The Zapata Times 4/11/2018

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GUARD ARRIVES AT US-MEXICO BORDER LPD / Courtesy photo

Burgos Aviles

BP agent charged in double homicide Woman, child found slain A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

A supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol killed a woman with whom he was romantically involved and her 1-year-old child before calling 911 claiming to have discovered the bodies near a park in northwest Laredo, according to police.

Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles, 28, was being held without bond in the Webb County jail on two counts of capital murder.

Joe Baeza, LPD spokesman, said Burgos Aviles was identified as a person of interest within an hour of the 911 call Monday, but Baeza declined to elaborate.

He said Grizelda Hernandez, 27, and her son, Dominick Alexander Hernandez, likely were killed Monday near Father Charles McNaboe Park, which is adjacent to the Rio Grande.

Burgos Aviles and the woman were in a romantic relationship, Baeza said. The investigation will determine if Dominick was Burgos Aviles' child.

"This isn't over," Baeza said.

"This investigation is just barely getting started."

Authorities declined to provide the manner of death for the two. Online jail records do Agent continues on A11

Ruben R. Ramirez / AP

Aaron Hull, chief patrol agent of the U. S. Customs and Border Protection's El Paso Sector, speaks where construction on a new segment of the border wall will be built, near Santa Teresa, N.M. on Monday.

1600 troops will fight crisis of migrant crossings, crime

By Nomaan Merchant and Bob Christie ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Some National Guard members have started arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with more expected as federal government officials seek ways to curtail illegal immigration.

The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico on Monday committed 1,600 Guard members to the border, giving President Donald Trump many of the troops he requested to fight what he's called a crisis of migrant crossings and crime.

The only holdout border state was California, led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not announced wheth-

er troops from his state's National Guard will participate and has repeatedly fought with Trump over immigration policy.

Under the federal law Trump invoked in his proclamation calling for National Guard troops, governors who send troops retain command and control over their state's Guard members and the U.S. government picks up the cost.

Brown's spokesman, Evan Westrup, said California officials still are reviewing Trump's troop request.

Trump said last week he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to the border, issuing a proclamation citing "the lawlessness that continues at our southern borGuard continues on A11

Ross D. Franklin / AP

National Guard soldiers line up as they get ready prior to deployment to the border in Arizona.

DEA

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

Drug Take-Back event to be held in Zapata

Villarreal named board president of nonprofit

S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S

SPECIAL TO THE TIME S

On Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 15th opportunity in eight years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Bring your pills for disposal to any of the sites listed below. (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The

John Villarreal is the new president of the Laredo Boys and Girls Club board of directors.

The new slate of officers for 2018-19 was announced at the annual board meeting.

Villarreal, native of Zapata, is senior vice president at International Bank of Commerce. He is also involved with the Laredo Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and Leadership Laredo. A 1979 graduate of Zapata High School, where he

Drug continues on A11

Victor Strife / Laredo Morning Times

In this file photo, prescription medication collected by the DEA is seen in a container.

Courtesy photo

Russell Cerda, left, outgoing president of Boys and Girls Club board, is pictured with John Villarreal.

Club continues on A11

In Brief A2 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

IBC keynote speaker series. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom.

What is Government Doing about Inequality since the 1970s? Presentation featuring Peter H. Lindert, distinguished professor of economics at the University of California, Davis. The event is free and open to the public.

Translations services (English to Spanish) will be available.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 Habitat for Humanity Laredo major fundraiser Golfing For Roofs golf tournament. Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course. Hole sponsorships are title $10,000, platinum $5,000, diamond $2,500, gold $1,500, silver $1,000, bronze. For information, call 724-3227.

MONDAY, APRIL 16 Ray of Light Anxiety and Depression Support Group Meeting in Spanish. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Holding Institute, 1102 Santa Maria Ave., classrooom #1. The support group welcomes adults suffering from anxiety and/ or depression to participate in free and confidential support group meetings. For more information, contact Anna Maria Pulido Saldivar at gruporayitodeluz@gmail.com or 956-307-2014.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 Border Region Behavioral Health Center Volunteer Services Council’s 26th Annual Administrative Professionals' Day Luncheon & Musical Fashion Show. 11:30 a.m.

Laredo Country Club. If you would like to purchase tickets or reserve a table, RSVP with Laura Kim 956-794-3130 or blaurak@borderregion.org. Tickets are $75 a person.

First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Villa San Agustin De Laredo Genealogical Society Meeting. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, second floor. Speakers will be Cynthia Haynes Ramirez and Pat Rogers Yzaguirrre. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-763-1810.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Spanish Book Club meeting. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library conference room. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-7631810.

TUESDAY, MAY 1 15th Annual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Symposium. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo. 1937 Bustamante St. For more information, call the Area Health Education Center at 956-7120037.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

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

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

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press

Arizona Govenor Doug Ducey, right, shakes hands with a National Guard soldiers prior to deployment to the Mexico border at the Papago Park Military Reservation Monday in Phoenix.

BORDER STATES PLEDGE 1,600 TROOPS Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas pledged on Monday to send about 1,600 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border, responding to President Donald Trump’s plan to use the military to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add about 300 troops a week to the 250 members of the National Guard whose deployment was announced Friday until the total number reaches at least 1,000 troops. Arizona officials announced they were sending 225 National Guard mem-

Trump furious after FBI seizes files from his lawyer WASHINGTON — Federal agents on Monday raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, seizing records on topics including a $130,000 payment made to a porn actress who says she had sex with Trump more than a decade ago.

The move ignited the president’s anger, with Trump calling it a “disgrace” that federal

bers to the border Monday and would deploy another 113 on Tuesday.

And New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s office said that more than 80 troops would deploy later this week. They will be the first of an expected 250 Guard members from New Mexico to serve on the border. Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico are all led by Republican governors. The other southwestern border state, California, is led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and has not made a public commitment to sending troops. — Compiled from AP reports

agents “broke into” the office of his personal attorney. He also called special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “an attack on our country.”

The raid on Cohen’s office was done by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan and was based at least partly on a referral from Mueller, according to Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan.

“The decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and un-

necessary,” Ryan said in a statement. “It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients.” The raid creates a new legal headache for Trump even as he and his attorneys weigh whether to agree to an interview with Mueller’s team, which in addition to investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign is also examining whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD Israel blamed for Syria missile strike; 14 reported killed International condemnation grew over a suspected poison gas attack in a rebel-held town near Damascus said to have been carried out by the Syrian government, while Syria and its main ally, Russia, blamed Israel for airstrikes on a Syrian air base Monday that reportedly killed 14 people, including four Iranians.

The timing of the airstrikes in central Homs province, hours after President Donald Trump said there would be “a big price to pay” for the chemical weapons attack, raised questions about whether Israel was acting alone or as a proxy for the United States.

Israel did not comment on Monday’s missile strike. The Jewish State typically does not comment on its airstrikes in Syria, which have been numerous in Syria’s civil war.

Omar Haj Kadour / AFP/Getty Images

This picture shows the site of an explosion of unknown origin which killed 14 civilians in Syria's city of Idlib on Monday.

The fast-paced developments threatened to further hike tensions between the U.S. and Russia, which has in the past warned against any U.S. military action against President Bashar Assad’s government.

Iran condemned the airstrikes, which it said killed four Iranians, including a colonel and a member of the Revolutionary

Guard. Opposition activists said 40 people died in Saturday night’s chemical attack in the town of Douma, the last remaining rebel bastion in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, blaming Assad’s forces. The attack killed families in their homes and underground shelters, activists and rescuers said.

— Compiled from AP reports

Today is Wednesday, April 11, the 101st day of 2018. There are 264 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which included the Fair Housing Act, a week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. On this date: In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd outside the White House, saying, "We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart." (It was the last public address Lincoln would deliver.)

In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers played in an exhibition against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field, four days before his regular-season debut that broke baseball's color line. (The Dodgers won, 14-6.)

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

In 1953, Oveta Culp Hobby became the first Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blasted off on its illfated mission to the moon.

In 1974, Palestinian gunmen killed 16 civilians, mostly women and children, in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona.

