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Mistrial declared in deadly shooting Jury acquits agent of second-degree murder charge in killing of teenager By Anita Snow and Jacques Billeaud A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
PHOENIX — A mistrial was declared Monday in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent after an Arizona jury acquitted him of a second-degree murder charge in the killing of a teen from Mexico but deadlocked on lesser counts of manslaughter. The decision by U.S. District Judge Raner Collins means prosecutors could seek another trial for Agent Lonnie Swartz on the manslaughter charges in
the 2012 death of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was fatally shot as he threw rocks at authorities during a drug smuggling attempt. Prosecutors say they were evaluating whether to pursue a retrial. Jurors had deliberated about 18 hours over five days in what human rights attorneys say was the first prosecution of a Border Patrol agent in a fatal shooting across the border. Swartz fired 16 shots late on Oct. 10, 2012, through a 20-foot (6-meter) fence that sits on an embankment above Mexico’s Calle Internacional, a Nogales
street lined with homes and small businesses. Prosecutors acknowledged during the monthlong trial that Elena Rodriguez was lobbing rocks across the border during a drug smuggling attempt. But they say he did not deserve to die. Defense attorneys countered that Swartz was justified in using lethal force against rockthrowers and shot from the U.S. side of the border in selfdefense. Defense attorneys Sean Chapman and Jim Calle didn’t
SOUTH TEXAS
CHIP in force despite error
Mistrial continues on A11
Ron Medvescek/Arizona Daily Star / AP
This photo shows Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz, left, at the U.S. District Court building in downtown Tucson, Arizona. A mistrial was declared Monday in the case of Swartz after an Arizona jury acquitted him of a second-degree murder charge in the killing of a teen from Mexico but deadlocked on lesser counts of manslaughter.
CENTRAL AMERICAN CARAVAN
600 MIGRANTS ARE CLOSER TO THE BORDER
ZA PATA T I ME S/T HE T E XAS TRIBUNE
The Texas Border Coalition has urged South Texas border families who receive government subsidized health insurance under the CHIP program to continue to see their doctors for routine care, prescriptions and other medical needs. “Families should not be confused by headlines: the CHIP program is alive and well in the Hidalgo service area, which includes Maverick, Webb, McMullen, Duval, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron counties,” said Dr. Hector Gonzalez, chairman of TBC’s health care committee and City of Laredo Health Department director. The Texas Heath and Human Services Commission recently discovered a scoring error in the agency’s procurement process that led to the termination of CHIP contracts with five Rio Grande Valley managed care organizations. In order to assure that children will not be affected, the current managed care providers, Molina and Superior, will continue to deliver health services to eligible children. Heather Griffith Peterson, chief operating officer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, is resigning as the agency continues to get hit by auditors over mismanagement of state contracts. She stepped into the role in June 2016. Wednesday was her last day. The health commission has also gotten flack from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office over the contracting issues. Last CHIP continues on A11
Luis Gutierrez / AP
Central American migrants traveling with the annual migrant Stations of the Cross caravan march in favor of migrants' rights and against the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump in Hermosillo, Mexico on Monday. The mainly Central American migrants are demanding better treatment and many are planning to request asylum, either in the United States or Mexico.
