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TEXAS
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Crime rates drop 5 of largest cities saw a 6.5 percent decrease By JOLIE MCCULLOUGH THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
Urban crime rates are at historic lows across the country, and in Texas they are still dropping, according to an analysis of crime rates in the 30 largest U.S cities. Between 2014 and 2015, the five largest cities in Texas saw an average drop of 6.5 percent in the overall crime rate per 100,000 residents, according to the analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Among the nation’s top cities, crime rates remained stagnant during this time, dropping by only 0.1 percent. With an almost 10 percent drop in its crime rate, Austin saw the sharpest de-
Photo by Russell Contreras | AP file
In this Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, a U.S. Border Patrol agent drives near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Sunland Park, N.M.
crease in Texas and the nation. “Austin is just a safe city,” said Lt. Justin Newsom of the Austin Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit. “It has its moments where bad things happen, obviously, but overall, with the population growth that we’ve had, we’ve been real fortunate.” The city’s murder rate also had the largest decline, falling 33 percent while the average murder rate of all 30 cities in the study grew, the report states. While unable to pinpoint a cause for Austin’s decrease, Newsom said several city initiatives might be helping. “APD’s very responsive to real-time data,” Newsom
See CRIME PAGE 10A
Color security system denied A coded alert proposal to measure border protection has been rejected By ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Shelby Tauber | Texas Tribune
Crime rates in Texas’ big cities dropped last year, according to a new report.
SAN DIEGO — Five years ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security dropped its color-coded terror threat index developed after the 9/11 attacks amid widespread confusion and ridicule. So what
did it do when tasked by Secretary Jeh Johnson in 2014 with measuring security along the country’s borders? Agency staff proposed another system of reds, yellows and greens. The Institute for De-
See SECURITY PAGE 10A
STARR COUNTY
ROMA: A SMUGGLER’S PARADISE The busiest illegal crossing point on the border By JAY ROOT THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
ROMA — If everything goes according to plan, Alejandra will no longer feel like her mother is a stranger. She’ll go to a good school in Houston, not one lacking basic supplies. She’ll eat a real breakfast, not the bread and water she was fed on the bus from Guatemala. On a rainy evening in early March, Alejandra, 14, joined a dozen undocumented immigrants, mostly women and kids, who turned themselves in to a busy unit of the U.S. Border Patrol in deep South Texas.
They were picked up and “processed” — some field paperwork here, an inventory of belongings there — in a wildlife refuge a stone’s throw from the river-border they’d just illegally crossed. Alejandra stood beneath a drizzling rain next to a Border Patrol van while she calmly recounted the brief but scary passage across the Rio Grande, which she knew by the name it’s given on the south side: El Río Bravo. Her smuggler, she said, left her, her 12-year-old brother and their 9-year-old cousin on the Mexican riverbank. The sudden aban-
See PARADISE PAGE 10A
Photo by Martin do Nascimento| Texas Tribune
Border Patrol Agent Isaac Villegas looks out over the Rio Grande and into Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Mexico, on March 8, 2016. Roma, a popular smuggling corridor in the Rio Grande Valley, is the busiest illegal crossing point by far on the U.S-Mexico border.
MEXICO
24 dead in oil plant explosion By FELIX MARQUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Felix Marquez | AP
Mexican army soldiers wearing protective face masks stand guard at an entrance of the Pajaritos petrochemical complex.
COATZACOALCOS, Mexico — The death toll from an explosion that ripped through a petrochemical plant on Mexico’s southern Gulf coast is now 24, state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos reported. Pemex raised the toll late Thursday from the 13 fatalities previously known and said eight workers remained missing. It also said 19 people re-
mained hospitalized, with 13 of them in serious condition. In a statement, the company said 12 of the bodies had been identified and eight of them delivered to family members. Earlier in the day, President Enrique Pena Nieto toured the facility in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos and met with relatives desperate for word on the fate of loved ones still unaccounted for. “I understand the anxie-
ty, the worry, the anguish you are going through,” Pena Nieto said, assuring them that both Pemex and the Mexichem company, which co-operated the plant, would fulfill their responsibilities and compensate those hurt by the accident. About 30 families gathered at a plant entrance road, where a sharp chemical smell still hung in the air about 2 kilometers (a mile) from where the explosion occurred Wednes-
day afternoon. Many wore facemasks to ward off the pungent odor. Shoving broke out as people unsuccessfully tried to force their way into the installation. Some shouted at marines and soldiers who were called in to guard the facility, and they threw rocks at a white government SUV when it arrived at the scene. Rosa Villalobos traveled about four hours by bus
See PLANT PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, APRIL 23
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Super Rummage Sale. 6010 McPherson Road Plaza. Donate unwanted items in reasonable resalable condition to help Casa de Misericordia, Laredo Blue Santa and Laredo Animal Protective Society. Hosted by Laredo Association of Realtors. For questions, call committee chairs Esther Velasquez at 337-5251 or Lola Morales at 206-0682. Rummage sale. 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Faith Lutheran Church, at the corner of Seymour and Reynolds. There will be a good selection of clothes, electronic equipment and toys. Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 1–5 p.m. TAMIU. “The Little Star that Could,” “Origins of Life,” “New Horizons,” and “Black Holes.” This event is open to the TAMIU community and public. General admission is $4 for children, TAMIU students, faculty and staff, and $5 for adults. For more information, contact Claudia Herrera at 956-326-2463 or email claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu.
Today is Saturday, April 23, the 105th day of 2015. There are 260 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1964 - Copenhagen’s trademark Little Mermaid statue gets her head sawn off by unknown men. The head is never found and a new one is molded and welded on her. 1969 - Sirhan Sirhan is sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The sentence is later reduced to life imprisonment. 1972 - Two U.S. Apollo 16 astronauts blast off from the moon and rejoin command ship for journey back to Earth. 1975 - South Vietnam’s cabinet resigns as panic grips Saigon and U.S. President Gerald Ford declares that the Vietnam War is over. 1985 - The Coca-Cola Co. announces it is changing the secret formula for Coke. Negative public reaction forces the company to resume selling the original version. 1986 - White-led South African government commits itself to scrapping dozens of laws restricting movements of blacks. 1988 - A pickup truck rigged with explosives rips through a crowded vegetable market in Tripoli, Libya, killing 54 people and wounding 125. 1989 - Israeli soldiers shoot and wound 22 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as widespread stone-throwing erupts. 1990 - Premier Li Peng arrives in Moscow for first visit by Chinese head of government to Soviet Union in 26 years. 1991 - Tens of thousands of striking Soviet workers fill the streets in Minsk on the eve of the Communist Party plenum. 1992 - South African President F. W. de Klerk proposes holding a multiracial election; McDonald’s opens its first fastfood restaurant in the Chinese capital of Beijing. 1993 - Lalith Athulathmudali, Sri Lanka’s top opposition leader, is assassinated by a lone gunman. A commission later claims involvement by President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was assassinated by a Tamil separatist rebel suicide bomber eight days later. 1995 - Tens of thousands of people, most wounded or sick, flee along muddy roads from the refugee camp at Gikongoro where at least 2,000 people were killed by Rwandan soldiers or trampled in stampedes. 1996 - Fire races through deserted villages around the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, sending windwhipped radioactive particles skyward 10 years after the world’s worst nuclear accident. Today’s Birthdays: William Shakespeare, English poet-playwright (1564-1616); William Turner, English painter (1775-1851); Max Planck, German physicist (1858-1947); Sergei Prokofiev, Soviet composer (1891-1953); Haldor Laxness, Icelandic writer and Nobel laureate (1902-1998); Sandra Dee, U.S. actress (1942-2005); Shirley Temple Black, U.S. diplomat and movie star (19282014); Michael Moore, director (1954--); Dev Patel, British actor (1990--). Thought for Today: “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” — From "Twelfth Night," by William Shakespeare (15641616).
SUNDAY, APRIL 24 Spaghetti lunch. Noon–1:30 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. No admission fee. Free-will donations accepted.
Photo by John Minchillo | AP
Authorities set up road blocks at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Route 32 at the perimeter of a crime scene on Friday, in Pike County, Ohio. Eight people were found dead Friday at four crime scenes in rural Ohio, and at least most of them were shot to death, authorities said. No arrests had been announced.
8 dead in Ohio shootings By KANTELE FRANKO
MONDAY, APRIL 25 Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st Floor, Tower B in the Community Center. The meeting is open to anyone with Parkinson’s disease, a friend or family member of a PD patient, and primary care givers of patients with PD who are interested in learning more about the disease. Pamphlets with more information in both English and Spanish are available at all support group meetings. For more information, call Richard Renner at 645-8649 or 237-0666. Chess Club. Every Monday from 4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956795-2400 x2520.
TUESDAY, APRIL 26 Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 5–7 p.m. TAMIU. “Stars of the Pharaohs” and “Wonders of the Universe.” This event is open to the TAMIU community and public. General admission is $4 for children, TAMIU students, faculty and staff, and $5 for adults. For more information, contact Claudia Herrera at 956-3262463 or email claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Knitting Circle. 1–3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and knitting needles. For more information, contact Analiza PerezGomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Crochet for Kids. 4–5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and a crochet needle. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Rock wall climbing. 4–5 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Free. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages. Must sign release form. For more information, contact John Hong at 795-2400 x2521.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PIKETON, Ohio — Eight people were found dead Friday at four crime scenes in rural Ohio, and at least most of them were shot to death, authorities said. No arrests had been announced, and it’s unclear if the killer or killers are among the dead. Seven of the victims, including two children, were slain in “execution-style killings” at three homes along a rural road, authorities said. Details on the death of the eighth person weren’t immediately available, but the body was found in a fourth location, said Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Attorney General Mike DeWine plans to provide an update on the eighth deaths at a news conference scheduled for 4 p.m.
DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader had said earlier that seven victims were believed to be members of the same family. All were shot to death, they said. There is not an active shooter and no arrests have been made, DeWine and Reader said. Authorities are trying to determine a motive, identify the deceased and determine if the killer or killers are among the deceased individuals or on the loose. A dozen BCI agents were called Friday morning to Pike County, an economically struggling area in the Appalachian region some 80 miles east of Cincinnati. Goldie Hilderbran, 65, said she lives about a mile from where she has been told the shootings took place. “I first heard about it this morning from our mail carrier,” Hilderbran said.
NYC mayor plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Judge won’t dismiss harsh interrogation suit
Group cuts Great Lakes water diversion request
NEW YORK — New York City’s mayor is pushing building owners to update heating and power systems in order to help meet his goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. Bill de Blasio announced the new energy efficiency measures on Friday, which is Earth Day. He says the city has set bold goals as it takes on climate change.
SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal judge won’t dismiss a lawsuit against two Washington state psychologists who helped design the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques. The decision in Spokane on Friday means a continuation of the closely-watched case that will likely include secret information in the war on terror. American Civil Liberties Union sued James E. Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Milwaukee suburb’s precedent-setting request to draw water from Lake Michigan has been significantly reduced by representatives from the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces considering the water diversion. The City of Waukesha’s proposal to pump an average of about 10 million gallons a day by midcentury would be cut by about 8 million gallons a day.
School official resigns after anti-Muslim posts
Prep school says abuse claims a ‘dark moment’
Baby sitter charged in the death of toddler
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — A New Jersey school board member has resigned after backlash over posts she made on Facebook that disparaged Muslims. The Record reports that Gladys Gryskiewicz resigned from the Elmwood Park school board on Friday, citing concerns about the safety of her family.
CONCORD, N.H. — The principal of an elite New Hampshire prep school dealing with a series of sexual abuse allegations acknowledges it represents a “dark moment” but says the school will emerge from the crisis strong and healthy. Phillips Exeter Academy Principal Lisa MacFarlane spoke to The Associated Press on Friday.
