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2016 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
SUPREME COURT
Super Tuesday wins Clinton, Trump claim big victories throughout South By JULIE PACE AND JILL COLVIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton were sweeping through the South on Super Tuesday, with the front-runners claiming victory in their parties’ primaries in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Clinton also picked up a win in Virginia, while Trump carried the Republi-
can contest in Massachusetts. Super Tuesday marked the busiest day of the 2016 primaries, with the biggest single-day delegate haul up for grabs. With elections in every region of the country, the contests put a spotlight on candidates’ strengths and weaknesses with a broad swath of American voters. For Clinton and Trump,
See PRESIDENTIAL PAGE 10A
Photo by Carolyn Kaster | AP
President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers. After an Oval Office sit-down on Tuesday did nothing to move Republican Senate leaders off their hard line against a Supreme Court nomination some feel the vacancy will not be filled this year. Photo by Drew Angerer | New York Times
Mitchell Westall attends a campaign event for Hillary Clinton. Clinton sweeped through the South on Super Tuesday, claiming victory in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia.
TEXAS PRIMARIES
ELECTION DAY TURNOUT
Leaders talk vacancy The void left in the seat will likely not be filled this year By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Tamir Kalifa | AP
Volunteer election clerk Allie Green Jr. searches for places to post voting signs outside of a Fiesta Mart supermarket, a polling location, before polls open in Austin, Texas on Tuesday. Republicans will vote in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake. Democrats will vote in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates up for grabs. Some states have contests Tuesday for only one party.
Voters head to the polls on Super Tuesday BLOOMBERG NEWS
State officials were reporting strong turnout for Super Tuesday balloting, the closest thing yet to a national referendum on Trump, the brash New
York billionaire who has thrown out the traditional rules of campaigning. A sweep would put him within reach of a goal many in the political world once thought unimaginable, the Republican nomination for
president. A strong Clinton showing could transform the former secretary of state from merely a dominant front-runner into the virtual nominee, following her trouncing of Senator Ber-
nie Sanders in South Carolina’s primary on Saturday. Sanders vowed Tuesday to take his campaign to the Democratic National Convention in July, and could win a few scattered contests.
WASHINGTON — After an Oval Office sitdown on Tuesday did nothing to move Republican Senate leaders off their hard line against a Supreme Court nomination, Democrats pulled out another weapon in the heated election-year fight: Donald Trump. In a White House meeting that lasted less than an hour, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told President Barack Obama that any confirmation process during a presidential campaign would politicize the court. They offered up no potential candidates that would win their backing and no route to filling the seat. “This vacancy will not be filled this year,” McConnell told reporters after the meeting. Democrats accused Republicans of trying to hold the seat open so that a Republican president can fill it. That president could be Trump, they noted, hoping to needle a GOP establishment uncomfortable with the prospects of Trump presidency.
The meeting — which also included Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee — was the first time the leaders have met since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month set off a highstakes clash over the Supreme Court vacancy. While the men huddled at the White House, voters in 12 states were preparing to weigh in on a presidential contest that has tanked Obama’s chances of filling the seat — but also given Democrats a new line of attack. As they emerged from the meeting, they quickly linked the GOP strategy to the Republican front-runner poised to pick up significant momentum Tuesday night. “All we want them to do is fulfill their Constitutional duty and do their job, and at this stage, they decided not to do that,” Reid said. “They think that they can wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess.” Reid’s comments were aimed at riling up Democrats, as well as moderate and establishment
See VACANCY PAGE 10A
BORDERING ON INSECURITY
US citizen jailed in immigration status mistake By ANDY EAST TEXAS TRIBUNE
(Editor’s note: This story is part of The Texas Tribune’s yearlong Bordering on Insecurity project.) Ricardo Garza was just a few footsteps from freedom when the trouble started. He had posted bail and was on his way out the door of the Grand Prairie Police Department Detention Center — where he had been booked on charges of driving while intoxicated — when a jailer began asking questions. “I was maybe 3 feet away from
breathing fresh air,” Garza recalled. “And [the jailer] said ‘What’s your name? What’s your birthdate? What’s your social? Where GARZA were you born?’” That last question, and the way police reacted to his answer, would throw the 46year-old warehouse manager into the messy intersection of local law enforcement and U.S. immigration policy, ultimately triggering a federal lawsuit. Garza told jail officials he was born in Mexico but had since be-
come a U.S. citizen. But when the jail contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to verify his status, federal immigration officials told jailers they believed Garza was a U.S. permanent resident whose criminal history potentially made him a deportable immigrant. Their request to Grand Prairie: Don’t let him out. What happened next highlighted the conflicting pressures local jails face when it comes to foreign-born inmates: On one hand, state and federal lawmakers want local law enforcement officials to be tough on immigrants accused
of crimes. On the other, civil rights activists and immigrant advocates want federal immigration authorities to stop asking local jails to turn over information on people who are arrested. They cite the detention of potential citizens as Exhibit A in their quest. ICE placed a detainer on Garza on Oct. 30, 2015, 13 days after he was arrested, the same day he was transferred to Dallas County Jail. A detainer is the agency’s way of asking a jail to delay an inmate’s release by up to 48 hours so immigration officials can take them into custody. Dallas County decided to hold Garza without al-
lowing him to post bond. Garza’s detainer was not canceled until Dec. 5 — 36 days later — when his attorney, Eric Puente, provided evidence that Garza had “derived,” or acquired, U.S. citizenship when his mother naturalized in 1984. ICE has no civil authority to place immigration detainers on U.S. citizens. “On Dec. 5, while still in the custody of Dallas County Jail, Mr. Garza’s attorney provided additional documentation to ICE officers which indicated that Mr. Garza had derived U.S. citizenship,”
See MISTAKE PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Preschool Read & Play. 11 a.m.–12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Story time and crafts for preschoolers. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Family Story Time & Crafts. 4-5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403.
Today is Wednesday, March 2, the 62nd day of 2016. There are 304 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On March 2, 1836, the Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico. On this date: In 1793, the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, was born near Lexington, Virginia. In 1865, Congress established the position of Naval Judge Advocate General. In 1877, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act. In 1933, the motion picture “King Kong” had its world premiere at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy. In 1942, the original Stage Door Canteen, a wartime club for U.S. servicemen, officially opened its doors in New York’s theater district. In 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous act of defiance, Claudette Colvin, a black high school student in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white passenger. In 1972, the United States launched the Pioneer 10 space probe, which flew past Jupiter in late 1973, sending back images and scientific data. In 1985, the government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply. In 1995, the Internet search engine website Yahoo! was incorporated by founders Jerry Yang and David Filo. Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal in New Delhi. Five years ago: A man armed with a handgun attacked a bus carrying U.S. Air Force troops at Frankfurt airport, killing two airmen before being taken into custody. One year ago: Iraqi forces launched a large-scale offensive to take Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit from the Islamic State group, the first step in a campaign to reclaim parts of northern Iraq from the Sunni extremists. Today’s Birthdays: Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is 61. Singer Jay Osmond is 61. Tennis player Kevin Curren is 58. Country singer Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) is 57. Rock singer Jon Bon Jovi is 54. Blues singer-musician Alvin Youngblood Hart is 53. Actor Daniel Craig is 48. Actor Richard Ruccolo is 44. Rock musician Casey (Jimmie’s Chicken Shack) is 40. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 39. Actress Heather McComb is 39. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is 35. NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 34. Actor Robert Iler is 31. Actress Nathalie Emmanuel is 27. Singer-rapper-actress Becky G is 19. Thought for Today: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” — Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka “Dr. Seuss”), American children’s author (born this day, 1904; died 1991).
FRIDAY, MARCH 4 A Fresh Start to a Healthier You. 4:30-5:30 p.m. The kitchen at McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Learn practical cooking and shopping tips and recipes for success. For more information, contact Angie Sifuentes, Webb County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, 956-523-5290, angelica.sifuentes@ag.tamu.edu.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 Laredo Northside Farmers Market. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. North Central Park. Third annual Easter egg hunt held at the playground at 11 a.m. for children ages 12 and younger. Free. The market association will also hold a children’s raffle during the market. Book sale. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Admission is free. Everyone is invited.
MONDAY, MARCH 7 Chess Club. Every Monday from 4-6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956-795-2400 x2520.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8 Knitting Circle. 1-3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and knitting needles. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 7952400 x2403. Crochet for Kids. 4-5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and a crochet needle. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Rock wall climbing. 4-5 p.m. LBVInner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Free. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages. Must sign release form. For more information, contact John Hong at 7952400 x2521.
THURSDAY, MARCH 10 Preschool Read & Play. 11 a.m.–12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Story time and crafts for preschoolers. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Family Story Time & Crafts. 4-5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403.
FRIDAY, MARCH 11 A Fresh Start to a Healthier You. 4:30-5:30 p.m. The kitchen at McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Learn practical cooking and shopping tips and recipes for success. For more information, contact Angie Sifuentes, Webb County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, 956-523-5290, angelica.sifuentes@ag.tamu.edu.
MONDAY, MARCH 14 Chess Club. Every Monday from 4-6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956-795-2400 x2520.
TUESDAY, MARCH 15 Knitting Circle. 1-3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and knitting needles. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 7952400 x2403. Crochet for Kids. 4-5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and a crochet needle. For more information, call 795-2400.
Photo by Chicago Police Department | AP file
In this frame grab from dash-cam video provided by the Chicago Police Department, Laquan McDonald, right, walks down the street moments before being shot by officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago. Homicides and shootings have doubled in Chicago so far this year compared with the same period in 2015.