In 1988, the hijackers of a Kuwait Airways jetliner killed a second hostage, dumping his body onto the ground in Larnaca, Cyprus. "The Last Emperor" won best picture at the 60th annual Academy Awards ceremony; Cher won best actress for "Moonstruck," Michael Douglas best actor for "Wall Street."

In 1998, the executive committee of the Ulster Union Party voted 55-23 to support the Northern Ireland peace accord and its leader, David Trimble, who had outmaneuvered rebels in his ranks.

Ten years ago: Group of Seven financial officials meeting in Washington pledged to strengthen their regulation of banks and other financial institutions while anxiously hoping the credit crisis in the United States would be a short one. French troops captured six pirates after the pirates released 30 hostages who were aboard the French luxury yacht Le Ponant when it was seized off Somalia's coast.

Five years ago: Congress' most serious gun-control effort in years cleared its first hurdle as the Senate pushed past conservatives' attempted blockade, rebuffing 68-31 an effort to keep debate from even starting.

(However, proposals for tighter background checks for buyers as well as bans on assault weapons and highcapacity ammunition magazines went down to defeat six days later.) Comedian Jonathan Winters, 87, died in Montecito, California.

One year ago: In Dortmund, Germany, three explosions went off near Borussia Dortmund's team bus ahead of a Champions League quarterfinal match, injuring one of the soccer team's players. (Prosecutors alleged that the suspected bomber bet that Borussia Dortmund's shares on the stock exchange would drop in value and tried to disguise the attack as Islamic terrorism.) Guitarist J. Geils, founder of The J. Geils Band, died in his Massachusetts home at age 71.

David Letterman's mother, Dorothy Mengering, a Midwestern homemaker who became an unlikely celebrity on her son's late-night talk show, died at age 95.

Today's Birthdays: Ethel Kennedy is 90. Actor Joel Grey is 86. Actress Louise Lasser is 79. Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist Ellen Goodman is 77 Movie writer-director John Milius is 74. Actor Peter Riegert is 71. Movie director Carl Franklin is 69. Actor Bill Irwin is 68. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 61. Songwriterproducer Daryl Simmons is 61. Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 57. Actor Lucky Vanous is 57. Country singer Steve Azar is 54. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 52. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is 52. Rock musician Dylan Keefe is 48. Actor Johnny Messner is 48.

Actor Vicellous Shannon is 47. Rapper David Banner is 44. Actress Tricia Helfer is 44. Rock musician Chris Gaylor is 39. Actress Kelli Garner is 34.

Singer Joss Stone is 31. Actress-dancer Kaitlyn Jenkins is 26.

Thought for Today: "If you want to conquer fear, don't sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy." — Dale Carnegie, American writerlecturer (1888-1955).

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

AROUND THE STATE Austin bombing investigation documents released AUSTIN — Federal officials said Monday that the suspect in a series of fatal Austin package bombings used PVC pipe casing, a metal pipe and shrapnel in his attacks that killed two people and seriously injured four others.

Authorities released an affidavit used to support an arrest warrant for suspect Mark Con-

ditt. Investigators used bomb evidence, video surveillance, interviews and phone records to chart a path to Conditt. Police say he blew himself up March 21 as officers closed in to make an arrest.

The document still redacts details about some of the explosive materials used, confidential witnesses who were interviewed and phone numbers.

John Bash, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said authorities also dismissed an arrest warrant that had been

CONTACT US issued hours before police say Conditt killed himself.

Bash said the investigation continues although no other suspects have been arrested “and we no reason to believe there are other suspects.” Authorities have yet to determine a motive for Conditt’s attacks and the affidavit gave no hint of one.

“We are looking through very voluminous computer records to examine his intent, his motivations,” Bash said. — Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |

STATE

Man sought in State officials mom, daughter revise number slaying captured of maternal A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

FORT WORTH — A Texas man identified by police as a suspect in the slayings of a woman and her young daughter has been captured in Tennessee.

Thirty-seven-year-old Paige Terrell Lawyer was being held Monday at the Rutherford County jail in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, southeast of Nashville.

Jail records show he’s being held for police in Fort Worth who are investigating the deaths Friday of 30-year-old Otishae Womack and her elementary-school-age daughter.

Fort Worth police spokesman Tracy Carter declined to release the

Records show (Lawyer is) being held for police in TX investigating a double murder

manner of death.

Womack also had twin 4-year-olds who weren’t home at the time.

The Fort Worth StarTelegram reports Lawyer and Womack had dated and he was previously charged with assaulting her.

Jail records don’t indicate whether Lawyer has an attorney.

It wasn’t immediately clear when he might be extradited to Texas.

deaths in 2012 ASSOCIATED PRE SS

AUSTIN — Texas health officials say a revised method for counting maternal deaths found that the 2012 number was drastically lower than previously reported — 56 instead of 147.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Monday that the findings by its researchers were published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The revision came after a 2016 study in the same journal reported a dramatic number of maternal deaths in Texas from 2010 to 2012.

DSHS says the misclassifications likely occurred because a wrong option was selected in an electronic system. Usage of that system increased by more than 40 percent between 2010 and 2012.

The enhanced method, which the agency will use to look at other years, includes matching deaths to birth and fetal death records and reviewing medical and autopsy records.

A3

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

A4 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

The modern PR nightmare

By Tyler Cowen B L OOM BE RG NEWS

If you are looking for examples of companies that do well at public relations, start with what determines personal trust.

We often trust people we have met, interacted with and maybe done business with.

I think of community banks as enjoying relatively high levels of trust.

Millions of Americans have walked through the doors of their local banks and dealt with the loan officers, tellers and account managers, giving the business a human face. A community bank cannot serve a region without sending out a fair number of foot soldiers.

Banks tend to have longstanding roots in their communities, and a large stock of connections and accumulated social capital.

In turn, community banks have converted this personal trust into political clout. There are community banks in virtually every congressional district, and these banks have developed the art of speaking for many different segments of American society, not just a narrow coastal elite.

When these banks mobilize on behalf of a political cause, they are powerful, as illustrated by the likelihood that they will get regulatory relief from the Dodd-Frank Act, probably with bipartisan support. They have such influence that one member of the Federal Reserve Board must be a community banker, even though few economists see much rationale for this provision. Given their usefulness, it would be wrong to describe community bankers as a stagnant sector of our economy. Still, the same features that make them trusted and politically powerful also make them unlikely to be major sector disruptors.

Alternatively, let’s say you were designing a business that, whatever its other virtues might be, would not be very good at public relations.

First, you would make sure the business had come of age fairly recently.

That would ensure the company didn’t have a long history of managing public relations, learning how the news media work, figuring out what it will or will not be blamed for, and rooting itself in local communities.

The next thing you might do is to concentrate the company’s broader business sector in one particular part of the country. That would ensure that the companies’ culture didn’t reflect the broadest possible swath of public opinion.

Better yet, don’t choose a swing state such as Pennsylvania or Ohio, but rather opt for a region that

is overwhelmingly of a single political orientation and viewed by many Americans as a bit crazy or out of touch. How about Northern California?

Then, make sure that most users, or for that matter vendors, never have a face-to-face interaction with the company.

Let everyone deal with software, whether they are bidding for ads on Google or opening a Facebook account. Make it so easy for them that they never have to drive to a local branch to ask a human being a question or initiate a personal relationship.

If you wanted to go further yet, you might imagine that a disproportionate share of the staff and the executives would be immigrants, and on top of that make the corporate leaders relatively young.

Your design for this public relations disaster might also include a lot of companies being run by their founders. Founders are often brilliant and substance-obsessed, and they focus on rapidly scaling up the provision of quality products to their consumers. They are not always well-equipped at dealing with the most frustrating angles of their jobs. This is especially true for younger companies, where no process of evolution has weeded out those founders poor at public relations or who cannot master the imperatives of long-term survival. The innovative drive of founders may or may not have much correlation with the patience and social savvy required to handle public opinion, Congress and the media.