LORAIN, Ohio — An Ohio baby sitter has been charged with murder in the death of an 18month-old girl who authorities say was given anti-anxiety medication. Thirty-year-old Lorain resident Summer Shalodi was indicted Thursday. She also faces charges of involuntary manslaughter. — Compiled from AP reports
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 “Too Many Little Towns in Texas” luncheon and style show. 11:30 a.m. Laredo Country Club, 1415 Country Club Drive. The Volunteer Services Council for Border Region Behavioral Health Center is hosting the 24th annual Administrative Professional Day luncheon and style show. Tickets are $65 per person or $650 for a table of 10. RSVP with Laura Kim at 7943130. Book-signing for Stacy B. Schaefer. 6–8 p.m. Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St. Hosted by the Webb County Border Heritage Museum. Schaefer is the author of “Amada’s Blessings from the Peyote Gardens of South Texas.” A presentation of the book will take place at 7 p.m. Books will be available for sale that evening. For more information, contact the WCHF at 727-0977 or visit webbheritage.org Bible study. 7–9 p.m. Lighthouse Assembly of God Church, 8731 Belize Drive. Every Wednesday. The Word of God has the power to comfort, heal and change hearts. For more information, contact Norma Perez at 251-1784 or normalight1@gmail.com.
AROUND THE WORLD Obama visits with the queen and princes LONDON — President Barack Obama plunged into a whirlwind of royal socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and ended at a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy. Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence and tourist lure located just west of London where the queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier. With a patterned scarf tied around her head in a light drizzle, the queen climbed from the dark blue Range Rover that her husband, Prince Philip, drove to the landing area for Britain’s oldest and longest-serving monarch to welcome her third U.S. presi-
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Britain’s Prince William talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Drawing Room of Kensington Palace in London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate on Friday. dent to the castle. The couples shook hands before climbing into the vehicle — ladies in the back seat — for the short ride to the castle. Inside, the queen led the group into a sitting room warmed by a fire and asked the president where
he wanted to sit. “The queen’s been a source of inspiration for me,” Obama said later at a news conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron. “She is truly one of my favorite people ... an astonishing person.” — Compiled from AP reports
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State
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Driver deaths prompt review By MICHAEL GRACZYK AND JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — The deaths of eight drivers whose bodies were pulled from vehicles inundated by this week’s torrential rains in the Houston area have prompted local leaders to push for improvements in how they warn people about the dangers of flooded roads. Houston and nearby counties have been hit with more than a foot of rain since Sunday night. Six of the driver deaths occurred in the city or suburbs of Houston, while two happened in surrounding counties. Three of the deaths were at the same Houston underpass. The flooding also has forced thousands of people from their homes as creeks and bayous became overwhelmed. “There’s no question that not enough has been done” to warn drivers, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Thursday. Emmett is leading an effort to ensure drivers are properly notified about flooded roads during heavy storms. The deaths at the Houston underpass prompted Emmett to take action. While one woman drove around a barricade at one side of the underpass, Emmett said no barricades were placed on a different part of the underpass and two drivers unknowingly sent their vehicles into dark floodwaters. “If it’s somebody who drives around a barricade and goes into the water, that’s problematic. I don’t know if any system can stop somebody like that,” he said. “But the other two deaths were completely preventable.” Others have drowned in the same location, he said, most recently last May when heavy rains also flooded Houston.
Photo by Jon Shapley | AP
A young female tiger, looks out of a cage at the City of Conroe Animal Shelter on Thursday, in Conroe, Texas.
Photo by Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle | AP
People evacuate from Arbor Court Apartments in the Greenspoint area on Monday in Houston. Massive flooding has become nearly an annual rite of passage in Houston, which is grappling with destroyed homes, trapped drivers and deaths for the third straight year. He said in the short term, he will speak with the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office and the offices of local constables to make sure deputies and other officers are stationed at underpasses and other flooded locations. In the long term, Emmett said he’ll work with officials from the city and state to determine what other solutions — possibly some type of barrier — are needed at the underpass where the deaths occurred and other places prone to flooding. Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis said her agency is committed to working with city and county officials to find solutions to the problem. “There is always going to be the potential that people will make decisions that are not necessarily in their best interests or lifepreserving,” Lewis said. “What we will do is to look at what can we feasibly do
to minimize the potential for those instances.” Before this week’s flooding, the city of Houston had already begun installing an early warning system at 27 locations where high water sensors and flashing lights are used to let drivers know that a road in front of them is flooded. The city has put the sensors and lights in place at 19 locations so far. The system had also included wooden gates, similar to those at railroad crossings, that would have dropped down to block flooded roads. But the city decided not to install the gates after drivers drove around and crashed into the first one that had been set up. Gary Norman, executive staff analyst with the Houston Public Works and Engineering Department, said in an email that “we are constantly evaluating how best to protect and inform the public.” Skies were bright Thursday afternoon after a
heavy rainstorm earlier in the day. But residents living in a subdivision near the Addicks Reservoir, one of two aging reservoirs in west Houston that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considered “extremely high risk,” were warned of possible flooding. The Harris County Flood Control District said the streets near the reservoir may be impassable over the next few days and reservoir water levels may remain high for days or weeks. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water Thursday evening from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs into Buffalo Bayou at the rate of about 2,000 cubic feet per second, enough to lower the water level by an inch per hour, Corps spokeswoman Sandra Arnold said. The amount of water to be released will increase over the next two to three days, weather permitting, and gradually ease the sur-
rounding street flooding, Arnold said. Meanwhile, officials in Wharton, a community of about 8,700 residents about 50 miles southwest of Houston, ordered residents to leave their homes in some low-lying neighborhoods along the rain-swollen Colorado River. The river’s flood stage is 39 feet but the river level there exceeded 47 feet Thursday and some streets were underwater. Mayor Domingo Montalvo Jr. expanded his order later Thursday to include about a square mile of town, affecting some 350 homes. Police Chief Terry Lynch said most residents had complied and about 30 were rescued, but a handful refused to leave their property. Flood warnings remained in effect for several southeastern Texas counties. Forecasts showed the conditions were expected to improve starting Friday.
Tiger with leash caught ASSOCIATED PRESS
CONROE, Texas — Animal control officers have captured an apparently domesticated tiger that was spotted roaming a residential neighborhood in a South Texas city. The Conroe Police Department says it received several phone calls Thursday from residents who saw the young, female tiger wandering around the city. Animal control officers captured the tiger, which was wearing a collar with a leash attached. Sgt. Dorcy McGinnis said the tiger seems to be tame. Authorities are asking for assistance in finding the tiger’s owner. McGinnis said that if the tiger and its owner live in Conroe, the tiger will no longer be able to be housed in the city due to this incident. Conroe is 40 miles north of Houston.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
José Martí, the national poet Many nations have attempted the transition from revolutionary socialism toward some form of democratic capitalism; Cuba just happens to be the final one. The country has many things going against it as it tries to make the journey. It suffers from the dysfunctions that afflict countries that have giant bureaucratic states lying heavy on society. Those at the top have been trained all their lives to regulate and control. The governing elites speak (at great length) in lifeless ideological jargon. The current government slogan — not without haste, but without pause — suggests a steady reform process, but in fact the old people running this effort are halting and glacial. The world is changing Cuba faster than the Cuban state can cope. The neighborhoods feel warmer and more communal than those in many other nations, but there are certainly a lot of young men lethargically hanging about all day without much to do. Independent civic institutions are scarce. The young people, local scholars say, are disillusioned with all systems. They hope technology will save them, or moving abroad will. But there is one big thing Cuba definitely has going for it: national pride. One encounters a fierce love of country, a sense of national solidarity and a confident patriotic spirit that is today lacking in the United States. The patriotism has prickly manifestations. Cuban officials drop random Bay of Pigs references into their conversations with Americans, just for the ornery satisfaction of it. There is also a pervasive (and sometimes completely unhelpful) sense of Cuban exceptionalism; the idea is that no other model quite fits Cuba because the place is so remarkably distinct. But there are glorious manifestations. A lot of that national pride is based on cultural achievements. I am here with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, part of President Obama’s reconciliation with Cuba. Musicians like Smokey Robinson, Dave Matthews, Joshua Bell, John Lloyd Young and Usher and creative types like the playwright John Guare and the choreographer Martha Clarke, got to interact with their Cuban counterparts, while government officials negotiated future exchanges. This is the way to see Cuba at its best. The artistic community is consistently dazzling. It’s not only the high artistic standards. There is a radiating joy in performance that glows out of each artist, a blaze from something deep in the Cuban soul. But Cuban national pride has another source: the 19th-century poet and
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DAVID BROOKS
journalist José Martí. I was amazed how much Martí’s name came up in conversation here and how little Fidel Castro’s did. Martí is the national poet, the one who shifted the national imagination, who told Cubans who they were and what their story was. He inspired a common faith in a dignified future. One foundation head told me: “When I’m depressed I try to read something Martí wrote. He’s a father who embraces you. I think he engages the best of Cuba.” Martí taught by example, fighting for Cuban independence all his life. He was jailed in Cuba and exiled to Spain and elsewhere. He lived a good chunk of his life in the U.S., fighting American imperialism but writing admiring essays on Whitman, Emerson and the Brooklyn Bridge. He excelled at prose, poetry and political organization. He died in battle, fighting for Cuban independence from Spain. He also taught through his writing, which is quoted on all sides. He believed in an independent Cuba, a moderate and democratic political system with protections to tame capitalism. His love of Cuba caused him to love all Cubans. He spent much of his life trying to unite and reconcile them. “Absolute ideas must take relative forms if they are not to fail,” he wrote. But he was not primarily a systematic or programmatic thinker. “The problem of independence is not a change in form but a change in spirit,” he believed. He fired patriotism and self-confidence. He found inner fulfillment by serving a national project and envisioning a national purpose. It’s hard to be too optimistic about Cuba’s shortterm future. The leaders are trying to square the mother of all circles — to have a rich society but without rich people; to have an entrepreneurial class but without losing the egalitarian solidarity; to have revolutionary socialism and also outside investment and growth, risk-taking and enterprise. But it’s exciting to see a nation that has a palpable sense of its own soul. It’s interesting to see what a powerful force a national poet can be. Long dead, Martí is a precious resource who unifies amid disagreement and fortifies in hard times. Every nation needs to know who it is and what its collective story is. I wonder if the current U.S. malaise has something to do with the way we have lost touch with our own national poets, or even a common sense of who they might be.
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COLUMN
The issue with Saudi Arabia By TRUDY RUBIN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
How do you solve a problem like Saudi Arabia? President Barack Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia this week will have little impact on the mounting American hostility toward the Saudis. Now that the United States is no longer dependent on Riyadh for oil, U.S. officials feel free to vent the pent-up anger that has been building for years. The most recent example is the bill in Congress that would allow Americans to sue the Saudi government if it was found to have played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks — 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudis. Meantime, Obama may finally release 28 redacted pages of a 2002 congressional report on the attacks that may or may not implicate some Saudi officials. Mind you, the 9/11 Commission found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials funded the attack. And if U.S. law were changed to permit bringing suit against a country, other nations would do the same to us. Yet the congressional bill reflects a growing frustration at the hard-line Saudi version of Islam that has contributed in one way or another to the growth of jihadi terrorism. The legislation is a symptom of our failure to address the real Saudi problem, which no U.S. leader has figured out how to resolve. The problem is bigger than the fact that Saudi charities and sheikhs have helped finance Islamists. The desert monarchy has curbed such support in recent years, and other Gulf countries are also conduits of funds. The existential threat revolves around the Saudis’ determination, over the past three decades, to spread their harsh Wahhabi variant of Islam around the world.
