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ZAPATA

Border wall hits snag in lake

Danny Zaragoza / Laredo Morning Times

A view of Falcon Lake in Zapata County.

For many Zapata County residents, a wall is not a solution

By Jeremy Schwartz AUSTIN A M ER ICAN-STAT E SMAN

ZAPATA, Texas — A few days before a late winter bass fishing tournament, a steady stream of anglers backed their motorboats into the chilly waters of Falcon Lake and zipped away in hopes of finding a lucky spot among the lake’s many inlets and islands.

The Austin American-Statesman reports the large-mouth bass are almost always biting in this 154-square mile reservoir, the largest lake on the Rio Grande and in many ways the economic lifeblood of surrounding Zapata County.

Since it was created in 1953 with the construction of Falcon Dam, the binational lake has served as both a barrier and conduit between Mexico and Texas. But now that President Donald

Trump is pushing for the construction of a wall or fence along the entire length of the border, some residents fear Falcon Lake could soon be surrounded by concrete.

As remote as it is, Zapata County, population 14,000, has not been sheltered from the violence of the drug war taking place on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. An American jet skier was gunned down in 2010 — officials say the Zetas cartel was responsible.

The county’s former sheriff was an early apostle of heightened border security, testifying before Congress in 2006 on the threat of spillover crime.

But for many in Zapata County —which gave Trump more support than neighboring counties along the heavily Democratic border — a wall is not the solution.

At Falcon Lake Tackle, which sells Wall continues on A10

Danny Zaragoza / Laredo Morning Times

This photo shows the entrance of Falcon Lake County Park and Boat Ramp in Zapata County.

U.S. CONGRESS

Trump, GOP leaders pull health care bill

By Robert Pear, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Jennifer Steinhauer N EW YORK T I ME S NEWS S ERVICE

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, facing a revolt among conservatives and moderates in their ranks, pulled legislation to repeal the health care law from consideration on the House floor Friday afternoon in a humiliating defeat for President Donald Trump on the first legislative showdown of his presidency.

Speaker Paul Ryan rushed to the White House shortly after noon to tell Trump he did not have the votes for a repeal bill that had been promised for

seven years — since the day President Barack Obama signed his landmark health care act into law.

Vice President Mike Pence and Tom Price, the health secretary, rushed to Capitol Hill for a late appeal to House conservatives, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

“You can’t pretend and say this is a win for us,” said Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., who conceded it was a “good moment” for Democrats.

“Probably that Champagne that wasn’t popped back in November may be utilized this evening,” he said.

The Republican bill would have replaced the Affordable Care Act, known informally as

Obamacare, which mandated that almost everyone have health insurance, with a system of age-based tax credits to purchase health insurance plans.

But it never won over conservatives who wanted a far more thorough eradication of the health care law. Nor did it have the backing of more moderate Republicans who were anxiously aware of the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment that the bill would leave 24 million more Americans without insurance.

With the House’s most hardline conservatives holding fast against it, the bill’s support collapsed Friday after more rank-and-file Republicans came out in opposition, including

Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, the soft-spoken chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Barbara Comstock of Virginia, whose suburban Washington district went handily for the Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton, in November.

“Seven years after enactment of Obamacare, I wanted to support legislation that made positive changes to rescue health care in America,” he wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, the legislation before the House today is currently unacceptable as it would place significant new costs and barriers to care on my constituents in New Jersey.”

In the end, Republican lead-

ers doomed the bill by agreeing to eliminate federal standards for the minimum benefits that must be provided by certain health insurance policies.

“This provision is so cartoonishly malicious that I can picture someone twirling their mustache as they drafted it in their secret capitol lair last night,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “This backroom deal will kill the requirement for insurance companies to offer essential health benefits such as emergency services, maternity care, mental health care, substance addiction treatment, pediatric services, prescription drugs and many other basic essential services.”

Bill continues on A10

Zin brief A2 | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Gateway Gatos of Laredo’s Cat Fundraiser. 12-3 p.m. Petco north store. All donations received will go toward financially helping cat community caretakers to neuter and spay their cats. For more details, call Birdie at 286-7866.

Today is Saturday, March 25, the 84th day of 2017. There are 281 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On March 25, 1947, a coal-dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, claimed 111 lives; 31 men survived.

67th Annual Flower and Art Show.

1-6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Guest artists: Laredo Community College Art Instructors. $3 admission fee per person. Public invited.

Rally at the Border Laredo. 4-7 p.m.

Convent Avenue.

“A Night of Philosophy and Art.” 6-11 p.m. Gallery 201, 513 San Bernardo Ave. Hosted by TAMIU Philosophy Society, Gallery 201. The event is a mixer and fundraiser for the TAMIU Philosophy Society, a university student organization. The event features presentations by local artists including Jewels & the Sky, Quien Sabe and Bel’s Dance Studio.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 67th Annual Flower and Art Show.

1-6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Guest artists: Laredo Community College Art Instructors. $3 admission fee per person. Public invited.

MONDAY, MARCH 27 Open viewing for Children of Children: Portraits & Stories of Teenage Parents by Michael Nye. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This exhibit is designed as an educational initiative from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. in collaboration with First United Methodist Church Laredo as host. This exhibit is meant to bring awareness and help launch an upcoming Parents Helping Parents ministry as part of the church’s community outreach.

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

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

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife / AP

This 2014 file photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows a female wolf from the Minam pack outside La Grande, Oregon after it was fitted with a tracking collar.

NEVADA CITES FIRST WOLF SINCE 1922 ASSOCIATED PRE SS

RENO, Nev. — The Nevada Department of Wildlife has confirmed the first sighting of a wolf in the state in nearly 100 years.

Chief State Game Warden Brian Wakeling said Friday the wolf was spotted in northwest Nevada in early November near Fox Mountain just west of the Black Rock Desert and about 20 miles from the California line.

Wakeling says wildlife officials recover-

ed scat from the animal. A conservation lab at the University of Idaho confirmed the droppings were from a male offspring of a seven-member pack of wolves known as the "Shasta Pack" in Northern California.

Wakeling says the department occasionally receives reports of wolf sightings, but this is the first time one's presence has been verified since 1922.

He says the observation of a lone animal does not mean wolves have established territories in Nevada.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 Open viewing for Children of Children: Portraits & Stories of Teenage Parents by Michael Nye. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Community reception from 6-8 p.m. First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This exhibit is designed as an educational initiative from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. in collaboration with First United Methodist Church Laredo as host. This exhibit is meant to bring awareness and help launch an upcoming Parents Helping Parents ministry as part of the church’s community outreach.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 Open viewing for Children of Children: Portraits & Stories of Teenage Parents by Michael Nye. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This exhibit is designed as an educational initiative from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. in collaboration with First United Methodist Church Laredo as host. This exhibit is meant to bring awareness and help launch an upcoming Parents Helping Parents ministry as part of the church’s community outreach.

Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library on Calton. or more info call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

Laredo Next Generation Rotary Club “Unsung Heroes” dinner. 7:30 p.m. Montecarlo Reception Hall, 6415 McPherson Road. This year’s recipients are Ignacio Urrabazo, Samuel Ayala and Gigi Ramos. For more information about sponsorship levels or to reserve a table, contact Rudy Morales at 956-206-5378 or Hector Chapa at 956-206-1505 or visit nextgenerationrotary.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 Open viewing for Children of Children: Portraits & Stories of Teenage Parents by Michael Nye. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This exhibit is designed as an educational initiative from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. in collaboration with First United Methodist Church Laredo as host. This exhibit is meant to bring awareness and help launch an upcoming Parents Helping Parents ministry as part of the church’s community outreach.

Speaker and book signing. 6-7:30 p.m. Multipurpose Room at Joe A. Guerra Public Library on Calton.

Hosted by Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society and the library.

The speaker is Mauricio J. Gonzalez, LCC instructor and author of “My Grandfather’s Grandfather: Tomas Rodriguez Benavides.” Open to the public. For more info call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

FRIDAY, MARCH 31 Open viewing for Children of Children: Portraits & Stories of Teenage Parents by Michael Nye. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This exhibit is designed as an educational initiative from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. in collaboration with First United Methodist Church Laredo as host. This exhibit is meant to bring awareness and help launch an upcoming Parents Helping Parents ministry as part of the church’s community outreach.

Montana bill seeks abortion ban on 'pain-capable' fetuses HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Senate on Friday advanced a proposal seeking to extend protections to so-called "paincapable" fetuses.

If approved, Montana would join more than a dozen states adopting laws protecting paincapable fetuses.

The measure is one of a pair of anti-abortion bills that continued moving through the Montana Legislature. Earlier in the week, a House committee further advanced a bill that would effectively ban all abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy by requiring doctors to save a fetus.

Opponents decried both measures as attacks on a woman's right to choose an abortion.

Proponents of both bills acknowledged the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that affirmed abortion

rights, but they argued that federal law allows states to carve out their own abortion rules.

Republican Sen. Keith Regier of Kalispell said it is "humane and good policy" for the state to ban abortions beyond the 20th month of pregnancy because fetuses in that stage of development are capable of feeling pain. The Republican-controlled state Senate agreed, advancing his bill on a 33-17 vote that was mostly along party lines.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD US-born panda Bao Bao makes first appearance in China DUJIANGYAN, China — American-born giant panda Bao Bao made her first appearance Friday before the public in southwestern China following her move there from Washington, D.C. Bao Bao was born at the National Zoo in Washington to pandas on loan from China.

Under the standard loan agreement, such panda cubs must be returned to China before they are 4 years old, the earliest age at which they might begin breeding. The 3-year-old Bao Bao explored her spacious new enclosure at the panda breeding base in the city of Dujiangyan, which features both indoor and outdoor play areas.

