabriela Garza told the Dallas Morning News that she saw the boys taken outside once in her six months as a probation officer at the center.

“They definitely do not get an outlet for the ener-

gy and all that anxiety that they feel,” she said.

The newspaper investigated after the facility had come under fire earlier this year with reports that boys were being made to sleep on mattresses on the floor, and that at least five boys engaged in sex acts on several occasions amid a lack of supervision.

The head of the Dallas County Juvenile Depart-

ment, Terry Smith, said changes have been made since that scandal, and records indicate the boys have been let outdoors more. But Smith still won’t guarantee that the teenage inmates receive as much time outdoors as dangerous adults inside maximum-security prisons get.

“I don’t want to give a number, a limitation, an expectation, because they have to run their build-

ing,” Smith said, referring to the facility managers who report to her. “I’m not going to say it has to be four to six times a month.”

Experts said time outdoors is important for mental health.

“To experience the wind, the sun, the rain, maybe even the snow, that’s just normal human existence,” said Dr. Raymond Patterson, a former prison psychiatrist.

Official says rape and abortion both forms of violence HOUSTON — The U.S. government official who oversees the agency sheltering immigrant minors says abortion and rape are both forms of “violence” in a memo released Thursday that explains why he won’t allow abortions even for teenagers who have been sexually assaulted.

Scott Lloyd heads the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Depart-

ment of Health and Human Services, which faces an ongoing lawsuit over its refusal to allow teens in its care to have abortions.

Lloyd’s efforts to dissuade teens in his office’s care from having abortion were disclosed in previous court filings by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Those filings included emails in which he offers to connect a pregnant teen with a “few good families” who would “see her through her pregnancy.”

But he appears to go a

“threats to national security” and police are unable to cope with violence.

But the president could also grant unlimited extensions, potentially turning military forces into a permanent presence as they have become for more than a decade in the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas, across the border from Texas.

Proponents of the law argue that the military is needed to fight powerful drug cartels that have not been brought to heel by civilian police departments, which are widely considered to be outgunned and often corrupt or even in cahoots with the gangs.

Critics say the law was

rammed through congress without discussion and does not provide sufficient human rights guarantees. It also provides local governments with little incentive to recruit and train honest officers, they argue.

While generally respected in Mexico, the military has been accused of executing and torturing suspects. Even military officials have acknowledged that the army is not trained or designed to do police work.

Rights groups and notable personalities such as actors Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal had campaigned against the law’s passage and urged Peña Nieto to veto it.

cent despite the fact that the state’s murder rate has doubled this year. According to federal government statistics, investigations into more than 400 murders between January and October have been opened.

State prosecutor Daniel de la Rosa Anaya said the four bodies were discovered before dawn in three different locations: La Paz, San Jose de Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. The victims had not been identified.

In many cases, the violence has been focused away from Baja California Sur’s tourist enclaves, but there have been exceptions. In July, the bodies of three people were found shot inside a car in the parking lot of a condo-

minium in Cabo San Lucas’ hotel zone.

In August, there was a shootout at the entrance to crowded Playa Palmilla, a popular beach next to San Jose del Cabo. Three men were killed and two people were wounded.

In October, the U.S. State Department issued a warning that included Los Cabos, noting that bystanders had been wounded in daytime shootings.

The Caribbean beaches around Cancun have also been impacted by shootings this year. Early Thursday, authorities found a decapitated body and a message threatening a top local police official on one of the main avenues of the tourism destination.

By Nomaan Merchant ASSOCIATED PRE SS

step further in a memo included in a filing Thursday by the government, saying that his office has no obligation under the law or the U.S. Constitution to allow abortions for anyone in a government shelter. ORR cares for thousands of minors at a time, most of them unaccompanied children and teenagers from Central America who have entered the United States without legal permission.

The memo, dated Sunday, explains why Lloyd

refused a teenager’s request even though agency staff had reason to believe the minor was impregnated in a rape. “I am mindful that abortion is offered by some as a solution to a rape,” Lloyd wrote. But, he added, “implicit here are the dubious notions that it is possible to cure violence with further violence, and that the destruction of an unborn child’s life can in some instances be acceptable as a means to an end.

“To decline to assist in

an abortion here is to decline to participate in violence against an innocent life,” Lloyd said.

HHS declined to comment Thursday on whether Lloyd’s memo represented the department’s official policy, which would separate it from other federal immigration authorities. ICE allows adult women in its custody to have abortions. ICE assumes the costs of any abortion if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest.

John Gibbins / AP

Honorably discharged Marine Marco Chavez, right, is hugged by combat veteran Nathan Fletcher, who along with others worked to get Chavez back into the U.S. after he was deported to Mexico 15 years ago after serving time for an animal cruelty charge, which he denies being responsible for. Chavez returned to the United States after getting a pardon from Gov. Jerry Brown.

VETERAN From page A1 nization, California Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Chavez for a 1998 conviction for animal cruelty in a dog beating. Chavez said another person was responsible.

Months after he was pardoned, an immigration judge granted Chavez’s request to return.

Brown, a Democrat, said Chavez “served our country, earned a pardon and deserves to come back home.”

Chavez was a baby when his parents brought him to the United States. He joined the Marine Corps at the age of 19 and served four years during peacetime

before he was honorably discharged.

He was sentenced to two years in state prison for his conviction but got out early for good behavior. A federal judge, however, used the conviction to deport him in 2002.

Chavez, who had three young sons, stayed in Tijuana. He said he had to learn Spanish and find work in a country that was foreign to him.

His wife moved the family to be with him but found life too difficult in the violence-plagued Mexican border city where schools are lacking and jobs are scarce.

She eventually moved back to the United States, settling with his sons in Iowa after they divorced.

Chavez is now 45 and

his sons range from 17 to 21. They last visited him in Tijuana in 2013.

His parents, who live in Los Angeles, would visit regularly. Chavez plans to live with them while he waits for his residency card to be replaced. He then will move to Iowa and try to rebuild a relationship with his children.

Among the few items he returned to the U.S. with was a red “Radio Flyer” wagon that he had carted his sons in when they lived in Tijuana with him. He kept the wagon in storage for 15 years and is looking forward to showing it again to his sons and now his three grandchildren.

He also hopes to someday become a U.S. citizen.