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The problem is bigger than the fact that Saudi charities and sheikhs have helped finance Islamists. The desert monarchy has curbed such support in recent years, and other Gulf countries are also conduits of funds.” — Trudy Rubin, columnist
Wahhabism is a product of a long-ago deal between the tribal founders of Saudi Arabia and the 18th-century Sunni preacher, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. This religious strain scorns other faiths, detests Shiite Muslims and praises jihad. Saudi schools teach intolerance, and the monarchy permits hard-line imams to export their poison on the Internet. Since the 1980s, Saudi Arabia has spent a fortune building mosques and religious schools in other Muslim countries, while sending Saudi imams to promote fundamentalist thinking. I have seen the negative impact: on the West Bank in the 1980s; in Central Asia, Bosnia, and Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1990s; and in Pakistan, where for three decades Saudi-funded madrassas have trained generations of Taliban. The Saudis defend themselves by claiming they are the targets of al-Qaida and the Islamic State. But their religious ideology has laid the theological groundwork for such violent jihadis. The main difference between them is that those groups consider current Arab regimes to be insufficiently faithful to these puritan precepts and deserving of destruction. Obama recognizes the Saudi problem. Last year, according to a much-discussed article in the Atlantic Monthly, the president complained that Saudi
funding of religious schools and seminaries in Indonesia had moved that country from a more tolerant Islam to the more extreme Saudi version. "Aren’t the Saudis your friends?" the president was asked. "It’s complicated," Obama supposedly replied. True. But that doesn’t explain why presidents from both parties have gone along with Saudi proselytizing for decades. The answer, of course, is that, in the past, the Saudis provided things that U.S. presidents wanted. Of course there was oil, and — with some spectacular exceptions — the Saudis kept prices stable and supplies flowing. And there was money: the Saudis helped Ronald Reagan finance the Afghan war against the Soviets (even though they funneled the funds to the worst Afghan fundamentalist groups). The Saudis also paid for most of the first Gulf War. They make huge purchases of U.S. weapons. End even today — at a time when Americans want Mideast rulers to take greater responsibility for stabilizing their region — presidential candidates from both U.S. political parties are urging the Saudis to do more to fight the Islamic State. Never mind that what the Saudis have done already has only made the civil war in Syria — and Yemen — worse.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
So how do you solve a problem like Saudi Arabia? I wish I had an answer. But for starters, it’s time to get the problem out into the public sphere. Obama should release the 28 redacted pages, so the public can finally see if there is any smoke. Even the Saudis have been asking for years to have the pages declassified. Beyond that, this White House and the next must get realistic about what to expect from Saudi Arabia. It would be lovely to imagine that Saudi rulers could "find an effective way to share the neighborhood and institute some sort of cold peace (with Iran)," as Obama urged in the Atlantic Monthly. But this ain’t going to happen anytime soon, not just because the Sunni Saudis fear and loathe Iran’s Shiite ayatollahs, but because the feeling is mutual. Rather than hope for miracles, the next president should assume that a larger regional role for the Saudis will only increase the level of sectarian conflict — until Riyadh and Tehran finally tire of this folly. U.S. policy will have to accept this hard truth. If that happy day comes when both sides are ready for a truce, the Saudis should be pressured to help finance the reconstruction of Syria and Yemen. But long before that, the next president should promote an intensified debate within both Western and Muslim countries on how to prevent Saudi proselytizing from poisoning the minds of innumerable young Muslims. "There is a violent, radical, fanatical, nihilistic interpretation of Islam by a faction — a tiny faction — within the Muslim community that is our enemy, and that has to be defeated," Obama told the Atlantic. The Saudis must be discouraged from helping that faction to grow.
National
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
GOP takes on library over terminology By ANDREW TAYLOR
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Triple homicide victims identified By PAUL DAVENPORT AND TERRY TANG
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Congress may not be able to reform the immigration system, fix the broken tax code or even pass a budget. But it’s telling the Library of Congress how to label immigrants living in the country illegally. That’s how conservative Republicans are responding to a move by the library to drop the term “illegal alien” in favor of “noncitizens” or “unauthorized immigration” for cataloging and search purposes. The move came in response to a petition from the American Library Association to change immigration-related search terms to make them less judgmental. The library’s move, announced in a three-page statement last month, was met with outrage from conservatives, who asked that a provision to block it be added to legislation that funds the legislative branch and its agencies, which include the Library of Congress. “This needless policy change by the Library of Congress embodies so much of what taxpayers find enraging about Washington,” said Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., in a statement introducing similar legislation. “By trading common-sense language for sanitized politicalspeak, they are caving to the whims of left-wing special interests and attempting to mask the grave threat that illegal immigration poses to our economy, our national security, and our sovereignty.” The library makes cataloging changes 3,000-4,000 times a year, says Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the top Democrat
Photo by Susan Walsh | AP file
Congress is telling the Library of Congress how to label immigrants living in the country illegally. on the legislative funding panel. She says the move inserts a “poison pill” into a normally nonpartisan annual funding bill. “The Library is in the business of language and nomenclature and should be free to make these decisions outside of the political spectrum,” said Wasserman Schultz. She likened it to dropping archaic words like “negro” and “oriental.” “What is so controversial about asking the library to use references that are found in the United States Code?” countered Rep. Tom Graves, RGa., who inserted the provision into the spending bill this week. In fact, the library said in a March 26 statement that “the phrase illegal aliens has taken on a pejorative tone in recent years” and added that “aliens” can be confusing since it can also mean beings from another planet. The bill funding the operations of Congress is the most obscure and little-watched of the 12 annual appropriations bills, making news only because it contains a freeze on lawmakers’ pay and permits sledding on the Capitol grounds. But the legislative branch mea-
sure is closely watched by congressional leaders and is one of a handful of the bills that’s usually guaranteed to enjoy bipartisan support. Injecting politics into it is frowned upon. The immigration issue is but one of many policy topics that are added to the annual spending bills. As the appropriations work gets under way, the Senate is in the unusual position of taking the lead. The appropriations process, once a dominant feature of Congress’ annual schedule, has withered in recent years, with Congress resorting to rolling the traditionally separate measures into a single giant, must-pass spending negotiated in secret at year’s end, rather than through open debate and amendment over many months. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has made reviving the appropriations process a priority. The first few bills to make it through the Senate pipeline have been mostly free of what Democrats call “poison pill riders,” despite opportunities to try to block environmental regulations or President Barack Obama’s mostly symbolic executive order on gun violence.
PHOENIX — Three homicide victims found dead in trailers on a desert property in western Arizona were identified Friday as Washington state residents, including a married couple about to return home. The victims included 83-year-old Lester Lindsay and 76-year-old Ella Lindsay, a married couple from Wenatchee, the La Paz County Sheriff ’s Office said Friday. The third victim was identified as 81-year-old Alice Boyd of Bingen. Jim Harris, a son-inlaw of the Lindsays who lives in Snohomish, Washington, said the couple was due back in the area in a week. The family, which includes six children and numerous grandchildren, usually gathers around Mother’s Day. Harris declined to comment further. A woman who said she was a daughter-in-law of Boyd declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. The woman didn’t give her name during a brief phone call. A sheriff ’s deputy investigating burglaries found the dead victims late Sunday in two residences on a desert property that a sheriff ’s spokesman has described as a getaway spot. No arrest has been made in the killings, but authorities have called a Phoenix man arrested in a shooting incident early Wednesday morning in a Phoenix suburb an investigative lead in the La Paz County case. Police say the man, 24year-old Kitage Lynch, had a car belonging to one of the victims and a gun
Photo by Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office | AP
This undated photo provided by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office shows Kitage Lynch. stolen from the La Paz County location when he was arrested after allegedly shooting at two Glendale police officers investigating a report of a man firing a gun in a field. Neither officer was injured. Court records don’t list a defense attorney who could comment on the allegations against Lynch, who is jailed on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm in city limits. Investigators hadn’t found any link between Lynch and the La Paz County property or anybody else associated with the property, said Sheriff ’s Lt. Curt Bagby, spokesman for the La Paz County Sheriff ’s Office. “We think it was absolute-
ly 100 percent random,” he said. While the three victims were from out of state, other people known to stay on the property are from the Phoenix area and use it for weekend escapes, Bagby said. Investigators don’t yet have results of checks of fingerprints found at the scene, where there were indications of struggles, he said. Investigators haven’t found anything indicating there was more than one killer, Bagby also said. Investigators’ preliminary conclusions were that the victims were fatally shot, but they had unspecified injuries as well as gunshot wounds and autopsy results on causes of death weren’t available, Bagby said.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 6A
Ribereña en Breve PAC La Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Zapata se presentó en la escuela Primaria A.L. Benavides a fin de distribuir material educativo durante la reunión PAC. El objetivo es orientar a las familias integrantes del Zapata County ISD.
TORNEO DE PESCA El sábado 23 de abril se realizará el torneo de pesca Bass Champs Fishing Tournament, en Zapata County Public Boat Ramp desde las 8 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m.
TORNEO DE SÓFTBOL Un torneo de sóftbol tendrá lugar el 23 de abril en Zapata. Lo recaudado será a favor de Alejandro Cañedo, para la adquisición de una prótesis ya que perdió una pierna en un accidente. Habrá equipos femeninos y masculinos. Cuota 150 dólares. Informes en 956-2513075.
ZAPATAN OF THE YEAR Zapata High School, 2009 SHW 16, informa que el sábado 23 de abril se celebrará la ceremonia “2016 Zapatan of the Year” honrando a Roberto O. Hein. El evento será en la misma preparatoria en horario de 3 p.m. a 5 p.m.
MISSION FEST El 15º aniversario de MissionFest se llevará a cabo en la Iglesia Católica Mission San José, en 701 E Pyron Ave. en San Antonio, a partir de las 11 a.m. Habrá diversión, comida y música.
REUNIÓN COMISIONADOS DEL CONDADO
SÁBADO 23 DE ABRIL DE 2016
RECHAZAN CÓDIGO PARA DETERMINAR SEGURIDAD FRONTERIZA
CASO BLUNTSON
Descoloridos “
Inicia etapa para castigo
POR ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO, California — Hace cinco años, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos abandonó su sistema de colores para clasificar amenazas, desarrollado tras los atentados del 11 de septiembre de 2001 y que provocó confusión y burlas generalizadas. De modo que, ¿qué hizo la agencia cuando el secretario Jeh Johnson encargó en 2014 una evaluación de la seguridad en las fronteras del país? La agencia propuso otro sistema de rojos, amarillos y verdes. La consultora Institute for Defense Analyses fue contratada por el Departamento (DHS, por sus siglas en inglés) para revisar la idea y determinó que la clasificación era simplista y desinformaba, señalando que los colores habían sido un “desastre” para comunicar amenazas terroristas. “El DHS debería aprender de su propia historia y evitar repetir el error”, indicó la consultora en su informe de 53 páginas. La propuesta de Seguridad Nacional nunca se hizo pública, y tampoco el reporte. Associated Press tuvo acceso a una copia, y cuando AP preguntó esta semana a la agencia si seguiría adelante con la nueva clasificación, la portavoz Gillian Christensen dijo: “En este momento, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional no está considerando índices ni mediciones basadas en colores”. Se trata de uno de los intentos más recientes del gobierno de buscar una forma de medir la seguridad de fronteras y ayudar al público a comprender si los miles de millones de dólares dedicados cada año a este fin se gastan sabiamente.