For the final piece of the disastrous PR design, the most successful companies are not used to failing. Their basic systems and culture are set up to handle and reward rapid success, not to play defense. They are not built to understand why people might, rightly or not, object to a product given away at zero price.

You might think all of the talent and money of these companies, and their considerable public relations departments, will overcome those disadvantages. Yet for better or worse it is hard to override Americans’ natural inclinations.

Polls consistently show that Americans trust small business much more than big business, even though large companies are more likely to treat you in a uniform, straightforward and nonfraudulent manner. The large companies have the skilled public relations talent, yet that doesn’t swing opinion in their favor.

Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg View columnist.

COLUMN

What’s lust got to do with it?

By Maureen Dowd NEW YORK TIME S

I’ve noticed a weird pattern, in fiction and life, about sexual encounters: Women decide they’re not attracted to a guy they’re nestling with. Limerence is not in the cards. But they go ahead and have sex anyhow.

First, we have college student Margot in The New Yorker’s muchdiscussed short fictional story “Cat Person” who recoils as she watches Robert undress. “But the thought of what it would take to stop what she had set in motion was overwhelming; it would require an amount of tact and gentleness that she felt was impossible to summon.” Margot doesn’t want to seem spoiled or capricious, so she takes a sip of whiskey to “bludgeon her resistance into submission.”

Then we have the 23year-old Brooklyn-based photographer who hooked up with comedian Aziz Ansari at his Tribeca apartment and talked about it anonymously to the website Babe. She was distressed by his arbitrary choice of white wine at dinner, his rush to sex, the way he jammed two fingers in a V-shape down her throat.

But at his request, she gave him oral sex twice; he briefly performed it on her once.

On “60 Minutes,” Stormy Daniels told Anderson Cooper that she was not at all attracted to Donald Trump but she had sex with him (without a condom). She said that she thought maybe “I had it coming for making a bad decision for going to someone’s room alone.”

After “Cat Person” became a phenomenon on the perils of romance in the digital age, its 36-year-old author, Kristen Roupenian, told The

New Yorker that Margot succumbing “speaks to the way that many women, especially young women, move through the world: not making people angry, taking responsibility for other people’s emotions, working extremely hard to keep everyone around them happy. It’s reflexive and self-protective, and it’s also exhausting.”

So you’d rather have bad sex with someone who doesn’t appeal to you than find a way to extricate yourself ? You can Lean In but you can’t Walk Out? I call Joanna Coles, the chief content officer of Hearst magazines and the former editrix of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire. The 55-year-old Brit has a new book called “Love Rules,” a guide to avoiding the digital sand traps in relationships.

“Getting naked and having sex with strangers is hard,” she tells me.

“We portray it as fun and we pretend it’s fun. But people crave intimacy, which is not easy to create in a hookup. That’s why Britain just appointed a loneliness minister.”

The inspiration for Coles’ book was a conversation she had with Sally, the daughter of a friend. Sally described her weekends at a liberal arts college this way: “My friends and I all go out on Friday nights, get drunk and hook up. And on Saturday morning, we go down to the health center together to get Plan B.” Coles was nonplused, and it’s hard to shock someone who edited Cosmo and can talk comfortably about Pokémon porn and vodka-soaked tampons.

“I know alcohol is confidence in a glass and it’s politically incorrect to say, but know your limits,” she says. “There’s nothing empowering about being blackout

drunk. Who wants to wake up the next morning in bed unable to remember what you did?”

Citing a study calculating that half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol, Coles asks: If hooking up is so much fun for young women, why do they need to be insensate to do it?

Leah Fessler wrote a popular piece in Quartz in 2016 about her disillusionment with the hookup culture at Middlebury College. No one wants to go back to sock hops and going steady, she said, but “to attempt to separate emotions from sex is not only illogical, given that emotion intensely augments pleasure, but also impossible for almost all women.”

In her book, Coles quotes cyberpsychologist Mary Aiken on the dangers of losing your inhibitions more easily when you are in the “immersive environment” of cyberspace — a space designed by men.

“Online dating is very crowded,” Aiken said.

“There are four people in it: two real, normal selves, and two virtual selves.”

Echoing a theme from “Cat Person,” Coles tells me: “Things go from naught to 60 really fast.

When you have a lot of communication online before you go out with someone, it builds up a false sense of who the person is. There’s a tendency to fill in the blanks with positive information.” (She points to a study showing a sixfold increase in sexual assault associated with online dating.)

“It’s very easy to imagine someone online in a positive way,” she says, “but it’s only when you sit down, with all five senses in play, that you can really tell, ‘Do I find this person attractive?’”

When I ask her why women would have sex

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DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

with men whose looks or behavior is turning them off, she replies, “The fear is that dating apps make women interchangeable.”

Coles talks about porn and living in a culture where teenagers check their phones a minimum of 75 times a day, always “one click away from some of the most aggressive porn imaginable.”

In “Cat Person,” Margot thinks it is absurd when Robert flips her around as if she is “a prop” for the porno “playing in his head.”

In her book, Coles interviews women who explain why they hesitate to tell men that porn sex is not pleasurable to them.

“There’s a new sense in which young women feel that they are now in competition with porn, and if they don’t put out, it’s easy for the guy to go home, log in to Pornhub and get what he needs there,” Coles says.

“They’re sublimating their own needs to try and please the guy. Then they realize their needs weren’t being met at all.

“Porn sex is designed to get men off in six to eight minutes. Many men don’t know how to interpret female behavior in bed unless it replicates a porno film.”

She says something has gone badly wrong when 20 percent of young women are on antidepressants, when there have to be ad campaigns about consent before sex, when everything is about connecting but you don’t really know who you’re connecting to.

“Good sex is a wonderful high,” Coles says. “It’s what great novels and great music are about.

And it’s free! But we’ve lost track of what a brilliant thing it is. It’s so transactional now, it’s bleak.”

Maureen Dowd is a New York Times columnist.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |

A5

Sports&Outdoors

A6 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS

NBA

Johnson almost skipped Ring of Honor ceremony The ex-Texans wide receiver was offended by owner’s comments

By Matt Young HOUSTON CHRONI CLE

Former Texans receiver Andre Johnson said he nearly skipped the Ring of Honor ceremony the team had for him in November because of controversial comments made by team owner Bob McNair, the franchise's all-time leading receiver said on former teammate Arian Foster's podcast "Now What?

With Arian Foster."

A month before Johnson was inducted as the first member in the franchise's Ring of Honor, ESPN the Magazine, quoting an anonymous source, said McNair was talking about players when he told NFL owners at a meeting in New York, "We can't have the inmates running the prison."

McNair later apologized, but said he was talking about the league office and not the players and their protests during the national anthem. In a Wall Street Journal story last week, McNair said he regretted apologizing, because "I really didn't have anything to apologize for."

Foster brought up the comments with Johnson on his podcast, which was released Monday night.

Houston Chronicle sports columnist Jerome Solomon and KPRC sports director Randy McIlvoy talk about the Houston Texans inducting Andre Johnson as the first player to be inducted into the Houston Texans Ring of Honor this past Sunday.

Media: R. Carter, Houston Chronicle "I wouldn't say it surprised me, but I just didn't like it," Johnson said. "To know you did so much for a franchise and to have him come out and say something like that.

"At the end of the day, you don't make the money if we don't run it. If you take some people off the street and put them in there, nobody's coming to watch that. It was real touchy with me. I even thought about not doing the ring ceremony."

Foster said he skipped Johnson's special day, because of McNair's comments.

"I planned on going and on the day of, I was like 'I can't look at (McNair) in the face,'" Foster told Johnson. "Because I'm not going to shake his hand and I wasn't going to pretend like I wanted to shake his hand."

Former Texans offensive lineman Duane Brown claimed that McNair talked to the players after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 and the owner was critical of Obama. In the Wall Street Journal story, McNair said, "(Brown) has no problem saying things that are not true."

On the podcast, Johnson said he and several teammates had a celebratory cookout in the NRG Stadium parking lot the day after Obama won the 2008 election. Johnson said the players were in the staff parking lot, because the players' parking lot

Joe Skipper / Associated Press

The NBA is hoping for less headline-grabbing confrontations between its players and referees during the playoffs.