Many plan to request asylum in U.S. or Mexico ASSOCIATED PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — The remnants of a caravan of Central American migrants protested in northern Mex-
ico on Monday, even as once again they drew angry tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump. The mainly Central American migrants are demand-
ing better treatment and many are planning to request asylum, either in the United States or Mexico. “We are asking the government and migration au-
thorities to respect the right to seek asylum,” said caravan organizer Irineo Mujica. “Those who request asylum shouldn’t be criminalized. It is a right ... families shouldn’t be separated or punished.” Migrants continues on A11
In Brief A2 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE WORLD
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Border Region Behavioral Health Center Volunteer Services Council’s 26th Annual Administrative Professionals' Day Luncheon & Musical Fashion Show. 11:30 a.m. Laredo Country Club. If you would like to purchase tickets or reserve a table, RSVP with Laura Kim 956-7943130 or blaurak@borderregion.org. Tickets are $75 a person. First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Villa San Agustin De Laredo Genealogical Society Meeting. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, second floor. Speakers will be Cynthia Haynes Ramirez and Pat Rogers Yzaguirrre. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-763-1810. Spanish Book Club meeting. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library conference room. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-7631810. 22nd Annual Photography Exhibition. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Laredo Center for the Arts. Journalism students at Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts will be hosting the opening reception for the exhibition. For more information, contact Mark Webber at mwebber004@laredoisd.org. VMT Tapestry’s annual Unveiling Ceremony. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Laredo Center for the Arts. Literary magazine students at Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts will be hosting the unveiling. For more information, contact Mark Webber at mwebber004@laredoisd.org.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28 RGISC’s 3rd Earth Day Fest with Kayak Races and Eco-Games. The Rio Grande International Study Center will host its 3rd Earth Day celebration. 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Lake Casa Blanca State Park. Fun-filled family event. Free event and free entry to park. Register now for kayak races, $20 per person, at www.rgisc.org or call 956-718-1063 for more info.
Nathan Denette / AP
Police secure an area around a covered body Monday in Toronto after a van drove on a sidewalk and crashed into a crowd of pedestrians. The van driver was charged with 10 counts of murder.
VAN DRIVER FACES 10 COUNTS OF MURDER TORONTO — The 25-year-old suspect who plowed a van into a crowded Toronto sidewalk was ordered held Tuesday on 10 counts of murder and 13 of attempted murder as Canadian authorities and the public sought to make sense of one of the deadliest mass killings in the country’s modern history. Alek Minassian showed little emotion as he made a brief appearance in a Toronto courtroom in a white jumpsuit and handcuffs. The judge ordered him detained without bond and scheduled the next hearing for May 10.
World Tai Chi Day. 9-10 a.m. Blas Castaneda basketball court on 5400 McPherson. The public is invited to join and participate with The Laredo Tai Chi Club for World Tai Chi Day.
Kate gives birth to boy and is home by suppertime
SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018
LONDON — Third time’s a charm. The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth Monday morning to a new prince who is fifth in line to the British throne — and she was home by suppertime. The duchess and husband Prince William drove to St. Mary’s Hospital in London early in the morning, and Kate’s 8 pound, 7 ounce (3.8 kilogram)
United Methodist Men Spaghetti Luncheon. 1220 McClelland Ave. 12 p.m. to 1:30 pm. All you can eat spaghetti, bread, salad, drink, and dessert. Public is invited. Free will donations accepted. Proceeds are used to support the church’s mission projects.
TUESDAY, MAY 1 15th Annual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Symposium. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo. 1937 Bustamante St. For more information, call the Area Health Education Center at 956-7120037.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, MAY 5 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
His father, Vahe Minassian, cried and looked stunned inside the courtroom. Asked outside if he had any message for the families of the victims, he said quietly: “I’m sorry.” Police, meanwhile, continued to gather evidence. About 20 officers made their way down the van’s deadly path on Yonge Street, which remained closed to traffic on Tuesday and taped off with yellow crime scene tape. Nearby, mourners had put together a makeshift memorial to the victims. — Compiled from AP reports
boy was born at 11:01 a.m., with royal officials announcing the birth about two hours later. There followed a smoothly choreographed operation perfected after the births of the couple’s two other children. In late afternoon, elder siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte were brought to meet their baby brother. Around 6 p.m., Kate emerged alongside her husband, wearing a vibrant red dress and holding the tiny royal highness wrapped in a white lace shawl. After posing for dozens of
photographers and camera crews outside the hospital’s private Lindo Wing, the trio headed home, with the baby nestled securely in a car seat. Television news helicopters followed the royal Range Rover as it made the mile-long (1.6 kilometer) journey to the family’s Kensington Palace residence. William declared the couple “very delighted” with the new addition to the family. News of the birth was announced on Twitter and proclaimed in Buckingham Palace. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Waffle House slaying suspect arrested after massive manhunt NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The mentally unstable gunman suspected of killing four people in a late-night shooting at a Waffle House restaurant was arrested near his apartment Monday after hiding from police for more than a day, authorities said. Police and federal agents had mounted a massive manhunt for 29-year-old Travis Reinking after the Sunday morning attacks, in which a gunman clad only in a jacket used an assault rifle to attack a diverse crowd of patrons at the restaurant before being disarmed by a patron. Construction workers told officers Monday that a person matching Reinking’s description walked into the woods near a construction site, Lt. Carlos Lara told reporters.
