The Zapata Times 2/1/2017

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TEXAS CAPITOL

Abbott embraces ‘sanctuary city’ crackdowns No mention of immigration ban

By Paul J. Weber and David Saleh Rauf A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday embraced President Donald

Trump’s proposed crackdowns on so-called “sanctuary cities” but didn’t mention the president’s recent order for a partial immigration ban as Muslim leaders and hundreds of supporters rallied outside the Capitol.

The “Texas Muslim Capitol Day” event was scheduled months ago but took on a more defiant tone — and attracted much larger turnout than usual — after Trump last week banned immigrants Abbott continues on A11

Stephen Spillman / AP

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, right, prepares to give his State of the State address, Tuesday, at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas.

MEXICO CITY

BROWNSVILLE

MEXICANS TO TRUMP: TEAR UP NAFTA

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Carlos A. Garcia, attorney for U.S. Border Patrol agent Joel Luna, reacts after his client is found not guilty on the capital murder and murder charges during a trial in Brownsville, Tuesday.

Border Patrol agent acquitted of murder

By Jay Root TH E TE XAS T RI BUNE Rebecca Blackwell / AP

A Cameron County jury on Tuesday found Border Patrol Agent Joel Luna guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity but acquitted him of the murder charge that could have put him in prison for life without the chance of parole. He is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in the state penitentiary.

His younger brother Eduardo, an alleged hitman for the Gulf Cartel, was convicted on all four counts, including capital murder. He was given a mandatory life sentence without parole. Prosecutors had already taken the death penalty off the table in the case.

Both Luna men were on trial for the same four counts, which included engaging in drug trafficking and organized crime — and murdering a would-be snitch who Murder continues on A11

A front page newspaper headline reads “He did it!” over a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump holding up signed documents, as he took action to jumpstart construction on a promised border wall, in Mexico City, Jan. 26.

Citizens claim new division is an opportunity Isabella Cota BL OOMBERG

T

he Zocalo, a vast square in the heart of Mexico City, has been a gathering place since the days of the Spanish conquistadors. Walk through it today and you’ll encounter, as expected, intense hatred of Donald Trump.

But what you’ll also find is that Mexicans are just as

“They can raise the tallest wall in the world, in fact they should. They can keep their burgers and fast food, their junk culture. I think most of us feel the same way.”

Alejandro Sanchez, a vendor on the outskirts of the Zocalo

furious at their own government for letting the U.S. president push their country around. What’s more, many

proclaim to be fed up with NAFTA. Trump’s pledge to rewrite the trade pact doesn’t go far enough for

them. It should be scrapped entirely.

“We will be better off,” said Eduardo Avila, on a break from his job as a driver. He dug into the pocket of his jeans jacket to show off the lapel pin and ribbon he’d just bought, both emblazoned with a suddenly popular slogan: “United For Mexico. Buy Mexican Goods.”

Mexico continues on A11

EVOLUTION

Texas mulls changing science standards in schools

By Will Weissert A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Board of Education will decide whether to scrap a requirement that public schools teach high school students to scrutinize “all sides” of scientific theory

after hearing Tuesday from academics who say that was meant to water down lessons on evolution and leave students wondering whether God created the universe.

Supporters of the existing high school science curriculums told the board that chang-

ing the rule could hurt independent thought in classrooms across America’s second-largest state.

How Texas teaches its 5.3plus million public school students evolution has been a flashpoint for years, despite federal courts rulings against

teaching creationism and the similar theory of intelligent design in public schools. The standards govern what teachers cover in classrooms, topics on standardized tests and the material published in textbooks statewide. Texas is one of the nation’s largest textbook pur-

chasers, so changes publishers make to meet the state’s curriculum standards can wind up altering contact in textbooks sold around the U.S. In 2009, the Board of Education dropped a then-20-yearold requirement directing Science continues on A11

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2017. There are 333 days left in the year.

Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale donations drive. 4-7 p.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866 to arrange for a different delivery time.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 1, 1942, during World War II, the Voice of America broadcast its first program to Europe, relaying it through the facilities of the British Broadcasting Corp. in London.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale donations drive. 4-7 p.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866 to arrange for a different delivery time.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866 for more details.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Book sale. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

Laredo Northside Farmers Market.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. North Central Park.

Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866 for more details.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.

Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting.

6:30—7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month.

People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual’s medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7 Alzheimer’s Support Group meeting. 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, building B, meeting room 2. The support group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. For information, please call 956-693-9991.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series. 7:30 p.m.

TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. The presentation is called Economic Crisis: The Hit Men Strike Home ... What Wrecked our Economy and How to Fix It, by John Perkins, New York Times bestselling author. Free and open to the public.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society. 3-5 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, second floor.

Meeting and speaker: Ricardo Palacios “The Green Street Kid.” Members free; guests: $5. For more information call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library. For more information call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m.

LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee, but freewill donations accepted.

Susan Walsh / AP

President Donald Trump announces 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch as his choice for Supreme Court Justice at the White House, Tuesday.

TRUMP CHOOSES NEIL GORSUCH

By Julie Pace and Mark Sherman ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fastrising conservative judge with a writer’s flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, a selection expected to spark a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America’s legal landscape for decades to come.

At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter century. He’s distinguished himself on the Denverbased 10th Circuit Court of Appeals with

Nevada casinos win $11.3 billion in 2016, up from 2015 take LAS VEGAS — Casinos in Nevada won $11.3 billion from gamblers in 2016, marking a second consecutive year of gambling revenue gains but still missing the pre-recession record set in 2007, state officials said Tuesday.

The statewide amount that casinos took in was up 1.3 percent compared with 2015, according to data released by the

his clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement.

“Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support,” Trump said, announcing the nomination in his first televised address from the White House. Gorsuch’s nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump’s own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia.

Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The gains — almost 64 percent of which came from slot machines — were recorded at casinos across the state and not driven exclusively by Las Vegas Strip casinos.

“This is what we want to see,” said Mike Lawton, senior analyst with the control board.

“It’s growing again, and it’s widespread.”

Revenue from casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada’s gambling mecca, totaled about $6.3 billion in 2016, an increase of less than 1 percent compared

with 2015. The revenue of downtown Las Vegas casinos was up 4.2 percent to $565 million, while Reno casinos recorded wins of $596 million, a 4.5 percent increase.

The only region to post a gambling revenue decrease in the state last year was western Nevada’s Carson Valley area with a loss of less than 1 percent. Gambling wins for Nevada’s casinos have increased in six of the last seven years but they are below $12.8 billion record reached in 2007.

— Compiled from AP reports

Premier says Mosque shooting shows Quebec has its ‘demons’

Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press via AP

Mohamed Labidi is comforted by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, left, and Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume, right.

charged with murder and attempted murder in the massacre. Bissonnette was a fan of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump. Those who monitor extremist groups in Quebec described him as someone who took extreme nationalist, proLe Pen positions at Laval University and on social media.

Most Canadians are proud of the country’s welcoming attitude toward immigrants and all religions, but Quebec has had a contentious debate over race and religious accommodation.

The previous Parti Quebecois government called for a ban on ostentatious religious symbols in public institutions.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Court halts prosecutor fees as AG awaits trial AUSTIN — A Texas court on Monday temporarily halted more than $200,000 to prosecutors in the criminal case against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton after one his donors sued over the mounting legal bills footed by taxpayers.

The ruling comes as Paxton awaits trial in May on securities fraud charges. An attorney

Ten years ago: The departing top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that improving security in Baghdad would take fewer than half as many extra troops as President George W. Bush had chosen to commit.

Five years ago: Facebook, the Internet social network, announced plans to go public with a stock offering.

One year ago: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz swept to victory in Iowa’s Republican caucuses, overcoming billionaire Donald Trump and a stronger-thanexpected showing by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; among Democrats, Bernie Sanders rode a wave of voter enthusiasm to a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton. The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which was linked to birth defects in the Americas, calling it an “extraordinary event” that posed a public health threat to other parts of the world.

AROUND THE WORLD

QUEBEC CITY — Quebec’s premier acknowledged Tuesday that his French-speaking province has its “demons” in terms of attitudes toward Muslims, but he said it is generally open and accepting despite this week’s deadly attack on a mosque and long-simmering debates about religious accommodation.

“Xenophobia, racism and exclusion are present here,” Premier Philippe Couillard said at a news conference. “We have to acknowledge that and work together.”

Couillard was grilled by reporters two days after a man entered a Quebec City mosque and shot six people to death and wounded 19. French Canadian university student Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, has been

On this date: In 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time in New York. (However, since only three of the six justices were present, the court recessed until the next day.)

In 1865, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began the Carolinas Campaign as they invaded South Carolina.

Abolitionist John S. Rock became the first black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1922, in one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries, movie director William Desmond Taylor was shot to death in his Los Angeles home; the killing has never been solved.

In 1943, one of America’s most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese-Americans, was authorized.

In 1946, Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

In 1959, men in Switzerland rejected giving women the right to vote by a more than 2-1 referendum margin.

(Swiss women gained the right to vote in 1971.)

In 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, where they’d been refused service.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, South Vietnam’s police chief (Nguyen Ngoc Loan) executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head in a scene captured by news photographers. Richard M. Nixon announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

In 1982, “Late Night with David Letterman” premiered on NBC (airing at 11:35 p.m. Central time, 12:35 a.m.

Feb. 2 in the Eastern time zone).

In 1992, Ron Carey was sworn in as the first Teamsters president elected by the union’s rank-and-file. Federal judge Irving R. Kaufman, who sentenced Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death, died in New York at age 81.