Me parece una simplificación exagerada de un problema muy complejo”. JOHN SANDWEG, ASESOR
El DHS puso fin en 2010 a un experimento de cinco años que medía las millas bajo “control operativo” en las que era probable que la Patrulla Fronteriza capturara a personas que cruzaban la frontera de forma no autorizada. El proyecto sólo informó sobre un 40% controlado en 2010, dando material a los que afirman que la frontera es porosa. Después, en 2013, la predecesora de Johnson, Janet Napolitano, abandonó los planes para lo que se conoció como Índice de Condiciones de Frontera, que se habría determinado en función de varios aspectos, como datos económicos, de seguridad y de delincuencia. John Sandweg, que fue asesor destacado de Napolitano, dijo que había un consenso interno sobre los elementos incluidos en el índice, pero no sobre cuánto debía pesar cada factor. Sandweg, que asesoraba a la secretaria cuando se abandonó el sistema de alerta terrorista por colores, dijo que no ve el valor de emplear un sistema similar para la frontera. “Me parece una simplificación exagerada de un problema muy complejo”, afirmó.
Los consultores contratados por Johnson estaban de acuerdo. “La formulación rojo/amarillo/verde, aunque atractiva por lo intuitivo y fácil de comprender, expondrá al Departamento a acusaciones de que está manipulando un problema complejo en un esfuerzo por que parezca que responde a las preocupaciones del público”, indicó el informe. Cuanto el informe se completó en junio, California y New Mexico/Texas oeste habían sido verdes (riesgo bajo) durante el trimestre anterior, Arizona amarillo (riesgo medio) y el sur de Texas era rojo (riesgo alto). La consultora apuntó que la realidad tenía más matices. “Un nuevo sistema de medición debería ir en contra de esta percepción simplista en lugar de reforzarla. En cambio, el nuevo índice hace lo contrario al clasificar el nivel de seguridad de fronteras en sólo tres grandes categorías de las que dos (rojo y amarillo) probablemente serán percibidas por el público como prueba de que una frontera está ’incontrolada’’’, señaló el informe. El baremo más seguido ahora sobre el tema es la cifra de detenciones de la Patrulla Fronteriza, publicada de forma anual. El número cayó el año pasado a su punto más bajo en 44 años, una cifra que emplean los que defienden que la frontera es relativamente segura. Pero hay un acuerdo generalizado sobre que ese recuento de detenciones ofrece una imagen incompleta, del mismo modo que el número de detenciones de un departamento de policía no refleja por completo cómo de segura es una ciudad. El informe de la consultora recomendaba desarrollar una tabla de números clave, como hacen muchas comisarías.
MIGUEL ALEMÁN, MÉXICO
FESTIVAL CANNES
La Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata celebrará su reunión el lunes 25 de abril de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en el Zapata County Courthouse. Pida informes en el 956-765-9920.
Demond Bluntson ha sido declarado culpable del homicidio de los dos hijos de su novia en un cuarto de hotel local en 2012. Después de deliberar durante casi tres horas el jueves, el jurado en la Corte de Distrito 49 culpó a Bluntson de dos cargos de homicidio capital y dos cargos de asalto agraviado contra un servidor público. La lectura en voz alta del veredicto no incitó reacción de parte de Bluntson, BLUNTSON quien al final decidió no testificar durante la parte de culpable o no culpable del juicio. El veredicto no tomó por sorpresa al abogado principal de Bluntson, José Eduardo Peña. “Es básicamente un caso indefendible”, dijo. Él dijo que la única defensa posible en el caso hubiera sido declararse con demencia. “Es un estándar muy difícil porque un acusado puede ser un enfermo mental, pero si reconoce que su conducta estuvo mal, entonces, bajo la definición legal de demencia, no puede ser una defensa”, agregó. Peña dijo que esa era la situación que tenía en el caso de Bluntson. “Su enfermedad mental no llega al nivel de la definición legal de demencia”, dijo.
Fase de sentencia
RECOLECCIÓN DE MEDICAMENTOS La Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Zapata y la DEA realizarán el evento nacional Pill Take Back (recolección de medicamentos) el 30 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el Palacio de Justicia del Condado de Zapata. Se buscan medicamentos caducos o que ya no se estén utilizando a fin de retirarlos de forma apropiada. Informes en la oficina de SCAN en el 765-3555.
CONCURSO DE DIBUJO El Sistema DIF de Miguel Alemán, México, invita al Quinto concurso de dibujo sobre trabajo infantil. Habrá dos categorías (Categoría A para niños y niñas de 6 a 12 años de edad; y, Categoría B, para niños y niñas de 13 a 17 años de edad). El dibujo se debe realizar en media cartulina blanca (35cm x 50cm), utilizar colores de madera, plumones, óleo, acuarela o colores de cera, y anexar en un sobre una descripción con una propuesta para eliminar las peores formas de trabajo infantil. La propuesta debe ser de dos a cuatro párrafos en letra de molde legible. Incluir al reverso del dibujo su título, nombre completo del participante (como indica el acta de nacimiento), edad, grado escolar, nombre de la escuela, teléfono, domicilio particular, y municipio. La fecha límite para entregar el trabajo es el 13 de mayo en las oficinas del DIF-Miguel Alemán, calle Puerto de Chetumal # 130 en la Colonia Jardines de San Germán. Más información llamando al 972-0155.
POR PHILIP BALLI TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía
La imagen presenta una escena del cortometraje ‘Volver’ de Juan Pablo Cantú, un joven de Miguel Alemán, México.
Producción regional ‘Volver’ crea expectativa TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Perseverancia es la palabra que mejor define a todos los involucrados en el cortometraje ‘Volver’ que será parte de la Muestra de Cortometrajes ‘Corner’ en el Festival de Cannes 2016. Bajo la dirección de Juan Pablo Cantú, de 29 años, originario de Miguel Alemán, México, ‘Volver’ cuenta con la actuación de Ava Garza, alumna en R.T. Barrera Elementary School en Roma, Texas. El Festival de Cannes se realizará del 11 al 22 de mayo en Francia. De acuerdo a la sinópsis de la cinta en el canal oficial de YouTube, el cortometraje narra la historia de Isa (interpretada por Garza). “Isa (es) una niña que sufre la transformación del paso de la vida a la muerte. Entre tristeza y angustia, todo cambia cuando camino al cielo se encuentra con su abuelita. Es una historia de amor, fe y esperanza. Entrañable y
Foto de cortesía
La imagen muestra la escena del encuentro entre Isa (Ava Garza) y su abuela (María Machy Torres) en el cortometraje ‘Volver’. sensible”, se lee en la sinópsis. Garza tenía 5 años de edad cuando participó en la cinta, de acuerdo a la página en Facebook del Roma Independent School District “¡Qué gran logro! Ava esperamos que logres tu
sueño de viajar a Francia y verte a ti misma en la pantalla grande!”, se lee en la publicación. “Volver”, con duración de 9 minutos, inició grabaciones el 13 de abril del 2014, de acuerdo al sitio El Chilito News. En aquel momento Can-
tú reveló que era momento de dar el siguiente paso para producir y dirigir largometrajes. “Estoy muy contento con el trabajo que estamos logrando, junto a un excelente equipo de trabajo que está ayudando”, Cantú ha estado escribiendo cortometrajes durante 4 años, sumando más de 15 en total. Algunas obras suyas son “Lila en su Muerte”; “Betty” del 2007; y, “Decidí no dejarte venir” del 2008 que participará también en el Festival de Cannes. Además ha podido trabajar con los actores Bruno Bichir y Maricruz Nájera. A los 18 años se fue a Monterrey para estudiar producción cinematográfica en “The Filmworkshops Monterrey”. Además de Garza, actúan Gerardo Alvarado, de Reynosa, México; Yuliana Barco y José Roberto Cáceres, de Monterrey, México; así como María Machy Torres, Karla Caridad Gómez.
El caso fue presentado por el Fiscal de Distrito Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz, la primera subfiscal de distrito Marisela Jacaman y los abogados asistentes de distrito Cristina Alva y Philip Del Rio. Alaniz dijo que la fiscalía estaba complacida con el veredicto. Espera que la fase de castigo del juicio tarde casi dos semanas. “Ahora procedemos a la fase de sentencia del caso, donde el jurado tendrá dos opciones”, dijo él. “La primera opción es cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad bajo palabra. La otra opción sería recomendar la pena de muerte”. Durante la siguiente semana, los fiscales presentarán evidencia que ayude al jurado en su decisión. De acuerdo con Alaniz, ellos esperan traer a más de 20 testigos quienes testificarán acerca de los antecedentes criminales de Bluntson, así como delitos ajenos por los cuales no fue procesado o condenado. Los testigos también proveerán declaraciones de impacto sobre las víctimas y la evidencia de personalidad con relación a Bluntson. Peña dijo que la fase de castigo será mucho más extensa que la fase de culpable-inocente porque “eso es realmente de lo que se trata el caso”. “En cuanto a culpable o inocente, es un caso muy sencillo”, dijo. “Es el castigo lo que se extenderá”. La única evidencia que él espera presentar son los antecedentes familiares de Bluntson en forma de una declaración video grabada por la madre de Bluntson y el testimonio de su hermano, Chadwick Bluntson. Peña dijo que él no realizara declaraciones de apertura sino hasta que la fiscalía concluya. “Es mejor no dar a conocer nuestra estrategia hasta que escuchemos todo su caso completo”, dijo.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
Zentertainment
PAGE 7A
Accuser tries Prince death investigation to pursue Cosby lawsuit By JEFF BAENEN AND AMY FORLITI ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MARYCLAIRE DALE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — A former teen actress is appealing a ruling that threw out her defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby that involves claims the actor drugged and molested her. Renita Hill, 48, argues that Cosby and others defamed her when they challenged accusations made by Hill and other women who went public in 2014. Cosby, his wife and lawyer made separate statements that painted the women as liars and extortionists, the lawsuit said. Hill argues that the Cosby camp knew the accusations were true. “All three statements are defamatory because they imply that Ms. Hill lied about being sexually assaulted,” lawyer George M. Kontos wrote in the appeal filed Friday to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge had dismissed her suit in January after ruling that the Cosby camp’s comments were protected by the First Amendment. However, a fellow judge in Massachusetts has allowed a similar defamation suit filed by seven Cosby accusers to move forward. Cosby remains free on $1 million bail in his Pennsylvania criminal case, where he is charged with drugging
Photo by Mel Evans | AP file
In this file photo, comedian Bill Cosby arrives for a court appearance. A former teen actress is appealing a ruling that threw out her defamation lawsuit against Cosby. and assaulting a Temple University basketball team employee at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. He has asked an appeals court to dismiss the case. Hill’s lawsuit states that Cosby drugged and molested her, starting when she was 16, after they met on the TV show, “Picture Pages,” in 1983. His lawyer did not immediately return messages Friday about the appeal. About 50 women who have come forward to say Cosby forced unwanted sexual contact on them decades ago. Cosby, who played Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992, has denied the allegations.
MINNEAPOLIS — Prince talked dirty in song but had a reputation for clean living. He also had an ability to put on shows that were electrifying in their athleticism. But after his death at age 57 — following a series of canceled shows and a reported emergency plane landing for medical treatment — questions swirled Friday over whether the music superstar had been hiding serious health problems from his fans. An autopsy was conducted Friday and the body released to his family. Authorities said it could be weeks before the cause of death is released. But Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said Prince’s body had no signs of violence when he was found unresponsive Thursday morning in an elevator at Paisley Park, his estate in suburban Minneapolis, and there was nothing to suggest it was suicide. “This is certainly a big event internationally and nationally, and I can tell you that we are going to leave no stone unturned with this and make sure the public knows what happened,” Olson said at a news conference. Olson and a medical examiner’s office spokeswoman refused to say whether any prescription drugs were taken from Prince’s home after his death, and they would not comment on a report by the celebrity website TMZ that the “Purple Rain” star had suffered an overdose of a powerful painkiller less than a week before he died. Emergency crews who answered the 911 call in Chanhassen, about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis,
Photo by Jim Mone | AP
A fan takes a selfie by the Prince star and memorial at First Avenue on Friday in Minneapolis where he often performed. could not revive Prince, the sheriff said. He said emergency workers did not administer Narcan, a drug they carry to counteract overdoses. Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, had spoken about struggling with childhood epilepsy, and friends said he had hip trouble. His former percussionist Sheila E. told The Associated Press that Prince suffered the effects from years of jumping off risers and speakers on stage while wearing high heels. “There was always something kind of bothering him, as it does all of us,” she said. “I hurt every single day. You know we’re like athletes, we train, and we get hurt all the time. We have so many injuries.” Prince’s cousin Chazz Smith said he could not comment on reports about Prince’s health and would not say when he last saw his cousin. “I can tell you this: What I know is that he was perfectly healthy,” said Smith, who formed a band with Prince when they were kids. Smith said Prince swore off drugs and alcohol as a kid, and the group they played with saw a lot of music greats fall, so “we decided to never get into that stuff, and no one did.”