Chicago homicides rise By DON BABWIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Homicides and shootings have doubled in Chicago so far this year compared with the same period in 2015, and police have seized fewer illegal guns — more possible signals that officers have become less aggressive in the aftermath of a shooting video released last fall. Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante said Tuesday that he was so concerned about officers possibly holding back that he filmed a video for the entire department in which he encouraged them to do their jobs and assured them that a federal probe of the force was not aimed at individuals. “We are aware that there is a concern among the rank and file about not wanting to be the next YouTube video that goes viral,” Escalante said in the video before intro-
Shooting raises questions for police video release SALT LAKE CITY — Police are refusing to release body camera video of Salt Lake City officers shooting and critically injuring a 17-year-old Somali refugee, fueling public outcry and leading some to call the decision on when to reveal such footage inconsistent. Footage from officers’ body cameras is at the center of a national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims, and authorities around the country are working to decide when to reveal video from the increasingly popular law enforcement tool. Twenty-three states have created laws for body cameras, many passed last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Authorities have declined to release the footage from Saturday’s shooting until they finish investigating. Keeping it private until investigators have sifted
ducing a segment of his own to remind viewers “why we took this job and swore this oath of office.” The statistics come almost exactly three months after the city on the orders of a judge released the video of officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, a black teen killed in 2014. Since that day, Van Dyke has been charged with murder, and Superintendent Garry McCarthy has been fired. The Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe of the police force, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has sought to regain public trust in the department and his own leadership. The crime figures offer a stark reminder that the nation’s third largest-city is nowhere near shedding its reputation as a dangerous hotbed of street violence. Authorities recorded 95 homicides.
through the evidence to put the video in context is fairer to officers and the victim, said Unified Police Detective Ken Hansen, whose department is investigating. Abdi Mohamed, who came to the U.S. with his family in 2004, was shot twice in the torso last weekend when officers tried to stop him and another person from beating a man with metal sticks, police said. Officers told them to drop their weapons, but the teen moved menacingly toward the victim, authorities said. Mohamed remained in critical condition Tuesday. The shooting stirred unrest Saturday in the city’s bustling downtown, where about 100 officers in riot gear barricaded four city blocks as bystanders threw rocks and bottles. Hundreds of people turned out for a protest Monday, some carrying signs saying, “Stop killer cops.” The incident shows the lack of consistent guidelines for police body camera footage, said Anna Brower, spokeswoman for the ACLU in Utah. A day after a
deadly police shooting last year, the Salt Lake City department released video showing a man attacking the officer with a snow shovel. “When police don’t have a standard response for these kinds of situations, they put the public in a position of wondering, ‘Why is it taking longer? What are you hiding?”’ Brower said. Former Mayor Rocky Anderson said the different ways of handling the footage makes it look like police are opportunistic, releasing videos that make them look good and holding back others with problems. Because Mohamed survived, he could face criminal charges or sue the department, factors that may bolster the argument for withholding the footage, said Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute, a Utah libertarian-leaning nonprofit. But his group generally favors videos’ quick release, saying it creates transparency and quiets the backlash against police. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND TEXAS Judge targeted in shooting returns to bench AUSTIN — A Central Texas judge who was shot last year in a targeted attack returned to the bench Monday to applause from friends and colleagues who gathered in her courtroom. State District Judge Julie Kocurek said she felt “reborn” following months of rehabilitation after the Nov. 6 shooting. The support she received “far outweighs the evil moments,” she said. Kocurek is not yet ready for a full-time schedule and is still undergoing physical therapy on her arm, the Austin AmericanStatesman reported. Kocurek was hospitalized for nearly two months after the attack. The shooter had placed an object in the driveway of her home, forcing the driver of her car to get out and move it. At that point the gunman opened fire. She was not struck by a bul-
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman | AP
Travis County District Judge Julie Kocurek, right, was welcomed back to the bench by District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, left, Monday in Austin, after spending weeks recovering from an assassination attempt in November. let and instead was injured by flying glass and debris. Austin police continue to investigate. Retired state District Judge Mike Lynch has handled much of Kocurek’s docket in her absence and said he was notified
last week of her return. “I can’t think of a better way to lose work,” Lynch told the newspaper. “She’s a brave and strong lady. She’s got a lot of guts. I’ve always respected her, and I respect her even more now.” — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local and State
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
UT System cops get Zapata County Annual Trail Ride guidelines for assault ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata Chamber of Commerce is inviting the community to the 2016 Zapata County Fair Annual Trail Ride at the Bustamante Arena located on Highway 16 in Bustamante, Texas this Satur-
day, March 5, 2016. Registration for the event starts at 7 a.m. and the ride out begins at 8 a.m. Registration fee is $5, with breakfast and lunch to be provided. Participating riders must have proof of negative Coggins test for
their horses. T-shirts will also be given for all riders. Upon arrival at the Zapata County Fair Pavilion will be a ribbon cutting ceremony. For more information, you are encouraged to contact Aaron Cruz at 956-240-3408.
Stricter school policies By MELISSA B. TABOADA AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite being in the top 1 percent of her class, Lauren Molloy was at risk of failing to receive credit for courses last semester after a series of absences for medical appointments were counted against her by the Austin school district. Molloy, a McCallum High School senior, has a rare congenital bone disease that requires her to receive weekly physical therapy, and last semester she had multiple doctor visits and exams, including MRIs. Such medical visits previously didn’t affect whether a student received course credit, but now they do as the school district ramps up its policies regarding absences. “It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Della MolloyDaugherty, Lauren’s mom. “It made me realize what a headache the new attendance policy is.” Students can appeal to an attendance committee if they’ve attended at least 75 percent of the time, and they can make up classes by attending Saturday school to restore their class credit. But some parents — including about a dozen who
wrote letters to their campus administrators — are complaining that Austin’s stricter policy will mean more children going to school when they’re sick and more hassle for the parents of students who struggle with chronic ailments. At least one neighboring district is more lenient. State law requires students in kindergarten through 12th grade to be in attendance for at least 90 percent of the days a class is offered. But districts have varying interpretations of the law and offer different exceptions. Before this school year, the Austin district only denied credit for unexcused absences. The Austin district’s new practice, which started in the current school year, counts it against the student anytime he or she misses the entire day, regardless of whether there is a doctor’s note. Religious holidays, a limited number of college visits and school-sponsored events remain as excused absences, as do medical absences involving a health care professional during school hours if the student is in attendance for at least part of the day. Such excused absences are outlined in the law.
In communications with parents, the school district says the change is meant to bring Austin into compliance with the law. But one parent points out in a letter to the district that the law states that students “may be excused for temporary absence resulting from any cause acceptable to the teacher, principal or superintendent of the school.” Another parent said the change “really has us reconsidering the public school option. Sadly, I can see parents pulling their children out of public schools and exercising a home schooling option that would offer more flexibility with kids that are sick often.” The Leander district’s practice is similar to Austin’s. In Round Rock, a documented illness with a doctor’s note counts against the student’s 90 percent attendance requirement. The Hays school district doesn’t count absences with a doctor’s note against the attendance requirement. State funding is tied in part to attendance, and some parents raised concerns that money was the real reason behind the change. District officials say that’s not the case.
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas System announced sciencebased guidelines Tuesday to help police for all 14 campuses better respond to sexual assault victims. UT System officials said in a statement that the 170-page report detailing the guidelines is a “victim-centered blueprint” to assist the system’s 600-person police force in engaging with and understanding victims, as well as reporting allegations. The document was developed by UT System police and the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the flagship UT campus in Austin. The system is among the nation’s largest, with more than 217,000 students. “Having the opportunity to rely directly on the scientific and academic community to inform police practices is a rare and powerful foundation for action,” said Michael
The blueprint teaches police to better understand the magnitude and controversies surrounding the problem of campus sexual assault and the role of officers in responding. Heidingsfield, UT System police director. “We must publicly acknowledge our moral obligation to understand sexual assault for the life-altering and destructive experience it is, and be champions of those victimized.” The blueprint teaches police to better understand the magnitude and controversies surrounding the problem of campus sexual assault and the role of officers in responding, UT System officials said. The manual also provides police with science-based information on dealing with trauma, domestic violence and intimate partner vio-
lence, and the role that drugs and alcohol can play. The UT System last August began a $1.7 million comprehensive campus sexual assault study to better assist students and staff on the issue of sexual violence. The study is expected to last several years, system officials said. Last September, system officials launched an effort known as the UT System Bystander Intervention Initiative to teach college students strategies to deter sexual assaults, suicides and other issues that could affect them.