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven of its crew members.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Stuart Whitman is 89. Bluegrass singer Del McCoury is 78. TV personality-singer Joy Philbin is 76. Opera singer Carol Neblett is 71. Rock musician Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 67. Blues singer-musician Sonny Landreth is 66. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 52. Actress Sherilyn Fenn is 52. Lisa Marie Presley is 49. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 49. Rock musician Patrick Wilson (Weezer) is 48. Actor Michael C. Hall is 46. Rock musician Ron Welty is 46.

Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 42. Roots rocker Jason Isbell is 38. Country singer Julie Roberts is 38. Actor Jarrett Lennon is 35. Rock singer-musician Andrew VanWyngarden is 34. TV personality Lauren Conrad is 31. Actress-singer Heather Morris is 30.

Actress and mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey is 30. Rock singer Harry Styles (One Direction) is 23.

Thought for Today: “Happiness is a by-product. You cannot pursue it by itself.” — Sam Levenson, American humorist (1911-1980).

CONTACT US for the prosecutors said he expected a swift resolution from the Dallas-based Fifth Court of Appeals and accused Paxton supporter Jeffory Blackard of trying to derail the criminal case with a fight over legal fees.

Blackard, a real estate developer who has given at least $1,200 to Paxton but not since 2011, has twice sued over the $300 hourly rate given to special prosecutors.

The bills are paid by taxpayers in Collin County, a politi-

cally conservative suburb where Paxton lives and also where a grand jury indicted him in 2015 on charges of defrauding investors in a tech startup.

Paxton has pleaded not guilty and faces 5 to 99 years in prison if convicted.

Edward Greim, an attorney for Blackard, dismissed accusations of trying to stonewall Paxton’s case and said his client is only trying to do what’s right.

— Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 |

A3

LOCAL & STATE

Courtesy

These file photos show Winter Texans enjoying Appreciation Day at the Zapata Community Center last year.

Zapata’s Winter Texan Senior Citizen Day scheduled S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S

Zapata’s annual Winter Texan Senior Citizen Appreciation Day is coming up this month.

“This is a day in which we

celebrate and show our gratitude to our local Senior Citizens and Winter Texans,” a news release states. “We honor them for what they have achieved throughout their life

Texas clerks oppose online public access to court documents A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas court clerks oppose a state proposal that would provide easy public access to court documents by making them available online.

The statewide database, re:SearchTX, contains records from all 254 counties and is supported by the state’s Supreme Court, the Austin AmericanStatesman reported.

Court clerks said surrendering records to a privately operated database would strip them of their constitutional authority. Clerks also said their departments will lose money without the public paying a printing fee of $1 a page at a courthouse for documents.

They hope a new bill introduced by Republican State Rep. Travis Clardy will stop the new system.

Clardy said maintaining

privacy for documents that contain sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and record expungements could be problematic.

“Clerks want assurance if those records are used by a private enterprise they are handled appropriately,” Clardy said.

However, their opponents said the new system is set up so clerks would benefit from online users.

They also argued that taxpayers own the records, not clerks.

“I don’t see how it violates their rights as custodians,” said Joseph Larsen, a Houston-based First Amendment attorney who is on the board of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. “ Currently, only civil court documents, which are limited to exclude family cases such as divorce, are accessible through the database.

and for all they continue to do in our community.”

The event will take place Thursday, Feb. 23 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Zapata Community Center, 605 N. U.S. Hwy 83.

There will be a catered meal, gifts and door prizes, live entertainment and activities, along with presentations by Laredo Medical Center’s Bone & Joint Center and information on

Zapata’s Dialysis Center by DaVita.

For more information, contact the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce at 765-4871 x1012.

Texas ‘Muslim Day’ beefs up security over political climate AUSTIN, Texas — Muslim organizers of a rally at the Texas Capitol said they were taking extra security precautions Tuesday, including hiring private security guards, as hundreds arrived on buses amid growing discord over President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.

Although the “Texas Muslim Capitol Day” is a biennial event that was scheduled months before Trump won the presidency, the tenor and size of the rally was likely to drastically differ from previous years after Trump on Friday banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations.

It also threatened to overshadow Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivering his second State of the State address that was likely to include the Republican enthusiastically embracing Trump’s crackdown on so-called

Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News

Hana Farid, center, listens to speakers at the Texas Muslim Capitol Day, in Austin, Texas on Tuesday.

“sanctuary cities.” His speech also is being closely watched to see how or even whether Abbott weighs in on Trump’s broader immigration ban.

Mustaafa Carroll, executive director of the Houston chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, said this was the first year they had provided armed security on buses heading to Austin for the rally. He

said it was mainly to help his people feel at ease amid heightened tensions nationwide and a small band of anti-Muslim protesters who greeted them in 2015.

Two years ago, one Republican legislator instructed her staff to ask Muslims visiting her office to take a loyalty pledge to the U.S. “They’re beefing up security, and they’re very

aware of what’s going on and the climate,” Carroll said.

Trump’s tumultuous early going will loom over a new agenda that Abbott is laying out while his state faces being dramatically impacted by a border wall, immigration crackdowns and trade tensions with neighboring Mexico. Abbott has stopped short of endorsing a wall along the entire length of the TexasMexico border, and was silent after a Trump spokesman last week raised the prospect of paying for the wall with a 20 percent tax on all imports from Mexico, the state’s largest trading partner. But Abbott is already threatening to cut off some state funding to Texas jails that don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration agents, echoing Trump’s order to financially punish cities with sanctuary policies.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

The Republican Fausts Many Republican members of Congress have made a Faustian bargain with Donald Trump. They don’t particularly admire him as a man, they don’t trust him as an administrator, they don’t agree with him on major issues, but they respect the grip he has on their voters, they hope he’ll sign their legislation and they certainly don’t want to be seen siding with the inflamed progressives or the hyperventilating media.

Their position was at least comprehensible: How many times in a lifetime does your party control all levers of power? When that happens you’re willing to tolerate a little Trumpian circus behavior in order to get things done.

But if the last 10 days have made anything clear, it’s this: The Republican Fausts are in an untenable position. The deal they’ve struck with the devil comes at too high a price.

It really will cost them their soul.

In the first place, the Trump administration is not a Republican administration; it is an ethnic nationalist administration.

Trump insulted both parties equally in his Inaugural Address. The Bannonites are utterly crushing the Republican regulars when it comes to actual policymaking.

The administration has swung sharply anti-trade.

Trump’s economic instincts are corporatist, not free market. If Barack Obama tried to lead from behind, Trump’s foreign policy involves actively running away from global engagement. Outspoken critics of Paul Ryan are being given White House jobs, and at the same time, if Reince Priebus has a pulse it is not externally evident.

Second, even if Trump’s ideology were not noxious, his incompetence is a threat to all around him.

To say that it is amateur hour at the White House is to slander amateurs.

The recent executive orders were drafted and signed without any normal agency review or even semicoherent legal advice, filled with elemental errors that any nursery school student would have caught.

It seems that the Trump administration is less a government than a small clique of bloggers and tweeters who are incommunicado with the people who actually help them get things done. Things will get really hairy when the world’s problems are incoming.

Third, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the aroma of bigotry infuses

“

DAVID BROOKS

the whole operation, and anybody who aligns too closely will end up sharing in the stench.

The administration could have simply tightened up the refugee review process and capped the refugee intake at 50,000, but instead went out of its way to insult Islam. The administration could have simply tightened up immigration procedures, but Trump went out of his way to pick a fight with all of Mexico.

Other Republicans have gone far out of their way to make sure the war on terrorism is not a war on Islam or on Arabs, but Trump has gone out of his way to ensure the opposite. The racial club is always there.

Fourth, it is hard to think of any administration in recent memory, on any level, whose identity is so tainted by cruelty.

The Trump administration is often harsh and never kind. It is quick to inflict suffering on the 8-year-old Syrian girl who’s been bombed and strafed and lost her dad.

Its deportation vows mean that in the years ahead, the TV screens will be filled with weeping families being pulled apart.

None of these traits will improve with time. As former Bush administration official Eliot Cohen wrote in The Atlantic, “Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. It will probably end in calamity — substantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment.”

The danger signs are there in profusion. Sooner or later, the Republican Fausts will face a binary choice. As they did under Nixon, Republican leaders will have to either oppose Trump and risk his tweets, or sidle along with him and live with his stain.

David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times.

EDITORIAL

Diplomats decry Muslim ban THE NEW YORK TIME S

More than 100 State Department employees have indicated they will sign a memorandum in coming days registering their opposition to President Donald Trump’s travel ban through the department’s “dissent cable” system, an official mechanism created to voice dissent to policies.

A draft of the memo, written by a midlevel officer in the State Department’s consular bureau, predicted that the ban on citizens of seven nations, and the indefinite suspension of the resettlement of Syrian refugees, would be “counterproductive” to its stated goal of enhancing national secu-

rity.

“This ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold,” the memo said, warning that the ban has the potential to increase anti-American sentiment among Muslims worldwide. The acting attorney general, Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, backed that view in a letter Monday to Justice Department lawyers, instructing them not to defend the order in court. Hours later, Trump fired Yates.

“We have a special obligation,” the draft memo said, “to maintain an immigration system that is as free as possible

from discrimination, that does not have an implied or actual religious tests, and that views individuals as individuals, not as part of stereotyped groups.”

The memo warned that the ban would also alienate key allies in the Middle East, which could result in the United States losing access to “the intelligence and resources need[ed] to fight the root causes of terror abroad, before an attack occurs within our borders.” The writer noted that there were alternative ways to make traveler screening more comprehensive by strengthening existing protocols and information-sharing systems.