TMZ, citing unidentified sources, reported that Prince received treatment for an overdose of Percocet while traveling home from concerts in Atlanta last week. The site said his plane made an emergency landing April 15 in Moline, Illinois, where he was briefly hospitalized. Asked whether Prince’s flight made such a landing at the Quad City Airport in Moline, public safety manager Jeff Patterson said Friday that a private Falcon 900 plane made a “medical diversion landing” at 1:17 a.m. that day. He said the plane requested an ambulance at the airport and a patient was taken to the hospital. Patterson would not identify the patient or the plane’s owner, or provide the aircraft’s tail number. Representatives for Prince did not respond to requests from the AP for comment on the reports. The singer’s death came two weeks after he canceled concerts in Atlanta, saying he wasn’t feeling well. He then played a pair of makeup shows April 14 in that city, apologizing to the crowd shortly after coming on stage. At one point early in his first show, he briefly disappeared from the stage without explanation. After about
a minute he returned and apologized, saying he didn’t realize how emotional the songs could be. He played the rest of the show without incident, repeatedly jumping up from the piano and pacing around the stage between songs, and performed three encores. In the later show, Prince coughed a few times, though the show was again energetic. Then came the reported emergency landing en route to Minnesota. The night after that, Prince hosted a dance party at Paisley Park, where some fans said he looked fine and seemed irked by reports of an illness. “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers,” he said. By his high-energy standards, it was a subdued appearance. Prince didn’t play except to tap out a few notes on a new purple Yamaha piano, and lingered only for a few minutes before disappearing. Prince was slated to perform two surprise “pop-up” shows earlier this week at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis but canceled last week because of health concerns, promoter Steve Litman said. Prince disclosed in a 2009 interview with Tavis Smiley that he was born an epileptic and had seizures when he was young. It was unclear if his epilepsy carried into adulthood. In 2009, Prince, a Jehovah’s Witness, told an interviewer with the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t do drugs “or I’d give you a joint” to share while they listened to music. Heather McElhatton, who worked on and off as a set decorator for Prince’s video shoots at Paisley Park from 1988 to 1998, said she never saw him take drugs or drink
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
Ecuadoreans wait Searchers looking for for food and water victims in collapse By JENNY BARCHFIELD
By CRISTIAN KOVADLOFF
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANOA, Ecuador — Ecuadoreans slept outside and struggled to find food and water Friday in the wake of aftershocks that are still rocking coastal towns flattened by last weekend’s powerful earthquake. South America’s deadliest earthquake in more than a decade destroyed virtually all of the simple oneand two-story buildings making up the beach town of Canoa last Saturday. Residents sleeping in makeshift shelters said they were praying that it didn’t rain. A magnitude-6.0 aftershock struck off the coast late Thursday, followed by more shaking that sent people running from the structures left half-standing after the initial quake. Local television stations showed people crying in fear, and President Rafael Correa reminded residents that aftershocks were to be expected and urged them to stay calm and strong. In Canoa, 98 percent of buildings were destroyed during the original magnitude-7.8 quake, army Col. Jose Nunez said. The palm tree-lined beach towns along Ecuador’s coast are usually bustling with tourists who come from all over the world to take in the tropical beauty. But this week, they
Photo by Rodrigo Abd | AP
Residents work to salvage what they can from an earthquakedamaged home before bulldozers mow it down. are filled with grim-faced residents waiting for water and food, sometimes going away empty handed after hours in the sun. Like aid workers and rescuers, residents wear masks against the dust and the stench in the air. The death count rose to at least 602 on Friday, surpassing the dead from Peru’s 2007 earthquake and making this the deadliest quake in South America since a 1999 tremor in Colombia killed more than 1,000 people. Ecuadorean officials listed 130 people as still missing and the number of people left homeless climbed to over 25,000. Mercedes Murillo folded clothes Thursday in a makeshift shelter on a Canoa soccer field where she is living with 50 other families. “It’s so hard, especially with the children, with all this dust, and sleeping outside. We’re thanking God
that it’s not raining,” she said as she struggled to hold back tears. Local media reported that some tourists staying near Canoa had come to the village to help. Rescuers continued to comb through rubble on streets that looked at if they had been bombed, but time was running out for finding survivors. Aid workers have said there are plenty of supplies arriving from abroad. Eighty-six metric tons of relief items from UNICEF landed in Quito on Thursday night, including 10,000 fleece blankets, 300 plastic tarps, large tents and insecticide-treated nets, among other things. But the relief workers warned of delays in water distribution and said mosquito-borne illness could spread through the camps. Correa has said the earthquake caused $3 billion in damage.
Deadly airstrikes hit Syria as talks stall ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT — At least 18 people were killed Friday when airstrikes hit several rebel-held neighborhoods in Syria’s contested northern city of Aleppo, anti-government activists said, an escalation that placed added strain on a fragile ceasefire. Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and former commercial center, has seen sporadic clashes since the cease-fire took effect in late February, as government troops have advanced, boxing in opposition-held areas from all sides except for a corridor from the northwestern edge of the city. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 19 people were killed in the airstrikes in Aleppo’s Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood and other parts of the city controlled by rebels. The Observatory described the series of airstrikes as the most intense on the city since the cease-fire began. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist-operated media outlet, said at least 18 people were killed in Friday’s airstrikes. The February cease-fire has been teetering amid rising violence, and U.N.brokered talks in Geneva to
resolve the conflict have been bogged down, with the Saudi-backed opposition delegation recently suspending its participation. The High Negotiations Committee, which represents most of the opposition at the U.N.-brokered talks, accuses the government of repeatedly violating the U.S. and Russianbrokered cease-fire, illegally detaining thousands of people and blocking humanitarian aid access. France’s foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, warned that the negotiations over Syria’s political future have entered a “danger zone.” Speaking with reporters in Paris, he said that humanitarian access to besieged areas “must be total” and that there have been “too many fetters.” The Syrian government’s envoy to peace talks in Geneva, Bashar Ja’afari, defended his government’s record on humanitarian aid, lashing out at the opposition for shedding “crocodile tears” about alleged lapses. Ja’afari spoke to reporters at U.N. offices in Geneva where indirect peace talks and other meetings on Syria’s crisis have been held in recent months. He said his delegation will
meet with U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura again on Monday. The U.N. envoy meanwhile said the current round of talks will continue until “probably Wednesday, as originally planned.” But he said the two sides are “extremely polarized” and the cease-fire is in trouble. De Mistura told reporters the hobbled peace process needs support from a group of countries known as the International Syria Support Group, led by the U.S. and Russia, and called on that body to reconvene at ministerial level. The envoy also took issue with the government’s claim that it was not besieging any towns or villages. He said the international community counts 18 priority besieged areas in Syria: 15 by the government, two by the armed opposition, and one by the Islamic State group. De Mistura acknowledged that his estimate — made on Swiss TV a day earlier — that Syria’s fiveyear war had taken 400,000 lives was “not verified.” The U.N. stopped officially counting the toll at an estimated 250,000 dead several months ago, insisting lack of access prevented the collection of accurate figures.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Searchers looked on Friday for more victims from the collapse of an elevated bike path that had been heralded as a top legacy project of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, while City Hall said it hired independent agencies to study the cause of the accident. A 50-meter (164-foot) stretch of the threemonth-old, oceanfront Tim Maia bike path fell Thursday after it was apparently hit by a powerful wave. Helicopters fished the bodies of two victims from the ocean, and the head of the fire department’s maritime rescue units said Friday that boats, helicopters and planes were continuing to search the water. Local news reports cited witnesses as saying a total of five people might have been on that section of the bike path when a large wave swept up a rocky cliff, lifted it off support beams and sent it plunging onto the rocks and sea below. Those reports prompted speculation that the section might not have been properly attached to the beams. Shoddy construction is a perennial problem in Brazil, where graft is a fixture of many construction projects. Engineers have also raised the possibility that the bike path failed to plan for violent swells despite them being a fairly regular occurrence in the waters off Rio. In a statement, City Hall said a top local engineering school and a federal water research agency would inspect the length of the bike path in
Photo by Renata Brito | AP
Rescue workers carry away the body of a person who died when a bike lane collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday. an effort to find the cause of the accident and determine what needs to be done to prevent similar occurrences. The agencies are expected to produce their report within 30 days. In the meantime, the bike path will remain closed. They agencies also inspect an extension of the bike path that is currently under construction, the statement said. “We are going to find out the responsibilities, wherever they lie,” Municipal Executive Secretary Pedro Paulo Carvalho said in the statement. In an interview early Friday with Globo television, Carvalho acknowledged that the path’s “engineering is under suspicion,” but added that “what we can’t do is get ahead of ourselves with a premature diagnosis.” Inaugurated with considerable fanfare Jan. 17, the Tim Maia bike path links the tony beachfront neighborhoods of Sao Conrado and Leblon, snaking along the coast high above the rocky cliffs and water. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes hailed the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) path as “the most beautiful bike path in the
world.” While no Olympic events were slated to be held on the path itself, it owed its construction to the Aug. 5-21 Olympics in Rio and was widely seen as one of the games’ most positive legacy projects. However, soon after its Jan. 17 inauguration, detractors began complaining that its narrowness made users vulnerable to muggers. Others complained about its cheap materials, pointing to pieces already rusting and parts of handrails gone missing. The project, initially budgeted at 35 million Brazilian reais ($10 million), ballooned by around 30 percent to 45 million Brazilian reais ($12.5 million) and was delivered six months late, the Rio newspaper O Globo reported Friday. The accident was the latest in a series of problems besetting preparations for the games, which include worries about an outbreak of the Zika virus, political turmoil that threatens to topple President Dilma Rousseff, underwhelming ticket sales and budget cuts amid Brazil’s worst recession in decades.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
McDonald’s value deals fuel comeback By LESLIE PATTON AND CRAIG GIAMMONA BLOOMBERG NEWS
McDonald’s Corp.’s turnaround is showing signs of gaining steam — helped by all-day breakfast, value deals and lower commodity prices — even as labor costs and other headwinds linger. The fast-food chain posted a 6.2 percent gain in same-store sales last quarter, the best performance in four years, and earnings topped analysts’ estimates. The results show Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook’s plan to revive the world’s largest restaurant chain is gathering momentum. Since taking the helm more than a year ago, he has revamped drivethru ordering, tweaked kitchen operations and slimmed down the menu. The company also has reignited U.S. sales with all-day breakfast and McPick twofor- $2 and two-for-$5 deals. “They’re getting back to why customers fell in love with the brand,” said Michael Halen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s really just basic blocking and tackling.” As part of the changes,
Photo by Saul Loeb | Getty Images
McDonald’s reported a big jump in first-quarter earnings fueled by all-day breakfast, value deals and lower commodity prices. Easterbrook even changed the font on order receipts. That makes it easier for workers to read special requests from customers, improving accuracy.