Heavy rains brighten outlook for flowers ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — Fans of Texas bluebonnets could soon be spotting some beautiful blooms in pastures and along highways. Experts say heavy rain last fall and early this winter could mean a spectacular wildflower season in Texas. Officials with the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin on Tuesday offered the optimistic forecast. Authorities at the University of Texas-affiliated Center say spotty rain and recent unusually warm conditions could affect some wildflower displays. Horticulture director of horticulture Andrea DeLong-Amaya says the trick
is always the weather. She says the National Weather Service earlier this year predicted the El Nino pattern would bring moisture, but that didn’t really materialize for much of the Texas. DeLong-Amaya says the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center already has some Texas bluebonnets in bloom.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Columnists can be guilty of gallows humor
It is said that confession is good for the soul. Columnists can be guilty of gallows humor. The origin of that bit of wisdom about confession is unknown to me. Perhaps it was an early Pope. Or, maybe it was a fundamentalist evangelical preacher seeking souls to come pouring down the aisle, tears flowing, guilt grabbing hold, ready to pledge their life and pocketbook wherever conscience and newfound faith steers them. “You’ve already started,” readers must be saying at this point. But, before we get very far into such a ticklish subject and just in case some poor soul out there doesn’t understand the term, let’s apply some definition. Gallows humor is humor in the face of, or about very unpleasant, serious, or painful circumstances, according to Wikipedia. It is any humor that treats serious matters — death, war, disease, crime, how I comb my hair — in a light, silly or satirical fashion. I suppose any profession can employ gallows humor, particularly if the regular functions of a job present such serious situations that momentary reality can be avoided by applying some humor. Obviously, death is the result of a “gallows” (hanging) sentence, thus the appendage for that humor genre. In the news business, we are frequently confronted with extremely serious news that must be reported. A great deal of gallows humor is to relieve the gloom that can saturate someone. One analysis describes it as being able to laugh at evil and error to show we have surmounted it. Reporting crime, death or any tragic occurrence and poking fun within the quarters where the work is done, is fairly commonplace. It doesn’t mean we don’t care or that we even think it is funny, but that we merely are shunting the gloom by combining morbidity and humor. My earliest recollections of gallows humor came in a radio program (yeah, radio, as in before TV and yes, wiseacre, I’m that old). My family sat around the four-foot tall Western Auto Truetone radio and listened to shows — comedy, drama, adventure — almost like we watch the boob tube, er, uh, TV today. The Great Gildersleeve, a 1940s radio program, occasionally featured a character, an undertaker, named Digger O’Dell. That’s a pretty good jump on gallows humor right there. Digger’s voice was pretty somber, almost eerie sounding. He was referred to as “the last one to let you down.” All deaths — whether the actual occurrence is a significant news event or not — are at least reported in one area of the paper, labeled obituaries. Generally, newer and less experienced members of a small town newspaper’s news staff are assigned to handle obituaries. In earlier times, almost all obits were written entirely by the news staff. Today, funeral homes do a decent job of writing death notices or obits that require just a bit of editing and rewrite to conform to newspaper style. While many community newspapers now charge for formal obituaries, family members can purchase space (often through a funeral home) at the paper to print their own fashioned obituary (within the bounds of good taste and law). Still, some papers attempt to “enhance” their death notice columns with some heading or label other than “Deaths” or “Obituaries.” With the gloom of overseeing that segment of the newspaper’s reporting, sometimes gallows humor infects the obit “editor”. Reporters at most small newspapers regularly draw the sad task of editing the obits and building the page where they were displayed. Tiring of the chore and trying to lighten the time spent at the task, they often come up with some lulu names to apply to his sad space: Cadaver Palaver and Casket Basket among them. Maybe you can now understand why those in this business are sometimes accused of morbidity or gallows humor. After years doing obits, it’s a matter of the preservation of sanity. Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.
COLUMN
The movement mentality from the past to the present It feels like people clumped themselves into intellectual movements more 30 years ago than they do today. There were paleoconservatives and neoconservatives. There were modernists and postmodernists; liberals, realists, and neoliberals; communitarians and liberation theologians; Jungians and Freudians; Straussians and deconstructionists; feminists and postfeminists; Marxists and democratic socialists. Maybe there were even some transcendentalists, existentialists, pragmatists, agrarians and Gnostics floating around. Now people seem less likely to gather in intellectual clumps. Now public thinkers seem to be defined more by their academic discipline (economist or evolutionary biologist) or by their topic (race and gender), than by their philosophic school or a shared vision for transforming society. The forces of individualism that are sweeping through so much of society are also leading to the atomization of intellectual life. Eighty years ago engaged students at City College in New York sat in the cafeteria hour upon hour, debating. The Trotskyites sat in one alcove and the Leninists sat in another, and since the Trostkyites were smarter and won the debates, the leaders of the Leninist faction eventually forbade their cadres from ever talking to them. But today we live in a start-
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DAVID BROOKS
up culture. There’s great prestige in being the founder of something, the lone entrepreneur who creates something new. Young people who frequently say they don’t want to work in some large organization are certainly not going to want to subsume themselves in some pre-existing intellectual label. The Internet has changed things, too. Writers used to cluster around magazines that were the hubs of movements. On the Internet, individual posters and tweeters are more distinct, but collectives of thinkers are less common. The odd thing is that it was easier to come to maturity when there were more well-defined philosophical groups. When there was a choice of self-conscious social movements, a young person could try them on like clothing at the mall: be an existentialist one year and then join a Frankfurt School clique the next. This was a structured way to find a philosophy of life, a way of looking at the world, an identity. Eventually you found what fit, made a wager, joined a team and assented to a belief system that was already latent within you. When I joined National Review at age 24 I
joined a very self-conscious tradition. I was connected to a history of insight and belief; to Edmund Burke and Whittaker Chambers and James Burnham. I wanted to learn everything I could about that tradition — what I accepted and what I rejected — as a way to figure out what I believed. When you join a movement — whether it is deconstructionist, feminist or Jungian — you join a community, which can sometimes feel like family in ways good and bad. You have a common way of seeing the world, which you want to share with everyone. When you join, people are always pressing books into your hands. Believing becomes an activity. People in movements take stands, mobilize for common causes, hold conferences, fight and factionalize and build solidarity. (I remember late night at one conference dancing near four generations of anticommunists.) There are opportunity structures for young people to rise and contribute. First you set out the chairs for the meetings; later you get to lead the meetings. Young people find that none of the mentors is perfect, so they can’t be completely loyal to any particular leader, but they can be loyal to the enterprise as a whole, because it embodies some real truth and is stumbling toward some real good. The whole process arouses
the passions. Today universities teach “critical thinking” — to be detached, skeptical and analytic. Movements are marked by emotion — division and solidarity, victory and defeat. There are fervent new converts, and traitors who “break ranks.” There are furious debates over strategy; the future design of society is at stake. There are inevitably love affairs and breakups. People learn ardently, with their hearts. As in any love, there’s an idealistic early phase, then a period of disillusionment, and then, hopefully, a period of longer and more stable commitment to the ideas. The movement shapes one’s inner landscape. It offers a way to clarify the world; a bunch of books to consult if you need to think through some problem. Of course there is often rigidity and groupthink, but people can also be smarter when thinking in groups. For example, movements pool imagination. It’s very hard to come up with a vision so compelling that it can provide a unifying purpose to your life. But such visions emerge in a movement collectively, and then get crystallized by a leader like Martin Luther King. It all depends on taking steps that are less in fashion today: committing to a collective, accepting a label, keeping faith, surrendering self to a tradition that stretches beyond you in time.
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1986) | GARRY TRUDEAU
National
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Bin Laden letters released By DEB RIECHMANN AND ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by NASA | AP
In this Jan. 21, 2016 photo made available by NASA, one-year mission crew members Scott Kelly of NASA, left, and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos celebrate their 300th consecutive day in space.
Homecoming for astronauts By MARCIA DUNN ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronaut Scott Kelly closed the door Tuesday to an unprecedented year in space for NASA, flying back to the planet and loved ones he left behind last March. Kelly and his roommate for the past 340 days, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, check out of the International Space Station on Tuesday night, U.S. time. By the time their capsule lands in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the pair will have traveled 144 million miles through space, circled the world 5,440 times and experienced 10,880 orbital sunrises and sunsets. Kelly photographed the first five sunrises of his waking day Tuesday, posting the pictures on Twitter, before quipping, “I gotta go!” His final tweet from orbit came several hours later: “The journey isn’t over. Follow me as I rediscover (hash) Earth!” Piloting the Soyuz capsule home for Kelly, 52, and Kornienko, 55, will be the much fresher and decade younger cosmo-
naut Sergey Volkov, whose space station stint lasted the typical six months. Kelly was the first one into the docked Soyuz capsule after a round of hugs and handshakes with the three crewmen staying behind. Kornienko reached out and patted the inside of the station before the hatches swung shut. The two yearlong spacemen will undergo a series of medical tests following touchdown. Before committing to even longer Mars missions, NASA wants to know the limits of the human body for a year, minus gravity. As he relinquished command of the space station Monday, Kelly noted that he and Kornienko “have been up here for a really, really long time” and have been jokingly telling one another, “We did it!” and “We made it!” “A year now seems longer than I thought it would be,” Kelly confided a couple weeks ago. Not quite a year — 340 days to be precise, based on the Russian launch and landing schedule. But still record-smashing for NASA.
WASHINGTON — Hidden away in his Pakistan hideout, an increasingly paranoid Osama bin Laden suspected Iran of implanting a tracking device in his wife’s mouth and drafted a will directing much of his $29 million fortune to be spent on jihad after his death. The details about the alQaida leader’s life were released Tuesday in a second batch of letters and other documents seized in a May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden at his secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The letters detail his rift with militants who later broke off from al-Qaida and formed the Islamic State, as well as plans for a media blitz to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Other correspondence resonates with suspicion and fear. In a letter to one of his wives who lived in Iran, bin Laden expressed worry that her dental appointment could have allowed Iranians to implant a tracking device under her skin. “My dear wife,” he began. “I was told that you went to a dentist in Iran, and you were concerned about a filling she put in for you. Please let me know in detail ... any suspicions that any of the brothers may have about chips planted in any way.” The Iranian dentist might have used a slightly enlarged syringe to make such an implant, bin Laden wrote in the undated letter. “The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli,” bin Laden said. He asked her to recall the exact date of her dental work, “also about any surgery you had, even if it was only a quick pinch.”