Keepers have been helping her adapt to local bamboo and Chinese steamed bread made from corn, soybeans, rice and eggs. She is the 11th panda to be born overseas and returned to

Chinatopix / AP

The panda Bao Bao stands at its new home at a research base in Dujiangyan in southwest China's Sichuan province Friday.

China. Bao Bao underwent a monthlong quarantine at the Dujiangyan base, where keepers monitored her activities and health by checking her blood and feces. Because she does not understand commands in Chinese, she is being looked after for a time by an English-speaking keeper. Giant pandas, China's unofficial national mascot,

live mainly in the mountains of Sichuan, with some also found in neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. They have long been considered one of the world's most endangered animals, with an estimated 1,864 living in the wild and 200 in captivity.

— Compiled from AP reports

DENISON, Texas — Police say an 18-year-old white woman who burst into a church in northeast Texas and claimed she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by three black males in ski masks has

Ten years ago: Iran announced it was partially suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, citing what it called "illegal and bullying" Security Council sanctions imposed on the country for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea, where he visited the Demilitarized Zone separating the South from the communist North, telling American troops stationed nearby they were protectors of "freedom's frontier."

One year ago: A suicide bomber believed to be a teenager blew himself up in a soccer stadium south of the Iraqi capital, killing 29 people and wounding 60.

Today's Birthdays: Movie reviewer Gene Shalit is 91. Former astronaut James Lovell is 89. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 83.

Singer Anita Bryant is 77. Singer Aretha Franklin is 75. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 74. Singer Elton John is 70. Actress Bonnie Bedelia is 69.

Actress-comedian Mary Gross is 64.

Actor James McDaniel is 59. Former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is 59. Movie producer Amy Pascal is 59. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 57. Actress Brenda Strong is 57. Actor Fred Goss is 56. Actor-writerdirector John Stockwell is 56. Actress Marcia Cross is 55. Author Kate DiCamillo is 53. Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton is 53. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is 52. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 51. TV personality Ben Mankiewicz is 50. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas is 50. Actor Laz Alonso is 46. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 42. Actor Domenick Lombardozzi is 41. Actor Lee Pace is 38. Actor Sean Faris is 35. Comedian/ actor Alex Moffat ("Saturday Night Live") is 35. Auto racer Danica Patrick is 35. Actress-singer Katharine McPhee is 33. Singer Jason Castro is 30. Rapper Big Sean is 29. Rap DJ/ producer Ryan Lewis is 29. Actor Matthew Beard is 28. Actress-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka (mish-AL'kah) is 28. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 27.

Actress Seychelle Gabriel is 26.

Thought for Today: "In every person, even in such as appear most reckless, there is an inherent desire to attain balance." — Jakob Wassermann, German author (1873-1934).

CONTACT US

AROUND TEXAS Police: Woman falsely claims sexual assault by 3 black males

On this date: In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scots.

In 1776, Gen. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was awarded the first Congressional Gold Medal by the Continental Congress.

In 1865, during the Civil War, Confederate forces attacked Fort Stedman in Virginia but were forced to withdraw because of counterattacking Union troops.

In 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York.

In 1924, the Second Hellenic Republic was proclaimed in Greece.

In 1931, in the so-called "Scottsboro Boys" case, nine young black men were taken off a train in Alabama, accused of raping two white women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, the nine were eventually vindicated.

In 1957, a signing ceremony was held for the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community.

In 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 people to the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery after a five-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.

Later that day, civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit homemaker, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen.

In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. (The nephew was beheaded in June 1975.)

In 1987, the Supreme Court, in Johnson v. Transportation Agency, ruled 6-3 that an employer could promote a woman over an arguably more-qualified man to help get women into higher-ranking jobs.

In 1990, 87 people, most of them Honduran and Dominican immigrants, were killed when fire raced through an illegal social club in New York City.

In 1996, an 81-day standoff by the anti-government Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Montana.

admitted she lied.

Denison Police Chief Jay Burch says on Facebook that Breana Harmon Talbott was undressed and bleeding on March 8 when she claimed she had been sexually assaulted in woods behind the church in Denison, 75 miles northeast of Dallas.

Burch says investigators searched the area and "almost immediately, Talbott's story and allegations began to unrav-

el."

Authorities say the crime scene was staged and Talbott's injuries were self-inflicted.

Burch says Talbott "confessed to the hoax" Tuesday and faces a misdemeanor charge of false report to a peace officer.

Burch says it's "insulting to our community and especially offensive to the African-American community."

— Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, March 25, 2017 |

A3

LOCAL

South Texas school gives Exxon $1.2B tax break A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

PORTLAND, Texas — A South Texas school board has approved an estimated $1.2 billion in tax breaks to entice Exxon Mobil Corp. and its Saudi partner to build a $9.3 billion petrochemical plant within its district along the Texas Gulf Coast.

The six-member Gregory-Portland Independent School District board's unanimous vote late Tuesday adds to a $210 million tax package passed a day earlier by San Patricio County commissioners.

Exxon and Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. are considering a 1,300acre site in Portland, just north of Corpus Christi, for the world's largest ethane steam cracker

plant. It would convert natural gas into chemicals used for plastics.

The plant, scheduled to open in 2024, also would provide thousands of jobs.

"We're the school board and I thought we were supposed to be educating our kids, but it seems like we're in the middle of economic development," Randy Eulenfeld, the board's president, said.

"We will take this responsibility and do the best that we can."

The school board vote came despite a petition signed by 1,500 people who oppose the plant, citing safety and environmental concerns. The plant would be less than 2 miles from the district high school.

"They are bullying this county, they're bullying you. We don't allow bul-

lies in our schools," Errol Summerlin, who signed the petition, told the board. "We shouldn't tolerate it from them."

Under terms of the school board tax plan, the district would limit the taxable value of the new plant at $90 million for 10 years, cutting the district's tax revenue from an estimated $120.9 million per year to less than $1.2 million per year.

The county's separate tax abatement package would cover seven years.

The project still needs state approval and Exxon and its Saudi partner are considering another Texas site in Victoria, about 70 miles to the north, and two in Louisiana.

However, company officials have said the Portland site is the frontrunner.

"If we do choose the Gregory-Portland site as our location, I want to assure you that we will follow through with our Good Neighbor Commitments on health and safety, quality of life, education and workforce development, and being good environmental stewards," project leader Robert Tully told residents in an email Wednesday, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The tax breaks also are contingent on job creation. Project leaders have committed to the Texas Comptroller's Office more than 15,000 temporary construction jobs. The tax abatements require Exxon to employ a minimum of 400 people and seek an alternate water source if local water sources become scarce.

Perry blasts election of 1st gay Texas A&M student president

By Will Weissert A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Energy Secretary Rick Perry, whose agency oversees the nation's nuclear arsenal, is inserting himself into an unusually small political dispute: an election for student body president at Texas A&M. In an op-ed submitted to the Houston Chronicle, the former Texas governor suggested that his alma mater's first openly gay president may have stolen the outcome. Perry wrote that the campus

Andrew Harnik / AP

In this March 2 file photo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry speaks during a swearing in ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington.

election "at best made a mockery of due process

and transparency" and at worst "allowed an elec-

tion to be stolen outright."

"It is difficult to escape the perception that this quest for 'diversity' is the real reason the election outcome was overturned," he wrote. "Does the principle of 'diversity' override and supersede all other values of our Aggie Honor Code?"

Those who know Perry best said they're not surprised that he would take the unusual step of weighing in on a parochial issue at his alma mater — even though he's now a member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet.

North Texas man gets 10 years for $5M cattle-buying scheme ASSOCIATED PRE SS

FORT WORTH, Texas — Prosecutors say a North Texas man must serve 10 years in federal prison for a cattle-buying scam that cost a Nebraska company more than $5 million.

Tony Eugene Lyon of Fort Worth was sentenced Friday in Fort Worth. The 52-year-old Lyon in November pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Lyon was known to be involved in the buying, fattening and sale of cattle.

Prosecutors say Lyon in

2015 scammed Midwestern Cattle Marketing of Sidney, Nebraska. The firm, which bought and sold cattle for third-party clients, went out of business after the $5.1 million loss.

Officials say Lyon became an MCM representative and was authorized to write company checks, using a signature stamp. Prosecutors say Lyon operated a checkkiting scheme involving a fictitious company and kept MCM funds for himself.

2 killed, 18 students hurt in bus crash ASSOCIATED PRE SS

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas — Two drivers were killed and more than a dozen students injured when a tractortrailer veered into oncoming traffic and struck a passenger car and a bus carrying a Texas high school track team, law enforcement said Friday.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Lonny Haschel said the collision late Thursday occurred near the town of Talco, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas, as the Mount Pleasant High School athletes were returning from a meet.

The boys’ team bus toppled over in the initial collision then the big rig struck the car driven by

an assistant coach for the girls’ team. The girls’ team bus was trailing behind and wasn’t involved in the collision.

Superintendent Judd Marshall told KLTV in Tyler that 32 students were on the bus and 18 were taken to hospitals.

“It’s going to take some time to put all of this together because there are so many moving pieces and so many people to talk to,” Haschel said.

He identified the two killed in the wreck as 50-year-old truck driver Bradley Farmer of Bogard, Missouri, and Angelica Beard, 30, of Mount Pleasant.

As part of the investigation, authorities are checking video from a camera on the bus.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Social Security, Medicare will fail without reform

By Cynthia M. Allen FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM

I have often wondered why policymakers in Washington repeatedly fail to seriously address problems with our Social Security and Medicare programs, despite repeated warnings by economists and the programs’ administrators that the programs will begin spending more than they take in by the end of the decade.

Then I wrote a column advocating entitlement reform. Now I get it.

Given the many strongly worded responses I received, I have a better understanding, at least on some very small scale, what politicians are facing when they so much as whisper the words "Social Security" and "Medicare" in the same breath as the word "reform."

Indeed, the topic truly is the third rail of Americans politics.