Matt York / PNP104

Former Texans receiver Andre Johnson nearly skipped the Ring of Honor ceremony the team had for him.

was closed at the time because of work being done on the stadium. The celebration included former Texans defensive back Fred Bennett blasting Young Jeezy's song "My President" on repeat.

Johnson remembered McNair and son Cal McNair - the team's chief operating officer - leaving the stadium and having to walk by the players and their cookout to get to their cars.

"You could definitely tell they were uncomfortable," Johnson said.

The hourlong podcast covers a lot of ground, including Johnson saying he asked to be traded after the 2012 season when the

Texans went 12-4 and lost to the New England Patriots in the second round of the playoffs.

Despite the Texans having the best record in franchise history, Johnson said he saw what was on the horizon and wanted out.

Sure enough, the Texans went 2-14 the next season.

Johnson and Foster also agreed that the 2011 Texans would have won the Super Bowl if quarterback Matt Schaub hadn't got hurt near the end of the season.

"If Schaub does doesn't get hurt, we win," Johnson said. "I tell anybody and everybody, that is the year we should have won the Super Bowl."

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: BUFFALO BILLS

BILLS’ RICHIE INCOGNITO SAYS HE’S ’DONE’ Offensive lineman calling it quits in NFL

By John Wawrow A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito said he’s “done” in a text to The Associated Press amid reports he is considering retirement after 11 NFL seasons.

Incognito, who was suspended for half a season in 2013 for bullying a Dolphins teammate, followed up the text Tuesday with a laughing-face emoji and did not respond to further questions seeking clarification.

The text came shortly after SportsIllustrated.com reported Incognito was “strongly considering retiring,” but would consider returning for one more season at the right price.

The Buffalo News quoted Incognito as saying, “I’m done.

That’s it.” Incognito added he is experiencing liver and kidney problems and is being affected by stress.

“I went to a doctor’s appointment the other day and they said, ‘Listen, the stress is killing you, what are you doing?”’

Incognito told The News. “And I said, ‘Listen, I’m just doing what I love and that’s playing football.’ So that’s why I’m done.”

The Bills did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The development comes a

Julio Cortez / Associated Press

Buffalo Bills offensive guard Richie Incognito said that he’s calling it quits after 11 NFL seasons.

week after Incognito fired his agent, David Dunn, in a post on Twitter. That decision came after Incognito accepted a pay cut by restructuring the final year of his contract.

Incognito initially backed his restructured contract by posting a note on Twitter saying he was “thrilled to be returning this season and fired up to get back to work with my Buffalo Bills brothers.”

Incognito is also the subject of an NFL investigation after Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue accused the Bills player of making racist slurs during the Jaguars’ 10-3 win over Buffalo in an AFC wildcard playoff game in January.

The NFL has not announced whether it has completed its investigation. Ngakoue said he and Incognito cleared the air after they were AFC teammates

at the Pro Bowl in January.

Incognito began Tuesday with a series of vague tweets, which began with “Good morning, FOOTBALL!” He then tweeted “Yes,” and “Wow,” before posting a note that read: “Big Ben.” Later, he mentioned the Twitter accounts of the NFLPA and the union’s assistant executive director, George Atallah, in a note that read, "I’m done," followed by a winking emoji with its tongue stuck out.

Incognito completed his third season with the Bills, who provided him a second chance at continuing his career. He signed with Buffalo in February 2015 after missing 18 months in the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal.

Incognito was suspended for the final eight games of the 2013 season, when the Dolphins

were thrust into the national spotlight after offensive lineman Jonathan Martin abruptly quit the team amid accusations he was being bullied. An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen persistently harassed Martin.

In February, Martin was detained and questioned by Los Angeles police after posting a threatening note on his Instagram account. Martin’s post showed a shotgun and specifically mentioned Incognito, former teammate Mike Pouncey as well as a private Los Angeles prep school Martin once attended. Martin wrote suicide and revenge were the only options for a victim of bullying.

Incognito also played threeplus seasons in St. Louis, which drafted him in 2005. He played in college at Nebraska but left after being suspended, then transferred to Oregon though he never played for the Ducks.

Incognito earned three of his four Pro Bowl selections in Buffalo, and was considered among the Bills team leaders.

He started all 36 games at left guard for the Bills, and was part of a line that led to Buffalo leading the NFL in yards rushing in both 2015 and ‘16.

The Bills offensive line is already undergoing a shuffle after center Eric Wood was diagnosed with a career-ending neck injury in January. Buffalo also traded starting left tackle Cordy Glenn to Cincinnati last month.

NBA looks for playoffs without player-ref strife

By Tim Reynolds ASSOCIATED PRE SS

MIAMI — By rule, any substitute checking into an NBA game must first report his intentions to the scorer’s table.

Denver’s Jamal Murray was on his way there during a game last month, then got derailed when an errant pass came flying his way.

That’s when referee Jason Phillips intervened.

Phillips could have easily been a stickler for rules and told Murray — who never made it to the table — that he had to wait until the next stoppage of play. But Phillips knew Murray was on his way to checking in long before the play was dead and allowed him to enter the game.

“Thank you,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, and Phillips nodded.

There were moments of civility like this between referees, players and coaches this season. They just were overshadowed way too often. Now everyone is watching to see how things unfold in the playoffs.

The league wants to avoid more headline-grabbing confrontation with the playoffs starting Saturday and stakes and emotion becoming even higher, so officials met with all 30 teams , the last of those on Monday.

“We all make mistakes,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s a game. We’re all a part of it. We’re all in the NBA. The officials are part of the NBA. So we have to understand that we’re all under the same corporation.”

There have been instances where they have looked more like combatants.

Referee Courtney Kirkland was taken off the floor for a week for getting too aggressive with Golden State’s Shaun Livingston. Warriors star Kevin Durant — who’d been ejected once in his first nine seasons — got kicked out of five games. Even LeBron James got tossed for the first time in his 15-year career.

It all led the NBA to announce in late January its plan to improve how players and referees get along. Former referee Monty McCutchen, now an NBA vice president overseeing referee development and training, and NBA senior vice president Michelle Johnson met with clubs to listen to their perspective.

McCutchen’s biggest hope is finding a way to make communication better, on all sides. He stressed to teams that he wasn’t meeting with them solely to defend and protect officials.

Frontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE GENEALOGÍA 1 ¿Desea saber más sobre su historia familiar? ¿Necesita ayuda para iniciar su genealogía? Venga y reciba ayuda personalizada para investigar a sus ancestros utilizando recursos en línea. Voluntarios entrenados le ayudarán, este martes 10 de abril de 6:30 p.m a 8 p.m., en Roma Birding Center. Evento gratuito patrocinado por la Iglesia de Jesús de los Santos de los Últimos Días.

CARRERA CONTRA AUTISMO 1 Carrera/Caminata 5K para la Prevención del Autismo, el 14 de abril, a las 8 a.m., iniciando en la Corte del Condado de Zapata. Mayores informes en la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata.

VAQUERO DAY FESTIVAL 1 La Ciudad de Escobares invita al Vaquero Day Festival en su 13ava. edición, el sábado 27 de abril.

Música en vivo, cabalgata, parrilladas, y más actividades para toda la familia. Entrada gratuita. Mayores informes al 956-847-4106.

TORNEO DE CAZA 1 1er Torneo de caza de cerdo y depredadores del sur de Texas, el 28 de abril de las 10 a.m. hasta el 29 de abril a las 10 a.m. Mayores informes en Brush County Insurance Agency, 702 Hidalgo Blvd., Suite 4, en Zapata, o al teléfono 956-750-3600.

TORNEO DE SOFTBOL 1 Torneo de Softbol Batalla de las Insignias, donde particiarán bomberos y policías del Condado de Zapata, el 28 de abril, a beneficio de Israel “Ike” Gutiérrez.

Cuota de entrada 150 dólares más 10 dólares para los umpires de los equipos.

Mayores informes con Martha al 956251-3075 o con Carlos al 956-2696436.