The administration would be reckless to dis-

COLUMN

Applaud the Boy Scouts for being inclusive

By Heidi Stevens CHICAGO TRIBUNE

If you’re cheering the Boy Scouts’ decision to allow transgender kids to join their ranks, consider doing so out loud.

The century-old organization announced Monday it will now base enrollment on the gender listed on the application, rather than the gender listed on a child’s birth certificate.

“The Boy Scouts of America is committed to identifying program options that will help us truly serve the whole family,” the group said in a statement on the Boy Scouts website, “and this is an area that we will continue to thoughtfully evaluate to bring the benefits of scouting to the greatest number of youth possible — all while re-

maining true to our core values, outlined in the Scout Oath and Law.” This is fantastic news — both for transgender boys who now have a chance to serve as Scouts, and for the boys who will learn and work alongside them in friendship. It’s hard to imagine a better prescription for an open heart and open mind than standing side-by-side and pledging to help other people at all times and stay mentally awake, as the Boy Scout Oath requires.

Not everyone agrees.

“This is Exhibit A of the insatiable demands of those pushing this sexual anarchy,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins told Fox News contributor Todd Starnes, who says it’s time for “every church and every parent in America

to sever ties with the Boy Scouts.”

I hope churches and parents across this fine, fired-up land refuse to heed his call.

And here’s where cheering out loud comes into play.

It’s tempting to focus our energy on phone calls, emails, tweets and boycotts in response to policies with which we disagree. We’re pretty adept — and getting more so by the day — at telling leadership (corporate or political) what we don’t like.

It’s equally important to tell them what we do like.

When you’re under fire, it’s harder to retreat if you know you have people on your side — people who vote, people who spend money, people who are counting on you to use your platform to push the nation toward progress.

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Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

miss this warning from public servants who have spent their careers safeguarding American interests abroad. Their concerns are shared by lawmakers from both parties, several European leaders and top U.N. officials.

In just a few days, the misguided order has disrupted the lives of hundreds of refugees, scholars and professionals, while providing jihadi groups with a propaganda bonanza. The members of the administration who set this initiative in motion may have thought it would make the country safer. By now, it has to have become apparent even to them that it is having the opposite effect.

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

So it should be with the Boy Scouts. They’ll get an earful from people opposed to the new policy.

People will continue to throw around phrases like “sexual anarchy,” which have nothing to do with children and everything to do with ideology.

If you side with the Scouts on this one, speak up. If you have a church, urge it not to sever ties. If you have a moment, drop the group a note. They’re boyscouts on Twitter, Boy Scouts of America on Facebook, and their website has a “Contact us” page.

The Boy Scout Law says this: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.”

Tell me whom it harms to welcome more children into that club.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 |

ENTERTAINMENT

At 13, pianist Joey Alexander heads back to the Grammys

By Mesfin Fekadu A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — Joey Alexander, the 13-year-old jazz pianist, broke ground after scoring two Grammy nominations last year, though he walked away from the ceremony emptyhanded.

This year, he has another chance to win.

He’s nominated for best improvised jazz solo with “Countdown” at the Feb. 12 show, airing live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Alexander said he was “thankful” for his Grammy nominations last year, but it was more special to perform on the live telecast and help bring jazz to a stage dominated by pop music.

“I’m very happy to share my music, and not just my music, but the music of jazz that maybe people haven’t heard about,” he said.

Alexander, who is In-

donesian, has performed on a number of stages along with the GramAlexander mys, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Newport Jazz Festival and the White House.

“Countdown” is the title track from Alexander’s sophomore album, released last year. His competition at the Grammys includes John Scofield, Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch and Ravi Coltrane, son of the late jazz icon John Coltrane.

Alexander said recording an album was more comfortable the second time around and that it enhanced his skills as a performer. “I think it’s really a blessing for me to be in the studio because ...

I think it made me a better a musician.”

Like his 2015 debut album, “My Favorite

Things,” “Countdown” also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s jazz albums chart.

The new album also includes three original Alexander compositions.

“Being original isn’t really that easy and it took me awhile to get the music together. I’m really thankful that the people enjoy it, people enjoy my compositions and even when I play it onstage, people dig it.”

Alexander, who is in the fifth grade and takes classes online, says he practices piano about two or three hours each day.

Though he is heavily influenced by acts like Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, he’s a fan of genres outside of jazz.

“I still love Michael Jackson. I love his music, his soul,” said Alexander.

“Of course, James Brown.

And gospel I will listen to: Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, all those great singers.”

Another milestone for ‘This is Us’

By David Bauder A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — NBC’s personality-oriented drama “This is Us” received the latest confirmation of its status as a freshman yet, ranking as the No. 1 prime-time show last week for the first time among youthful viewers desired by advertisers Counting all viewers, the Nielsen company said the show ranked fifth.

In a cluttered marketplace where it is hard for new programs to break through and get attention, “This is Us” is a

rarity for the broadcast networks for its status as an instant hit. The show had 9.6 million viewers on NBC last Tuesday and, in a sign viewers are making a habit of seeking it out, gained nearly 5 million more viewers each of the last two weeks when people who watched on a delayed basis within three days are counted in.

Oddly, another freshman series that airs at the same time — CBS’ “Bull” — had more viewers last week. “Bull” has the edge of airing directly after television’s most popular show, “NCIS.”

ABC newsman David Muir landed in the top 10 with his interview of President Donald Trump, which was seen by 7.5 million people.

CBS easily won the week in prime time, averaging 7.5 million viewers.

ABC had 5 million viewers, NBC had 4.2 million, Fox had 3.6 million, Univision had 1.9 million, the CW had 1.52 million, Telemundo had 1.51 million and ION Television had 1.4 million.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.35 million viewers in prime-time.

Gabriel “Lel” Villarreal, Jr.

Zapata County Commissioner Gabriel “Lel” Villarreal, Jr. was laid to rest in his beloved town of San Ygnacio, Texas where he was born & raised. The same community in the same county where he served diligently and honorably for over 28 years as an elected public servant.

The Villarreal family wishes to convey a most sincere and heartfelt Thank You to everyone who has provided us with an outpour of support. Whether you shared a story about our Dad, gave an encouraging word (via phone call, text, or FB message), sent flowers/food, came to see us in person, made a donation to the Diabetes Foundation on our Dad’s behalf, or included us in your prayers, we are eternally grateful for the unyielding love and support we have received during this most difficult time. This is by far the toughest trial life puts us through but we are not alone. We continue praying that each one of us will be blessed with the strength and courage to remember his love, wisdom and legacy to carry us through. Our dad, Commissioner Gabriel “Lel” Villarreal, Jr. was a deeply loved and respected blessed man and we are even more so to have had the special privilege of being his family. We love you Dad (mi papi bonito, my handsome Father Goose) always and forever (RIP). You provided us with love, faith in family, laughter, and stories for generations to come.

Pallbearers included his sons: Santiago, Gabriel III, Gilberto, Francisco J. Villarreal, Daughter: Ana V. Silva, Son-in-law: Bobby Silva Special thanks to: ZCISD, ZHS, GEAR UP REGION ONE, UISD administrators and teachers, Laredo PD, Laredo Police Officers Association, Texas Rangers, AEP, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs & Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, Border Patrol, FBI Laredo, Department of Homeland Security, Cameron County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s Office.

Zapata County entities: Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department, Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell, County Commissioners, Constables, Justice of the Peace, Treasury & Tax Office, 49th District Attorney’s Office & Judge Joe A. López, State Representative Tracy O. King, Ms. Tonie Gamboa, Fina Villarreal, and Leticia V. Muñoz. Rose Garden Funeral Home, Amistad Home Health Care Our Lady of Refuge Father Angel Valenciano Special thanks to those who paid tribute to Dad with songs: his son Gabriel III, his brother Juan Luis, and nephews Johnny, & Gabriel “Jimmy” Villarreal For those we forgot to mention by name, please accept our apologies. We will be sending out individual thank you cards soon.

Sincerely, His loving wife and lifelong faithful companion, Diana Cuellar-Villarreal, beloved sons Santiago (Rosa), Gabriel III (Dora), Gilberto (Gloria), Francisco Javier (Karina) Villarreal and daughter Ana María (Bobby) Silva. His grandchildren: Gabriel Eduardo (Frances), Jesus Armando (Noemi), David (Cristina), Andrew James, Gilberto II (Cassandra), Marco, Krysta & Gavin Villarreal, Melissa (Sonny) Gallegos, Robby (Nayelly), Jerardo (Andrea), & Javier Silva. His great-grandchildren: Gabrielle Nicole, Gabriel Alejandro, Sofía Marie, Charlotte Eleanor Villarreal, Phillip & Julie Jeter and Santos Xavier Gallegos.

May God bless each and everyone of you.

A5

Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE PESCA

La cámara de comercio de Zapata presenta el torneo de pesca Texas B.A.S.S. Nation, el cual será llevado a cabo del 16 al 19 de febrero de 7 a.m. a 4 p.m.

Registro en línea en www.basschamps.com TRÁMITES CONSULARES

El Consulado de México estará en la Ciudad de Roma, el sábado 4 de marzo, donde los residentes podrán realizar los trámites de expedición de matrícula consular y pasaporte, en el Centro Mundial de las Aves, Plaza Histórica frente a la Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora del Refugio, esquina de Portscheller y avenida Convento. Mayores informes en el Consulado de México en McAllen al teléfono 956-686-0243.