In a recent column, I explained how President Donald Trump’s promise to make "no changes" to Social Security and Medicare was going to be a problem, given the programs’ trajectories.

I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that fixing these programs so they serve the populations that rely upon them and are around for future generations is a largely uncontroversial idea — especially when so many Americans are concerned about federal debt.

Then a piece about entitlement spending written by my favorite economist and Washington Post columnist, Robert Samuelson, reminded me of something very important: public opinion "is awash in contradictions."

My inbox quickly filled with diatribes like this one: "Entitlement (expletive), it’s our money," and lawmakers "robbed (the trust fund) and (it) is owed what was taken from it and to be given back with interest," and "you’ll be old some day."

First off, I find it astounding that anyone would trust the government to "return" to us money that it siphons out of our paychecks each month.

I doubt lawmakers ever met a dollar they didn’t promptly spend.

Even if we assume the government holds our money for safekeeping while we age and pays us back with interest, studies show average Social Security and Medicare payouts are significantly higher than what recipients paid in via taxes.

The Urban Institute, a

nonpartisan think tank, estimated that contingent upon income and lifespan, the average Social Security and Medicare benefits for a couple can be as little as three times their investment and as much as 14 times what they paid in.

While many people contend the monies are in a "trust fund," they aren’t. Most revenues are paid out to current beneficiaries, while the government and future workers are left with an IOU to cover the next generation of beneficiaries.

And the shrinking workforce means that won’t be possible at current levels much longer, meaning future generations can’t depend on the programs.

In my column, I did not advocate any particular policy changes, but I am not aware of any that call for changes to the benefits of current and near-term beneficiaries.

So the angry diatribes of seniors, or near-seniors, are entirely misplaced.

Most proposals suggest modest changes, like means testing or raising the retirement age for Americans still years away from retirement, which are reasonable given the nature of the problem.

No Labels, a bipartisan policy organization headed by former Utah governor Jon Huntsman and former senator Joseph I. Lieberman, has made Social Security and Medicare reform one of its top policy priorities. It advocates higher payroll taxes, among other policy tweaks, to help shore up Social Security.

This wouldn’t impact current seniors.

As to the repeated critique by many readers that calling Social Security and Medicare entitlements is a misnomer, I understand the objection.

In his column on entitlement spending, Samuelson suggested we "drop the whole notion of ’entitlement.’ Just eliminate it. . This would encourage clarity and candor," and force politicians to name specific policy programs.

He then added that "it won’t happen. Generally, Americans don’t want clarity and candor in their fiscal debates."

Call it whatever you want, reform needs to happen.

And lawmakers must risk the deluge of nasty emails and phone calls and start talking about it more.

Cynthia M. Allen is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

COLUMN

Immigrants are making the U.S. economy stronger

By Noah Smith BL OOMBERG

Immigration is the topic of the day. The political right, after once embracing a laissez-faire policy toward immigration — President Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty for undocumented immigrants and President George W. Bush tried unsuccessfully to do the same — appears to want to choke off the inflow of newcomers. Even legal immigration is being targeted for reduction.

This would be a big mistake. A continued inflow of immigrants is needed to support the growing ranks of U.S. retirees, and the entrepreneurial dynamism of immigrants is needed to fight the decrease in newbusiness formation. Immigration’s opponents exaggerate the cultural threat it poses — the U.S. is still great at integrating newcomers. They also exaggerate the threat to the rule of law — the population of illegal immigrants has been shrinking for a decade.

But what about the economic threat?

Some Americans who have no visceral fear of outsiders will still worry about wage competition from hard-working newcomers. This is only common sense -- the logic of supply and demand is fixed in our collective consciousness. Flood a market with workers, and the value of labor will go down, right?

Well, maybe. If an increase in population always made wages fall, the Baby Boom would have immiserated the American worker. When new workers come, new businesses often start to take advantage of the sudden abundance. In the U.S., it’s often the immigrants themselves who start

The current mix of immigrants is beneficial for the jobs and wages of the native-born. To choke off this inflow with xenophobic attitudes ... or frightening anti-immigrant rhetoric would be a self-inflicted wound. those new businesses. If the business expansion rate keeps pace with the immigration rate, nativeborn wages don’t need to fall.

If newcomers are innovative types, wages for the native-born could even rise. This is because innovation workers like engineers and researchers tend to complement each other. Ideas flow between them, leading to synergies that make all innovation workers more valuable.

This is why technology clusters are such powerful drivers of the innovation economy. Also, highskilled immigrants raise the wages of low-skilled native-born workers, since they raise the demand for the goods and services provided by the working class.

So we should expect to see some negative impact of low-skilled immigration on the wages of low-earning native-born workers without college degrees, but the effect will be smaller than simple intuition might suggest. And we should expect to see high-skilled immigration raise the wages of native workers across the board.

In fact, that’s exactly what the evidence does show. The National Academy of Sciences recently put out a 500-page report about the economic impact of immigration. Edited by Francine Blau and Christopher Mackie, the report surveys extensive empirical evidence and draws on the wisdom of an expert panel. Although the panel includes some

notable immigration detractors like Harvard University’s George Borjas, the report finds that influxes of newcomers pose relatively little economic threat: “When measured over a period of 10 years or more, the impact of immigration on the wages of native-born workers overall is very small. There is little evidence that immigration significantly affects the overall employment levels of native-born workers.”

The most convincing studies, which use random influxes of immigrants show no detectable negative influence of lowskilled immigration on native-born wages, even for the working class.

Other studies show a modest negative effect.

Suppose the U.S. were to increase its labor force by 7.5 percent by allowing in low-skilled workers.

That’s about 12 million new people, which is approximately the number of undocumented immigrants now living in the country. The papers cited in the NAS report estimate that wages for native-born American high school dropouts would fall by anywhere from 0.75 to 12.75 percent.

That’s not a huge impact, but it’s a negative one that falls on the most economically vulnerable Americans. So there’s a case for limiting lowskilled immigration to protect the U.S. working class.

High-skilled immigration is a different story.

LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters.

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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

The academy of sciences’ report finds that skilled immigrants are an unambiguous positive for both educated and uneducated American workers: “Several studies have found a positive impact of skilled immigration on the wages and employment of both college- and non-college-educated natives. Such findings are consistent with the view that skilled immigrants are often complementary to native-born workers.”

In other words, if the U.S. lets in engineers and programmers and researchers from China and India and Cameroon, it’ll raise the wages of U.S.born tech employees and service workers alike, and create new jobs for everyone.

This is good news, because U.S. immigration is rapidly shifting toward the highly skilled, even without any change in official government policy.

In most states, the average new immigrant is no longer a laborer from Mexico, but an educated worker from Asia.

That means that the days of immigrants competing down Americans’ wages are over. The current mix of immigrants is beneficial for the jobs and wages of the native-born.

To choke off this inflow with xenophobic attitudes, legal restrictions or frightening anti-immigrant rhetoric would be a self-inflicted wound for the U.S. The current system is benefiting everyone.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, March 25, 2017 |

A5

NATIONAL

Double-amputee vet joins New York police department

By Frank Eltman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BRENTWOOD, N.Y. — The wounded warrior is now a cop — and he'll be walking the beat on titanium legs.

Matias Ferreira, a former U.S. Marine Corps lance corporal who lost his legs below the knee when he stepped on a hidden explosive in Afghanistan in 2011, is joining a suburban New York police department.

The 28-year-old graduated Friday from the Suffolk County Police Academy on Long Island following 29

weeks of training.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound rookie passed all the physical training and other requirements just like any other recruit, including running a mile and a half in around 11 minutes. He begins patrols next week, a department spokesman said.

"I just really want to be able to help people," said Ferreira, who immigrated to the U.S. from Uruguay as a child. "I want to be involved in the community, and the police department definitely allows you to do that."

Ferreira was on patrol in

Missouri mother convicted for poisoning 9-year-old son ASSOCIATED PRE SS Kyle Green / AP

Boise Police Cpl. Kevin Holtry holds the hand of a police officer as he makes his entrance into Boise Airport in Boise, Oregon, March 8, 2017, after returning from rehabilitation in Colorado.

Afghanistan on Jan. 21, 2011, when he jumped off a roof in a compound suspected of being a Taliban outpost.

"As soon as I landed I knew something was wrong because it was like a movie almost. I heard a noise and everything went black," he said. A bomb had gone off beneath his legs, amputating both below the knees. "I just

saw blood throughout my pants."

He was evacuated to a local hospital. Within days, he was back in the U.S. being treated for his injuries. Three months later he was wearing prosthetic legs.

"I was up and walking in prosthetics and really just starting my new life," he said.

California could free 9,500 inmates

By Don Thompson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

— Corrections officials announced new criminal sentencing rules on Friday that aim to trim California’s prison population by 9,500 inmates after four years.

They include steps like reducing inmates’ sentences up to six months for earning a college degree and by up to a month each year for participating in self-help programs such as alcohol and substance abuse support groups and counseling, anger management, life skills, victim awareness, restorative justice and parenting classes.

Virtually any inmate except those on death row or those serving life-without-parole sentences would be eligible to earn

the credits and lower their sentences.

It’s the latest step in a years-long drive to dramatically lower the state’s prison population in response to federal court orders stemming from lawsuits by prison advocates and pressure to turn away from mass incarceration.

The proposed changes follow voters’ approval of Proposition 57 in November. The initiative lets certain felons seek parole more quickly and gave corrections officials broad discretion to grant early release credits.

“I think that it’s a monumental change for the organization and I think across the state, across the nation, I don’t think that anybody has altered how they are incarcerating offenders as much as what Prop 57 does,” Corrections

Secretary Scott Kernan told The Associated Press.

The goal, he said, is to encourage inmates to start “doing something with their incarceration and not just sitting on their bunks.”

The changes in parole eligibility would take effect April 12 if they win initial approval from state regulators, with final approval possible by October after a public comment period.

The earlier release credits and earlier parole consideration would be phased in starting May 1 while the public review is underway.

Police and particularly prosecutors fought the ballot initiative, arguing that it will release dangerous offenders sometimes years earlier than called for in their sentences. It also will put convicts more quickly into county probation systems that already are stretched.

Kernan said he took some of their objections into account, for instance by barring sex offenders and third-strike career criminals from seeking earlier parole.

Under the changes, prosecutors and victims would have 30 days to object in writing to the earlier paroles. It’s a much different process than the hours-long hearings used to consider parole for lifeterm inmates such as followers of cult leader Charles Manson, for instance, and the governor will have no role in the largely administrative decisions.

The truncated review remains the top concern for the California District Attorneys Association, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, the group’s president.

CLAYTON, Mo. — A Missouri mother has been convicted of repeatedly poisoning her son with prescription medications, risking his life in what authorities described as an effort to win attention and possibly inheritance payments.

St. Louis County jurors found 36-year-old Rachel Kinsella guilty Thursday of first-degree assault and child endangerment, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Assistant Prosecutor Sheila Whirley told jurors Kinsella put the boy at "death's door" and that he has not had a seizure since he was removed from her custody in January 2015, although he still has epilepsy. Kinsella, of Meadville, Missouri, told police she "accidentally" gave her then-9year-old son the wrong medication "on occasion," and her attorneys said the presence of various drugs in the boy's system did not prove she was poisoning him.

But doctors told police the types and amount of drugs found in the boy's system revealed intentional poisoning.

Authorities said the poisoning occurred in 2014. Kinsella simultaneously sought treatment for the boy at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Children's Mercy Kansas City, but never told doctors at

either hospital, Whirley said.

Doctors struggled to diagKinsella nose his condition and gave him more than a dozen blood treatments and surgeries.

Police have said Kinsella tried to attract attention by faking her child's need for medical care.

"She manufactured illnesses," Whirley told jurors Thursday. "People don't want to believe that a mother would do this because mothers are supposed to plant the seeds of love that grow for a lifetime."

Whirley also said Patrick's father died in 2012 without a will, resulting in the child's aunt becoming the court-appointed manager of a $275,000 inheritance for the boy. By keeping the boy sick, Whirley suggested, Kinsella could get inheritance payments to care for her son.

After the verdict was read, relatives and prosecutors hugged in the courtroom, proclaiming, "He's safe! He's safe!"

The boy, now 11, is living with his paternal grandparents.

But Gregory Smith, one of Kinsella's attorneys, said he was disappointed. "I have no doubt that she loves her son as much as any parent," he said.

Sentencing is set for May 26. She faces up to 30 years in prison.

Judge clears way for retrial of ex-Philadelphia monsignor

By Maryclaire Dale A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

PHILADELPHIA — A Catholic church official’s 14-year legal odyssey over his handling of sex-abuse complaints won’t end anytime soon after a Philadelphia judge said Friday he would be retried on child endangerment charges.

Monsignor William Lynn had served nearly three years of a three- to six-year sentence when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed his conviction because of trial errors in late 2015. That was the second time Lynn’s conviction had been thrown out after a sweeping 2012 trial that unearthed decades of hidden complaints from locked vaults at the archdiocese.

Lynn, 66, appeared weary but unfazed after the ruling Friday. He will be back in court next week for the judge to decide how many churchabuse victims can testify at the second trial. Lynn’s lawyers must also decide whether to appeal the ruling and try again to have the case dismissed.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams — who revived the case after his predecessor reluctantly concluded no church leaders could be charged in 2005 — is in his last year of office and under federal indictment. Eight people are running to succeed him.

“They can’t dismiss the case. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars were spent investigating the archdiocese and prosecuting Lynn, so what’s the next prosecutor going to do?” asked defense lawyer Jeffrey Lindy, who represented Lynn for a decade, but is no longer involved

Matt Rourke / AP

In this 2014 file photo, Monsignor William Lynn leaves a bail hearing at the Center for Criminal Justice in Philadelphia.

in the case. “They’re not going to say, ‘OK, we proved our point, let’s go away.”’

Lynn could also try to negotiate a plea with a time-served sentence, although he has not been interested in plea talks in the past.

Lynn is accused of endangering a single altar boy, a city policeman’s son who testified that he was abused in about 1998 by a priest transferred to his parish. Lynn was the longtime secretary for clergy, who reviewed 50 years’ worth of complaints kept in locked files to prepare a list of problem priests, including the one in question, William Avery, whom Lynn labeled a suspected predator. Lynn told jurors he made the list to try to address the problem, only to have Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua have it destroyed.

After years of twists and turns in Lynn’s case, the defense argued for the first time in December that prosecutors hid exculpatory evidence that the altar boy, who battled years of heroin abuse, was not credible. He testified that he was molested by two priests and a Catholic

school teacher — and all three, including Avery, were convicted.

An independent psychiatrist concluded in 2015 that his accounts were so inconsistent it was impossible to know if he had ever been sexually abused, according to a defense motion filed seeking to block a retrial. The evaluation apparently came as part of the young man’s lawsuit against the archdiocese, which was settled for an undisclosed sum after the criminal trial.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Gwendolyn Bright refused to dismiss Lynn’s case Friday over that issue, but said the argument was not frivolous and offered Lynn the chance to appeal before she sets a trial date. The defense will consider the option.

The defense has also complained that Lynn is the victim of selective prosecution, given that Bevilancqua and Cardinal Justin Rigali were excoriated in two grand jury reports but never charged.

Williams, who is accused of taking more than $100,000 in gifts in exchange for official favors, remains in office.

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Zfrontera A6 | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

LAREDO, TEXAS RIBEREÑA EN BREVE TORNEO DE PESCA

1 Hoy sábado 25 de marzo se llevará a cabo en la Presa Falcón el torneo de pesca Bass Champs de 7 a.m. a 4 p.m.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

1 El espectáculo ‘Ovo’, se presentará en Laredo Energy Arena el sábado 25 y domingo 26 de marzo a las 4 p.m y 5 p.m. respectivamente. Evento tiene costo.

CAMINATA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita al público el próximo 1 de abril a asistir a la caminata para concientizar sobre el autismo en el Parque Municipal de Roma a partir de las 9 a.m. Para mayores informes llame al 956-8444641 o 956-5737063 MUSEO EN ZAPATA

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

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

Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes al 956765-8983.

Joven de 19 es arrestado en conexión a homicidio LPD había emitido retrato hablado TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un día después de hacer público un dibujo de una persona buscada para ser interrogada sobre el caso de un homicidio, la policía de Laredo ha arrestado a un hombre de 19 años de edad acusado de homicidio.

Mizael Delgadillo fue arrestado el jueves en conexión con la muerte de David Alejandro Alvarado García de 24 años de edad. No se han dado más

Delgadillo

Retrato hablado

detalles sobre el arresto.

García fue encontrado muerto el 25 de febrero en su departamento en la cuadra 2700 de la calle Montgomery.

La policía dijo que

Alvarado, quien vivía solo, parecía haber sido acuchillado.

LPD emitió el miércoles un retrato hablado de una persona de interés en el caso de homicidio. Él fue descrito como delgado, de buena apariencia, piel clara y cabello corto. Su color de cabello fue descrito como “café rojizo naranja”, dijo la policía. LPD dijo que fue visto usando shorts de baloncesto grises y una chaqueta gris de con cremallera.

FRONTERA

CONGRESO

SECRETARIO DE DEFENSA VISITA MIER

PAGO DE IMPUESTOS

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

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

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL

1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956849-1411.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca encabezó un recorrido en las instalaciones del 25o. Regimiento de Caballería Motorizada ubicadas en Ciudad Mier

Revisan estrategias de seguridad pública E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

C

IUDAD MIER, Tamaulipas— El Secretario de la Defensa Nacional, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, defendió las estrategias para brindar seguridad a las y los tamaulipecos y la iniciativa de Ley de Seguridad Interior que permitirá contar con el marco jurídico para que las fuerzas armadas participen en las tareas de seguridad.

El titular de la SEDENA y el Gobernador tamaulipeco, Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca realizaron un recorrido en las in-

Foto de cortesía

David Alejandro Alvarado García fue encontrado muerto el 25 de febrero en su departamento.

stalaciones del 25o. Regimiento de Caballería Motorizada ubicadas en el municipio de Ciudad Mier, para supervisar los proyectos conjuntos de obra en edificios del Ejército.

Ahí también se revisaron las estrategias de apoyo en materia de seguridad pública para esta entidad.

García Cabeza de Vaca, subrayó que “en Tamaulipas estamos muy orgullosos de todos y cada uno de ustedes, ustedes juegan un papel fundamental para que en esta región de Tamaulipas, en cada rincón de Tamaulipas se restablezca la paz, el orden

y el estado de derecho”.

Reiteró también su compromiso de contribuir a generar las condiciones necesarias para que los integrantes de las Fuerzas Armadas puedan desempeñar su trabajo en un marco de legalidad que les genere tranquilidad a ellos y sus familias.

“Cuenten con un aliado, con alguien que va a apoyar y respaldar siempre, he hecho mi compromiso con el General Secretario para hacer adecuaciones para que ustedes estén más tranquilos y con las condiciones necesarias ustedes y sus familias”, puntualizó el gobernador.

Retiran iniciativa de salud Por Erica Werner y Alan Fram ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — En un humillante revés, el presidente Donald Trump y los líderes republicanos retiraron el viernes de la Cámara de Representantes su iniciativa de ley para revocar el “Obamacare”, una vez que se volvió evidente que la medida fracasaría rotundamente.

Fue una sorprendente derrota para el nuevo mandatario luego de que les exigió a los representantes republicanos que votaran el viernes la medida, con la amenaza de mantener vigente “Obamacare” y pasar a otros asuntos en caso de que la votación fracasara. La iniciativa fue retirada minutos antes de que iniciara la votación.