Challenges remain Yet challenges remain for the burger chain. Companywide revenue still declined last quarter, the seventh straight drop, and higher labor costs are pressuring its profit margins. McDonald’s also is embroiled in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over whether workers at its franchised
restaurants qualify as company employees, a change that threatens to upend its business model. McDonald’s shares, which rose as much as 2.1 percent early in the trading day, were up just 0.1 percent to $125.87 as of 3 p.m. in New York. McDonald’s had gained 6.5 percent this year through Thursday’s close, compared with a 2.3 percent advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. While revenue dropped 0.9 percent to $5.9 billion in the quarter, that beat analysts’ $5.81 billion average projection. Net income rose to $1.23 a share in the quar-
ter, the Oak Brook, Illinoisbased company said in a statement Friday. Analysts estimated $1.16, on average. Profit is getting a boost from lower prices for ingredients, such as beef, and that trend may continue. The company said it expects its “grocery bill” of 10 commodities to drop by as much as 4.5 percent in the U.S. this year, a larger decline than the company predicted in January. McDonald’s, which gets about two-thirds of its revenue from international locations, also is seeking to draw diners overseas with new food and deals. In Germany, it’s advertising a lowpriced basics menu, along with new double-chicken burgers topped with honey mustard. The company’s largest European markets, Germany, France and the U.K., are included in its international lead markets unit. In March, McDonald’s said it’s seeking partners in Asia to accelerate its growth plans. The Big Mac seller plans to add more than 1,500 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and Korea in the next five years. The company also recently said it’s trying to find stra-
tegic partners for Taiwan and Japan. Same-store sales, which show the performance of McDonald’s restaurants open at least 13 months, are considered a key indicator. The estimates were compiled by Consensus Metrix. Sales by that measure increased 5.4 percent in the U.S. Analysts projected a 4.6 percent gain. Same-store sales rose 5.2 percent in McDonald’s international lead markets unit, which includes the U.K., Australia and Canada. Analysts estimated a 4.1 percent increase. Comparable sales increased 3.6 percent in the high-growth markets. Analysts projected a 3.4 percent advance. Same-store sales rose 11 percent in the foundational markets segment, lifted by a rebound in Japan. Analysts estimated a 6.2 percent gain. “Our turnaround is taking hold,” Easterbrook said in the statement. “The ongoing investments we’re making in running great restaurants and delivering what matters most to our customers are beginning to yield sustained positive results.”
Oil climbs to five-month high By MARK SHENK AND ANGELINA RASCOUET BLOOMBERG NEWS
Oil advanced to a fivemonth high as declining U.S. crude production provided more evidence that the market is rebalancing. Futures rose 1.3 percent in New York, bringing this week’s gains to 8.3 percent. U.S. crude output dropped a sixth week, while production in Colombia fell last month. Lower prices have curbed investment in new fields. Schlumberger Ltd. cut more jobs in the first quarter as the world’s largest provider of oilfield services sees the industry in an unprecedented downturn. "What we’re hearing from the oil services companies is just carnage," said Scott Roberts, portfolio manager and co-head of high yield who manages $2.7 billion at Invesco Advisers Inc. in Atlanta. "The cutbacks are having a big impact on production. U.S. production.” The International Energy Agency reiterated on Thursday it expects nonOPEC output to fall by about 700,000 barrels a day this year, which would be the sharpest drop in a quarter century. U.S. production fell to 8.95 million barrels a day, the Energy Information Administra-
Photo by Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg
Railroad tanker cars sit outside an oil refinery in New Jersey, on Friday. Oil advanced to a five-month high as declining U.S. crude production provided more evidence that the market is rebalancing. tion said Wednesday. Colombian output slipped 4 percent in March to 916,000 barrels a day, according to the mines and energy ministry.
Rig count West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 55 cents to settle at $43.73a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gain capped a third-consecutive weekly increase. Total volume traded was 17 percent below the 100-day averageat 2:54 p.m. Brent crude for June settlement advanced 58 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $45.11 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe ex-
change. Prices climbed 4.7 percent this week. The global benchmark closed at a $1.38 premium to WTI. Energy shares followed futures higher with Southwestern Energy Co. having the biggest gain on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The S&P 500 Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Index climbed to the highest since Dec. 2. The lows of the first quarter are “likely behind us,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note dated April 22. Prices have risen from their lows amid a spate of large supply disruptions caused by pipeline outages and worker strikes, Goldman said. The number of active oil rigs fell to 343 this week,
the least since November 2009, according to Baker Hughes Inc. The number is down to less than a fourth of the 2014 peak.
Unprecedented disruption "The decline in global activity and the rate of activity disruption reached unprecedented levels as the industry displayed clear signs of operating in a fullscale cash crisis,” Schlumberger Ltd. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in a statement announcing firstquarter earnings Thursday. "This environment is expected to continue deteriorating over the coming
quarter given the magnitude and erratic nature of the disruptions in activity." The potential for further talks between OPEC members and other producers about a production freeze re-emerged at a conference in Paris on Thursday, even after the failure to reach an agreement in Doha last Sunday. The door is still open for cooperation between oil producers and an accord will be discussed at the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in June, Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, a Saudi oil ministry adviser, said at the Paris conference. "The view that the glut will clear this year is gaining traction," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York hedge fund focused on energy. "The freeze talk will probably amount to nothing but is providing support." Other oil-market news: Oil production has resumed at the Goliat field offshore Norway following a halt because of a gas leak, Eni Norge said in a statement The Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan remains on track to restart by the end of this year, according to the operating company. Production from that field is expected to ramp up initially to 180,000 barrels a day.
Fiat recalls 1.1M cars ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler said Friday it’s recalling more than 1.1 million cars and midsize SUVs worldwide because drivers can’t tell if they’ve put the vehicles in park. The confusion can increase the risk of a rollaway accident. The recall covers the 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans and the 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. FCA is recalling 811,586 vehicles in the U.S.; 52,144 vehicles in Canada; 16,805 in Mexico; and 248,667 outside North America. The vehicles have an electronic shift lever that moves forward or backward to let the driver select the gear instead of moving along a track. A light shows which gear is selected, but to get from “drive” to “park,” drivers must push the lever forward three times. The vehicles sound a chime and issue a dashboard warning if the driver’s door is opened while they aren’t in “park.” But the push-button ignition doesn’t shut off the engine, increasing the risk of the vehicles rolling away after drivers have exited. FCA said it’s aware of 41 injuries potentially related to the problem. The U.S. government opened an investigation into the vehicles in February after getting reports that they were rolling away when they were supposed to be parked. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the shift lever “is not intuitive and provides poor tactile feedback to the driver,” according to documents posted on the agency’s website. The agency had at least 121 reports of crashes related to the issue. Owners will be notified. Dealers will update the shifters so the vehicles won’t move once the driver has exited. They will also add enhanced warning signals. FCA says customers should carefully follow the instructions for operating their shifters until their vehicles are repaired. FCA changed the shifter design on the Charger and the 300 in the 2015 model year. It changed the Grand Cherokee’s shifter in the 2016 model year.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
PARADISE Continued from Page 1A donment surprised her — but what could they do except paddle? “I thought he was going to come with us, but he disappeared and left us. That wasn’t good,” she said. “So we came by ourselves.” She said she hadn’t seen her mother since she was 6 — eight years ago — in their native Guatemala, and nothing was going to keep Alejandra from reuniting with her in Houston. “I want to get to know her,” the diminutive teen said. “I don’t remember much about her.” Like the other undocumented kids traveling alone, Alejandra was to be given a “notice to appear” at an immigration court in the city where she has relatives — the largest city in Texas, in her case — and then released. Alejandra said a smuggler left her, her brother and a cousin in a boat to cross the Rio Grande alone. Alejandra’s story is at once remarkable and mundane: remarkable because three unchaperoned children riding, eating and sleeping on a bus for nine days and then paddling themselves away from a dangerous Mexican border town entails a unique blend of desperation and moxie, not to mention a mostly unseen but well-financed network of cartels and smugglers. Mundane because this happens every day in Roma, a popular smuggling corridor in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, which isn’t so much a valley but a sieve through which thousands of undocumented immigrants slip into the United States, making it the busiest illegal crossing point by far on the U.S-Mexico border.
Multiple inflatable rafts on the water. Emotionally shaken kids in the back of Border Patrol vans. Dope worth a quarter-million dollars on the street, dumped on the river’s edge. Roadside apprehensions. People running, swimming and shouting obscenities in and alongside a river shared by two countries. The Texas Tribune witnessed all that and more during an afternoon with a three-man public relations team from the U.S. Border Patrol in this heavily trafficked patch of borderland, where a surge of unaccompanied kids and families that began in 2014 keeps pushing apprehension numbers through the roof. “This is the way Roma usually is,” said Jose Perales, the Border Patrol agent who served as the Tribune’s main guide. “It’s busy.”
Waiting to cross The day didn’t start out that way — just as Perales predicted. He made it clear that he didn’t expect any action as long as the agency’s airboats were patrolling the river. As soon as those operations cease, he said early into the journey, “all the magic starts happening.” That’s when the smugglers start moving people and drugs. “Once the boats are out of the water, they feel safe,” Perales said. “They can bring them in jon boats or those inflatable rafts. They know their chances of getting apprehended while the boats are out [on the river] increases dramatically. So they’re not going to chance it.” “We’re not the popular guys down here. But we’re
not down here for a popularity contest,” said Jose Perales, a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Slick-bald and stocky, Perales is a 16-year veteran of the Border Patrol and considers himself a lifer now; one doesn’t have to wonder if he likes his job. He admits he gets off on the “adrenaline rush” of the chase, and he delights in showing the news media what agents like him go through every day — the long hours, the unforgiving terrain and climate, the scorn he sometimes feels from people who don’t exactly believe in their mission. Border Patrol Agent José Perales peers out across the Rio Grande in Roma, Texas, while searching for a group of five undocumented immigrants reported to have crossed the river in a raft from Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Mexico, on March 8, 2016. “We’re not the popular guys down here,” he says with a shrug. “But we’re not down here for a popularity contest.” As he spoke, the public relations fallout from a New York Times Magazine story, published five days earlier, was still reverberating throughout the sprawling agency: It recounted the tragedy that befell Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, an unarmed teen who was killed (shot 10 times from behind, the article said) in 2012 on the Mexican side by a Border Patrol agent standing in Nogales, Arizona. The agent has been charged with second-degree murder. Perales mentioned a different case — one involving an undocumented border crosser, Edgar Hugo Muñoz, who was charged with assaulting a federal officer af-
CRIME Continued from Page 1A ter allegedly overpowering a Border Patrol agent near McAllen, about an hour south of here, during an apprehension attempt gone awry on New Year’s Eve. According to court records published by Breitbart, the conservative news outlet, Muñoz punched and beat the agent with the agent’s baton before another agent arrived and helped arrest the Mexican national. The way Perales sees it, Americans often don’t see or understand the unique pressures agents face on the front lines of the border, including this mostly rural stretch sitting across the river from violence-wracked Tamaulipas state, where the powerful Gulf Cartel continues to square off with the rival Zetas for control of smuggling routes into the United States. “You have to do whatever you have to do to defend yourself. Sometimes you know, hey, you beat up somebody. Sometimes they beat you up,” he said. “It comes with the job ... They’re quick to say, ’The Border Patrol agent assaulted me.’”
A smuggler’s paradise Perales didn’t randomly select Roma, perched on the Rio Grande in impoverished Starr County, to give the Tribune a taste of what agents are up against. The town of roughly 10,000 people, whose colonial center and river vistas were featured in the 1952 film "Viva Zapata!," is something of a smuggler’s paradise. Thick brush and brambles, not to mention the invasive Carrizo cane that’s widely seen as an impediment to interdiction efforts, cover the river banks.