A7

ELECCIONES 2018

Anaya visita Reynosa Candidatos a presidencia de México recorren la frontera en campaña Por Aaron Nelsen RIO GRANDE VALLEY BUREAU

R

EYNOSA, México— El candidato presidencial Ricardo Anaya, líder de la coalición izquierda-derecha, dijo durante una parada de campaña en Reynosa el martes que esta nación no pagará por el muro fronterizo del Presidente Donald Trump.

Mientras tanto, el líder populista de izquierda Andrés Manuel López Obrador dijo en un rally que sus simpatizantes formarían “una cadena humana enorme de mexicanos por la paz”, si el gobierno de los Estados Unidos envía a las tropas a la frontera, de acuerdo con un reporte Reuters. Últimamente Trump ha estado protestando la inmigración ilegal, amenazando con poner fin a NAFTA y el martes dijo que utilizaría a la milicia para resguardar la frontera hasta que se construya su muro. Sus comentarios han galvanizado la campaña presidencial en México y aumentado la posibilidad de que un candidato anti-estadounidense gane la elección.

“México no va a pagar un centavo por el muro que quieren construir”, dijo Anaya a una audiencia enardecida de varios miles dentro de un gimnasio universitario, y miles más viendo su discurso en grandes pantallas afuera. “Le voy a decir (a Trump) en inglés para que no le quede dura”.

En la semana desde que la temporada de campaña inició, Anaya recorrió la frontera de Tamaulipas con Texas.

La pelea a la presidencia es de candidatos

Ulises Ruiz / AFP/Getty Images

El candidato a la presidencia de México Ricardo Anaya, representante de la Coalición "México al Frente" de los partidos PAN y PRD, se dirige a sus simpatizantes, junto a su hijo Mateo, durante el segundo mitín de su campaña en Celaya, Guanajuato, el 1 de abril de 2018.

establecidos contra López Obrador, quien lanzó su campaña en Ciudad Juárez, y visitará Nuevo Laredo, México hoy por la mañana.

López Obrador, también conocido como AMLO, ha estado haciendo paradas en ciudades a lo largo de la frontera con los Estados Unidos, una región que ha sido la victima de la ira de Trump durante la semana pasada.

López Obrador había dicho anteriormente que México ya no sería la piñata de gobiernos foráneos. Según las encuestas, él se encuentra en primer lugar con 38 por ciento, casi el doble de Anaya, quien se encuentra en segundo lugar con el 20 por ciento.

Mientras tanto, el embajador mexicano a los Estados Unidos dijo que México ha pedido formalmente una clarificación de la declaración de Trump sobre utilizar las tropas para resguardar la frontera.

“Ciertamente no es algo que el gobierno mexicano acepte”, dijo el Embajador Gerónimo Gutiérrez a CNN el martes.

El embajador dijo al canal que había hablado

con la Secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos Kirstjen Nielsen sobre las preocupaciones de su país. Él también indicó que los comentarios de Trump sobre usar al ejército en la frontera no es una idea nueva.

“La Guardia Nacional ha sido llamada anteriormente en diferentes instancias en el pasado en un papel de apoyo”, dijo Gutiérrez. “Quiero asumir que eso es lo que están evaluando”.

Durante su evento el martes, Anaya tocó brevemente las amenazas de Trump.

Trump “es muy bueno para demandar, pero aclaremos algo, tanto como a él le preocupa la inmigración, como el tráfico de armas de los Estados Unidos a México nos preocupa a nosotros”, dijo Anaya. “Más de 200.000 armas entran a México cada año de los Estados Unidos”.

Anaya prometió atacar la corrupción, un tema crítico para los votantes en medio de los escándalos que han plagado al actual gobierno del Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto.

El año pasado, la pol-

icía italiana capturó al ex Gobernador de Tamaulipas Tomás Yarrington que se encontraba fugitivo durante años por cargos de lavado de dinero, mal uso de fondos, y tomar sobornos de cárteles de las drogas.

Las autoridades mexicanas en octubre arrestaron a otro ex Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Eugenio Hernández, por cargos de lavado de miles de millones de dólares en sobornos. Los dos gobernadores pertenecían al PRI. Anaya también atacó al PRI por su record en seguridad pública, el cual ha empeorado dramáticamente bajo Peña Nieto.

Tamaulipas ha sido uno de los estados más afectados por el surgimiento de violencia resultado del narcotráfico, con los homicidios en 2017 aumentando a su nivel más alto desde 2012, y enfrentamientos mortales en las calles de Reynosa a unas cuantas horas de la llegada de Anaya. Ya por acabarse su rally de campaña, se desataron tiroteos a unas cuantas millas del evento de Anaya.

“El PRI ha abandonado a Tamaulipas”, dijo Anaya. “Cuando sea presidente… van a ver lo que

es tener un gobierno federal, estatal y municipal trabajando en conjunto. Vamos a regresar la seguridad a Reynosa”.

El actual gobernador de Tamaulipas Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca también es militante del PAN, igual que Anaya.

Anaya, de 38 años de edad, ha sido una figura en la política nacional por los pasados seis años. Un poderoso estratega que se inició en la política apenas a los 21 años de edad. Él ayudó al Partido Acción Nacional, asegurar varias gubernaturas en 2016.

Aunque Anaya tiene amplio apoyo, para ganar tendría que ganar a los votantes de izquierda y el voto de los jóvenes. Analistas prevén que López Obrador será el más beneficiado de la retórica anti-migratoria de Trump. Y aun así, Anaya ofreció una respuesta balanceada a la agresión de Trump.

“Vamos a reconsiderar nuestra relación con los Estados Unidos”, dijo Anaya. “Va a ser una relación de respeto… porque México necesita a los Estados Unidos, pero los Estados Unidos también necesita a México”.

COCINA SALUDABLE 1 Cena esta nocheEscuela de Cocina Saludable, organizado por Texas A&M AgriLife Extension del Condado de Zapata, el 4 de mayo, de 6 a 8 p.m., en Zapata High School. Mayores informes en la Oficina de Extensión de Zapata, en el 956765-9820 i regístrese en Zapata County Courthouse, suite 249 en el segundo piso.

EVENTO CONTRA LUPUS 1 3er. evento anual contra Lupus, el 10 de mayo en el parque Bravo. Mayores informes con Gilda Jasso al 956-2379456 y 956-2088390.

AVIARIO 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero. Mayores informes al 956849-1411

ZAPATA

Emiten citatorio por cazar víboras de cascabel

ARTURO L. BENAVIDES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

COSECHAN VEGETALES

E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un hombre fue citado supuestamente por violaciones de caza y por cazar animales en carreteras públicas en Zapata, de acuerdo con autoridades.

Alrededor de las 1 a.m. el 25 de marzo, guardabosques se encontraban patrullando cuando encontraron una camioneta pickup conduciendo por un área remota del Condado de Zapata.

Después de realizar una detención de tráfico al vehículo, se encontró al conductor, una persona con un historial extensivo de violaciones de caza y pesca.

La persona se encontraba cazando víboras de cascabel en la carretera.

Se emitieron dos citatorios, y se confiscaron dos víboras de cascabel.

Tras viaja a la residencia del sospechoso en cuestión para confiscar otras serpientes cosechadas ilegalmente, se encontró que el sospechoso había recogido otra víbora de cascabel de la carretera inmediatamente después de recibir los citatorios y haber sido dejado en libertad tras el primer contacto de la noche.

Se emitieron más citatorios adicionales por cazar en carreteras públicas y 11 víboras de cascabel adicionales fueron incautadas de la residencia. El caso continua pendiente.

Foto de cortesía

Estudiantes de Arturo L. Benavides Elementary School cosecharon zanahorias, lechugas y betabeles en su “Village Garden” o Jardín comunitario.

A8 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

Bolton takes on national security at time of tumult

President Trump blasts Mueller probe as ‘attack on our country’

By Zeke Miller

By Josh Lederman and Catherine Lucey

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s Russia investigation is not only a political witch hunt but “an attack on our country,” President Donald Trump complained Monday, exhibiting mounting concern about the yearlong probe after federal authorities raided the offices of his personal attorney. “We’ll see,” he said, when asked if he might fire special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump let loose after federal agents pierced the protective bubble around him, seizing records from the offices of longtime Trump attorney Michael

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria.