PATRULLA FRONTERIZA

Declaran culpable a agente Por Jay Root Carlos A. Garcia, abogado del agente Joel Luna, reacciona cuando su cliente fue absuelto del cargo de homicidio capital.

TEXAS TRIBUNE

Un jurado del Condado de Cameron el martes encontró culpable al Agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza Joel Luna de involucrarse en actividad criminal organizada pero lo absolvieron del cargo de homicidio que lo pudo haber mandado a prisión de por vida sin la oportunidad de libertad condicional. Se espera que sirva una sentencia de 20 años en prisión en una penitenciaría estatal.

Su hermano menor, Eduardo, un supuesto sicario del Cártel del Golfo, fue encontrado culpable de los cuatro cargos que se le acusaba, incluyendo homicidio capital. Él recibió una sentencia obligada de

Foto por Jerry Lara | San Antonio Express-News

cadena perpetua sin oportunidad de libertad condicional. Los fiscales ya habían desestimado la pena de muerte del caso.

Los dos hermanos estaban siendo enjuiciados por los mismos cuatro cargos, los cuales incluían involucrarse en tráfico de drogas y crimen organizado— y homicidio de un posible in-

formante que amenazó con delatarlos. El cuerpo de la víctima, Franky Palacios, fue encontrado desnudo y decapitado en la costa de South Padre Island hace casi dos años.

Su viuda, Martha Sánchez, dio una declaración llena de lágrimas al jurado después de que los veredictos fueran anunciados.

“El violento asesinato de mi esposo, Franky, cambió mi vida para siempre”, dijo Sánchez.

“Perdí la paz, la tranquilidad y el propósito de mi vida”.

Durante el juicio Sánchez fue retratada como hostil con su cónyuge. El testigo estrella del estado—el hermano Luna mayor, Fernando— testificó haber recibido mensajes de texto de Sánchez llamando a Franky un “maldito traidor” y advirtiendo que iba a divulgar los planes de la operación de tráfico de drogas a las fuerzas del orden.

Fernando dijo que envió esos mensajes a Eduardo el día anterior a que el supuesto sicario disparara a Franky en la cabeza en un taller de

Edinburg, y los fiscales describieron los mensajes como el más grande catalizador para el homicidio.

Debido a que involucraba a un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza, el caso incitó preocupaciones sobre corrupción a nivel federal a lo largo de la frontera de México con Estados Unidos. Después de anunciar el veredicto, Joel Luna rechazó su derecho de permitir que el jurado decidiera su sentencia y aceptó una sentencia de 20 años. La sentencia está programada para el 2 de marzo.

El agente federal, que había estado en “suspensión indefinida” de la Patrulla Fronteriza antes y durante el juicio, también negó su derecho a apelar como parte del acuerdo.

ZCISD

RECIBEN PRIMER LUGAR

CAMINATA AMISTOSA

El Servicio de Extensión Texas A&M Agrilife invita a la segunda caminata Walk Across Texas que iniciará desde el 4 de febrero y hasta el 24 de marzo.

Una competencia amistosa para ver quién acumula más millas haciendo cualquier actividad física como correr, caminar andar en bicicleta, , baile, etc.

Mayores informes en Texas A&M Agrilife Service Extension al (956) 487-2306.

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL

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.

Foto de cortesía | ZCISD

El grupo de Mariachi de la secundaria Zapata recibió una clasificación de primera división en una competencia de mariachi llevada a cabo la semana pasada.

GUERRERO AYER Y HOY

Obstaculización del progreso Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal.

Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

MUSEO EN ZAPATA

A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83.

Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas.

Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el 956-765-8983.

FRONTERA

No se crea que todo es miel sobre hojuelas en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero. En ocasiones se han perdido oportunidades de avance y progreso por indecisión, negligencia o tal vez falta de asesoría, y a veces se presentan problemas que amenazan causar lesiones a la economía y/o al intercambio social y comercial.

La posibilidad del cierre o reducción del horario en el cruce del Paso-Internacional sobre la cortina de la Presa, que se presenta periódicamente por parte de las autoridades de Estados Unidos. Este cruce es de suma importancua

para la economía de esta ciudad, por el intercambio comercial con los poblados de la frontera sur de Texas y la prestación de servicios profesionales y artesanales, de los cuales hay constante demanda.

En el año de 1990 hubo necesidad de hacer importantes gestiones ante nuestro gobierno federal para impedir que este paso se restringiera.

Asimismo el cambio en el contexto demógrafico-social trae consigo algunos problemas, y uno de ellos consiste en la falta de preparación de gran número de habitantes de esta ciudad, pues esto los incapacita para dar respuesta adecuada a las necesidades de desarrollo socio-económico del municipio.

Uno de los factores nocivos es la deserción escolar, que consiste en el abandono de las instituciones educativas cuando aún éstas reclaman a los niños y jóvenes en edad de concurrir a las aulas.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

Funcionarios de Nuevo Laredo, México indicaron que comerciantes locales han incrementado sus ventas a clientes procedentes de Laredo.

Incrementan ventas en Nuevo Laredo, México E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO, México— Dirección de Comercio y Turismo Municipal, reporta un considerable incremento en ventas de negocios locales por parte de residentes de Laredo, Texas que aprovechan el alza del dólar para adquirir productos en esta frontera.

Alfonso Peredo Ramos, director de la mencionada dependencia explicó que los negocios beneficiados con este repunte son: farmacias, centros comerciales, joyerías, restau-

rantes, sector hotelero y consultorios médicos, entre otros.

Citó como ejemplo el ramo joyero, en donde antes atendían un promedio de 10 clientes al día procedentes del extranjero y, ahora son 18 o más que visitan Nuevo Laredo diariamente con el interés de adquirir prendas fabricadas con oro mexicano.

“Se ha visto un incremento significativo en las ventas, por el alza del dólar, porque al extranjeros le resulta más barato comprar aquí, por ejemplo, con 20 dólares una pareja ya

puede surtir su despensa básica aquí y eso ha deja una derrama importante para los comerciantes”, comentó Peredo Ramos.

El Director de Comercio y Turismo Municipal, hizo un llamado a los comerciantes a aprovechar este momento del alza del dólar, para publicitarse en la región y atraer más clientes de ciudades texanas, “por nuestra parte, vamos a realizar una campaña masiva en varios medios de comunicación para promocionar las ventajas que ofrece Nuevo Laredo en comercio y servicios”.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 |

A7

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Correa statement points finger at Astros in hacking case Cardinals were fined, docked draft picks

By David Barron HOUSTON CHRONICLE

F. Carter Smith / Bloomberg file

Christopher Correa, former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director, pleaded guilty in January to hacking into the Houston Astros Ground Control database to steal private reports and player trade details, according to U.S. Justice Department.

Former Cardinals executive Christopher Correa, in a message posted Tuesday on his Twitter page, accused the Astros of gaining unauthorized entry to a Cardinals computer in 2011 and of "extensively" using Cardinals data from 2012 through 2014.

Correa is serving a serving a 46-month term for unauthorized access to a protected computer in the Astros hacking case. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the statement posted Tuesday was one of several that Correa composed before he was imprisoned and was posted by his family.

In the message, Correa cites what he said were unsuccessful attempts to meet with Major League Baseball officials to discuss his admitted intrusions into the Astros' computer system from 2012 through 2014 and his claims of similar wrongdoing by the Astros.

"I am unimpressed with Major League Baseball's commitment to fair and just sanctions in this matter," the statement read. "The Cardinals were not the organization that benefited from unauthorized access."

The statement accused the Astros of using Cardinals data "to replicate and evaluate key algorithms and decision tools" and said that on Dec. 21, 2011, "an Astros employee accessed proprietary data on a St. Louis Cardinals server."

MLB on Monday ordered the Cardinals to surrender two draft picks and $2 million to the Astros as punishment for Correa's unauthorized access to an Astros computer.

Correa during his guilty plea hearing in January 2016 said he found Cardinals data on the Astros' computer system and told "colleagues." The Astros have on several occasions denied using Cardinals data in their player evaluation database known as "Ground Control."

NCAA FOOTBALL

LAWSUIT SAYS NCAA, RIDDELL DIDN’T EDUCATE ON HEAD INJURIES 5 former Big 12 players plantiffs

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

LeBron calls Barkley ‘a hater,’ fires back at TV commentator

By Tom Withers ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Eric Olson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

The NCAA and helmet maker Riddell are defendants in separate classaction lawsuits alleging they failed to protect football players from long-term head injuries and didn’t educate them about the risks.

The Fort Worth firm of Circelli, Walter & Young filed the lawsuits Monday in federal courts in Indianapolis and San Francisco.

The lawsuits ask for damages for health care costs, lost wages and other personal injury damages.

The Big 12 Conference was listed as co-defendant with the NCAA. Named plaintiffs are former players Cory Brandon (Oklahoma), Kelvin Chaisson (Oklahoma), Derrick Cherry (Texas Tech), Jarrod Blake Roberts (TCU) and Joe Walker (Texas).

The Riddell lawsuit alleges the helmet maker misrepresented the safety of its helmets.

Circelli, Walter & Young said all plaintiffs in the cases suffer from some degree of traumatic brain injuries from multiple concussions or serious jolts to the head that don’t meet the diagnosis of concussion and all were incurred while playing football.

The statement said Correa would have no further comment while he is in prison.

An Astros spokesperson said the team would have no comment.

MLB, meanwhile, said it decided in 2015 "for sound legal reasons" to delay investigating or interviewing Correa until allegations against him were settled. Correa pleaded guilty in January 2016 to five counts of unauthorized access and was sentenced in July 2016.

The statement from the office of commissioner Rob Manfred said Correa after being sentenced refused to answer questions from MLB and opposed the release of documents to assist MLB's investigation.

"The (MLB) Department of Investigations was not provided evidence to substantiate the other allegations contained in Mr. Correa's letter, but remains willing to meet with Mr. Correa at any time," the statement added.

Juan DeLeon / Associated Press file

The NCAA and helmet maker Riddell are defendants in separate class-action lawsuits alleging they failed to protect football players from long-term head injuries and didn't educate them about the risks. The Fort Worth firm of Circelli, Walter & Young filed the lawsuits Monday and the Big 12 Conference was listed as co-defendant with the NCAA.

The NCAA, Big 12 and Riddell did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Heather Hughston, a spokeswoman for Circelli, Walter & Young, said the firm plans to file additional lawsuits naming other college sports conferences as defendants.

Last year the Chicagobased law firm Edelson PC filed more than 40 class-action lawsuits against the NCAA related to the handling of concussions by Division I football programs. Those complaints also named college conferences and, in some cases, schools.

A judge in a previous case ruled one large

class-action concussion lawsuit could not be filed against the NCAA. In the lawsuit filed against the NCAA this week, former football players allege that the governing body for college sports and the Big 12 “breached their duty to provide a ‘safe environment’ and specifically failed to warn players of the long-term risks associated with repeated concussive and sub-concussive hits.”

The lawsuit also accuses the NCAA of “failing to educate players on head injury prevention, failing to timely implement rules of play that would limit head injuries, failing to timely imple-

ment return to play rules after concussions occurred, and failing to cover the cost of postcollegiate medical care necessary as a result of the defendants’ bad acts.”

The Riddell lawsuit includes former high school and college football players. It alleges the helmet maker, in its marketing, claimed a scientific study showed its helmets significantly reduced the risk of concussions compared to other manufacturers’ helmets.

The lawsuit said that study was funded by Riddell and that the helmet maker has been the focus of ongoing litigation as a result of its claims.

CLEVELAND — LeBron James is done bowing to Sir Charles.

After he was criticized

by Charles Barkley for questioning Cleveland’s front office, James tore into the former NBA star and opinionated TV commentator on Monday night following a loss in Dallas. James not only countered what was said about him but he also attacked Barkley’s character for some off-the-court missteps.

“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that,” James told ESPN after the Cavs lost 104-97 to Dallas, dropping the defending champions to 7-8 in January. “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.

“All I’ve done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way.

Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.”

Barkley has never been one to hold back his opinion on James or any other player, but the 11-time All-Star was particularly critical of James last week after Cleveland’s star complained about Cleveland’s roster being “topheavy” and questioning whether the team’s front office was satisfied with one title.

Barkley said James was “whiny” and “inappropri-

ate” and wondered about his motives.

Barkley called James “the James best player in the world” but wondered if he really wanted to compete.

James initially dismissed Barkley, saying he was only trying to boost TV ratings. Barkley works as an in-studio host for TNT. However, James decided he couldn’t let those comments go and turned on Barkley, who never won an NBA title.

“He’s a hater. What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV?” James said. “I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can’t. He’s stuck up on that stage every week.”

James also said if Barkley wants to continue any discussion, he knows where to find him.

“If this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule’s out there,” James said. “He knows every road arena I’ll be in. Don’t just come up to me at All-Star and shake my hand and smile.”

This isn’t the first time James has fired back this season at detractors. He was upset when New York Knicks president Phil Jackson referred to his close friends and business partners as his “posse.”

“I went to see (Carmelo Anthony) at the Garden two years ago when we were in New York,” James said. “They played Portland. I went up to a suite at halftime, and Phil Jackson didn’t say one word to me.”

A8 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

After Trump order, volunteer lawyers descend on big airports

Speaker defends Trump ban as veep addresses GOP concerns

By Erica Werner

By Jennifer Peltz and Frank Eltman

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — It had been a few years since attorney Roman Zelichenko left immigration law for a career in finance, and longer still since he pulled an allnighter.

But after President Donald Trump issued his immigration order, Zelichenko spent 21 straight hours at what swiftly became one of the nation’s most closely watched immigration law centers — a diner at John F. Kennedy Airport where volunteer lawyers, translators and others tried to find and free people detained under the new rules.

Alerted by law school friends, Zelichenko joined the effort because it resonated personally: He emigrated from Ukraine as a child.

“We all have different personal connections,” he said Monday as he worked on the project’s social media postings.

But “we’re here as professionals, and our agenda is to uphold the rule of law.”

As Friday’s presidential order reverberated around the world, dozens of attorneys descended on JFK to advocate for people suddenly stuck in a legal limbo that the lawyers argue is unjust and unlawful.

Trump temporarily banned refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the U.S. Throughout the weekend

Seth Wenig / AP

Volunteer lawyers work to help free travelers detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Sunday.

that followed, travelers were held for questioning, confusion spread across the air-travel system and protesters marched against the measure.

Mobilized by email and word of mouth, the legal effort known on Twitter as “NoBanJFK” is one of several at major U.S. airports. Lawyers filed roughly two dozen lawsuits on behalf of detainees in several states and won several federal court rulings that, at least temporarily, blocked the government from removing people who arrived with valid visas.

At JFK, where lawyers helped win the first of the rulings Saturday night, the round-the-clock work began with attorneys typing on laptops on the airport floor. Now they sit at a cluster of cafeteria tables, and law students have toiled alongside seasoned litigators.

The volunteers take hotline calls on cellphones. Signs in multiple languages offer help.

More than 650 attorneys have volunteered for

the project, which participants feel has done their profession proud.

“I think lawyers get a bad rap, and sometimes it’s deserved. But most of us went to law school to help people,” said Melissa Trent, a civil rights lawyer who left a training session to spend over 24 hours at the airport over the weekend.

“We believe in this country, its laws and the Constitution ... and when we see those values challenged, we show up.”

The lawyers say Trump’s order violates constitutional protections against religious discrimination, among other principles and federal laws.

Trump casts the measure as a safeguard against violent Islamic extremism. The order temporarily blocks immigrants and visitors from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It does not include all countries with ties to terrorism affecting the U.S., nor does it address the threat of homegrown militants.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan defended President Donald Trump’s divisive executive order on refugees and immigration Tuesday, while Vice President Mike Pence promised frustrated Republican senators better communication on major policy issues going forward.

“The president has a responsibility to the security of this country,” Ryan told reporters after renewing his support for the temporary entry ban during a closed-door meeting with GOP House members.

While calling initial confusion over the rollout “regrettable,” Ryan added: “What is happening is something that we support, which is, we need to pause. And we need to make sure the vetting standards are up to snuff so that we can guarantee the safety and security of our country.

That is what this does.”

GOP congressional leadership was frozen out of the drafting of the measure, and Ryan acknowledged he didn’t find out the details until Friday as Trump was signing the order to shut off the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and halt the U.S. refugee program and all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.

The action triggered mass confusion and chaos worldwide, split families and set off protests at airports across the coun-

try.

Some GOP lawmakers, including key senators, have Ryan complained that the administration kept GOP Hill leaders in the dark, sending them scrambling for information to help confused constituents. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told reporters Monday that his staff had been informed the State Department was barred from talking to Congress.

Pence used a regularly appearance at a weekly closed-door Senate Republican lunch Tuesday to try to soothe some of those concerns, lawmakers said.

“He talked about the changes they’re making to address some of the problems and then he talked about really working to coordinate and communicate, both himself and the White House

in general,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the White House realizes it could burn bridges to Capitol Hill by failing to keep congressional Republicans in the loop.

“I’ve got to believe they realize that,” he said.

“What I don’t know yet is whether it’s a concern or not on their end,” Corker said. “It may be that this is the way they want to roll right now. So I think we’ll see.”

“They know that there’s more than just concern from a few senators,” Corker added of Pence’s visit.

Concerns seemed fewer on the House side, where Ryan reminded lawmakers that Trump’s executive order was similar to legislation they themselves had voted for in 2014 cracking down on refugee admissions, although the bill never got through the Senate.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 |

A9

BUSINESS

At a moment of Wal-Mart dumps its version of uncertainty, Fed Amazon Prime for new path likely to leave rates alone

By Anne D’Innocenzio ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Martin Crutsinger A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is all but sure to leave interest rates alone when it ends a policy meeting Wednesday at a time of steady gains for the U.S. economy but also heightened uncertainty surrounding the new Trump administration.

The Fed will likely signal that it wants further time of monitor the progress of the economy and that it still envisions a gradual pace of rate increases ahead.

“I don’t look for the Fed to do anything this week,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University. “They are starting to get their ducks in a row for further rate hikes, but it will be too soon to pull the trigger.”

The Fed’s two-day meeting will end with a policy statement that will be studied for any signals of its outlook or intentions. At the moment, most economists foresee no rate increase even at the Fed’s next meeting in March, especially given the unknowns about how President Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda will fare or whether his drive to cancel or rewrite trade deals will slow the economy or unsettle investors.

It’s always possible that the central bank could surprise Fed watchers Wednesday by sending a signal that a rate hike is coming soon. In Fed parlance, that signal could be as slight as changing language in its statement to say “near-term risks to the economic outlook appear in balance,” instead of “roughly in balance,” the phrase it has been using.

The statement will not be accompanied by updates to the Fed’s economic forecasts or by a news conference with Chair Janet Yellen, both of which occur four times a year .

Last month, the Fed modestly raised its benchmark short-term rate for the first time since December 2015, when it had raised it after keeping the rate at a record low near zero for seven years. The Fed had driven down its key rate to help rescue the

banking system and energize the economy after the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.

When it raised rates last month, the Fed indicated that it expected to do so three more times in 2017.

Yet confusion and a lack of details over what exactly Trump’s stimulus program will look like, whether he will succeed in getting it through Congress and what impact it might have on the economy have muddied the outlook.

And while Trump’s tax and spending plans are raising hopes for faster growth, his proposals to impose tariffs on such countries as China and Mexico to correct trade imbalances could slow the economy if U.S. trading partners retaliate and collectively impede the flow of imports and exports.

“The Fed is unlikely to signal intentions to raise rates as early as March given the heightened uncertainty about the timing and scope of fiscal and protectionist policies,” said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit, predicts that the economy will grow a modest 2 percent to 2.5 percent this year, before accelerating next year to 2.6 percent to 2.7 percent on the assumption that Trump’s policy proposals will have begun to take full effect by then.

The outlook for both years would mark an improvement over the economy’s lackluster growth of 1.6 percent in 2016, its weakest performance since 2011.

Even though economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, was underwhelming last year, the job market appears close to full health. Hiring was consistently solid in 2016, and the unemployment rate ended the year at 4.7 percent, just below the 4.8 percent level the Fed has identified as representing full employment.

And inflation, by the Fed’s preferred measure, rose 1.6 percent in the 12 months that ended in December, moving closer to the Fed’s 2 percent goal.

NEW YORK — WalMart is replacing a program that offered free shipping but had an annual fee with one that has a lower free shipping threshold and faster delivery as it hopes to answer Amazon’s powerful Prime membership success.

The retailer says it will reduce shipping time to two days on 2 million of its most popular items including essentials like diapers and pet food as well as hot toys and electronics. Wal-Mart’s average shipping time has been three to five days.

Starting Tuesday, it’s also

reducing the spending necessary for free shipping to $35 from $50.

Wal-Mart’s ShippingPass, launched as a pilot program in the summer of 2015, was aimed at challenging Amazon Prime and had allowed members to buy more than a million items for free shipping at Walmart.com. Last year, it trimmed its shipping time to two days from three, and cut the annual fee by a dollar to $49. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart said it worked well, but the company concluded shoppers shouldn’t have to pay a membership fee for free shipping. The strategy shift is one of the first big moves by Walmart.com’s

CEO Mark Lore, who joined the company when Wal-Mart bought online retailer Jet.com last year.

And it’s an illustration of how Wal-Mart is trying to figure out a way to compete with Amazon and its dominant Prime plan.

But some analysts say the approach may not be sufficiently aggressive to compete with Amazon Prime. They believe WalMart — which also has encouraged shoppers to collect their online orders from stores to avoid shipping costs — should get rid of any minimum required for free shipping.

“They should eliminate the threshold altogether, said Ken Perkins, president of research firm

Retail Metrics LLC. “I know it’s a difficult pill to swallow. But if you look at how things are going, click-and-pick is never going to be as popular as click-and-ship.”

Amazon’s membership program costs $99 a year, but includes services like streaming music and video that have created fierce loyalty. Analysts say Amazon Prime members buy more frequently and spend more money. Amazon doesn’t disclose a Prime subscriber total, but it’s estimated to be around 65 million. WalMart wouldn’t say how many ShippingPass subscribers it had, but all will receive a refund of their membership fee.

Exxon reports big drop in 4Q profit, takes gas write-down

By David Koenig ASSOCIATED PRE SS

DALLAS — Exxon Mobil posted its smallest quarterly profit in more than 17 years as low oil and gas prices pushed the company to write down the value of some natural gas holdings in the United States.

The 40 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit capped Exxon’s weakest year since 1998.

Still, Exxon ended a string of nine straight quarters in which revenue declined from a year earlier.

The company’s new CEO, Darren Woods, didn’t signal any change in Exxon strategy. He blamed the lower profit on the long slump in oil and gas prices and the $2 billion write-down, and said Exxon’s string of major projects around the world put it in good position for the long term.

The write-down mostly covered gas properties in the Rocky Mountains that Exxon acquired in 2010 when, under thenCEO Rex Tillerson, it paid $31 billion for XTO Energy. The deal made Exxon the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. but has not paid off as expected because new drilling techniques boosted gas production and prevented prices from rising.

Matt Brown / AP file

This Sept. 21, 2016, file photo shows Exxon Mobil’s Billings Refinery in Billings, Mont. Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.68 billion on Tuesday.

Exxon had been slower than other oil companies in writing down the value of oil and gas reserves as commodity prices fell.

Securities regulators have been investigating Exxon’s write-down practices, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Fourth-quarter net income was $1.68 billion, or 41 cents per share.

That included a $2 billion impairment charge, making it Exxon’s smallest quarterly gain since it earned $1.53 billion in the third quarter of 1999.

Analysts expected 72 cents per share, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research, but they lacked all the information they needed to make accurate forecasts.

Analysts usually exclude one-time events such as asset sales or

write-downs from their forecasts. Exxon had signaled in October that it was reviewing the value of its assets because of lower prices but never told analysts how big the write-down would be until Tuesday, an Exxon spokesman said.

Without the fourthquarter impairment charge, Exxon would have earned 89 cents per share, the spokesman said.

Exxon reported revenue of $61.02 billion, an increase of 2 percent but less than the $63.57 billion forecast in the Zacks survey.

Brian Youngberg, an analyst for Edward Jones, called it “a good but average quarter.” International operations — both the exploration and produc-

tion business and refining — were relatively strong, and chemicals continued to be a plus for the company, he said.

But the company continues to struggle to maintain production, which fell 3 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2015. This month Exxon said it will pay $5.6 billion in stock for acquisitions that will double its presence in the Permian Basin, a shale formation beneath Texas and New Mexico that is the hottest oil and gas field in the U.S. “They are trying to do something on the shale side, but it’s so small compared to the size of the company,” Youngberg said. “It’s hard for them to move the needle.”

Like other big oil companies, Exxon has responded to the slump in crude prices that began in 2014 by slashing capital and exploration spending. Exxon’s spending dropped 35 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier.

Exxon earned $7.84 billion for all of 2016.

That was the company’s smallest full-year profit since 1998, when it earned $6.44 billion.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Irving, Texas, fell 97 to $83.89 on Tuesday. The shares have slipped 7.6 percent so far in 2017, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up about 2 percent.

A10 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

Breitbart speaker at Democrats force delays in Berkeley stirs debate votes on 3 Cabinet nominees over free speech

By Alan Fram

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Jocelyn Gecker A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BERKELEY, Calif. — Fans and foes agree that Milo Yiannopoulos specializes in controversy. The polarizing editor from Breitbart News is a self-proclaimed internet troll who has been criticized as racist, misogynist and white supremacist.

His scheduled visit Wednesday to the University of California at Berkeley has raised an issue facing campuses across America at the dawn of the Trump presidency: What is the line between free speech and hate speech?

The visit is sponsored by the campus Republican club. The university has stressed it did not invite Yiannopoulos, a right-wing provocateur who is gay and calls his event “The Dangerous Faggot Tour.”

The potential for physical danger in reaction to Yiannopoulos came into the spotlight this month after a man was shot and wounded at a protest outside his Jan. 21 University of Washington talk.

Rowdy protests at UC Davis Jan. 13 prompted campus Republicans to cancel his appearance at the last minute. His last stop was supposed to be UCLA on Feb. 2, but that invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley the grand finale of his cross-country campus tour.

Professors have joined hundreds of students calling for the event’s cancellation. But university officials say it will be allowed in the name of free speech — as will protests that Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks expects could be “substantial” amid tight security.

“In our view, Mr. Yiannopoulos is a troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in part to ‘entertain,’ but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas,” Dirks wrote last week to Berkeley’s staff and 37,500 students.

“He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech.”

But as a public university, Berkeley’s administrators are legally bound by the First Amendment to protect free speech, meaning even offensive and hate speech cannot be banned or censored, Dirks said.

“We are defending the right to free expression at an historic moment for our nation, when this right is once again of paramount importance,” Dirks said.

His letter did not name President Donald Trump, whom Yiannopoulos supports, but highlighted concerns at Berkeley and elsewhere since his election.

The Berkeley Republican Club says it has no plans to cancel the event because that would send a message that intimidation and violence can win.

“We don’t support everything he’s said or done,” said Pieter Sittler, 19, a sophomore who is the club’s vice president. “But we think it’s important to have a complete political discourse. Not just stay in an echo chamber and silence what you disagree with.”

The event’s 500 seats sold out about 48 hours after the event was announced last fall, Sittler said.

Yiannopoulos “gives a voice to repressed conservative thought on American college campuses,” Sittler said, adding that he uses “levity and humor” that should not be taken literally.

Administrators say the demands to stifle Yiannopoulos show that modern sensitivities are changing the debate about free speech on campus. What used to be a campaign to allow all voices risks becoming more restrictive.

The number of attempts to keep speakers off college campuses because of their politics doubled last year, according to a report issued late last year by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. It logged a record 42 incidents of “disinvitations,” with 25 percent aimed at Yiannopoulos.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats blocked committee votes on three of President Donald Trump’s highestprofile Cabinet picks Tuesday as spiraling partisan hostility over the fledgling administration’s refugee curbs and other initiatives seemed to seep into Congress’ work on nominations.

In an unusual step, Democrats boycotted planned Senate Finance Committee votes on Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to become health secretary and financier Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department. They accused both men of lying about their financial backgrounds, and since committee rules require at least one Democrat to be present, Republicans could not hold roll calls.