Photo is uncredited | AP file
In his last will and testament, bin Laden claimed he had about $29 million in personal wealth, the bulk of which he wanted to be used "on jihad, for the sake of Allah." In another letter, bin Laden warned about using safe methods for moving money. “It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip inside it,” he wrote. He said that funds should be shuttled by vehicle but only on cloudy days — an apparent reference to avoiding a U.S. drone strike. One document is a signed, handwritten will that intelligence officials suspect was written before bin Laden’s departure from Sudan in 1996. He claimed he had about $29 million that he planned to divide among some relatives, but the bulk was to be used “on jihad, for the sake of Allah.” It was not clear if bin Laden actually had access to so much money, if he shared the will with anyone, and if his instructions were carried out. Bin Laden’s father ran a successful construction company in Saudi Arabia, and the will noted that $12 million of the total was from his brother on behalf of the Bin Laden Co.
The newly released materials reveal an al-Qaida network that was sometimes disorganized behind the scenes and struggling to keep its fighters unified, according to two senior intelligence officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the documents. The officials said they portray a leader who was aware of his group’s hardships in the field, yet appeared not to fully understand what his organization could actually accomplish. Abu al-Faraj, head of the medical unit for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, wrote to bin Laden complaining about medics, who only received a onemonth training courses at jihad posts. “Note the great shortage of specialists, which in some cases makes recovery time longer ... and in some cases, injuries that normally would not be fatal, become fatal to the mujahidin.” There also are more routine documents, such as an outline for an Islamic study plan for soldiers, which calls for a “brief word on raising children.”
In a letter to two of his children, he wrote: “The rabbits that we used to have in the house gave birth, but the cat ate the little ones. ... Please pray for victory for the mujahidin and do not forget to do physical exercises.” There is no mention in the documents to indicate how bin Laden got to the compound in Abbottabad, but one hints that he was clearly tired of living there. “I say that the latest time we can stay with our present companion brothers is the tenth anniversary of the attack on New York and Washington, after a few months from now; or at the end of this year, 2011.” He was killed before the anniversary was reached. Al-Qaida was planning a media blitz to mark the anniversary. The group proposed reaching out to certain media outlets to arrange media coverage, but there was no discussion of a planned attack for that day. Several documents detail a running disagreement between bin Laden and al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq, which morphed into the Islamic State. Bin Laden disagreed with the level of brutality, such as beheadings, that the affiliate was using and was opposed IS leaders’ bent on declaring an Islamic State — something bin Laden argued would fail because it did not have enough popular support and could not shoulder the burdens of governance. The al-Qaida leader called for presenting a united front in public. Behind the scenes, he pleaded with his Muslim brethren, saying: “It is a must to stop any reason that might lead to the spilling of Muslim blood. ... We must not get overwhelmed by the war, its atmosphere, conditions, hatreds and revenge that might mislead us.”
International
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
Photo by Jerome Delay | AP
Migrants stand in front of their dwelling facing French riot police in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Monday. Under the eye of hundreds of riot police, workers began pulling down tents and makeshift shelters in the sprawling camp in Calais on Monday.
Photo by Wong Maye-E | AP
In this Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, photo, soldiers in tanks take part in a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s ruling party celebrations in Pyongyang, North Korea. Ever-wary of threats to its ruling regime and still technically at war with Washington and Seoul, “Military First” is North Korea’s national motto.
A look at N. Korea’s army By ERIC TALMADGE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO — With tensions high and the United States and South Korea ready to hold their massive annual war games next week, which North Korea sees as a dress rehearsal for invasion, Pyongyang is warning it will respond to any violations of its territory with “merciless” retaliation, including strikes on Seoul and the U.S. mainland. “Military First” is the national motto of North Korea, which is ever wary of threats to its ruling regime and still technically at war with Washington and Seoul. Nuclear-armed and boasting the world’s fourth-largest military, it is persistently seen as the biggest challenge to the security status quo in East Asia, an image it loves to promote and showcased in an elaborate military parade last October. The joint South KoreaU.S. military exercises are to begin March 7 and last more than a month. Tensions always go up when they do. Pyongyang has poured huge resources into developing its nuclear and missile arsenals and maintaining its conventional forces. About 5 percent of its 24 million people are on active military duty, and another 25-30 percent are in paramilitary or reserve units, ready for mobilization. But just how strong is Kim Jong Un’s army? Here’s a look, based on what AP reporters and photographers have seen on the ground and the latest report to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Secretary of Defense:
On the ground: BY THE NUMBERS: 950,000 troops, 4,200 tanks, 2,200 armored vehicles, 8,600 pieces of field artillery, 5,500 multiple rocket launchers. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: This is, and always has been, North Korea’s real ace in the hole. While its threat to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland appears to be well beyond its current capabilities, turning the South Korean capital into a “sea of fire” is not.
The ground forces of the Korean People’s Army form the largest segment of the military, by far. Seventy percent of them are forward-positioned around the Demilitarized Zone for quick mobilization in a contingency with South Korea; they are extremely well dug-in with several thousand fortified underground facilities. Their arms are mostly “legacy equipment,” produced or based on Chinese and Russian designs dating back as far as the 1950s. But they have in recent years unveiled new tanks, artillery and infantry weapons. In the October parade, the KPA displayed a new 240 mm multiple rocket launcher with eight tubes on a wheeled chassis. Kim Jong Un was recently shown by state media observing a new, longer-range anti-tank weapon. “Despite resource shortages and aging equipment, North Korea’s large, forward-positioned military can initiate an attack on the ROK (South Korea) with little or no warning,” the U.S. report concluded. “The military retains the capability to inflict significant damage on the ROK, especially in the region from the DMZ to Seoul.”
At sea: BY THE NUMBERS: 60,000 sailors, 430 patrol combatant ships, 260 amphibious landing craft, 20 mine warfare vessels, about 70 submarines, 40 support ships. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Divided into east and west fleets with about a dozen main bases, the navy is the smallest branch of the North Korean military. But it has some significant strengths, including hovercraft for amphibious landings and one of the largest submarine forces in the world. An estimated 70 attack, coastal or midget-type subs provide stealth and strongly bolster coastal defenses and possible special operations. It has no “blue water” — or long-range — naval forces and relies heavily on a large but aging armada of small coastal patrol craft. But it, too, is upgrading some of its surface ships and has made a show of its efforts to domestically devel-
op a submarine capable of launching a ballistic missile.
In the air: BY THE NUMBERS: 110,000 troops, over 800 combat aircraft, 300 helicopters, more than 300 transport planes. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Here’s where the “legacy” aspect of the North Korean military really kicks in. North Korea hasn’t acquired any new fighter aircraft for decades. Its best fighters are 1980s-era MiG-29s bought from the Soviet Union, the MiG-23 and SU-25 ground attack aircraft. They all suffer chronic fuel shortages and pilots get little training time in the air. Its air-defense systems are aging and it continues to maintain lots of 1940s-era An-2 COLT aircraft, a single-engine, 10-passenger biplane, which would probably be most useful for the insertion of special forces troops behind enemy lines. Interestingly enough, it also has some U.S.-made MD-500 helicopters, which it is believed to have acquired by bypassing international sanctions. They were shown off during a parade in 2013.
Special forces: BY THE NUMBERS: Not specified in report to Congress. Somewhere around 180,000 troops. Estimates vary. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: North Korea is fully aware that it is outgunned, technologically inferior and logistically light years behind its adversaries. But it also knows how to shift the equation through asymmetric tactics that involve stealth, surprise and focusing on cheap and achievable measures with an outsized impact. Special forces operations are among them — and the North’s special forces are the “most highly trained, well-equipped, bestfed and highly motivated” units in the KPA. Commandos can be inserted into the South by air or sea, and possibly on foot through tunnels across the DMZ. The North is working hard on its cyberwarfare capabilities, another key asymmetric military tactic. It is believed to have a growing
number of drones.
Nukes and missiles: BY THE NUMBERS: Number of nuclear weapons not specified in report to Congress. Possibly more than a dozen, outside sources estimate. 50 ballistic missiles with 800-mile range, 6 KN08 missiles with a range of 3,400-plus miles, unknown number of Taepodong-2 missiles with roughly same or longer range. Possibly one submarine-launched ballistic missile. Various shorterrange ballistic missiles. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: North Korea claims to have tested its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6, the day after the Department of Defense report came out. That claim has been disputed, but there is no doubt it has nuclear weapons and its technicians are hard at work boosting their quantity and quality. Major caveat here: The operational readiness of its nuclear weapons and many of its ballistic missiles is debatable. Pyongyang’s main hurdles are making nuclear warheads small enough to fit on its missiles, testing reentry vehicles required to deliver them to their targets on an intercontinental ballistic missile and improving and testing the arsenal for reliability and accuracy. Its Taepodong-2 ballistic missile is the militarized version of the rocket it launched on Feb. 8 with a satellite payload. North Korea has yet to demonstrate that it has a functioning ICBM, generally defined as having a range of over 3,418 miles.
Chemical, biological: This one is a question mark. The U.S. Defense Department claims Pyongyang is continuing research and development into both, and could use them, but offered no details on biologicals in its recent assessment. It said Pyongyang “likely” has a stockpile of “nerve, blister, blood and choking agents” that could be delivered by artillery shells or ballistic missiles. The North is not a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention and its troops train to fight in a contaminated environment.
Mexico to confront criticisms By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government has come up with a plan to confront criticism of the country during the U.S. presidential campaigns, but it doesn’t include getting into verbal duels with the candidates. The government instead will approach the campaigns of the Republican and Democratic nominees once they are chosen and share information about how the U.S. relationship with Mexico is an opportunity and not a threat, Francisco Guzman, an official in President Enrique Pena Nieto’s office, said
Tuesday. Outlining the plan to journalists, he said Mexican consulates in the U.S. have been instructed to start meeting with organizations and public opinion leaders to discuss the contributions Mexicans make to the United States. Republican front-runner Donald Trump, in particular, has drawn attention in Mexico by talking about Mexican migrants being rapists and bringing drugs to the United States, and he has repeatedly promised to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Two former Mexican presidents struck back at Trump in the past week.
Vicente Fox called him crazy and a false prophet, while Felipe Calderon compared Trump to Hitler in the way he plays on people’s anxieties. Guzman said Mexico’s current administration will not get into confronting individuals. “We could win the front page of all the newspapers here or in other places with a swear word and the next day that would not be good for anyone,” he said. “What the government will do is deploy a greater effort to counteract the misinformation about the bilateral relationship, about the contributions of Mexican immigrants to the United States, but in a
very neutral way,” Guzman added. “It is not to go against one candidate.” Annual trade between the two countries amounts to more than $500 billion. Guzman’s comments came on Super Tuesday in the U.S. with each party’s candidates competing in 11 states. He said he expected comments by American candidates to become more moderate as the contest advances. Just last week, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called some of the campaign rhetoric “damaging” during a visit to Mexico City and assured his hosts it did not represent the attitudes of the majority of Americans.
Rights groups accuse France of brutality By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER AND JASON PARKINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
CALAIS, France — More than a dozen humanitarian organizations on Tuesday accused authorities of brutally evicting migrants from their makeshift dwellings in a sprawling camp in northern France, as fiery protests of the demolition continued. Thousands of migrants fleeing war and misery in their homelands use the port city of Calais as a springboard to try to get to Britain on the other side of the English Channel. However, authorities are moving to cut short that dream by closing a large swath of the slum camp in the port city of Calais. In the stinging accusation at the close of the second day of a state-ordered mass eviction and demolition operation, the organizations charged that authorities have failed to respect their promise of a humane and progressive operation based on persuading migrants to vacate their tents and tarp-covered homes. “Refugees, under threats and disinformation, were given one hour to 10 minutes to leave their homes,” a statement said. Police pulled out some who refused, making arrests in certain cases, while others were not allowed to gather their belongings or identity papers, the statement charged. Migrants and pro-migrant activists protested against the eviction Tuesday, some climbing onto shanty rooftops to briefly stall the tear-down, and others by starting a night fire. Tents and tarp-covered lean-tos were also set afire on Monday and earlier Tuesday. The protesting organizations alleged that police aimed flash-balls at the roof protesters, then clubbed them and made some arrests. Tear gas, water cannons and other tactics have been used excessive-
ly, the statement charged. Organizations respected for their humanitarian work with migrants, such as Auberge des Migrants (Migrants’ Shelter), GISTI and Secours Catholique were among the 14 who signed the list of charges. The mass evictions from the southern sector of the camp were announced Feb. 12 with promises by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve that there would be no brutality. However, the Monday start of operations came as a surprise. The regional prefecture in charge of the demolition says the hundreds of police present are needed to protect workers in the tear-down and state employees advising migrants of their options. France’s government has offered to relocate uprooted migrants into heated containers nearby or to centers around France where they can decide whether to apply for asylum. Officials have blamed activists from the group No Borders for the ongoing unrest. But many migrants resist French offers of help, afraid of hurting their chances of reaching Britain. Officials say the evictions concern 800-1,000 migrants, but organizations working in the camp say the real number is more than 3,000. A court has ordered that common places like houses of worship, schools and a library that have sprung up must not be destroyed. The city bordering the Channel has ferry links and the Eurotunnel rail to England, and is temporary home to an estimated 4,000 migrants, down from 6,000 in December. The camp has become a flashpoint between France and Britain, fueling far-right support in both countries. “This operation will continue in coming days, calmly and methodically, providing a place for everyone as the government has committed,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement Tuesday.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: NEW YORK YANKEES
Chapman suspended
Photo by Chris O’Meara | AP
New York Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman has been suspended for 30 games by the MLB for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.
MLB suspends Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman for 30 games By RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to accept a 30game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, a penalty stemming from an incident with his girlfriend last October. Under the discipline announced Tuesday, the four-time All-Star will serve the penalty from the start of the Yankees’ season on April 4. He will lose 30 days of pay — $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary. The agreement specifies he will be eligible for free agency after this season barring any additional suspension for off-thefield conduct that would cost him the necessary service time. “I found Mr. Chapman’s acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate ... par-
ticularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct.” Chapman became the first player penalized a finite number of games under the policy, which MLB and the players’ association agreed to in August following several high-profile incidents among NFL players. Colorado shortstop Jose Reyes was given an indefinite paid suspension last week, pending a trial scheduled for April 4, following an alleged altercation with him wife in October. Baseball’s investigation of Chapman stemmed from Oct. 30. Chapman’s girlfriend, 22year-old Cristina Barnea, told police he pushed and choked her. Chapman said there was an argument but that he was
pushed down by Barnea’s brother, eventually getting a handgun and firing eight shots into a wall and window while locked in his garage. The Davie Police Department and Broward Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Newman declined to file charges, saying conflicting accounts and insufficient evidence made a conviction unlikely. Under MLB’s domestic violence policy, discipline does not have to be predicated on a conviction. Chapman, the hardestthrowing pitcher in the major leagues, was traded from payroll-paring Cincinnati Reds to the Yankees in December. He had said he would contest any suspension, but a deal was reached following negotiations with MLB. “I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening,” Chapman said in a statement. “However, I
should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family.” Chapman’s representatives and MLB had been discussing the discipline for about 10 days. A suspension of 46 days or longer would have delayed his eligible for free agency until after the 2017 season. The players’ association said it supported Chapman’s decision to accept the penalty and said “its members do not condone the mistreatment of others by playing or non-playing personnel.” With the Yankees, Chapman forms a powerful back end of
the bullpen along with former closer Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Chapman can continue to participate in all spring training activities. The penalty starts when the Yankees open the season April 4 at home against Houston. Barring rainouts, he would eligible to start his season May 9 when the Yankees host Kansas City. “We need him,” teammate Alex Rodriguez said Tuesday before the suspension was announced. “He’s a big part of our team, and I think the key in New York is you have to focus on the game, focus on your teammates, and I think he has a lot of support in that clubhouse.” Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is under investigation by MLB for a fight with a bouncer at a Miami bar in November following an argument with his sister.
PAGE 8A
Zentertainment
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
Oscars viewership low By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Conor Ralph/The Flint Journal | AP
In this Sunday photo, Janelle Monae performs at the #JusticeForFlint event in Flint, Mich. The benefit for residents affected by the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint featured some big names but is a grass-roots effort at its core.
Flint water crisis benefit raises $156K ASSOCIATED PRESS
FLINT, Mich. — A benefit for residents affected by lead-contaminated water in Flint has raised nearly $156,000. Blackout for Human Right’s #JusticeForFlint said Tuesday about 2,000 people attended the event. Filmmaker and founding Blackout member Ryan Coogler says more than 4,000 people sent in online donations. Coogler directed the film “Creed.” Blackout is a collective that addresses hu-
man rights violations. The fundraiser held Sunday — Oscar night — was attended by Coogler, director Ava DuVernay, singer Janelle Monae and other celebrities. Flint, north of Detroit, was under state financial control in 2014 when it switched from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River to save money. Corrosive water from the river leached lead from old water lines into some home. Tests have shown high lead levels in some Flint children.
NEW YORK — Don’t blame the effort to promote an Oscars boycott among blacks because of diversity concerns for the drop in Academy Awards viewership this year. The Nielsen company said Tuesday that an estimated 3.22 million black viewers watched the Oscars on ABC Sunday, a decline of 2 percent from the 2015 show. The show’s overall viewership of 34.4 million was an eight-year low, and a drop of nearly 8 percent from the year before. Prior to the Chris Rockhosted show, anger about a lack of minority nominees for the big awards led to the call for black viewers to tune out. It apparently wasn’t heeded, or viewers wanted to hear what Rock had to say about the issue — and it was the central theme of his monologue. Within the past decade, the Oscars had a smaller number of black viewers in 2012, 2011, 2009 and 2008, Nielsen said. So the academy must look to other explanations for the drop; the general theory has been that the popularity of movies up for Oscars is the biggest factor in viewership fluctuations. Ratings for the Golden Globes were also down this year. The Oscars enabled ABC to take a rare primetime win in the Nielsens, as the network averaged 9.4 million viewers. CBS had 7.8 million viewers, NBC had 4.4 million, Fox had 4 million, Univision had 1.9 million, the CW had 1.8 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 1.2 million. CNN was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.36 million in prime time with
Photo by Emily Berl | The New York Times
Chris Rock, this year’s Oscar host, arrives with his mother, Rosalie Rock, to the Vanity Fair Oscars party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Prior to the Chris Rock-hosted show, anger about a lack of minority nominees for the big awards led to the call for black viewers to tune out. the help of a Republican presidential debate. Fox News Channel had 2.03 million, USA had 1.7 million, HGTV had 1.69 million and TBS had 1.63 million. NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening news-
casts with an average of 8.91 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second with 8.88 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 7.7 million viewers. For the week of Feb. 2228, the top 10 shows, their
networks and viewerships: Academy Awards, ABC, 34.43 million; “Live From the Red Carpet, Part 3,” ABC, 22.28 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 17.47 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 15.94 million; “Live From the Red Carpet, Part 2,” ABC, 15.7 million; Republican Presidential Debate, CNN, 13.1 million; “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 12.79 million; “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 12.6 million; “Live From the Red Carpet, Part 1,” ABC, 11.53 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 10.33 million.