Preparations for a highrisk North Korea summit are barreling forward.

The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next, and when.

And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Enter John Bolton, the pugnacious former U.N. ambassador who took over Monday as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser — the third person to hold the job in barely 14 months.

Trump’s selection of Bolton last month set off a guessing game in Washington as to just how much of an imprint his take-no-prisoners approach to foreign policy will have on Trump’s team, already beleaguered and exhausted after a tumultuous first year.

If Bolton had any firstday jitters, he had little time to indulge them. A daunting to-do list has awaited him, punctuated over the weekend by a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria’s government that led Trump to start exploring potential military retaliation.

Although Bolton didn’t formally start until Monday, he was spotted entering the White House over the weekend, carrying an umbrella as he strolled down the driveway toward the West Wing on a rainy Saturday.

And on Monday, he appeared at his first Cabi-

Tom Brenner / The New York Times

President Trump is shown with National Security Adviser John Bolton as he meets with senior military leaders at the White House in Washington on Monday.

net meeting, where Trump talked up his forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, chided China for taking advantage of the United States and condemned the “atrocious” chemical attack in Syria.

Bolton didn’t speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.

“I think he’s going to be a fantastic representative of our team,” Trump said later in the day. He pointed out the fact that Bolton was starting in the midst of an urgent situation with Syria, adding: “Interesting day.”

Apprehension outside the White House about Bolton’s influence has been matched by handwringing in the West Wing about whose fortunes will rise and fall in the Bolton era.

In Trump’s realityshow-infused White House, it’s become a truism that when a powerful aide departs — like the chief of staff, national security adviser or a Cabinet secretary — others who were considered aligned with that aide are often the next to go. There

have been many such shake-ups, even in just the past few weeks. And Bolton, in his former jobs at the U.N. and at the State Department, developed a reputation as someone who doesn’t suffer fools quietly.

Although it’s unclear whether Bolton will “clean house,” two U.S officials and two outside advisers to the administration said that the White House has been considering a significant staff shake-up in the part of the NSC that handles the Middle East. That comes as Trump prepares for a key decision next month on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 accord that Bolton has long derided.

Before starting the job, Bolton provided the White House with names of staffers he wanted to bring in, but the list consisted mainly of people associated with his political action committee, The John Bolton Super PAC, one individual with knowledge of the list said.

All of the individuals weren’t authorized to discuss internal White House deliberations and requested anonymity.

Cohen, on topics including a $130,000 payment made to a porn actress who says she had sex with Trump more than a decade ago.

Cohen has been an ardent defender in Trump’s business, personal and political affairs for more than a decade — Cohen claims to have used a personal home equity loan to pay the adult film actress, known as Stormy Daniels — and the probe’s expansion into the president’s inner circle left Trump fuming.

He unleashed his sharpest invective to date against the sweeping investigation, calling the Monday search “a disgrace.”

“It’s an attack on our country in a true sense,” he said, flanked by the nation’s top military brass, who watched the scene stone-faced. “It’s an attack on what we all stand for.”

The president didn’t bat away the idea of firing Mueller, saying people have advised him to take that action: “Why don’t I just fire Mueller? Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on — we’ll see what happens.”

He said the raid in New York marked a “whole new level of unfairness”

by Mueller and his team.

Trump called the probe a “witch hunt,” as he has many times in the past, complaining that it distracts from serious issues.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |

A9

BUSINESS

Airlines getting better in Court rules women can’t key areas except delays be paid less than men

By David Koenig

By Sudhin Thanawala

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

U.S. airlines are getting better at many things except getting you to your destination on time.

They are losing fewer bags. Complaints are down.

And on the anniversary of a man getting dragged off a plane because a crew member needed his seat, airlines are bumping fewer passengers.

That’s the upshot of a report issued by academics who analyze numbers compiled by the Transportation Department.

The authors were scheduled to release ratings on the top dozen or so U.S. airlines later Monday.

“The industry is improving, but there are still a lot of frustrated travelers out there,” said one of the researchers, Brent Bowen, dean of aviation at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University. He blamed a lack of transparency in the ticketing process and the increase in delayed flights.

The industrywide ontime performance — never great — declined a bit last year, when 80.2 percent of flights arrived within 14 minutes of schedule, which is the government’s definition of on time. That was down from 81.4 percent in 2016.

Customer service hit bottom when Chicago airport officers bloodied and dragged a 69-year-old man off a United Express plane. An airline employee had called security to go

Employers cannot pay women less than men for the same work based on differences in their salaries at previous jobs, a federal appeals court said Monday.

Pay differences based on prior salaries are discriminatory under the federal Equal Pay Act, a unanimous 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

The decision overturned a ruling last year by a smaller panel of 9th Circuit judges that had been criticized by equal pay advocates.

Allowing pay differences based on previous salaries would perpetuate wage gaps between men and women that are based on discrimination in the job market, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote.

Reinhardt — considered among the most liberal members of the 9th Circuit — wrote the opinion before he died last month.

“Although the (Equal Pay) Act has prohibited sex-based wage discrimination for more than fifty years, the financial exploitation of working women embodied by the gender pay gap continues to be an embarrassing reality of our economy,” Reinhardt wrote.

Women made about 80 cents for every dollar men earned in 2015, according to U.S. govern-

Nam Y. Huh / AP

This file photo shows passengers walking at O'Hare airport in Chicago. A report issued by academics who analyze numbers compiled by the Transportation Department and released Monday found that U.S. airlines are getting better at many things except getting you to your destination on time.

on board and make room for a crew member commuting to work. Video of the incident was played countless times online and on television.

The passenger, David Dao, reached an undisclosed settlement. United and other airlines took steps to reduce overbooking, and they worked — bumping passengers off oversold flights fell to an all-time low, just one in every 30,000 travelers.

Complaints lodged with the Transportation Department dropped too, although most aggrieved travelers complain directly to the airline — carriers don’t report those numbers.

Bowen surmised that most travelers don’t know how to file a complaint with the government.

Even if they do, he said, their expectations for airline service “are so low now that they just want to be done with the experi-

ence and not have to reflect on it and write a complaint.”

The report compiled by Embry-Riddle and Wichita State University is now in its 28th year. It once stood alone, but there are now many ratings of airlines including ones from J.D. Power and Skytrax.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst in San Francisco, said airlines “don’t care about these reports because they don’t have to care.”

Mergers have left consumers with fewer choices. Many passengers stick with one airline because they belong to its frequent-flyer program. And price, not quality, is often cited as the top factor when consumers shop for flights.

“The airline that comes in first in the AQR won’t pop a bottle of Champagne, and the airline that comes in last won’t shed a tear,” Harteveldt said.

Aileen Rizo / AP

Aileen Rizo, along with her daughters Diana Acosta and Vivan Acosta attend the national Women's March. Relying on women's previous salaries to determine their incomes at new jobs perpetuates longstanding disparities in the wages of men and women and is illegal, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

ment data.

The ruling came in a lawsuit by California school employee Aileen Rizo, who learned in 2012 while having lunch with her colleagues that male counterparts hired after her were making more money.

Fresno County public schools hired Rizo as a math consultant in 2009 for a little under $63,000 a year. The county had a standard policy that added 5 percent to her previous pay as a middle school math teacher in Arizona.

An email to an attorney for the district’s superintendent was not immediately returned.

The Equal Pay Act, signed into law by Presi-

dent John F. Kennedy in 1963, forbids employers from paying women less than men based on gender for equal work performed under similar working conditions. But it creates exemptions when pay is based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of work or “any other factor other than sex.”

Fresno County argued that basing starting salaries primarily on previous pay was one of those other factors and prevented subjective determinations of a new employee’s value.

The 5 percent bump encourages candidates to leave their positions to work for the county, it said.