“He didn’t tell the truth,” the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said of reports that Price received preferential treatment in purchasing stock in a biotech company. “He misled the Congress and he misled the American people.”

The tactic infuriated Republicans, even though the GOP boycotted a committee vote on Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency in 2013 when Democrats ran the Senate.

“They ought to stop posturing and acting like idiots,” said committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. “Are they that bitter about Donald Trump?

The answer has to be yes.”

At the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats criticized Sen. Jeff Sessions, RAla., Trump’s nominee for attorney general, in speeches that lasted as long as 30 minutes apiece. After four-and-ahalf hours, panel Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, adjourned the session and set

a new meeting for Wednesday.

“He’s been the fiercest, most dedicated defender in Congress DeVos of the Trump agenda,” California’s Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on Judiciary, said of Sessions.

The clashes came as the opening days of the Trump administration have seen little of the honeymoon period new presidents usually experience.

The chief battleground has been Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking refugees worldwide and anyone from seven Muslim-majority nations.

With liberal groups pressing them to fight Trump and a brutal battle looming over his imminent pick for the Supreme Court vacancy, Tuesday’s delaying tactics let Democrats signal they will use their limited power as the congressional minority to hamper the GOP. Republicans said they would try reconvening the Finance committee Wednesday to see if Democrats would cooperate. Hatch planned to discuss the standoff with Wyden.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all but taunted Democrats in remarks to reporters. “It is time to get over the fact that they lost the election,” he said.

“The president is entitled to have his Cabinet appointments considered. None of this is going to lead to a different outcome.”

Price, Mnuchin and Sessions still seem certain to win eventual Senate confirmation, and other nominees made progress. The full Senate confirmed Elaine Chao to be transportation secretary, while committees advanced three other Trump picks, including

wealthy GOP contributor Betsy DeVos to head the Education Department.

Democrats said their objections to Price were prompted by a Wall Street Journal report in which officials of Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. said Price got a special offer to buy stock at a low price. Price had testified to Congress that the shares he purchased were available to all investors.

They’ve also opposed him for his support for repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law and his plans to reshape Medicare and Medicaid, favorite Democratic programs.

On Mnuchin, Democrats cited an article in The Columbus Dispatch asserting that documents show he wasn’t truthful with the Senate in describing how his bank, OneWest, had handled home foreclosures. The newspaper said that bank used “robosigning” for hundreds of mortgage documents, a technique critics associate with fraud, though Mnuchin said it had not done so.

Democrats also said Trump’s selection of Mnuchin breaks his campaign promise to go after Wall Street.

Price and Mnuchin have said they’ve done nothing wrong and Republican lawmakers have stood by them.

Besides Sessions’ likely role defending Trump’s moves against refugees, Democrats say they don’t trust him to enforce civil rights laws.

DeVos has long supported charter schools and allowing school choice, policies that Democrats and teachers’ unions view as threats to federal support for public education. The Senate confirmed Chao to be transportation secretary by 93-6. She was labor secretary under President George W. Bush, and is McConnell’s wife.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 |

A11

FROM THE COVER

Plans for $10B petrochemical plant worry Texas communities

By Jordan Blum H OUSTON CHRONICLE

PORTLAND, Texas — Dewey Magee has a “Keep Christ in Christmas” bumper sticker on his Chevy pickup. His wife, Victoria, wears a Rush Limbaugh T-shirt.

They’re more focused on raising chickens than fighting climate change.

But the Magees, who have lived in this small city north of Corpus Christi for nearly 45 years, have become accidental activists, helping to lead the fight against a $10 billion petrochemical plant that would be built a half-mile from their home by Exxon Mobil Corp. and the Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or SABIC. Looking out a window toward the site, a 1,400-acre stretch of cotton fields, he worries about noise, pollution and the long-term health effects on his community, particularly his 10-yearold grandson who lives next door and struggles with asthma.

“They’re dangling the money, but it just seems like the devil looking you in the eye and whispering about millions of dollars,” Magee told the Houston

MEXICO From page A1 Trump and his tough talk, Avila said, might just be the shot in the arm that Mexico needs to recognize its potential.

“The U.S. is not the only country in this world — why are we clinging to them like an umbilical cord?”

The reality is harsh: The U.S. is by far Mexico’s biggest trading partner, with some $584 billion in tariff-free goods crossing the border every year. Trump has called NAFTA “the worst trade deal in history,” but it has been a boon for Mexico,

MURDER From page A1 threatened to rat them out.

The body of the victim, Franky Palacios, was found naked and decapitated in the waters off South Padre Island almost two years ago.

His common law widow, Martha Sanchez, gave a tearful statement to the jury after the verdicts were announced.

“The violent assassination of my husband Franky changed my life forever,” Sanchez said in Spanish. “I lost peace, tranquility and the feeling of purpose in my life.”

During the trial Sanchez was portrayed as hostile to her common law husband.

The state’s star witness — the elder Luna brother, Fernando — testified that he had received text messages from Sanchez calling Franky a “fucking traitor” and warn-

ABBOTT From page A1 from seven Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the U.S. The event’s organizers said they brought private security with them for the first time because of heightened political tensions, but only a few protesters showed up to greet them.

At the same event in 2015, one Republican legislator instructed her staff to ask Muslims visiting her office to take a loyalty pledge to the U.S. No Republicans spoke at the rally, and Democrats criticized Abbott for not using the spotlight of

Chronicle. “I get that we need jobs and to feed our families, but we need to protect them first.”

The Magees are part of a fierce opposition to a petrochemical complex that has promised thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent positions and millions in tax revenues — a rare case in a state that is typically eager to accept new development, particularly by the energy industry. The Corpus Christi area has long been a center of refining and petrochemicals, with plants packed along a 10-mile stretch of tanks, tall stacks and flares known as “Refinery Row.” But opponents here say a massive new petrochemical plant would represent a tipping point.

Residents not only voice fears of environmental degradation and health impacts but also of a fundamental change in the character of this quiet bedroom community of fewer than 20,000.

The largest proposed petrochemical project in Texas would be built from scratch and would include the world’s biggest ethane cracker,

which turns a component of natural gas into ethylene, the primary building block of most plastics, as well as other plastics manufacturing operations. The companies say the site will include green spaces and a half-mile buffer around the plant, which could begin operations as soon as 2021.

“We want to come in as a good neighbor,” said Robert Tully, Exxon’s project executive for the joint venture. “We want people to say, ‘They really did try to blend in with the community and didn’t just stick a plant there.’ " Residents of Portland say their way of life is already under pressure from industries encroaching from the east and the port city of Ingleside.

They worry the ExxonSABIC plant, which would be built just outside the city limits to the north and west, could represent the beginning of a new industrial corridor along Highway 181 that would rival or exceed “Refinery Row,” an area plagued by higher rates of cancer, asthma and birth defects, according to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pastor Mark Miller of Portland’s Oak Ridge Baptist Church — located about a mile from the potential Exxon site — said his community has reached a crossroads.

“This place will change and it will not be the same — not just from this plant, but others that follow,” said Miller, who has not taken sides in the debate. “People moved here because it’s a smaller community, not Corpus Christi. It’s changing around them and that’s difficult. They’ll either adapt or find another smaller place to live.”

Portland and Gregory, the other city abutting the proposed site of the plant, were first settled in the late 1800s and developed as Corpus Christi bedroom communities. The area’s first industries were developed in the 1950s, when Reynolds Metals built a factory east of the cities. The plant was shuttered last year under the ownership of Sherwin Alumina, which filed for bankruptcy.

Michael and Jenny Mauldin moved to the outskirts of Portland more than 20 years ago, with plans to retire there.

But now, they find themselves three-tenths of a mile from the proposed chemical plant. If the plant is built, they said, they’ll try to move, but doubt they’ll find a buyer.

“We moved out here for big sky, quiet nights.

You could still see the stars, and that’s already going away,” Jenny Mauldin said. “Portland will be Exxon’s garbage can.”

Exxon and SABIC, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian government, announced in July they would form a joint venture to build a Gulf Coast petrochemical plant to take advantage of Texas’ cheap and ample natural gas produced from the shale boom. After considering three other sites — one in Texas, two in Louisiana — they came to favor Gregory-Portland in San Patricio County because of its access to natural gas pipelines, as well

as the proximity to ports, railways, highways and housing.

While huge, the project is still less than half the size of Exxon’s nearly 100-year-old Baytown campus east of Houston that’s grown over the decades, including an expansion slated for completion later this year.

The focus now rests on the seven-person Gregory-Portland Independent School Board, which could decide as soon as February whether to grant the project a property tax break at the site.

While the school board can’t reject the plant, the tax incentive could go a long way toward Exxon and SABIC deciding to move forward. Exxon says the tax breaks are important but not necessarily critical.

Residents began getting riled up this summer over the loud humming emanating from a new iron plant built just east of Portland by the Austrian company Voestalpine.

attracting billions in foreign investment, creating a booming auto industry and diversifying revenue sources for the once oildependent economy. In border towns far from Mexico City, NAFTA has created thousands of jobs.

None of that matters to Alejandro Sanchez, a vendor on the outskirts of the Zocalo. He welcomes what before Trump’s election was the unthinkable: an end to decades of friendship and economic cooperation with the U.S. “They can raise the tallest wall in the world, in fact they should. They can keep their burgers and fast food, their junk

culture,” he said, peering out from behind stacks of magazines, coloring books and cigarette packets. “I think most of us feel the same way — this is an opportunity. We are such a big country that this will help us activate our domestic economy.”

Give Trump credit, he added. “This man did something right. He united us.”