SECURITY Continued from Page 1A fense Analyses, a consulting firm, was hired by DHS to review the idea and found the index simplistic and misleading, noting that colors were a “disaster” for communicating terror threats. “DHS should learn from its own history and avoid repeating this error,” the consultants said in its 53page report. The DHS proposal was never made public, nor was the consulting firm’s $90,000 review. A copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press and when AP this week asked the agency whether it would move ahead with the index, spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said: “Currently, there are no color-coded border security indexes or metrics being considered by the Department of Homeland Security.” The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee criticized the color codes Friday while also emphasizing a need for better measurements. “DHS spent $90,000 on a question we already know the answer to,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican. “Measuring the security across our borders is complex and requires so-
phisticated and consistent metrics — not a series of colors.” It was one of the latest attempts by the government to come up with a way to measure border security and help the public understand whether the billions of dollars devoted to it each year are being spent wisely. In 2010, Homeland Security ended a five-year experiment measuring miles under “operational control,” where the Border Patrol was likely to capture illegal crossers. It reported only about 40 percent of the borders were controlled in 2010, providing ammunition to those who argue the border is porous. Then in 2013, Johnson’s predecessor, Janet Napolitano, abandoned plans for what was called the Border Conditions Index, which would have relied on various economic, crime and law enforcement data. John Sandweg, who was senior counselor to Napolitano, said there was internal consensus about what made up the index but not about how much weight to give each factor. Sandweg, who advised the secretary when the color terror-alert system was dropped, said he doesn’t see the value of a similar color-
coded approach to the border. “It seems to me like an oversimplification of a very complex problem,” he said. The consultants hired by Johnson agreed. “The red/yellow/green formulation, while intuitively attractive and easy to understand, will open the Department to charges that it is manipulating a complex problem in an effort to be seen as responding to public concerns,” the report said. When the report was completed in June, California and New Mexico/West Texas were green (low risk) during the previous quarter, Arizona was yellow (medium risk), and South Texas was red (high risk). The consultants said that reality was more nuanced. “A new set of metrics should work against this simplistic perception rather than reinforcing it. Instead, the new index does the opposite, by reporting the level of border security in just three large baskets, two of which (red and yellow) are likely to be seen by the public as evidence of a border ‘not controlled,’ " the report said. The consultants identified other problems. A color index might lead reporters with an appetite for eyecatching headlines to pro-
duce misleading stories of an out-of-control border. And DHS relations with Congress could be further strained, with administration officials constantly having to defend their color choices. For example, a West Texas congressman would demand to know why his district is rated low risk when voters tell him the opposite. A South Texas congressman would want lots more money if the administration acknowledges his district is high risk, the report said. Now, the most closelywatched public indicator is Border Patrol apprehensions, released annually. The number fell to a 44-year low last year, a figure cited by those who argue the border is relatively secure. But there is broad agreement that the apprehension tally gives an incomplete picture, just as a police department’s arrest count doesn’t fully reflect how safe a city is. The color-coded index would have relied on 12 indicators for land borders and seven for maritime borders, each one weighted under a formula that produces reds, yellows and greens. Those indicators ranged from the number of border crossers with known or suspected terrorist ties.
said. “When there’s any type of increase in any type of crime, we put resources towards that right away.” In the 30 largest cities in the country overall, the report found, the rate of violent crimes rose by 3 percent and the murder rate grew by 13 percent. In Texas, violent crime remained steady and the murder rate decreased more than 1 percent. The national increase in murders was attributed mainly to rises in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, D.C. “These serious increases seem to be localized, rather than part of a national pandemic, suggesting that community conditions remain the major factor,” the report states. Murder rates also vary widely from year to year, the report said, because the rates are generally so low that a small increase can lead to a large percentage change. In Houston, there was less overall crime and the violent crime rate decreased, but the murder rate jumped 23 percent, from 10.8 murders per
100,000 residents in 2014 to 13.3 in 2015, according to the report. “The number, even though it’s going up, is still within the range of normal, so it’s not a concern in that regard,” said Capt. Dwayne Ready of the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division. “Those increases come on the heels of a very low [rate] overall.” In 2011, Houston had 198 murders, the least since the FBI began reporting citywide crime data in 1985. Since then, the murder rate in Houston has increased each year, with 303 in 2015. “The numbers do go up and down,” Ready said. “We’re a long way from the ’80s.” In Texas and in the nation, crime spiked in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The national crime rate is now half of what it was in 1990, and almost a quarter less than it was at the turn of the century, according to the report. In 1991 in Houston, there were 608 murders, the highest since recording began, according to FBI statistics.
PLANT Continued from Page 1A from the city of Veracruz to scour Coatzacoalcos hospitals looking for her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz Villalobos, a 25-year-old worker at the plant. When she couldn’t find him she showed up at the plant entrance. “What I want is for justice to be done in my son’s case, for there to be no impunity,” Villalobos said. “I’m going to stay here. Even though I have no money, even though I have nothing to eat, I’m staying put.” Some volunteers brought food and drink to the families. After a while authorities began taking people inside in small groups to see a list of those confirmed dead. Some left crying after seeing their loved ones’ names. Pemex said Thursday night that it was prioritizing the safety of those inspecting the plant and teams were still gradually gaining access to more parts of the site. The blast forced evacuations of nearby areas as it sent a toxin-filled cloud billowing into the air and injuring more
than 100 workers. Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemex’s director, told Radio Formula that the explosion was caused by a leak of an as-yet unknown origin. Antonio Mariche, who accompanied the Villalobos family in search of Luis Alfonso, vowed that the families would demand a full account of what happened. “To the president, to the state governor, to the head of Pemex, we will not allow any more cover-ups like have happened with previous accidents,” Mariche said. “They have covered up the numbers (in the past); there have been people who disappeared and regrettably never appeared. ... We will go to the last consequences to make sure this doesn’t keep happening.” The Clorados 3 plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, where the explosion happened, produces the hazardous industrial chemical vinyl chloride. In early February, a fire killed a worker at the same facility.
Public Notice Region 11 of the Department of State Health Services, in partnership with the Texas Military Forces may conduct a health care program called “Operation Lone Star” in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata and Webb Counties. Free medical and dental services may be provided for up to one week in late July and/or early August 2018. Questions should be addressed to: Innovative Readiness Coordinator ATTN: 1SG Enrique Sanchez 2200 W 35th St, Bldg. 8, Rm A125 Austin, TX 78703 512-431-8343 J7, NCOIC, DOMOPS 1SG Co G 949BSB L-65
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Dallas needs plenty in draft Cowboys prepare for 2016 NFL Draft By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Brandon Wade | AP
While many thought the Cowboys would be looking for a quarterback in the NFL Draft with Tony Romo’s recent injuries, trades from the Rams and Eagles to the draft’s No. 1 and 2 spots likely eliminate their pursuit of Cal’s Jared Goff and North Dakota’s Carson Wentz.
IRVING — Tony Romo’s twice-broken left collarbone wasn’t the only problem for the Dallas Cowboys in their first-to-worst freefall to the bottom of the NFC East last season. Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones has said as much, and made it clear the Cowboys hope to address some of those issues in the NFL draft starting Thursday night. Dallas is at No. 4, its highest spot since having the top overall pick twice in three years from 1989-91, first getting Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, then defensive tackle Russell Maryland, another important piece for three Super Bowl winners. Defense tops the list again for the Cowboys, specifically a pass rush that has been mediocre or worse in recent years and will be weakened by at least one four-game suspension to start the season.
NBA: DALLAS MAVERICKS
“Our defensive front is still a position that we keep our eye on in terms of always trying to get better there and ultimately find a dominant type of pass rusher,” Jones said on his radio show this week. “Obviously that’s easier said than done.” It will be an intriguing opening night of the draft for the Cowboys. The drama of whether they’ll take the potential successor to Romo that high appears to be removed by the Rams and Eagles trading up to the top two picks, almost certainly to take quarterbacks. So the question shifts to the pass rush and Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, or perhaps Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott. And there’s always been the possibility of trading down, mostly because Jerry Jones appeared to be leaning that way minutes after a 4-12 season ended and the owner/general manager
See COWBOYS PAGE 2B
File photo by LM Otero | AP
Dallas’ need for a defensive end grew recently with starter DeMarcus Lawrence expected to be suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Fellow starter Randy Gregory is also suspended for the same infraction while last year’s starter Greg Hardy is a free agent.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Colabello suspended 80 games By IAN HARRISON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Ronald Martinez | Getty
Dirk Nowitzki was involved in one of many physical incidents from Game 3 as the Mavericks lost 131-102 at home to Oklahoma City.
Mavs upset with OKC’s physicality Dallas addresses and takes issue with incidents from Game 3 By EDDIE SEFKO THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle ramped up the gamesmanship Friday afternoon with some strong commentary on what he felt were physical incidents from Oklahoma City in Game 3 that crossed the line of legality within NBA rules. In particular, Carlisle was upset about an elbow thrown by the Thunder’s Kevin Durant that caught Mavericks’ center Salah Mejri in the chest while the two players were lined up for a freethrow attempt. "There were four, what I would categorize as,
non-basketball physical escalations that were initiated by them," Carlisle said, "including one intentional, unprovoked elbow at the free-throw line that I didn’t understand and I’ve never seen a guy like Kevin Durant ever do that to a player. "Ultimately, that led to two more escalations between the teams. So I’m concerned about that. There’s no place for that in our game. They were clearly the initiators last night. And we got to be more aggressive." Carlisle quickly add that the Mavericks had nobody to blame but themselves for the 131-
See MAVERICKS PAGE 2B
TORONTO — Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello was suspended Friday for 80 games without pay after testing positive for the same anabolic steroid that caused Philadelphia pitcher Daniel Stumpf to be disciplined last week. The commissioner’s office said Colabello tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, which is sold under the name Turinabol. “On March 13, I got one of the scariest and most definitely the least-expected phone calls of my entire life. I was informed by the players’ association that a banned substance was found in my urine,” Colabello said in a statement released by the
File photo by Chris O’Meara | AP
Toronto’s Chris Colabello has been suspended for 80 games without pay after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, which is sold under the name Turinabol. union. “I have spent every waking moment since that day trying to find an answer as to why or how?” Colabello is hitting .069 (2 for 29) with one RBI this season. While he was
beaned by Boston pitcher Steven Wright last Sunday, he missed only one game. He set career highs in several offensive categories last season as Toronto reached the playoffs for
the first time since 1993. Colabello hit .321 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs while playing in a career-high 101 games. “I would never compromise the integrity of the game of baseball,” Colabello said. “I am saddened more for the impact this will have on my teammates, the organization and the fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. I hope that before anyone passes judgment on me they can take a look at the man that I am, and everything that I have done to get to where I am in my career.” Colabello informed his teammates of the suspension during a meeting before batting practice as Toronto prepared to host Oakland. A 32-year-old who also
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Texas’ Kela has surgery, more BP for Darvish ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Texas Rangers reliever Keone Kela has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to remove a bone spur and will be sidelined about three months. The procedure was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, a day after Kela was placed on the disabled list. The 23year-old right-hander experienced pain Tuesday when he pitched against
Houston, his seventh outing of the season. Kela’s absence puts more pressure on a struggling bullpen. Rangers relievers entered Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox with an ALworst 5.59 ERA. Texas called up righthander Phil Klein from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday to replace Kela. Rangers ace Darvish decides on more BP before rehab start CHICAGO — Texas
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PAGE 2B
Photo by Jim Cowsert | AP
Texas relief pitcher Keone Kela has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to remove a bone spur and will be sidelined about three months.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
COLABELLO Continued from Page 1B
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
McCollum wins most improved By ANNE M. PETERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Chris O’Meara | AP
Chris Colabello has struggled at the plate this season hitting just .069 in 10 games, reaching base four times while striking out nine. plays the outfield, Colabello spent eight seasons in the minor leagues, seven of them in independent baseball, before reaching the big leagues with Minnesota in 2013. “He’s fought the odds his whole life,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’ll fight this.” In a statement, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins called Collabello’s suspension “an unfortunate situation.” “We believe in him as a person and player,” Atkins said. “Chris has overcome a great deal in his career and has been a key contributor to this team. While we are certainly disappointed with today’s news, we’re confident he’ll return ready to compete and will have taken the steps needed to ensure that this does not happen again.” Gibbons expressed disappointment in Colabello’s suspension, saying he felt they had “a special bond.” “I was the manager here when he kind of made it,” Gibbons said. “This hurts me just like it hurts him. I
love the guy, you know? He’s beloved out there in that clubhouse.” Justin Smoak will serve as the everyday first baseman in Colabello’s absence, Gibbons said. Toronto filled Colabello’s roster spot by selecting the contract of left-hander Chad Girodo from Triple-A Buffalo. Right-handed Drew Hutchison is expected to be recalled to make a spot start on Sunday. Colabello, who has played 225 big league games in parts of four seasons, will lose $227,891 of his $521,126 major league salary. He spent two seasons with the Twins before the Blue Jays claimed him on waivers in December 2014. He is the sixth player suspended this year under the MLB drug program. New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia received a permanent ban following a third positive test, and Cleveland outfielder Abraham Almonte, Cincinnati outfielder Juan Duran, free-agent catcher Taylor Teagarden and Stumpf were suspended for 80 games each.