Tax cuts, spending will raise deficit to $1T by 2020

By Andrew Taylor A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — The combined effect of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and last month’s budget-busting spending bill is sending the federal deficit toward the $1 trillion mark next year, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO report says the nation’s $21 trillion debt would spike to more than $33 trillion in 10 years, with debt held by investors spiking to levels that would come close to equaling the size of the economy, reaching levels that many economists fear could spark a debt crisis.

Republicans once laced

into President Barack Obama for trillion-dollarplus deficits but mostly fell quiet on Monday’s news.

CBO says economic growth from the tax cuts will add 0.7 percent on average to the nation’s economic output over the coming decade. Those effects will only partially offset the deficit cost of the tax cuts. The administration had promised the cuts would pay for themselves.

Instead, Monday’s report estimates that the GOP tax bill, which is Republican-controlled Washington’s signature accomplishment under Trump, will add $1.8 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade, even after its positive effects on the

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

This photo shows a copy of the $1.3 trillion spending bill stacked on a table in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington. A new analysis says tax cuts and spending bill will send the federal deficit toward $1 trillion.

economy are factored in.

The economic growth promises to drop the nationwide unemployment rate below 4 percent starting this year, CBO

predicts, though interest rates would rise more rapidly than the agency had earlier predicted, countering some of the positive economic impact

of the tax cuts.

The report paints an unrelentingly bleak picture of the federal deficit, predicting it will hit $804 billion this year, rise to just under $1 trillion for the upcoming budget year and permanently breach the $1 trillion mark in 2020 unless Congress stems the burst of red ink.

The government would borrow about 19 cents of every dollar it spends this year. Deficits would grow to $1.5 trillion by 2028 — and could exceed $2 trillion if the tax cuts are fully extended and if Washington doesn’t cut spending.

“Such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences for the budget and the na-

tion,” said CBO Director Keith Hall. “In particular, the likelihood of a fiscal crisis in the United States would increase.”

Republicans controlling Washington have largely lost interest in taking on the deficit, an issue that has fallen in prominence in recent years. Trump has ruled out cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and Capitol Hill Republicans have failed to take steps against the deficit since Trump took office.

But if warnings of a future fiscal crisis turn out to be true, lawmakers might be forced to take painful steps, Hall warned, that would be more draconian than if they tackled the deficit now.

A10 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT Prosecutor: Cosby paid accuser nearly $3.4M

By Michael R. Sisak A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby paid nearly $3.4 million to the woman he is charged with sexually assaulting, a prosecutor revealed to jurors Monday, answering one of the biggest questions surrounding the case as the comedian’s retrial got underway.

District Attorney Kevin Steele highlighted the 2006 civil settlement during his opening statement, in an apparent attempt to suggest Cosby wouldn’t have paid out so much money if the accusations against him were false.

Cosby’s lawyers have signaled they intend to use the settlement to argue that Andrea Constand falsely accused the former TV star in hopes of landing a big payoff.

The amount had been confidential — and was kept out of the first trial — but a judge ruled that both sides could discuss it at this one.

“This case is about trust,” Steele told the jury.

“This case is about betrayal and that betrayal leading to the sexual assault of a woman named Andrea Constand.”

Cosby, 80, is charged with drugging and molesting Constand, a former employee of Temple University’s basketball program, at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Constand says he gave her pills that made her woozy, then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay incapacitated, unable to tell him to stop.

“She’s unconscious.

She’s out of it,” Steele said.

“She will describe how her body felt during this circumstance. She’s jolted during this. She feels herself being violated. ...

And she’ll tell you she remembers waking up on this sofa with her clothes disheveled at 4 o’clock in

the morning. This is hours after this starts.”

A lawyer not associated with the trial said Monday the settlement amount could figure prominently in the prosecution’s case.

“The question that I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot about is, why would an innocent man pay $3.38 million for something he didn’t do?” said Dennis McAndrews, who prosecuted chemical heir John E. duPont for murder in 1997. The defense will deliver its opening statement on Tuesday in a trial expected to last a month.

Cosby’s first trial last spring ended with the jury hopelessly deadlocked. The comedian faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Ahead of

opening statements, a topless protester who appeared on several episodes of “The Cosby Show” as a child jumped a barricade and got within a few feet of Cosby as the comedian entered the courthouse.

The woman, whose body was scrawled with the names of more than 50 Cosby accusers as well as the words “Women’s Lives Matter,” ran in front of Cosby and toward a bank of TV cameras but was intercepted by sheriff’s deputies and led away in handcuffs. Cosby seemed startled by the commotion as a half-dozen protesters chanted at him.

The protester, Nicolle Rochelle , 39, of Little Falls, New Jersey, was charged with disorderly conduct and released.

“The main goal was to make Cosby uncomfortable because that is exactly what he has been doing for decades to women,” she said afterward.

Rochelle, an actress, said she didn’t have any bad experiences with Cosby when she was on the show, nor did she intend to physically hurt him. She is a member of the European feminist group Femen , which is known for staging topless protests around the world.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt praised deputies for their quick action but urged court officials to increase security. Officials added a second row of barricades, and Cosby left court without incident Monday afternoon.

“It’s a different world.

Things have changed,”

Corey Perrine / AP

Bill Cosby, center, leaves his sexual assault trial with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, left, at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Monday in Norristown, Pa.

Wyatt told The Associated Press, referring to recent mass shootings and other cases. “You never know who’s going to want to make a name for themselves.” Opening statements were delayed for several hours while the judge sorted through allegations raised late Friday that a juror told a woman during jury selection that he thought Cosby was guilty. Cosby’s lawyers wanted the juror removed from the case.

After questioning all 12

jurors and six alternates behind closed doors, Judge Steven O’Neill ruled the juror could stay, saying all the panelists told him they stuck to their pledge to remain fair and impartial.

Prosecutors have lined up a parade of five additional accusers to make the case that the man revered as “America’s Dad” lived a double life as one of Hollywood’s biggest predators. Only one additional accuser took the stand at the first trial.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |

A11

FROM THE COVER

‘A Quiet Place’ makes noise with $50.2M debut

U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore: 1. “A Quiet Place,” Paramount, $50,203,562, 3,508 locations, $14,311 average, $50,203,562, 1 week.

2. “Ready Player One,” Warner Bros., $24,624,178, 4,234 locations, $5,816 average, $96,484,703, 2 weeks.

3. “Blockers,” Universal, $20,556,350, 3,379 locations, $6,084 average, $20,556,350, 1 week.

4. “Black Panther,” Disney, $8,704,968, 2,747 locations, $3,169 average, $665,630,708, 8 weeks.

5. “Tyler Perry’s Acrimony,” Lionsgate,

$8,380,983, 2,006 locations, $4,178 average, $31,665,563, 2 weeks.

6. “I Can Only Imagine,” Roadside Attractions, $7,801,111, 2,894 locations, $2,696 average, $68,528,313, 4 weeks.

7. “Chappaquiddick,” Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, $5,765,854, 1,560 locations, $3,696 average, $5,765,854, 1 week.

8. “Sherlock Gnomes,”

Paramount, $5,436,068, 2,733 locations, $1,989 average, $33,734,129, 3 weeks.

9. “Pacific Rim Uprising,” Universal, $4,827,245, 2,627 locations, $1,838 average, $54,837,305, 3 weeks.

10. “Isle Of Dogs,” Fox Searchlight, $4,562,854, 554 locations, $8,236 average, $12,011,788, 3 weeks.

11. “The Miracle Season,” Mirror/LD Enter-

tainment, $3,950,652, 1,707 locations, $2,314 average, $3,950,652, 1 week.

12. “A Wrinkle In Time,” Disney, $3,301,707, 1,701 locations, $1,941 average, $90,274,463, 5 weeks.

13. “Love, Simon,” 20th Century Fox, $2,767,003, 1,464 locations, $1,890 average, $37,544,267, 4 weeks.

14. “Tomb Raider,” Warner Bros., $1,926,315, 1,673 locations, $1,151 average, $55,070,405, 4 weeks.