MIÉRCOLES 2 DE MARZO DE 2016
Ribereña en Breve ELECCIÓN DE REINA La Feria del Condado de Zapata dio a conocer el nombre de la Reina y su Corte para la Feria. Gabriela González es la Reina de ZCF 2016; Shannon Lopez, segundo lugar; y Christina A. Landa, tercer lugar. En tanto que Emily Ann Alvarado obtuvo el título de Señorita Simpatía y People’s Choice. La Reina y su Corte realizarán la tradicional gira por Laredo el jueves 3 de marzo.
MERCADO AGRÍCOLA Zapata Farmer and Artisan’s Market se llevará a cabo de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en Zapata Community Center, 605 N. US Hwy 83.
Zfrontera ROMA-MIGUEL ALEMÁN
Puente colgante Foto de cortesía
En la fotografía se muestra el puente colgante que une a las ciudades de Roma, Texas y la ciudad de Miguel Alemán, México, tras su construcción.
Ceremonia celebrará 88 años de cruce fronterizo POR MALENA CHARUR
SOCIEDAD GENEALÓGICA La Sociedad Genealógica Nuevo Santander se reunirá el sábado 5 de marzo, a las 2 p.m. en Zapata County Museum of History.
CABALGATA Feria del Condado de Zapata invita a la Cabalgata Anual en Bustamante Arena, Hwy 16 en Bustamante, Texas, el sábado 5 de marzo. El registro inicia a las 7 a.m. y la cabalgata arrancará a las 8 a.m. Cuota de registro es de 5 dólares. La meta será en el Zapata County Fair Pavilion. Informes con Aaron Cruz al (956) 240-3408.
ANIVERSARIO DEL PUENTE El Concilio de la Ciudad de Roma y la Comisión Histórico, así como el Gobierno Municipal de Miguel Alemán, México, y la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles invitan a la celebración por el 88º aniversario del puente de suspensión RomaMiguel Alemán, el sábado 5 de marzo a las 9:30 a.m. Se tiene proyectada la ceremonia de “Abrazo de Amistad” a mitad del puente.
PEE-WEE GOAT Espectáculo de cabras pequeñas (pee-wee goat), con edades de 2 a 8 años, el martes 8 de marzo de 7 p.m. a 9 p.m. en Ramirez Exhibit Hall, en el marco de la Feria del Condado de Zapata.
DESFILE La Feria del Condado de Zapata invita a los residentes, organismos y grupos de la comunidad a inscribirse en el Desfile de la Feria de Zapata. La fecha límite para entregar su solicitud de entrada es el miércoles 9 de marzo. El desfile tendrá lugar a las 9 a.m. del sábado 12 de marzo. La alineación del desfile será de 7 a.m. a 8:30 a.m., en U.S. Hwy 83 y 3rd Ave. Habrá trofeos para diferentes categorías. Los ganadores serán anunciados a la 1:30 p.m. en Zapata County Fairgrounds.
TIEMPO DE LAREDO
El martes, el único puente colgante a lo largo de la frontera que bordea el Río Grande entre Estados Unidos y México, cumplió 88 años. Se trata del Puente de Suspensión Roma Miguel Alemán, que enlaza a estas dos ciudades fronterizas. Su aniversario es celebrado de manera conjunta y alterna por ambas ciudades desde hace más de 20 años. La ceremonia está programada para el sábado a las 9:30 a.m. en el mismo cruce. “Por esta única ocasión lo celebraremos el 5 de marzo porque la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles le dará un reconocimiento de Monumento Histórico de Ingeniería Civil”, aseguró Noel Benavides, presidente de la Comisión Histórica de Roma. “También tendremos la ceremonia del ‘Abrazo de Amistad” que se dan los alcaldes de Roma y Miguel Alemán a mediación del puente”. Este año la celebración de aniversario está a cargo de la Ciudad de Roma y la Comisión Histórica en conjunto con el gobierno de Ciudad Miguel Alemán y la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles. Benavides dijo que por más de 15 años ambas ciudades han trabajado por conservar y restaurar el puente colgante. “Se gastaron 325.000 dólares en un estudio profundo para conocer el estado del puente y se reportó que se necesita restaurar las anclas de
todo el puente, reemplazar cables y pintarlo entre otras cosas”, expresó. “Tendría un costo por alrededor de 5 millones de dólares”. Agregó que afortunadamente el puente ha conseguido ser reconocido como punto histórico por la Comisión Histórica de Texas y como monumento artístico en México, lo que garantiza su permanencia. “En una reunión binacional realizada en El Paso, un ingeniero dijo, ‘es increíble que desde que luchamos por restaurar el puente se hayan construido tres puentes internacionales y no se hayan otorgado fondos para restaurar este pequeño puente en el que no sería tanto el gasto’”, relató Benavides. Dijo que el puente ha sido una presencia constante para los residentes de estas dos ciudades. “Desde que recuerdo está el puente. A menudo íbamos a Miguel Alemán porque tengo familiares ahí; también era el cruce para actividades industriales y comerciales por nuestra cercanía con Monterrey, que está a sólo 90 millas”, indicó. Por parte del lado mexicano, Elva Nelia García Correa, presidenta de Un Puente, Patrimonio Artístico de Dos Naciones, A.C., organización sin fines de lucro que también busca la preservación del puente colgante, dijo que en febrero de 2004, el puente logró ser declarado Monumento Artístico Nacional por el Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. “Decreto por el que se declara monumento artístico la construcción conocida como Antiguo Puente
Foto de cortesía
El Alcalde de la Ciudad de Roma, Texas, José Alfredo Guerra Jr., a la derecha, y el Presidente de Ciudad de Miguel Alemán, México, Ramiro Cortez Barrera, durante una ceremonia celebrada en marzo del 2014, teniendo como marco el puente colgante que une a Roma con Miguel Alemán. Internacional de Suspensión, ubicado en Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Estado de Tamaulipas”, se lee en la publicación del Diario Oficial de la Nación que lleva la rúbrica de Vicente Fox Quesada, presidente de México en ese momento. “Que la construcción conocida como Antiguo Puente Internacional de Suspensión, … realizada por el arquitecto George E. Cole en 1928, representa una forma de expresión artística de la arquitectura, en donde se refleja la armonía arquitectónica en relación con la integración geográfica y cultural de la región, simbolizando una época de desarrollo y prosperidad económica que vivieron las poblaciones fronterizas ribereñas”. García Correa declaró que aunque también se busca que sea declarado monumento histórico por par-
te del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, esto no podrá ser posible hasta que el puente cumpla 100 años. “El puente es el emblema de la ciudad. Hemos buscado que se convierta en un puente peatonal pero existe la necesidad de restaurarlo y como se trata de dos países, ambos gobiernos tienen que tener los fondos disponibles y la voluntad para realizar este proyecto”, indicó. Tanto García Correa como Benavides invitan a la comunidad en general a celebrar el aniversario de este puente único en su género entre la frontera Estados Unidos y México, el 5 de marzo a las 9:30 a.m. en el Puente Internacional Roma Miguel Alemán. (Localice a Malena Charur en el 956-728-2583 o en mcharur@lmtonline.com)
ECONOMÍA
Mejoran hotel en SPI ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Con acceso privado a la playa y una renovación completa a la propiedad, las 74 suites del Comfort Suites – South Padre Island, están listas para dar la bienvenida a familias que buscan el sol y la diversión del sur de Texas. Habiendo tomado las riendas de la propiedad el 1 de diciembre, los nuevos dueños Shashi y Priya Vaswani y Shashi y Rosy Sachdev de Laredo, han hecho una prioridad hacer de éste hotel una casa lejos
de casa para las familias que vacacionan a lo largo de la línea costera del Golfo de México. Ubicado en el 912 Padre Blvd., justo al norte del paso elevado, el Comfort Suites – South Padre Island ofrece las siguientes amenidades: Desayuno caliente Acceso a Internet de alta velocidad Estacionamiento Alberca exterior y jacuzzi Área privada para carne asada Pantallas de TV pla-
FERIA DEL CONDADO DE ZAPATA La Asociación de la Feria del Condado de Zapata ha dado a conocer la cartelera de artistas que conformarán la Feria del Condado de Zapata edición 44. El jueves 10 de marzo, se presentará Randy García y Conjunto Estrella, de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m.; Los Fantasmas Del Valle de 7:45 p.m. a 8:45pm; Lázaro Pérez y Su Conjunto, de 9 p.m. a 10:15 p.m.; y de 10:30 p.m. a 12 a.m. se presentará Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers. La entrada a los conciertos de este día es gratuita. La venta previa de brazaletes ya está disponible en Zapata County Chamber of Commerce, ICE Zapata, Casa Raul South y North, y en Mike’s Western Wear. Los brazaletes tienes un costo de 15 dólares por persona, por día. Para más información www.zapatacountyfair.com.
PÁGINA 9A
nas Lavandería Además, el hotel es una instalación 100 por ciento libre de fumar y cada suite ofrece un refrigerador y microondas para uso de sus clientes. El Comfort Suites – South Padre Island también posee seis cuartos familiares para invitados buscando quedarse más tiempo mientras visitan la isla y espacios para reuniones también están disponibles, sumados a la tienda de regalos. Estadías en el hotel son
Foto de cortesía
El Comfort Suites - South Padre Island, 912 Padre Blvd., fue totalmente remodelado. Sus nuevos propietarios son residentes de Laredo. elegibles para obtener y utilizar los Choice Privilege Points. Para otros detalles lla-
mar al 956-772-9020 o visite comfortsuites.com/hotel/ tx467 para reservar su “Suite Success.”
COLUMNA
Escritos revelan detalles que vivían peones POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Remontémonos a los albores del México independiente. Surgidas durante el virreinato, las haciendas concentran extensas porciones rurales. La mano de obra está dividida en diferentes categorías. Nos interesa centrarnos en una. “Los peones acasillados o gañanes vivían permanentemente en la hacienda. Su ingreso [económico] provenía de manera principal” del “salario […] por cada día de trabajo […] En algunos casos se [les] obligaba a […] trabajar […] sin paga”, de acuerdo con explicación de Friedrich Kats. “La primera obligación […] era labrar las tierras […] o cuidar el gana-
do […] a veces” hacían “trabajos domésticos y ocasionalmente” les correspondía “pelear por la hacienda”. Prosigue Katz: “En el norte poco poblado, donde […] había escasez de mano de obra, los hacendados emplearon todos los recursos posibles para obligar a los trabajadores a permanecer en las haciendas”. Destaca “el peonaje por endeudamiento”. Del patrón los peones recibían a crédito diversos artículos, que saldaban con jornales. Mantenida e incrementada en forma paulatina, la deuda imposibilitaba que el gañán renunciara y emigrara, imponiéndole duro castigo por escape, fuga o ausentismos. En 1824, en Padilla, cabe-
cera municipal hoy cubierta por aguas de la presa Vicente Guerrero, sesionan los primeros constituyentes y encaminan la entidad por senderos federativos. La administración local imprime su órgano periodístico, “Termómetro Político del Estado Libre de las Tamaulipas”. Pocos ejemplares se encuentran en el Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. Los editores dan cabida el 3 de agosto de 1824 a una carta. En lenguaje sencillo expresan sus condiciones laborales. Existen “amos […] que […] esclavizan de propósito [a los jornaleros], dándoles efectos [productos, instrumentos, etcétera]
con un ciento o doscientos por ciento [de sobreprecio] para que estando muy adeudados no haya quien pague por nosotros; […] de todos estos arbitrios se valen para tener” servidumbre. “Cada amo quiere ser un rey; […] dinero jamás logramos que se nos dé ni a ver”, señalan. También manifiestan: “Si un sirviente por dolor de cabeza, de estómago, catarro u otro cualquier accidente a que están sujetos por la naturaleza […] no sale a trabajar, se le pone una cadena o corma; de día trabaja con ella y de noche va al cepo, el cual mantienen […] al aire, y cuando más, bajo una enramada; […] si se duda de nuestra verdad que se pregunte a los jueces si han
tratado de quitar […] el uso de las prisiones que hacen los amos en sus haciendas, y si lo han conseguido”. “Esta es la causa de que tantos” compañeros “anden huyendo, dejando abandonadas sus familias, y otros llevándoselas a distintos” sitios. Remarcan: “Nosotros, los infelices gañanes […] buscamos la felicidad como todos los hombres, al abrigo de un amo piadoso y no lo hallamos”. Iban preparándose entretanto la carta magna federal y la del estado. Ambas omitirían disposiciones que regularan las relaciones laborales. (Con permiso del autor según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, Tamps., el 29 enero 2016)
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
VACANCY Continued from Page 1A Republicans who cringe at the thought of the unpredictable celebrity candidate controlling the future of the court. It was an early sign that with formalities — such as awkward White House meetings — dispensed with, the fight over the court was largely a battle for public opinion. “Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process, and ultimately bad for the nation,” Grassley said in his statement about the meeting. “It’s time for the people to voice their opinion about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government.” At another time, the gathering might have been a nod to the tradition of at least limited cooperation in naming and confirming justices to the nation’s highest court. The president might have floated potential candidates; Senate opposition might have come armed with their own preferred names. On Tuesday, neither side came with much more than talking points. Obama laid out his thinking on his nominee search and offered to consider any suggestions for candidates, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Republicans did not offer any, Reid said, who added that with little else to discuss the leaders chatted about basketball. Republicans maintain the choice of nominee is irrelevant; their objection is to the timing. At a private meeting of House Republicans before heading to the White House, McConnell promised not to budge from that stance, even as the campaign heats up. Several of those in attendance said he used the phrase “Read my lips,” made famous by President George H.W. Bush when he promised during his 1988 campaign to not raise taxes — a promise he later abandoned under Democratic pressure. While the standoff continues, the president has been reading through files on potential nominees and considering his options. The White House says the president has not settled on a short list and could still add names to the mix. For now, the White House is focused on demonstrating that it is making an effort to consult with the Senate — even if there’s not much give and take. “The president certainly has the constitutional authority to nominate a justice in an election year, and he intends to use it,” Grassley wrote in an oped in the Des Moines Register published Tuesday. “In the Senate, we have the equal constitutional authority to consent or withhold consent.”
PRESIDENTIAL Continued from Page 1A the voting marked an opportunity to begin pulling away from their rivals and charting a course toward the general election. Each entered Super Tuesday having won three of four early voting contests, and more strong showings could start putting the nominations out of reach for other contenders. Seconds after polls closed in Georgia, a confident Trump wrote on Twitter, “Thank you Georgia!” Clinton was steadying herself after an unexpectedly strong challenge from Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator did carry his home state decisively on Tuesday, and told the crowd at a raucous victory party that he was “so proud to bring Vermont values all across this country.” Early exit polls underscored Sanders’ continued weaknesses with black voters, a core part of the Democratic constituency. Clinton led with African-Americans, as well as both men and women, in Georgia and Virginia, according to surveys conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
Sanders continued to show strength with young voters, carrying the majority of those under the age of 30. Democrats were voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates up for grabs. Republicans were voting in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake. The contests come at a turbulent time for the GOP, given Trump’s strengths in the face of opposition from many party leaders. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched furious verbal attacks on the billionaire businessman in recent days, but some in the party establishment fear the anti-Trump campaign has come too late. Trump’s wins in the South were a blow to Cruz, who once saw the region as his opportunity to stake a claim to the nomination. Now Cruz’s future hinges on a victory in his home state of Texas, the biggest prize of the day. Rubio’s goal was even more modest. He was seeking to stay competitive in the delegate count and hoping to pull off a win in his home
state of Florida on March 15. Even before the first results started flowing in, Trump was calling on Rubio to give up if he didn’t win anywhere on Tuesday. “He has to get out,” Trump told Fox News. “He hasn’t won anything.” Republicans spent months largely letting Trump go unchallenged, wrongly assuming that his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, he’s appeared to only grow stronger, winning states and drawing broad support for some of his most controversial proposals. In six of the states on Tuesday, large majorities of Republican voters said they supported a proposal to temporarily ban all non-citizen Muslims from entering the United States, an idea championed by Trump. Two-thirds of GOP voters in Texas, Virginia and Georgia, 7 in 10 in Tennessee, and nearly 8 in 10 in Alabama supported the proposal, according to the early exit polls. Worries among Republicans appeared to grow after Trump briefly refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke during a
television interview. Trump later said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did repudiate him. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that anyone who wants to be the Republican presidential nominee must reject any racist group or individual. “When I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up. So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games,” Ryan said. The disarray among Republicans comes as Clinton appears to be tightening her grip on the Democratic field. Her wins in Georgia and Virginia were the first of what her campaign hoped would be a sweep of the South, a region where large segments of the Democratic electorate are black. In Georgia, just under half of Democratic voters on Tuesday were black, with 8 in 10 backing Clinton.
MISTAKE Continued from Page 1A agency spokesman Carl Rusnok said in a statement. “Based on this information, ICE dropped its detainer the same day.” Garza and six other former Dallas County inmates filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on December 18 against Dallas County and Sheriff Lupe Valdez, alleging that Dallas County violated their constitutional rights by refusing to release them on bond because they had immigration detainers. Puente said the county’s action amounted to illegal pretrial detention. “What Dallas County does is they go much further than what ICE is asking them to do,” Puente said. “They use the ICE detainer as an instrument to deny the constitutional right to bail. They say, ‘because you have an ICE detainer, you just can’t pay bail. You cannot get out, period, until your case is disposed of.’” Rusnok said ICE asked Dallas County to notify its agents 48 hours before Garza was going to be released — not to hold Garza beyond when he would have otherwise been let go.
Melinda Urbina, a spokeswoman at the Dallas County Sheriff ’s Department, declined to comment on Garza’s case because of the ongoing lawsuit. But she said that if ICE asks the county to hold an inmate for an extra 48 hours, the additional time typically does not begin until after the prisoner’s county charges are resolved. “We follow what [ICE asks] us to do,” she said. Garza’s case is the latest challenging Dallas County’s cooperation with immigration officials. In October, Valdez said she would decide case-by-case whether to honor ICE detainers for certain offenses. The policy change sparked the ire of Gov. Greg Abbott, who characterized Valdez’s new approach in a public letter as lenient and “a serious danger to Texans.” The same day as Abbott’s letter, 16 former Dallas County inmates who had been held on detainers filed a similar federal civil rights lawsuit against the county. Puente is also one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in that case. But Texas law enforcement agencies rarely refuse a detainer.
Between January 2014 and September 2015, more than 18,000 immigration detainers were declined by law enforcement agencies across the United States, but only 146 were declined by Texas law enforcement, according to an analysis of federal immigration detainers by The Texas Tribune. Garza’s case highlights the complicated nature of determining U.S. citizenship, and many U.S. citizens have wound up with detainers placed on them in recent years. From fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2012, ICE issued at least 834 detainers against U.S. citizens, including 83 in Texas and seven in Dallas County Jail, according to TRAC’s Immigration Project, a research project at Syracuse University that compiles immigration data obtained from ICE. To prove that Garza is a U.S. citizen, Puente gave ICE a 1999 decision from a Dallas immigration judge halting his removal proceedings initiated after Garza was sentenced to five years of deferred probation in 1996 stemming from an aggravated assault charge, an offense that often leads to deporta-
tion for non-citizens. After Garza successfully completed probation, the charge was dismissed in 2001, according to the Dallas County District Clerk’s Office. To demonstrate his U.S. citizenship, Garza had to show the judge his birth certificate, his parents’ divorce certificate and his mother’s certificate of naturalization. Puente said ICE should have had the case on file. “If [ICE] would have paid attention to him, they would have found out, as I did, that he is a U.S. citizen,” said Puente. “ICE has the documents to prove so. I supplied those documents to the ICE officers who then lifted and canceled his ICE detainer. But I used their own records to show that.” Garza acquired U.S. citizenship under a since-repealed provision of federal law allowing a child born outside of the United States to automatically acquire U.S. citizenship if both parents — or in the case of divorce, the parent with custody — became a naturalized citizen before the child turned 18. Garza was born in 1969 in Monterrey, Mexico.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Duke Stocks open modestly high Energy cyberthreats By MARLEY JAY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By EMERY P. DALESIO ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARY, N.C. — The volume of cyberattacks on the country’s largest electric company is astounding, and much of it is coming from computer hackers backed by foreign governments, Duke Energy Corp. CEO Lynn Good said Tuesday. So besides hardening online defenses, Duke Energy is focusing on how quickly the company could restore power if the flow to any of its 7.2 million customers in six states is switched off by malicious outsiders, Good said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Most of the cyberexperts that you talk to would say it’s a matter of time, that at some point there will be a vulnerability that someone can exploit,” said Good, who has led the Charlotte-based company for three years. “That’s the world that we live in.” To illustrate the threat, Good pointed to a December hack of Ukraine’s power grid that blacked out electricity to more than 225,000. The attack in the country, which is in conflict with neighboring Russia, was coordinated and highly sophisticated, U.S. authorities said in a report released last week. National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers has warned that it’s not a matter of if, but when attackers target U.S. power systems. “If I were to share with you the number of attacks that come into the Duke network every day, you would be astounded,” Good said during earlier remarks at a breakfast with business leaders. “And it’s not from people working out of their garage; it’s from nation-states that are trying to penetrate systems.” Here are Good’s thoughts on other topics:
Clean Power Lan The rapid court challenge by conservatives and coal-industry supporters to block President Barack Obama’s effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions is speeding up resolution of the Clean Power Plan’s future, Good said. The lawsuit is on “an early litigation path that will actually provide certainty,” Good said. “We will
know by 2017 or 2018 how the Clean Power Plan moves through the courts. That’s actually a rapid review” for an environmental law. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan aims to slow climate change by cutting powerplant emissions by onethird by 2030. Duke Energy is unlikely to need to take new pollution-cutting steps until after 2020, Good said. “The positive way to look at this early approach is, ‘Let’s get the litigation resolved so we do have certainty,”’ she said.
Evolving Utilities Energy efficiency and the lingering effects of the recession have translated into a decline of electricity sales for Duke: now onethird to a quarter of what the company enjoyed during the go-go 1990s, Good said. Population growth means Duke customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are increasing by about 1.5 percent. But despite all the mobile phones, laptops and even electric cars that need charging, power usage per customer has been flat for most of the past year, she said. Meanwhile, low natural gas prices, environmental regulations and growing consumer demand for clean energy are forcing electric companies to shift from coal and incorporate more renewable power generation. Utilities need to attract capital to finance their evolution, Good said. To preserve its value as a steady, dividend-paying stock, the company has been shifting into safe, regulated businesses in which state utilities commissions build a profit level on top of the cost of delivering electricity. Steadiness also is why Duke Energy is buying a natural gas company, a move mirrored by Atlanta-based Southern Co. and Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources. Meanwhile, Duke Energy is selling power plants in seven Latin American countries to shed volatility, Good said. “An investor in Duke Energy is expecting a dividend payment. That’s roughly 70 to 75 percent of the earnings I produce,” she said. “The business that goes with that level of dividend is a business that has more predictability, more stability.”
NEW YORK — Stocks are climbing Tuesday as investors hit the “buy” button following some encouraging signs of strength in the U.S. economy. The government reported that construction spending reached its highest level in eight years in January, and the beaten-down manufacturing sector also showed signs of life. Banks, which have been the worst-performing sector on the market so far this year, led the way higher. KEEPING SCORE: Major indexes are heading for their biggest one-day gains in more than a month. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 344 points, or 2.1 percent, to 16,860 as of 3:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 45 points, or 2.3 percent, to 1,977. The Nasdaq composite added 125 points, or 2.8 percent, to 4,683. IF YOU BUILD IT: The Commerce Department said construction spending rose 1.5 percent in January as outlays on nonresidential buildings and government projects rose. That was the largest gain in eight months and the highest level in eight years. A separate report said manufacturing continued to decline in February, however the result was still the best in six months as new orders and production increased. The reports, which came out at 10 a.m., were good signs about the health of the U.S. economy. Stocks
Photo by Richard Drew | AP
Trader Gregory Rowe works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday. U.S. stocks are opening modestly higher as the market recovers from a loss the day before. surged and bond prices fell as a result. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.84 percent from 1.74 percent. BANKS: Bank of America picked up 64 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $13.16 and JPMorgan Chase gained $2.51, or 4.5 percent, to $58.81, leading financial stocks higher. The S&P 500’s financial index has slumped 9 percent this year, worse than any other industry, as investors worry about loans to energy companies and low interest rates. RALLYING: Tech and consumer stocks rose, with the biggest gains going to familiar names. Apple gained $4.03, or 4.2 percent, to $100.72, its first time over $100 in more than a month. Alphabet, the parent of Google, rose $24.88, or 3.5 percent, to $742.10. Microsoft picked up $1.46, or 2.9 percent, to $52.34 and Facebook stock added $2.62, or 2.5 percent, to $109.54. The strong dollar has hurt tech stocks, which do
a lot of business outside the U.S., because it makes their products more expensive overseas and cuts into their revenue. Among consumer stocks, Amazon jumped $23.35, or 4.2 percent, to $575.87, and Netflix advanced $5.12, or 5.5 percent, to $98.53. Starbucks rose $1.89, or 3.2 percent, to $60.10. THE QUOTE: Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist for Voya Investment Management, said investors abandoned tech and bank stocks as the market slumped in January and February. “They’ve just been beaten with a stick this year,” she said. “Earnings have not been that bad and the companies’ financials are not that bad.” Cavanaugh said investors are pleased with the construction and manufacturing reports, and relieved that the dollar and oil prices seem to have stabilized. EARNINGS: Hertz climbed after the company said it cut costs and im-
proved the management of its rental fleet. The stock, which has been trading at its lowest since 2009, jumped $1.09, or 12.8 percent, to $9.59. Kate Spade gained $2.03, or 10.2 percent, to $21.85 after the clothing, handbag and accessories maker gave a strong profit forecast for 2016. Human resources software company Workday reported a smaller loss and better-than-expected sales. The stock rose $8.48, or 14 percent, to $68.93. Medical device maker Medtronic gave up $3.58, or 4.6 percent, to $73.81 after its sales fell short of analysts’ projections. AUTO SALES: Most automakers reported big gains in their U.S. sales in February. Ford climbed 59 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $13.10 after its sales rose almost 20 percent, a better gain than analysts expected. Honda, Fiat Chrysler and Nissan also reported big improvements. GM’s sales fell as it tries to shift its business away from rental sales, but its stock gained 57 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $30.01. Auto parts supplier BorgWarner rose $1.50, or 4.6 percent, to $34.18, and navigation device maker Garmin added $1.03, or 2.5 percent, to $41.54. WALKING AWAY: Industrial conglomerate Honeywell said it’s giving up on its effort to buy rival United Technologies. It said the company wasn’t willing to negotiate a deal. Honeywell had offered to buy United Technologies for $108 per share, or about $90 billion.
Trump fraud suit can continue By MICHAEL VIRTANEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York court on Tuesday refused to throw out a fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump over his former school for real estate investors. The Appellate Division unanimously rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the 2013 suit, ruling that a six-year statute of limitations applies. The four justices also denied New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s request for an immediate judgment, saying there are material issues of fact that should be decided at trial. Schneiderman alleges that Trump University was unlicensed since it began operating in 2005 and promised lessons with real estate experts hand-picked by Trump, only one of whom had ever met him. The attorney general said the school used “bait-and-
Photo by Bebeto Matthews | AP
Trump University promised students instant wealth. switch” tactics, inducing students to enroll in increasingly expensive seminars. Trump, now seeking the Republican nomination for president, has denied any wrongdoing. He has said it was “a terrific school” with 98 percent approval ratings by its students. His attorney Jeffrey Goldman said the midlevel court failed to explain why it reversed previous rulings and said they intend to appeal to New York’s highest
court. Schneiderman, a Democrat, sued Trump and the school, which changed its name to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative before it closed in 2010, for $40 million. The lawsuit seeks restitution and damages for more than 5,000 students nationwide, including 600 New Yorkers, who paid up to $35,000 each. “Today’s decision means our entire fraud case can move forward,” Schneiderman said. “We look for-
ward to demonstrating in a court of law that Donald Trump and his sham forprofit college defrauded more than 5,000 consumers out of millions of dollars.” Trump filed complaints with the state’s ethics commission in 2013, four months after the lawsuit was filed, alleging Schneiderman pursued it to wring out campaign contributions from Trump’s daughter Ivanka. The commission dropped the complaint after a review. Schneiderman denied it, and his campaign returned the $500 donation Ivanka Trump had made in 2012. Trump’s fellow Republican candidates have attacked him over litigation against the school, including a class-action suit in California. Trump criticized the judge in that case. Tuesday’s ruling coincided with Republican primaries in 11 states.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016