Mexicans had already been pretty much on the same page about their leader, Enrique Peña Nieto, whose approval ratings are the lowest of any president ever tracked by Reforma newspaper. That’s in no small part because the

government raised gasoline prices by 20 percent at the start of the year and promised another hike in February, setting off street protests.

Peña Nieto was criticized for meeting with Trump before the U.S. election. Now he’s not getting much credit from the people for canceling a visit to Washington last week after the American president said he’d follow through on campaign pledges to find a way to make Mexico to pay for a border wall.

In the Zocalo, Trump and Peña Nieto are in a dead heat for most hated president.

“Both of them should

be thrown in the trash,” Avila said. “The wall is what matters least. It’s politicians on this side of the border that bother me. How could they allow this person to humiliate us this way?”

It was a lament heard time and again all afternoon. Only the tone and some of the smaller details varied.

Nohemi Sanchez, a recent college graduate, expressed it this way: “We send our best products and produce abroad, and they leave the worst for us. This is what angers me, really — that our government doesn’t work in favor of our interests.

We’re a country rich in

natural resources but Mexico doesn’t do anything.”

Sitting a few feet away, Yareli Flores was listening intently to Sanchez.

Music from organ grinders and the shouts of ice-cream vendors echoed around them. After a couple of minutes, Flores, a monument restorer on her lunch break, chimed in. She’s glad, she stated, that her 5-year-old daughter is too young to understand what’s happening.

“I’m angry and disappointed,” she said.

With U.S. politicians or those in Mexico? “All of them. They’ve all disappointed me.”

ing that he was going to divulge the drug trafficking operation to law enforcement.

Fernando said he forwarded her texts to Eduardo the day before the alleged hitman shot Franky in the head at an Edinburg tire shop, and prosecutors described the messages as a major catalyst for the murder.

Because it involved a U.S. Border Patrol agent, the case stoked concerns about federal law enforcement corruption along the U.S.-Mexico border. After the verdict was announced, Joel Luna waived his right to have the jury decide his punishment and agreed to a 20-year sentence. The sentencing is scheduled for March 2.

The federal agent, who had been on “indefinite suspension” at the U.S. Border Patrol before and during the trial, also waived his right to appeal as part of the agreement.

his State of the State address to say where he stands on Trump’s immigration ban. Abbott also didn’t mention Trump’s plan to build a wall along the border of Mexico.

“The new administration in Washington has shown the potential to finally secure the border,” Abbott said. “But as (former University of Texas football coach) Darrell Royal said: ‘Potential just means you ain’t done it yet.”’

Opposition to sanctuary cities is one area where Abbott and Trump clearly see eye-to-eye. Abbott instructed lawmakers to send him a bill by June

Charlie Blalock / Hoston Chronicle

Members of Portland Citizen United protest outside the Gegory Portland ISD training center on Tuesday.

SCIENCE From page A1 science classes to teach “strengths and weaknesses” of the theory of evolution and added a requirement that students learn to scrutinize “all sides” of scientific theory. A panel of Texas teachers and experts is recommending the board of 10 Republicans and five Democrats remove that language, saying it is confusing and timeconsuming for students and unnecessarily allows religious and conservative ideology to trump science.

The board heard hours of testimony Tuesday and will hold preliminary votes on the standards later this week.

“The establishment

that punishes local government that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

A Texas crackdown could be even tougher than Trump’s: Abbott wants to not only withhold taxpayer money to cities that don’t arrest or detain immigrants in the country illegally, but also the power to remove locally elected officials from office if they don’t comply.

“To protect Texans from deadly danger, we must insist that laws be followed,” Abbott said.

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, who runs the jails in the state capital of Austin, the state’s most liberal city,

of our educational goals should not be based on opinion polls,” Arturo De Lozanne, a molecular bioscience professor at the University of Texas, told the board.

A testy moment came when former teacher Tanya Estes urged removing “creationism from our science curriculum.” David Bradley, a Republican board member from Beaumont pressed her to “please cite” where “creationism” appears.

Estes responded by questioning Bradley’s “mocking smiling.”

The standards do not specifically mention creationism, but critics say they have the practical effect of challenging evolution. Besides the “all sides” language, expert panels also have recommend removing teaching about gaps in

plans to stop honoring all federal immigration detainers on Wednesday and only comply with holds for murder, aggravated sexual assault and human trafficking. Abbott says he is immediately cutting off grant funds that totaled $1.8 million last year and has asked state agencies for a list of other state dollars sent to the county, one of the biggest in Texas.

Democratic Rep. Ana Hernandez accused Abbott of having “chosen to side against local law enforcement by supporting policies that will tear apart Texas families.”

Abbott also wants no cutbacks to Texas’ $800

the fossil record that religious conservatives argue show significant changes to life itself that could suggest the influence of a higher power.

Republican board member Barbara Cargill noted that many oil and gas sector leaders have urged that the fossil record be taught in Texas classrooms.

“Their big thing is: Our kids need to learn more about the fossil record and they need to question things that are out there,” said Cargill, of The Woodlands in suburban Houston. “If there is a question, then they need to know about that.”

Ray Bohlin, a science fellow for the Discovery Institute — a group that promotes intelligent design, which holds that certain features of

million border security operation despite lawmakers facing a cash crunch in the wake of the oil bust and Trump’s promises to lock down the U.S.-Mexico border. Abbott said he would travel to the border on Wednesday to meet with new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Outside the Capitol, the scene was peaceful as hundreds of supporters cheered and waved signs that read, “Hate Has No Home Here” and “We Stand With Our Muslim Neighbors.” Unlike two years ago when hecklers interrupted the rally, socalled “peace observers” from an assortment of

life forms are so complex that they can best be explained by an origin from an intelligent higher power — said removing the current standards could mean “evolution gets a free pass.”

“There are some very real ideological objections to any evidence that could be construed as compromising to evolution,” Bohlin said.

“And I think that’s behind a lot of this.”

How the board will vote remains unclear, but Bradley said after the hearing that he’s not expecting major changes to the science curriculum.

“I can count,” he said, referring to the Republican majority.

“It’ll be a Republican vote, though there’ll be some harping and whining.”

nonprofits and interfaith groups formed a massive circle to prevent the few protesters that were present from interfering.

Mustaafa Carroll, executive director of the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said organizers of the “Muslim Day” event had hired guards this time because “they’re very aware of what’s going on” in the current climate.

“While I am troubled by the turmoil, I am heartened by the resistance.

There is discord in the country, but it is a discord born of patriotism and love of country,” Democratic state Rep. Celia Israel told the crowd.

A12 | Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

INTERNATIONAL UN resumes airdrops to besieged Syrian city

By Philip Issa A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BEIRUT — The World Food Program has resumed food airdrops to besieged Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria after the Islamic State group renewed its assault on the city two weeks ago, the agency said Tuesday.

The militants cut off the remote city from its airport in a major offensive on Jan. 15, a U.N. humanitarian adviser said at the time. The airport is Deir al-Zour’s only link to the outside world.

IS also captured the U.N.’s primary drop zone, forcing the WFP to suspend relief deliveries for two weeks. The agency located a new drop zone and began delivering aid again on January 29.

The extremist group laid siege to Deir al-Zour in 2015.

The U.N.’s Jan Egeland estimated 93,000 civilians were trapped inside.

Thousands of soldiers and loyal militiamen are also caught up in the siege.

The activist group Justice for Life Deir elZour, which maintains a network of contacts in the city, has accused the government and loyal militias of hoarding supplies as they are flown in.

Deir al-Zour natives told the AP last year they had to bribe government officials to escape via the airport. They said commanders were gouging food prices and profiting off the war economy.

In the southern Daraa province, fighting continued for the second day.

Many UK lawmakers signal they’ll back Brexit bill

By Jill Lawless ASSOCIATED PRE SS

LONDON — Dozens of British lawmakers said Tuesday that they will vote to authorize the start of European Union exit talks — signaling likely victory for the government on the vote it had fought in court to avoid.

The House of Commons began a two-day debate on a bill that lets Prime Minister Theresa May trigger two years of divorce negotiations, as the government races to meet a self-imposed March 31 deadline to begin the process.

The government was

forced to introduce legislation after a Supreme Court ruling last week torpedoed May’s effort to start the process of leaving the 28-nation bloc without a parliamentary vote.

The government argues that British voters decided to leave the EU in a June 23 referendum, and no further authorization is needed.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said legislators had to answer a simple question: “Do we trust the people or not?”

“It’s not a bill about whether the U.K. should leave the union or indeed about how it should do

so,” he said. “It is simply about Parliament empowering the government to implement a decision already made — a point of no return already passed.”

Scores of lawmakers stood to speak in a debate that began at lunchtime and looked set to stretch on until midnight. A majority from both the governing Conservatives and the opposition said they would respect the voters’ decision and back the bill.

Anti-EU legislators did so with enthusiasm. ProBrexit Conservative Bill Cash said the vote to leave the EU was a

Glyn Kirk / Getty

Brexit Minister David Davis leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on Tuesday.

“peaceful revolution” on a par with votes for women and the working class.

Fellow Conservative John Redwood said Brexit would transform Britain’s legislature from a “puppet Parliament” overshadowed by Brussels, to a Parliament “made great by the people.

But many pro-EU legislators agreed to back the bill with reservations, expressing fears that

Britain will be poorer and more isolated outside the bloc’s single market of half a billion people.

“You can’t go back on your word because you don’t agree with the result,” said pro-EU Conservative Anna Soubry.

“But I want to say this: I believe history will not be kind to this Parliament nor indeed the government I was so proud to serve in.”