15. “Paul, Apostle Of Christ,” Sony, $1,772,226, 1,262 locations, $1,404 average, $15,003,077, 3 weeks.

16. “God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness,” Pure Flix, $1,094,495, 1,377 locations, $795 average, $4,912,576, 2 weeks.

17. “Game Night,” Warner Bros., $1,072,746, 804 locations, $1,334 average, $67,216,416, 7 weeks.

18. “The Death of Stalin,” IFC Films, $986,597, 547 locations, $1,804 average, $5,474,211, 5 weeks.

19. “Peter Rabbit,” Sony, $967,606, 1,027 locations, $942 average, $113,277,600, 9 weeks.

20. “The Leisure Seeker.” Sony Pictures Classics, $527,339, 353 locations, $1,494 average, $1,769,453, 5 weeks.

Villarreal, native of Zapata, is senior VP at International Bank of Commerce.

DRUG From page A1

es a vital public safety and public health issue.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods

for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 28 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEA.gov website.

Collection sites will be scheduled at the following locations in Laredo, Cotulla, and Zapata: 1 Zapata Courthouse 200 E. 7th Avenue, Zapata 1 Texas A&M International University (TA-

MIU) – 5201 University Blvd., Laredo 1 KGNS-TV - 120 W Del Mar Boulevard, Laredo 1 Laredo Fire Depart.

Admin Bldg. - 616 E. Del Mar Blvd, Laredo 1 Laredo Public Library 1120 E. Calton Road, Laredo 1 Ryan Elementary - 2401 Clark Boulevard, Laredo 1 San Martin De Porres Church - 1704 Sandman Street, Laredo 1 Martin High School/ Shirley Field - 2002 San Bernardo Avenue, Laredo 1 Cotulla Courthouse – 101 Courthouse Square, Cotulla

ger, Abbott said, adding he wanted to downplay speculation that "our National Guard is showing up with military bayonets trying to take on anybody that's coming across the border, because that is not their role."

There is no end date for the deployment, Abbott said: "We may be in this for the long haul."

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's office said that more than 80 troops would deploy later this week. They will be the first of an expected 250 Guard members from New Mexico to serve on the border.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, offered to send members of his state's Guard as well. South Carolina sent troops to the border during Opera-

tion Jump Start, the border deployment ordered

by Bush in 2006.

Trump has said he wants to use the military at the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress. Defense Secretary James Mattis last Friday approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September.

Mexico's foreign relations secretary said his government is evaluating its cooperation with the United States.

Luis Videgaray said in a Monday interview with local media that he will give results of the analysis to President Enrique Pena Nieto in coming weeks.

The country's Senate passed a resolution last

week saying Mexico should suspend cooperation with the U.S. on illegal immigration and drug trafficking in retaliation for Trump's move.

But Videgaray said "no decision has been taken to reduce or suspend any mechanism or cooperation."

Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City in Texas, said he did not agree with what he characterized as "the militarization of the border."

"It's not good for business, to be frank with you," Villarreal said.

A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” blasted past expectations to notch the second-best debut of the year, opening with $50.2 million in ticket sales, according to final studio figures Monday.

The Paramount Pictures thriller, the third film directed by the former “The Office” star, had been pegged to open closer to $30 million. The unexpected success of the $17 million movie gave Viacom Inc.’s Paramount a much-needed hit and the studio’s best nonsequel opening weekend in nearly five years.

The Universal Pictures R-rated comedy “Blockers,” with Leslie Mann and John Cena, also performed solidly, collecting $20.6 million in its debut.

Last week’s top film, Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” slid to second but held well. The Warner Bros. release grossed $24.6 million in its second weekend. But it’s fared even better overseas, where Spielberg’s latest has already grossed $294.4 million, including $161.3 million in China.

The top 20 movies at

CLUB From page A1 starred in football and baseball, received his degree from St. Mary’s University. His parents were educators. He has three sisters and two brothers. He and wife, Martha, are parents of three children, ages 24, 22 and 15.

Villarreal recalls as a youngster spending summers in Laredo with relatives and participating in activities at the Benavides Boys and Girls Club.

“The Boys Club was always a fun time,” he said. “We are coming up with a strategic plan to maintain the Boys and Girls Club as a great and safe place for children.”

Also elected were Janie Martinez, president-elect; Andrew Carranco, first vice president; Joe Arciniega, second vice president; Wilfredo Martinez, treasurer; and Roger Gubser, secretary. Russell Cerda is immediate past president.

Re-elected to the board to a term expiring 2020 were Villarreal, Arciniega, Carranco, Janie Martinez, Wilfredo Martinez, Cerda, Gubser, Jim Kelly, Esther Firova, Orlando Navarro, Jorge Gonzalez, Rudy Rodriguez and Memo Trevino.

Past president Eliza Gonzalez is the newest lifetime director. Filling board vacancies are Joey Tellez, Hector “Tito” Garcia, George Beckelhymer, Ramon Zertuche II and Dr. Marte Martinez.

Earning recognition for presidential awards as outstanding members were Gubser, Janie Martinez, Tellez, Wilfredo

AGENT From page A1 not indicate an attorney for Burgos Aviles to answer the allegations.

Burgos Aviles was a nine-year veteran of the Border Patrol, Baeza said, and had been promoted last year.

Jason Owens, Border Patrol chief for the agency's Laredo sector, said at a news conference Tuesday that the deaths represent a "horrific tragedy."

"The actions of this individual, if true, are both inexcusable and reprehensible," Owens

Jonny Cournoyer / Associated Press

This image shows John Krasinski, left, and Noah Jupe in a scene from "A Quiet Place." The film blasted past expectations to notch the second-best debut of the year, opening with $50.2 million in ticket sales.

Martinez and Arciniega.

Elected to the corporation were Mario Cazares, Linda Christina Benavides Alexander, Juan Carlos Garcia, Sylvia Presel, Jake Spruiell and Marisa Santos.

The club approved a $1.496 million budget.

Hector J. Noyola is the longtime Boys and Girls Club executive director.

Kevin Lopez is assistant director.

The Boys and Girls Club has served Laredo since 1946. Noyola reported the three clubs — Roberto Benavides (near downtown), Lamar Bruni Vergara (south Laredo) and Northwest (west Laredo) — average daily attendance is 100-plus at each club during the school year. Another 15,000 participate in elementary school basketball, flag football and volleyball leagues and track meets.

The club also has a game room, learningtutoring center and homework help line. The club is open during the school year 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and summer hours 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The club is in the process of a capital improvement plan for the Benavides Club that will include new restrooms, dressing room and game room. An original United Way agency member, the two major Boys and Girls Club fundraisers are an August raffle and February wine tasting.

said. "No one is more sickened than we are at the thought of someone wearing this uniform committing such a heinous act."

Baeza said investigators are working to learn more about Burgos Aviles' relationship with Hernandez and many other aspects of the case, such as whether the suspect acted alone or had help.

Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said it's too early to determine if prosecutors will seek the death penalty, adding that the case "is being given extreme priority."

service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last October, Americans turned in 450 tons (over 900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds — more than 4,050 tons — of pills.

This initiative address-

GUARD From page A1 der."

Trump administration officials have said that rising numbers of people being caught at the southern border, while in line with seasonal trends in recent years, require an immediate response.

Apprehensions are still well below their historical trends during the terms of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both of whom also deployed the Guard to the border.

In Mexico City, a caravan of Central American migrants that had been heading north stopped in the Mexican capital. The caravan had sparked furious criticism from Trump, followed days later by his National Guard border protection deployment plan. Organizers said they never intended to go to the U.S. border.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told a group of soldiers preparing to deploy from a Phoenix military base that their "mission is about providing manpower and resources" to support agencies on the border and denied that there was a political motive.

"I don't think this is a partisan issue or an identity issue," he said. "You show me somebody who is for drug cartels or human trafficking or this ammunition that's coming over a wide-open and unprotected border here."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told San Antonio radio station KTSA that he would add about 300 troops a week until the total number reaches at least 1,000 troops.

Some Guard members will be armed if they are placed in potential dan-

Christie reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Susan Montoya in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

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A12 | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES