JOHNNY COMEBACK
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 14, 2018
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A&M STAR MANZIEL ADMITS ISSUES, LOOKING FOR A RETURN TO FOOTBALL, A7
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FEDERAL COURT
Trump’s move to end DACA blocked U.S. District judge’s order says president relied on flawed legal positions By Larry Neumeister A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s administration didn’t offer “legally adequate reasons” for ending a program that spared many young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. as children, a judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis in Brooklyn said in a written order that the Republican president “indisputably” has the power to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program but relied on flawed legal positions in doing so. He said he wanted to make clear that he was not ruling that
rescinding DACA is unlawful or that the administration may not end the program. And he said his order does not require the government to grant any particular DACA applications or renewal requests. The ruling came in lawsuits brought by immigration groups and 15 states and the District of Columbia. Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said the order doesn’t change the government’s position on the facts, including that DACA was an “unlawful circumvention of Congress.” “DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal
aliens,” he said. O’Malley added that the Department of Homeland Security “acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner” and looked forward to vindicating its position in future litigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said then-President Barack Obama’s decision to implement DACA was an unconstitutional exercise of authority. Garaufis said the Trump administration relied on an “erroneous” belief the program was unconstitutional. His ruling mirrors one issued in San Francisco in January. DACA continues on A8
Miguel Juarez Lugo/Zuma Press/TNS
Immigration activists demonstrate outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. as the Senate agreed to a deal to avoid a shutdown that does not include provisions for so-called Dreamers.
ZAPATA COUNTY
FALCON LAKE BASS FISHING COMPETITION
MEXICO TRAVEL WARNING
Victims of blackouts at resorts need help 140 cases reported of tourists getting injured or dying after drinking alcoholic beverages By Raquel Rutledge MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
"We were worried. The bass we were targeting had been feeding in the morning." When they finally reached their destination, the bass were no longer at the tree. "We had to switch gears. We were banking on those bass." Using their Helix 10 Mega Imaging Side Scanner, they located the group of bass on a nearby flat. "We changed the way we were planning on fishing. We had to slow down our presentation using Texas and Carolina rigged brush hogs." Three hours it took to put a limit together, which included a “dink” weighing about two pounds. "We moved to another area for a while, but didn't catch anything, so we went back to our first spot." Time was ticking, but they finally caught their sixth and final fish. "It was a six pounder, so we were able to make a four pound cull!" In the final rankings, that last fish
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are continuing to pressure the U.S. Department of State to reform the way it handles deaths and injuries to U.S. citizens vacationing in Mexico. In a letter Monday to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said it’s clear from the more than 140 recently reported cases of tourists blacking out and getting injured and in some cases dying - after drinking small or moderate amounts of alcohol, that the department needs to take a more "proactive, victim-centric" approach. "While I understand that the State Department does not have legal jurisdiction to investigate specific cases, I am confident that a clear-eyed, comprehensive analysis of the information provided by victims will reveal systemic issues related to illicit alcohol, weak and corrupt law enforcement and judicial institutions, an absence of the rule of law, and an overall dangerous environment for U.S. citizens in Mexico," Baldwin wrote. At the urging of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the Office of Inspector General opened an inquiry in December into how the department has been handling reports from U.S. citizens who were injured or whose loved ones died while on vacation in Mexico. No details on the inquiry have been released. The pressure from elected officials follows a months-long investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which first uncovered the array of problems in July. The news organization began investigating after 20-year-old Abbey Conner, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, drowned under suspicious circumstances on a family vacation in January 2017, within hours of arriving at a resort. Her older brother, Austin, then 22, was found unconscious nearby but survived. He has no memory of what happened. Since that story published, the Journal Sentinel heard from more than 140 people who had terrifying, sometimes tragic, experiences while visiting Mexico, most often while staying at upscale, all-
Bass continues on A8
Warning continues on A10
Courtesy photo
Kyle Keller, center, and Josh Spencer, right, take home over $20,000 with 31.98 pounds of total catch to win the Bass Champs' South Regions competition.
Tournament winners bring in nearly 32 pounds to dominate the field S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
About 165 teams hit it hard on Lake Falcon for Bass Champs' South Regions second event of the 2018 season. Hitting it hard after a weather delay, many teams found hungry big bass, resulting in phenomenal catches paired up with astounding paydays. Not only did the top five teams exceed the 20 pound mark for their total catch, winners Joshua Spencer and Kyle Keller brought in nearly 32 pounds to dominate the field. The fog had rolled in like a heavy blanket the morning of the tournament. For safety reasons, the contenders were held at the starting line for three hours, waiting for the visibility to improve. Once released,
these anglers raced to their targeted areas to grab the bites they needed for this 104 percent payback opportunity. There was only a short window of overcast skies once the fog lifted. The remainder of the day gave way to beautiful sunny conditions, making the afternoon hunt for biting bass that much more challenging. Kyle Keller had done the homework for he and his partner Joshua Spencer prior to the tournament. "Kyle discovered a tree, out by itself, in 16' of water," Joshua explained. "During practice, he had caught a 12# and an 8-1/2# bass off of it. This tree was definitely holding the kind of bass we were looking for!" The morning of the tournament was delayed.