PORTLAND — Portland guard CJ McCollum won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in his first season as a starter for the Trail Blazers, dramatically improving his scoring average by more than 14 points over last season. “In my mind I always felt like I was a good player, so when you hear ’most improved’ you think, he was sorry, and he got better,”’ McCollum said Friday. “But now I understand that it comes from hard work. It’s based on perception, not having played, not having the body of work to show for it.” McCollum more than tripled his scoring average from 2014-15 and helped the Trail Blazers finish fifth in the Western Conference after losing four starters last summer. He averaged 20.8 points per game in his third season. His 14-point improvement is the most since Tony Campbell improved from an average of 6.2 points to 23.2 points from the 1988-89 to 1989-90 seasons. McCollum also finished this season with 197 3-pointers, to rank him ninth in the league, and fourth-most for the Blazers in a single season. He joins Zach Randolph and Kevin Duckworth in winning the most improved award as Trail Blazers. “This isn’t the last award he’s going to get in his long career,” said Portland general manager Neil Olshey. McCollum’s surge started in the opening game of the season, when he scored 37 points with
File photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP
Portland guard C.J. McCollum was honored by the NBA winning the league’s Most Improved Player award on Friday. 6-three pointers in a 11294 victory over New Orleans. He said it was reminiscent of his first game on the varsity team in high school, when he scored 42. Overall, McCollum averaged 20.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 80 games, all starts. He scored in double figures in 79 games. As the 10th overall pick for the Blazers in the 2013 draft, McCollum bided his time on the bench for his first two seasons while the Blazers had a starting lineup that featured LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez. But a mass exodus last summer left Lillard as the only returning starter, and McCollum got his chance in the Blazers’ backcourt. “I’ve felt like I’ve been
Photo by Jae C. Hong | AP
Texas’ Yu Darvish nears his MLB return but will throw at least one more batting practice session before a rehab start for Double-A Frisco. signed free agent outfielder Michael Bourn to a minor league contract and will send him to extended spring training. Manager John Gibbons confirmed the signing before the Blue Jays played host to the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. The Atlanta Braves released Bourn on April 2. Bourn, who came to the Braves from Cleveland last summer in the same trade that sent Nick Swisher to Atlanta, is still owed $14 million this season.
Bourn, who first reached the major leagues in 2006, also played for Philadelphia and Houston. His best season was 2011 when, while playing for the Braves and Astros, he set career-highs by batting .294 with 34 doubles and 61 stolen bases. Last year, Bourn hit .238 with no homers, 30 RBIs and 17 stolen bases with the Indians and Braves. Rays set to promote top prospect Snell to pitch vs Yankees NEW YORK — The Tam-
points Friday from a panel of 130 sports writers and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Charlotte’s Kemba Walker was second with seven first-place votes and 166 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee got four first-place votes and 99 points. Golden State’s Stephen Curry finished fourth after winning the MVP award last season. Curry, the favorite to repeat as MVP, garnered seven first-place votes and 83 points after a record-setting season for himself and the Warriors. “A lot of great players have received it, Jimmy Butler being one of the most recent. Kevin Love, Z-Bo, Duckworth, among many others,” McCollum said. “Hopefully I can continue to trend upward like those guys did.”
MAVERICKS Continued from Page 1B
MLB Continued from Page 1B Rangers ace Yu Darvish has decided to throw one more live batting practice session, pushing back his first minor league rehabilitation start to May 1 in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. But Rangers pitching coach Doug Brocail said Friday the three-time AllStar is still on track to return to the big leagues as soon as May 16 at Oakland. Brocail said Darvish was happy with his fastball, cut fastball and slider after Thursday’s batting practice but feels he needs more work on his curveball and changeup before throwing in a game. Darvish will throw 60 pitches in a Tuesday batting practice in Arlington, Texas. He’ll then make his first rehab start five days later for Double-A Frisco. Darvish will make at least three rehab starts. Brocail said if Darvish decides he needs another, it would push his major league return past May 16. Blue Jays sign OF Bourn to minor league contract TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have
a good player, it’s just circumstances,” McCollum said. “I think there are lot of good players in the NBA who are in a box. Maybe they’ve got a lot of veterans in front of them, maybe they’re hurt, maybe the coach just doesn’t like to play young players. For me it was injuries, it was being a lottery pick drafted to a 50win team.” With one of the youngest rosters in the league (24.6 years), the Blazers were considered to be in rebuilding mode. But Portland overachieved to earn the fifth seed in the West and a first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Blazers are down 0-2 to the Clippers, but now get to return home for Game 3 on Saturday night. McCollum received 101 first-place votes and 559
pa Bay Rays are set to call up top pitching prospect Blake Snell to make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium. The Rays plan to promote Snell to start Saturday afternoon against New York. A corresponding roster move will be made before the game. Snell zoomed through three levels of the minors last season, reaching Triple-A and combining to go 15-4 with a 1.41 ERA. Rays manager Kevin Cash said Friday it is expected the 23-year-old lefty will make this spot start and then go back to the minors. Snell pitched briefly for the Rays in spring training, and has gone 1-1 with a 2.51 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings over three starts at Triple-A Durham. Erasmo Ramirez had been listed to start Saturday for Tampa Bay. He wound up as the winning pitcher in relief Thursday as the Rays outlasted Boston 12-8. Cash said the timing “just seemed right” to bring up Snell.
102 blowout loss on Thursday that gave the Thunder a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. However, the rough stuff that popped up during play did not sit well with the Mavericks, who no doubt were having contact with the NBA office about the incidents. "Look, we didn’t play well," Carlisle said. "They played great. We got to do more things to keep them from playing great. And we’ve got to be ready for physical play because they are initiating a lot of things out there." Asked if the Mavericks perhaps need to do some initiating, he said: "We’re not looking to do it unless it’s within the rules. There were some things that I know were going to be looked at today and going into Game 4, we’re going to be ready for." Dirk Nowitzki was part of one of those physical incidents to which Carlisle was referring when he got tangled up with Thunder guard Andre Roberson.
Nowitzki does his complaining about the refs during games. He rarely talks about it off the court. But he did say the Mavericks have to be prepared for physical play. "I just thought on back-to-back plays he tried to run through me and then we just had a few words," Nowitzki said. "I know he’s a good kid. That’s just part of a playoff series. There’s no hard feelings. Just in the games sometimes, emotions are going to run high and there’s some stuff discussed that’s no big deal after the game. "You’re not going to get an award for gamesmanship in the playoffs. You’re trying to win, trying to compete. Usually Game 1, Game 2, you kind of feel each other out. By Game 3, you hate each other. There was stuff happening left and right in the game yesterday. It’s just part of it." Clearly, the Mavericks are hoping those incidents get curtailed by the referees in Game 4.
COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B suddenly and surprisingly found the team so high on the draft board. Stephen Jones mentioned it again this week. “Who knows if it’s going to be in high demand or if someone wants to try to steal it from you for not what you should be getting for it,” he said. “Still haven’t ruled out that we would move up if we felt like we should. So, right now, I would say that all options are on the table.” Things to consider going into the draft for the Cowboys, who at the moment are poised for their third top-10 pick in six years: THE QB QUESTION
With top-rated prospects Jared Goff and Carson Wentz likely gone to the Rams and Eagles, the Cowboys still might be looking for Romo’s backup, and possibly his replacement a few years down the road. Either way, Stephen Jones isn’t denying the position is a need for a team that has drafted just three quarterbacks since taking Aikman and later Steve Walsh with a supplemental pick in 1989. The Cowboys went 1-11 last season in games missed by Romo, who was undrafted in 2003. “Other than first round, we do have some quarterbacks that we do like and think that could develop in-
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Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones will have plenty of options with the Cowboys selecting No. 4 in this year’s NFL Draft. to something that ultimately could be better than how we played last year,” Jones said. RUNNING BACK
It defies logic that Dallas would take a running back with the fourth pick a year after deciding not to spend
what it would take to keep 2014 NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray. And the Cowboys ended up with a pretty solid replacement in Darren McFadden, a veteran with a history of injury problems who played all 16 games and had his second 1,000-yard season — even though Dallas waited almost six games to make him the lead back. But Stephen Jones seems open to taking a running back at No. 4. BUT THAT PASS RUSH The Cowboys have consistently ranked in the bottom third of the league in sacks in recent years. Second-year player Randy Gregory will miss the first four games on
a substance abuse suspension. Greg Hardy is unlikely to return following a tumultuous season related to his domestic violence case in North Carolina. If Dallas makes a need pick, defensive end is the biggest one. SECONDARY The Cowboys also have been tied to Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey. But they got burned moving up to take Morris Claiborne at No. 6 in 2012, even though they did re-sign the former LSU standout this year after four disappointing seasons. Ramsey didn’t have an interception in his final college season, and the Cowboys were last in the NFL in takeaways in 2015.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016
Dear Readers: When you get GREAT SERVICE from a phone agent, server, bank teller, department-store clerk or anybody in the service industry, please thank them. It’s a really busy world, and we all seem to be in a rush. Take a few minutes to say thanks for the good work. When I speak with a phone agent who has really been helpful, I ask for a supervisor and tell the agent I’m going to compliment them. The supervisor usually is a little taken aback, since most people complain. If you can say "thank you" or a nice word to just one person a day, it’s worth the few seconds it takes. – Hugs, Heloise STAINLESS-STEEL FRIDGE Dear Heloise: About six months after I bought a new stainless-steel refrigerator, I ran out of the cleaner/polish sample that came with it. When I went back to the dealer for more, the clerk
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said that the stuff is really expensive. There’s something that does a better job for 1/10th the cost: spray lubricant. The stuff works beautifully on all my stainless-steel appliances! I enjoy your column and have learned many helpful things from it. – Ann K., Baton Rouge, La. Ann, many readers do use this type of product. Please note that not all spray lubricants are the same – some are water-displacement products; others are graphite-based. – Heloise READ MENU Dear Heloise: My grandson took me to a restaurant. When the waitress brought the menu, I couldn’t see it, since the lighting was so poor. He said to use my cellphone (a smartphone), and that did the trick. I was able to read the menu. What do you think of that? – Pauline S., Womelsdorf, Pa. EN...LIGHTENING! One good way to be able to read a menu in the dark! – Heloise
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SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016