El presidente perdió en su apuesta. En su lugar, Trump, quien hizo campaña como un experto para lograr acuerdos y que aseguró que podía arreglar el sistema nacional de seguros de salud sin ayuda, vio cómo los legisladores republicanos rechazaron su amenaza y dejaron claro que rinden cuenta a los votantes que los eligieron, y no al presidente.

Los republicanos han pasado siete años haciendo campaña en contra de la ley de salud del presidente Barack Obama, y han votado decenas de veces para derogarla total o parcialmente. Pero cuando finalmente tuvieron la oportunidad de aprobar una medida para revocar una iniciativa que tenía posibilidades de ser aprobada, no lograron culminar sus esfuerzos.

Trump sin duda quedó debilitado políticamente. Una enorme y temprana derrota en el Congreso se suma a las continuas indagaciones sobre las conexiones de su campaña presidencial con Rusia y sus acusaciones sin fundamentos de que Obama intervino sus comunicaciones.

Los hechos ocurrieron por la tarde de una jornada en la que la iniciativa supuestamente sería votada, pasara lo que pasara. Sin embargo, la propuesta viró en dirección contraria y algunos de los legisladores clave se unieron a la oposición.

El congresista Rodney Frelinghuysen, de Nueva Jersey y presidente de la Comisión de Asignaciones Presupuestarias de la Cámara de Representantes, dijo que la medida podría aumentar inaceptablemente los costos para sus votantes. La representante Barbara Comstock, de Virginia, una moderada clave en las facciones republicanas, al igual que el representante de Ohio, David Joyce, otro republicano, también anunciaron que votarían en contra.

Las deserciones aumentaron la posibilidad de que la iniciativa no solo fracasaría en el pleno, sino que lo haría de manera contundente.

Ante lo evidente, y pese a la insistencia de funcionarios de la Casa Blanca y de Ryan de que el viernes era el día para votar, el liderazgo se retractó en el último instante.

COLUMNA

Nueva Santander se convierte en Tamaulipas Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEM P O DE ZAPATA

Convertido nuestro país en república, adquiere rango de entidad federativa la otrora provincia de Nuevo Santander.

Pero deja atrás este nombre de inmediato, llamándose desde entonces Tamaulipas. El cambio, en apariencia simple, concentra motivos que nos llevan por sorprendentes rumbos.

En la zona rural del hoy municipio tamaulipeco de González existió antaño cierto pueblo. Tamaholipa le habrían puesto los aborígenes. Paladín de la conquista espiritual, fray Andrés de Olmos congrega ahí en 1544 a indios olives. Más adelante establece convento y misión de la orden franciscana,

Foto de cortesía

Mapa de Tamaulipas, ca. 1780

a que pertenece el religioso hispano.

Dadas las modestas características, hubiera pasado casi desapercibido el asentamiento humano. Le da relevancia Olmos, de los primeros frailes que arriban con Juan de Zumárraga a Nueva España.

Sin embargo, aquellos confines permanecían entretanto sustraídos al dominio efectivo del monarca ibero. Atacándolo con frecuencia indómitas tribus, carente de recursos defensivos y fuentes de riqueza, a duras penas logra sobrevivir dicho enclave. Ante tan difícil panorama –asevera Joaquín Meade–, “fue abandonado en forma definitiva por el año de 1724”.

En pocos lustros se concretan acontecimientos de alto impacto. Porque a mediados del siglo XVIII, José de Escandón y Helguera coloniza la señalada franja del noreste extremo.

Surge en consecuencia la colonia de Nuevo Santander, después una de las cuatro Provincias Internas de Oriente, al

lado de Texas, Coahuila y Nuevo León.

Dos cordilleras locales tienden a distinguir las inmediaciones, aportándoles identidad propia. En cartas, relatos, mapas e informes hasta virreyes las mencionan de continuo. Es la sierra de Tamaulipa Vieja u Oriental y la sierra de Tamaulipa Nueva u Occidental. Ambas en singular –Tamaulipa–, retoman al parecer el apelativo del ya desaparecido Tamaholipa, que va olvidándose por lo visto.

Formalizada la independencia patria, Agustín de Iturbide se corona emperador. Al desmoronarse su fugaz imperio, la asamblea parlamentaria transforma Nuevo Santander en Tamaulipas el 29 de enero de 1824.

El representante yucateco Manuel Rejón sube a la tribuna y despliega argumentos sobre el nombre. “El nombre de Tamaulipas se ha tomado de dos sierras que se llaman Tamaulipa Nueva y Tamaulipa Vieja, entre las cuales está [Nuevo] Santander”, esclarece don Manuel, creador a la postre del juicio de amparo. Juan de Dios Cañedo, legislador por Jalisco, refuerza: “Tamaulipas es [voz] dulce y suave”.

Efectivamente, al despuntar el remoto periodo republicano la provincia de marras queda como Estado de las Tamaulipas, en plural.

En medio: Mapa, cerca de 1780.

Abajo: Carta Magna tamaulipeca de 1825.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, March 25, 2017 |

A7

ENTERTAINMENT

'Iron Fist' is epic fail, say viewers, critics

By Frazier Moore A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — If your web connection seems sluggish while you're watching "Iron Fist," don't blame your internet provider. The problem is the listless pace of this new Netflix series.

But such languor isn't the only failing of this latest offering from the Marvel factory, judging from critical pans and fan unrest since the 13-episode season was unveiled last week.

Any Marvel project (and this is Netflix's fourth, following "Daredevil," ''Jessica Jones" and "Luke Cage") is breathlessly awaited by fans.

"Iron Fist" was no different. But even before anybody saw it, it was already drawing accusations of "whitewashing."

The series centers on Danny Rand, the scion of a corporate titan who returns to New York 15 years after he and his parents died in a plane crash over the Himalayas.

Well, actually, Danny didn't die. He was rescued by a mysterious order of monks. And in this in-

tervening period, he trained in martial arts and gained the mystical power of the Iron Fist. Now he returns to New York to reclaim the corporate empire that was hijacked by brother-and-sister baddies (and his childhood friends) Ward and Joy Meachum. He is also, of course, on a quest to "get answers."

"Iron Fist" stars Finn Jones, who is best known for playing Loras Tyrell on "Game of Thrones."

But casting him as Danny was a missed opportunity, according to disgruntled fans who argue that an Asian-American actor should have been chosen.

Maybe, maybe not. But that would seem to be the least of the ills plaguing "Iron Fist." For instance, the Polygon website wielded iron fists of its own in declaring that the series' "problems with delivering exposition, crafting consistent characters, and even basic dialogue writing run right alongside ... problems with its portrayal of Asian cultures and Asian-Americans."

"Not one element of this plodding piece works," railed Variety, adding that the story line "is about as

Patrick Harbron / AP

This image released by Netflix shows Finn Jones, left, in a scene from the Netflix original series, "Iron Fist." The series is and Netflix’s fourth Marvel project, after “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage."

exciting as a slice of Velveeta cheese left out in the sun too long."

The New York Times complained about "the dawdling featureless" of the early episodes. And how many viewers could be expected to stick with the series beyond those first installments? Calling it "the first complete misfire of Netflix's Marvel shows," the Uproxx website posed the question: "Why would anyone but the most devout, masochistic Marvel completist want to watch?"

The Twitterverse has been no kinder, with one typical post calling it "a great show if you're looking to sit back, relax and stare at your phone as it plays in the background."

Another tweet likened the series' fight scenes to "an awkward junior high school dance."

Even a forgiving Marvel neophyte who samples "Iron Fist" is likely to be put off. The conspicuous lack of action and of visual effects, at least in its early

episodes, serves as a stark reminder of how lavish production values, unrelenting action and eyepopping visual effects are taken for granted by today's audience — and jarring when they're absent.

Granted, the epic failure of "Iron Fist," now installed for eternity on the Netflix site, will register as just a blip on the Netflix/ Marvel landscape. And since Netflix never discloses audience figures, no one will ever know how many viewers choose to avoid or abandon the series who might have watched a better "Iron Fist" faithfully.

But every potential viewer is advised to note an exchange between two characters in an early episode: "We need to know more before we can decide how we should proceed."

"So we just wait?"

"Yeah. And watch."

Such patience by "Iron Fist" viewers is doomed to go unrewarded.

Chris Pizzello / AP

This 2011 file photo, shows Carrie Fisher at the 2011 NewNowNext Awards in Los Angeles.

Disney CEO: 'Last Jedi' not changed due to Fisher's death ASSOCIATED PRE SS

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Disney CEO Bob Iger says the upcoming "Star Wars" sequel has not been changed due to the death of Carrie Fisher.

Fisher completed filming her role as Princess Leia in "The Last Jedi" before her death following a heart attack in December.

Iger said in an interview at a University of Southern California tech conference Thursday that

Fisher "appears throughout" the film and her performance "remains as it was."

Iger says Disney is discussing "what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories."

Iger's remark came on the same day Disney ended speculation that he would retire this year by extending his contract one year to 2019. He says he and Disney's board thought they needed more time to work on a succession plan.

Review: 'Life' is mediocre science-fiction thriller

By Jake Coyle A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Life is a box of chocolates, a highway and, alas, a mediocre science-fiction thriller.

In Daniel Espinosa's "Life," an international space station orbiting the Earth intercepts an automated capsule returning from Mars with samples: rocks, dust and, as it turns out, a tiny monocellular organism that proves the existence of life on another planet. The thing, though, about those monocellular organisms from Mars is that they grow up.

When Dr. Hugh Derry (Arioyon Bakare) injects the cell with glucose, it begins rapidly growing bigger, beyond its petri dish. The crew — including Jake Gyllenhaal's troubled veteran, Ryan Reynolds' cocky engineer, Rebecca Ferguson's microbiologist and Hiroyuki Sanada's new father — celebrate their remarkable discovery and observe its development. "You're going to be a daddy," Rey-

Alex Bailey / AP

In this image released by Columbia Pictures, Jake Gyllenhaal appears in a scene from "Life."

nolds' astronaut tells the proud Derry.

Derry, the biological expert of the bunch, hopes the organism — dubbed "Calvin" — will teach the scientists about the origin, the nature "and maybe even the meaning of life."

Such glories, however, aren't in store. The harsh revelation that Calvin brings is that life — violently striving for survival — finds a way.

Unfortunately, "Life," the movie, doesn't. Once the alien lifeform strengthens and gets loose, "Life" surrenders to a tiresome chase away

from not just its ravenous creature but from the movies "Life" so obviously takes it cues from. "Life" certainly can't come anywhere near the wellearned horrors of "Alien," nor does it boast anything like the silky splendor of "Gravity."

Espinosa claustrophobically encloses the drama in a fairly realistic space station that, lacking sufficiently cinematic production design, doesn't allow for much movement. Unlike Hollywood's recent, more ambitious sojourns into space, "Life" is a grittier, clunkier B-movie

monster movie in zero gravity. An extraterrestrial Frankenstein is hunted with implausible dimwittedness by a bickering human crew.

Calvin (sadly there is no Hobbes in sight) grows in size and shape, but he mostly looks like a superpowerful, fearfully smart starfish. As he slithers this way and that, he almost resembles the alien cousin of Hank, the equally resourceful octopus of last year's "Finding Dory."

Penned by Rheet Reese and Paul Wernick, "Life" doesn't have much of the sarcastic wit the screenwriters have shown before. Instead, it's merely a terse, prickly cheap-thrill.

Not until the film's final moments — finally free of the space station — does the movie find its own bite.

"Life," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language throughout, some sci-fi violence and terror." Running time: 102 minutes. Two stars out of four.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

In this 2013 file photo, John Mayer and Katy Perry arrive at the ceremonial swearing-in for President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington.

John Mayer's new single is ode to Katy Perry ASSOCIATED PRE SS

LOS ANGELES — John Mayer's new single, "Still Feel Like Your Man," is about ex-girlfriend Katy Perry.

Lyrics for the upbeat, but wistful single include, "I still keep your shampoo in my shower in case you want to wash your hair." In an interview with The New York Times, Mayer rhetorically asks "who else would I be

thinking about" but Perry.

Mayer adds that "it's a testament to the fact that I have not dated a lot of people in the last five, six years."

Mayer has had other high-profile girlfriends over the years, including Jessica Simpson and Taylor Swift.

The singer tells the Times he uses an exclusive dating app these days.

Comcast said to gain rights to offer online TV nationwide Gerry Smith BL O O MBE RG

Comcast has acquired rights from cable network owners to offer their channels nationwide, according to people familiar with the negotiations, giving the biggest U.S. cable operator a backup plan if rival online-TV services catch on with consumers.

The rights allow Comcast to sell video service for the first time outside its regional territories, which include Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

In most cases, Comcast acquired the rights through “most favored nation” clauses in contracts, which let the company sell channels in the same places as new online distributors. Since

Comcast doesn’t sell traditional cable-TV service in markets like New York and Los Angeles, the rights mean the company could presumably offer a package of channels as an onlinestreaming service in those cities.

In some scenarios, Comcast asked for the rights as part of broader carriage negotiations with programmers. For now at least, Comcast has no plans to offer a video service nationwide because it still sees opportunity to gain cableTV subscribers in its footprint, according to a person close to the company.

“When you really try to evaluate the business model, we have not seen one that really gives us confidence that this is a real priority for us,” Matt Strauss, Comcast’s executive vice president for

video services, said at a conference in November.

“There is significantly more upside and profitability in going deeper and deeper into our base first versus following a video-only offering OTT,” he added, using the industry term for nationwide online video.

Accumulating nationwide rights gives Comcast a hedge in a changing world where internet services like Dish Network Corp.’s Sling TV and AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV Now are proliferating.

Comcast’s cable unit accounts for 62 percent of total revenue, with the rest coming from NBCUniversal, according to Bloomberg data. Video represents about half of the cable unit’s sales.

Cable providers need to negotiate separate rights from programmers to sell bundles of their channels beyond their

territories. Programming deals last for several years, so it makes sense that Comcast would want to secure the broadest rights possible in case business plans change, the person close to the company said.

Comcast hasn’t secured OTT rights from some partners with which it has long-term deals, according to people familiar with the matter. The company last negotiated an extension with CBS in 2010 and with ESPN in 2012. Neither deal expires before 2020. If Comcast decided to expedite plans for a nationwide TV service, it would need to renegotiate those contracts.

Being able to offer a nationwide service would not only help Comcast compete with Sling and DirecTV but also give the company a more diverse range of

offerings if it decides to introduce a nationwide wireless service someday -- something that analysts speculate it could do. Comcast plans to experiment with selling cellphone service later this year, but only for customers within its footprint.

Comcast’s biggest rival, AT&T, introduced DirecTV Now in November, and the service attracted more than 200,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter with packages starting at $35 a month for more than 60 channels. Hulu LLC and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube have also announced new services that will deliver an assortment of major television channels to paying customers via the internet. They join similar products from Dish’s Sling TV and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Vue. Comcast’s delivery of

video service to customers has been evolving.

Earlier this year, the cable company began enabling its subscribers to get its TV app on Roku Inc.’s devices instead of only through set-top boxes. Comcast also offers a small collection of channels for streaming, known as a skinny bundle, that it plans to roll out to all its subscribers this year, though not to people outside its footprint.

The only thing holding Comcast back from competing with other video providers nationwide is negotiating the rights beyond its traditional footprint, Rich Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG, said in a report last year.

“This should not be terribly challenging for Comcast based on their level of importance to programmers today,” Greenfield said.

Sports&Outdoors A8 | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS

Rangers enjoying roster versatility Banister has plenty of options for 2017 season

By Stefan Stevenson FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM

SURPRISE, Ariz. — In the Texas Rangers’ season-opening three-game series against the Seattle Mariners a year ago, they used seven bullpen pitchers, including Jake Diekman on three consecutive days, Tony Barnette on consecutive days and Shawn Tolleson twice in the series.

It didn’t go well. The Rangers lost Games 2 and 3 as Tom Wilhelmsen was blown up for five runs in the eighth inning of Game 2, Tolleson was tagged for his first blown save in Game 3, and Keone Kela was soon out of action needing surgery to remove bone spurs in his throwing elbow.

The problems caused collateral damage, as manager Jeff Banister termed it, two weeks down the line, when the bullpen was seemingly taxed before the season had even warmed up.

Banister would prefer to prevent a repeat performance. To that end, the Rangers are contemplating starting the season with a short bench, mean-

Charlie Riedel / Associated Press file

Texas manager Jeff Banister has plenty of weapons all over the field, but the versatility each possesses to play different positions gives him plenty of freedom in 2017.

ing instead of four position players, they’d keep three, and have an extra arm in the bullpen.

This would allow them to potentially keep two long men in the bullpen to help spell a few starters during the first couple of times through the rotation. With starter Andrew Cashner unlikely to be ready the first 10 days of the season, the extra long arms (Mike Hauschild, Eddie Gamboa and/or Dillon Gee) would come in handy.

To do this, however, the Rangers would be forced to roll with only three

bench players, which by all accounts, appear to be Delino DeShields, Ryan Rua and Robinson Chirinos, with Jurickson Profar starting in a corner outfield spot or being used as the designated hitter.

The versatility that players such as Profar and Rua bring to the lineup give Banister plenty of options from day to day.

Whether it’s stacking his lineup with left-handed bats or vice versa, or the ability to give everyday players routine days off, Banister sees it as a huge asset for the club.

Profar’s natural posi-

MLB: HOUSTON ASTROS

tion is shortstop, but he also plays third base, second base, first base, corner outfield and perhaps even center field, where he started Thursday night for the first time this spring. The Rangers are intrigued after seeing Profar handle center for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

"He’s developing a skill set," said Banister, who added that DeShields remains the best option to back up Carlos Gomez.

Adding center to the list of options for the switch-hitting Profar might require an upgrade

to the term "super-utility player."

When Banister and his coaches went through an exercise Wednesday morning where they listed their depth chart across the diamond, Profar, of course, popped up all over the field.

"Running across the board Profar is No. 2 behind everybody on that board," he said, adding the exception of Rua at first base as option 2B. "We really feel like we’re not going to skip a beat at those positions defensively," Banister said.

The possibilities seem endless. Banister even proposed using catcher Jonathan Lucroy at DH from time to time to keep his bat in the lineup when he needs a break from behind the plate. He added that Lucroy and Robinson Chirinos are not foreign to playing first base. Chirinos even came up as a shortstop before moving to catcher.

"There’s all kinds of configuration of this lineup so that DH spot will be rotated around," he said.

"I like that kind of complication because it gives the flexibility and options to be able to do different things. Plus, with those moving parts, the ability to get a number of guys at-bats to keep them fresh throughout the season I believe is crucial."

The flexibility of the lineup, of course, bodes well for the season, but especially early while the rotation waits for Cashner and Tyson Ross to join.

"I think you need to have length behind all of them," Banister said, before referring to that series against the Mariners to start 2016. "We had to use the bullpen in a game we probably didn’t want to use the bullpen and it had a lingering effect. The collateral damage takes awhile. You may not see it in the first couple of days but it showed itself about two weeks afterward."

NFL: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Astros announce Keuchel Brady’s Super Bowl jerseys returned to the Patriots as opening day starter ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Jake Kaplan H OUSTO N CHRONI CLE

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla — The expected became official Friday morning when Astros manager A.J. Hinch announced Dallas Keuchel will start for the team on opening day for a third consecutive season.

Only five pitchers in the franchise's 56-year history will have made more opening day starts than Keuchel's three when he pitches opposite Seattle's Felix Hernandez on April 3 at Minute Maid Park. The bearded lefthander is 2-0 with a 1.29

ERA in his two opening day starts, having defeated the Cleveland Indians in 2015 and the New York Yankees last year.

The Astros are relying on Keuchel to bounce back from his 4.55 ERA last season, which ended prematurely when he was diagnosed in late August with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Hinch waited this spring to appoint Keuchel his opening day starter until the pitcher proved his health by clearing the five-inning benchmark in Grapefruit League games.

The 29-year-old Keuchel completed five in-

nings for the first time this spring on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. He has allowed two runs over 12 Grapefruit League innings and will make his final spring start Wednesday against the Miami Marlins.

Roy Oswalt holds the Astros' record for most opening day starts with eight. Mike Scott, J.R. Richard and Shane Reynolds each started five and Larry Dierker started four. Keuchel's third will tie him with Nolan Ryan, who started three opening days each for the Astros, Rangers and Angels, and Joe Niekro.

BOSTON — Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl jerseys are back with the New England Patriots.

The jerseys worn by Brady during this year’s Super Bowl and the 2015 Super Bowl were returned to Gillette Stadium Thursday, the FBI announced.

Brady’s 2017 jersey went missing from the Patriots’ locker room after the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5, touching off an investigation stretching from Boston to the Mexican border.

Mexican authorities

searched the property of Mexican media executive Martin Mauricio Ortega, where they found the jersey, along with a Brady jersey that disappeared after the 2015 Super Bowl.

A Denver Broncos helmet also was found.

Ortega has not been charged in the case and has not commented. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on the investigation.

The FBI released a photo of the jerseys being held by Harold Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, and Col. Richard McKeon of the Massachusetts State Place. Kraft is

standing between the two jerseys and behind the Patriots’ five Super Bowl trophies.

“We know how much this means to the Patriots and football fans everywhere, and we are honored to be able to bring these jerseys back to Foxboro,” Shaw said.

Colleagues of Ortega said he went to this year’s Super Bowl in Houston as a working journalist but spent the week collecting selfies and autographs from football players. Ortega quit his job as director of the tabloid La Prensa two days after Brady’s jerseys were found.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, March 25, 2017 |

A9

BUSINESS

Trump OKs Keystone pipeline, calling it 'great day' for jobs in the United States

By Josh Lederman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump green-lighted the longdelayed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring it a "great day for American jobs" and siding with energy advocates over environmental groups in a heated debate over climate change.

The presidential permit comes nearly a decade after Calgary-based TransCanada applied to build the $8 billion pipeline, which will snake from Canada through the United States. Trump's State Department said the project advances U.S. national interests, in a complete reversal of the conclusion President Barack Obama's administration reached less than a yearand-a-half ago.

"It's a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America and energy independence," Trump said, standing alongside TransCanada's CEO in the Oval Office. Keystone will reduce costs and reliance on foreign oil while creating thousands of jobs, he said, adding: "It's going to be an incredible pipeline."

The decision caps the long scientific and political fight among advocacy groups over a project that became a proxy battle in the larger fight over global warming. And Friday's decision, while long foreshadowed by Trump's public support for Keystone, represents one of the biggest steps to date by his administration to prioritize economic development over environmental concerns.

TransCanada, Trump said, can now build Keystone "with efficiency and with speed." Though it still faces other major hurdles, including disputes over the route, the president said the federal government was formulating final details "as we speak."

The 1,700-mile pipeline, as envisioned, would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. It would move roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day, more than one-fifth of Canada's oil Canada to the U.S.

Markus Schreiber / AP

A package with Haribo gummy bears is photographed in Berlin, Germany on Friday.

Germany's iconic gummy bear will soon be "Made in USA." Bonn-based Haribo, which invented the gummy bear nearly a century ago, said Friday it would open a U.S. factory in Wisconsin in 2020.

Germany's Haribo to produce gummy bears in USA ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Evan Vucci / AP

President Donald Trump, flanked by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, left, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is seen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday during the announcing of the approval of a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline, clearing the way for the $8 billion project.

Keystone would strengthen U.S. energy security by increasing access to Canada's "dependable supply of crude oil," said the State Department, which had jurisdiction because the pipeline crosses the U.S.-Canada border.

Environmentalists, Native American groups and landowners who've opposed Keystone expressed outrage, and Greenpeace said the U.S. was "moving backwards" on climate and energy policy.

"Keystone was stopped once before, and it will be stopped again," vowed Annie Leonard, the group's U.S. director.

Obama in 2015 rejected the pipeline after years of study, saying it would undercut U.S. credibility in the international climate change negotiations that culminated later that year in a global deal in Paris. He echoed the argument of environmental groups that Keystone would encourage use of carbon-heavy tar sands oil, contributing heavily to global warming.

Relying mostly on the same information, the Trump administration reversed Obama's decision Friday.

In a lengthy report, the State Department alluded to the Paris deal as one reason. Because many other countries have pledged to address cli-

mate change, it said Keystone can proceed without undermining the overall effort to slow global warming. The Paris agreement compels the U.S. and other countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades.

Keystone would strengthen U.S. energy security by increasing access to Canada's "dependable supply of crude oil," said the State Department, which had jurisdiction because the pipeline crosses the U.S.Canada border.

But the level of those benefits has been the subject of exhaustive debate in recent years.

Obama argued the oil wouldn't stay in the U.S. because it would be exported after being processed in American refineries. TransCanada insisted Keystone "is not an export pipeline." Many energy experts insisted the truth was somewhere in between.

Environmental groups argued Canada's tar sands oil should stay in the ground. But Keystone's backers said that

wouldn't happen even if the pipeline wasn't built.

Without a pipeline, they said the oil would move by rail or truck, more dangerous methods which themselves contribute greenhouse gas emissions.

How many jobs Keystone will create is also widely disputed.

TransCanada promised as many as 13,000 construction jobs and Trump once predicted it "could be 42,000 jobs." The vast majority would be "indirect" jobs other industries gain from the influx of dollars and construction workers. Other estimates predict just a few thousand jobs, lasting only for the few years the pipeline is being built.

And after that, only a few dozen workers would be needed to maintain the pipeline.

TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said Friday that thousands of people are "ready and itching to get to work."

Trump boasted as recently as this week that Keystone would be built with American steel, which he has required for new or expanded pipelines. But TransCanada has already acquired the steel for the project, much of it from Canada and Mexico. And the White House has acknowledged it's too difficult to impose the requirement on a project already under construction.

BERLIN— Germany's iconic gummy bear will soon be "Made in USA." Bonn-based Haribo, which invented the gummy bear nearly a century ago, said Friday it would open a U.S. factory in Wisconsin in 2020.

Haribo, founded in 1920, has been in the U.S. since 1982 with a sales operation, and is already the top seller of gummy bears in the country, but says it wants to grow

further.

Company head Hans Guido Riegel says "Haribo of America is the fastest growing confectionary company in the U.S.A., therefore the step of starting our own production there from 2020 is important for us."

The $242 million factory near Kenosha is expected to create 400 jobs.

Haribo employs 7,000 people worldwide and produces 100 million gummy bears daily at 16 factories in ten countries.

State of Texas unemployment up to 4.9 percent ASSOCIATED PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas unemployment rate in February rose slightly to reach 4.9 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.

The latest figure compares with a January statewide jobless rate of 4.8 percent, according to a commission statement.

Nationwide unemployment last month was 4.7 percent.

The Amarillo area had the lowest February jobless rate in Texas at 3.6 percent. The Lubbock and Austin-Round Rock areas both recorded 3.7 percent unemployment for the month, the statement said.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area recorded the state’s highest unemployment last month at 8.8 percent, officials said.

The Texas economy expanded in February with the addition of 6,700 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs. Texas employers added 222,400 jobs over the year, according to the commission.

The education and health services industry recorded the largest private-industry employment gain over the month with 11,700 jobs added.

Leisure and hospitality employment grew by 4,400 jobs in February, the commission reported.

Manufacturing employment expanded by 3,900 jobs.

“Texas employers continue to keep our state’s economy strong with private-sector employment expanding over the year with an overall jobgrowth of 189,200, including 12,300 jobs added in February,” said Commissioner Ruth R. Hughs.

A10 | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER WALL From page A1 rods and reels as well as hunting rifles and handguns, co-owner Tom Bendele said he believes a wall or fence makes sense along some parts of the border. “I understand the idea of a wall, a pinch point, I get it,” he said. “But I’m not sure you could put a wall in or near a lake. It would either wall us in or wall us out. People think Trump’s crazy with this wall.”

Falcon Lake is just one section of the Texas border where a wall would appear unmanageable: a five-hour drive upriver sits the 100-square-mile Lake Amistad in Del Rio; further west lie the remote and environmentally sensitive parks of Big Bend.

A growing number of Texas Republicans have said it’s impractical to wall in the entire TexasMexico border. “There’s parts of our border which it makes absolutely no sense,” said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, RTexas, in a recent TV interview. And while Department of Homeland Security boss John Kelly has called for a “layered” approach to border security involving walls, manpower and technology, an internal agency report calls for sealing the remaining 1,200 miles of unfortified border, most of which is in Texas, with a wall or fence.

Falcon Lake is not included in plans for the

first stage of wall construction, which targets areas in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, as well as San Diego and El Centro in California.

Asked if any decision had been made about the Falcon Lake area, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Carlos Diaz said “it would be very premature to speak about specific locations at this point.”

Since he retired as a teacher several years ago, Abel Garza has spent nearly every day fishing along the edges of Falcon Lake. He lives in a house overlooking the county boat ramp in one of several subdivisions, RV parks and retirement communities that hug the shores of the lake.

Falcon Lake holds a cherished spot in bass fishing circles. As recently as 2012, Bassmaster magazine ranked it the nation’s top bass fishing lake; last year, it ranked 9th. The lake regularly hosts high stakes tournaments that attract some of the best anglers in the country.

“If a wall were built and we would somehow lose access to the lake, it would decimate our economy,” said Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell. “I don’t think it’s feasible or practical to build a wall here.”

Largely thanks to Falcon Lake, visitors spent $15 million in Zapata County in 2015, up from $9 million in 2000.

The leisure and hospitality industry employs hundreds of local residents, a significant num-

ber in the small county.

On a recent afternoon, Garza pulled a two-footlong bass from the lake he planned to have for lunch. “I told my wife, ‘I’m going to retire and go fishing every day,”’ he said. “The good thing is my wife loves seafood.”

But Garza’s mood darkened when the topic of the border wall came up.

“Where are they gonna put it? In the middle of the lake? Outside the town?” he asked.

“We won’t allow it.

That’s a bunch of bull.”

Garza said he didn’t think a wall would keep out the immigrants and smugglers who he hears crossing over a couple of times per week, often in the middle of the night.

“They have scouts who see when Border Patrol leaves,” he said. “They know how to outfox them.”

Garza said the illegal crossers also benefit local residents: “Low wages,” he said. “We need our grass cut.”

It’s difficult to cull statistics for the Falcon Lake area since the Border Patrol doesn’t provide data for individual stations such as the one in Zapata County. But the county is part of the larger Laredo Sector, where apprehensions of immigrants illegally crossing the Rio Grande have fallen about 20 percent over the last five years to 36,562 in 2016.

Seizures of marijuana have decreased by more than half over that time, though cocaine seizures are up 58 percent.

As in most border counties, FBI crime statistics show that the rate of violent and property crime in Zapata County is lower than the state average. But the lake has not been immune from cartel-related violence.

In 2010, an American man jet-skiing on the Mexican side of the lake was gunned down, according to his wife who said gunmen on a boat attacked them. The body of David Michael Hartley wasn’t recovered and officials pinned responsibility on the Zetas drug cartel. A Mexican official investigating the incident was also killed.

And in December, a Starr County man was shot and killed while fishing on the lake. Zapata County officials said Oscar Garza and a friend were shot at after a confrontation “escalated” with men on another boat. Neither suspects nor a motive in the killing have been released.

Officials with the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office did not respond to repeated requests for information.

Until his 2012 retirement, Zapata County’s former sheriff, Sigifredo Gonzalez, was an outspoken advocate for stronger border security, telling Congress in 2006 that law enforcement along the border was “very much outgunned and outmanned.”

In a foreshadowing of Trump’s campaign kickoff speech, Gonzalez told lawmakers: “How many rapists have come into the country? How many

child abusers?”

Yet even Gonzalez, one of the state’s most forceful voices for a more fortified border, dismisses the notion of a border fence in Zapata County.

“I’m 100 percent in favor of border security,” Gonzalez said. “But in places like Falcon Lake I’m totally against it. Would you give the whole lake to Mexico?”

In several parts of the Rio Grande Valley, the existing border fence was built up to a mile from the Rio Grande, placing farmland, cemeteries, birding sanctuaries and even family homes in a kind of noman’s land.

Gonzalez said a border wall around the lake would amount to a second punishment for the residents of Zapata County, who saw their original settlements flooded by Falcon Dam 65 years ago, when they also lost an international bridge connecting them to Mexico. “Zapata County has learned to make lemonade out of lemons,” he said. “There are a lot of businesses making a living off the lake.

It would not be a good situation at all for the residents.”

Like Gonzalez, County Judge Rathmell is pushing for increased technology and manpower instead of a physical barrier. He said the county recently granted Customs and Border Patrol permission to place cameras on county water storage tanks and applauded the agency’s use of a blimp to keep

watch on the lake. He also welcomes the arrival of ten new Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in the region, part of the department’s $800 million border buildup.

“As county judge I strongly support increased border security,” he said. “I think a virtual wall would help the area.”

Rathmell said neither Department of Homeland Security nor Trump administration officials have sought his input and it’s not clear if the objections of local residents will be taken into consideration when wall or fence placement is decided.

Gonzalez said that marks a shift from 2006, when the Bush administration sought input from local officials.

Joe Dodier, who lives on a bluff above the lake’s western edge, says a wall or fence around the lake would be “ridiculous.” From the front yard of his home he can see the spot where Hartley’s wife came ashore after her husband was shot and killed. On a clear day he can also see the distinctive mountains that surround the Mexican metropolis of Monterrey. A wall would not have prevented the 2010 shooting, he says, and would destroy the tranquility of his home, where he rents out rooms to visiting fishermen.

“It will upset a lot of people,” he said. “This is America, the melting pot.”

U.S. targets over 200 London attacker Indians for deportation cheerful, joking on eve Annie Gowen and Carol Morello WA S H INGT ON P O ST

NEW DELHI — U.S. authorities have begun pressing the Indian government to resolve more than 270 outstanding deportation cases involving Indian nationals, Indian officials said Friday.

Indian officials said they know little about the specifics of the cases and could not tell from their own data whether people had overstayed visas or were convicted of more serious criminal offenses.

“This is an ongoing matter,” Gopal Baglay, a spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said in a statement.

U.S. authorities had conveyed to India that the cases were pending, but “no details of these cases were provided. We have asked for the same.”

The request - which U.S. immigration officials insisted was routine - was nonetheless significant because it comes at a time when the administration of President Trump has launched raids and other wide-ranging efforts to arrest and deport many of the United States’ 11 million illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal backgrounds.

Of particular concern, according to Trump’s Jan. 25 immigration order, are countries that drag their feet accepting their wayward citizens back.

“Each country has an obligation under international law to accept the return of its nationals who are not eligible to remain in the United States or any other country,” said Brendan Raedy, a public affairs officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He added that U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly has made clear that ICE will no longer exempt “classes or categories” of illegal immigrants from potential enforcement.

A rising number of Indians are living illegally in the United States - an estimated half a million people - according to a

BILL From page A1 Defeat of the bill could be a catalyst if it forces Republicans and Democrats to work together to improve the health care law, which virtually every member of Congress believes needs repair.

Democrats have been saying for weeks that they want to work with Republicans on such changes, but first, they said, Republicans had to abandon their drive to repeal the law.

Trump, through his

2016 study by the Pew Research Center.

Returning them to their home country - particularly if they are criminals - has not always been easy. India ranks near the top of a list of 20 countries, down from 23 late last year, labeled “recalcitrant” in accepting their citizens who have been convicted of crimes in the United States and have deportation orders issued by a court.

According to a list released last year by then-Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, now the U.S. attorney general, about 180,000 people have been ordered deported from the United States but are still here because their home countries won’t issue travel documents so they can return. Among them are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Indians.

Not all have criminal convictions, but among those who do, traffic offenses, especially driving under the influence of alcohol, are the biggest category, followed by drug offenses and larceny.

Countries on the “recalcitrant” list are often slow to issue travel papers because original documents have been destroyed and because their economies rely in part on money sent home to relatives.

An Indian government official said that these particular cases were part of a tranche of about 300 that had been left over from previous administrations, 79 of which had been resolved.

India’s minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj, first raised the issue on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, saying that her country would not be providing return travel documentation for the deportees without their case information.

“Until we verify the nationalities of these people, how do we believe the claims in the list?” Swaraj said. “We have asked the U.S. government for more information and told them that we will give an emergency certificate for their deportation only after establishing their Indian nationalities.”

budget director, Mick Mulvaney, told House Republicans on Thursday night that he was giving them this one chance to repeal the law. If they failed, Mulvaney told them, the president would live with his predecessor’s law.

Rejection of the repeal bill may also prompt Republicans to reconsider the political strategy they were planning to use for the next few years.

“We have to do some soul-searching internally to determine whether or not we are even capable of functioning as a gov-

erning body,” said Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “If ‘no’ is your goal, it’s the easiest goal in the world to reach.”

Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., offered this advice to hard-line conservatives who helped sink the bill: “Follow the example of Ronald Reagan. He was a master, he built consensus. He would say, ‘I’ll take 80 percent and come back for the other 20 percent later.’”

Failure of the House effort leaves the health care law in place, with all the features Republicans detest.

of deadly rampage

By Paisley Dodds and Lori Hinnant ASSOCIATED PRE SS

BIRMINGHAM, England — Long before his short stints in jail turned into years behind bars, Khalid Masood was known as Adrian Elms, with a reputation for drinking and an unpredictable temper.

At least twice he was convicted of violent crimes, well before he stabbed a police officer to death Wednesday in London with a motion that one horrified witness described as “playing a drum on your back with two knives.”

But as he checked out of his hotel to head toward London for his deadly rampage, the

manager said he was struck by his guest’s friendly manner.

Within hours, Masood drove his rented SUV across the crowded Westminster Bridge, leaving a trail of dead and wounded. Then he jumped out and attacked Constable Keith Palmer, an officer guarding Parliament, stabbing him to death before being shot to death by police.

In all, he killed four people and left more than two dozen hospitalized.

Masood, who at 52 is considerably older than most extremists who carry out bloodshed in the West, had an arrest record dating to 1983.

The violence came later, first in 2000 when he

slashed a man across the face in a pub parking lot in a racially charged argument after drinking four pints, according to a newspaper account.

The victim, Piers Mott, was scarred for life, said his widow, Heather.

Masood’s last conviction was in 2003, also involving a knife attack.

It’s not clear when he took the name Masood, suggesting a conversion to Islam.

Heather Mott said Masood appeared to come out of jail “even worse.” She said she got chills when she learned the identity of the London attacker.

“What a pity they didn’t realize he was a nutter,” she said.