Nashville Police Department / TNS
Suspected Waffle House gunman Travis Reinking was arrested in suburban Nashville, Tenn. on Monday.
A detective spotted Reinking, who lay down on the ground to be handcuffed when confronted, Lara said Reinking carried a black backpack with a silver semiautomatic weapon and .45caliber ammunition, Lara said. Detectives cut the backpack off him. Police spokesman Don Aar-
on said Reinking requested a lawyer and was taken to a hospital before he would be booked on four counts of criminal homicide. It’s not clear why Reinking attacked shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, though he may have “mental issues,” the Metropolitan Nashville police chief said. — Compiled from AP reports
Today is Wednesday, April 25, the 115th day of 2018. There are 250 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 25, 1898, the United States Congress declared war on Spain; the 10-week conflict resulted in an American victory. On this date: In 404 B.C., the Peloponnesian War ended as Athens surrendered to Sparta. In 1507, a world map produced by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term "America," in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. In 1792, French highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person to be executed by the guillotine. In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war. In 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses. Delegates from some 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to organize the United Nations. In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping. In 1964, vandals sawed off the head of the "Little Mermaid" statue in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1974, the "Carnation Revolution" took place in Portugal as a bloodless military coup toppled the Estado Novo regime. In 1983, 10-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, received a reply from Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov to a letter she'd written expressing her concerns about nuclear war; Andropov gave assurances that the Soviet Union did not want war, and invited Samantha to visit his country, a trip she made in July. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (It was later discovered that the telescope's primary mirror was flawed, requiring the installation of corrective components to achieve optimal focus.) In 1993, hundreds of thousands of gay rights activists and their supporters marched in Washington, D.C., demanding equal rights and freedom from discrimination. In 2002, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of the Grammy-winning trio TLC died in an SUV crash in Honduras; she was 30. Ten years ago: Three New York police detectives were acquitted in the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man, on his wedding day; as news of the verdict spread, many in a crowd outside the courthouse began weeping, while others were enraged, swearing and screaming "Murderers! Murderers!" or "KKK!" Five years ago: President Barack Obama consoled a rural Texas community rocked by a deadly fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people, telling mourners during a memorial service at Baylor University they were not alone in their grief. President Barack Obama joined his four living predecessors to dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. Reggaeton star Don Omar was the top winner of the Billboard Latin Music Awards in Coral Gables, Florida, taking home 10 prizes. One year ago: A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to withhold funding from "sanctuary cities" that did not cooperate with U.S. immigration officials, saying the president had no authority to attach new conditions to federal spending. Ivanka Trump drew groans and hisses from an audience in Berlin while defending her father's attitude toward women, but brushed the negative reaction aside as "politics" during her first overseas trip as a White House adviser. Today's Birthdays: Actor Al Pacino is 78. Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 74. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 73. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (BYORN ul-VAY'us) (ABBA) is 73. Actress Talia Shire is 73. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 71. Rock musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 68. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 64. Actor Hank Azaria is 54. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 54. Rock musician Eric Avery is 53. Country musician Rory Feek (Joey + Rory) is 53. TV personality Jane Clayson is 51. Actress Renee Zellweger is 49. Actress Gina Torres is 49. Actor Jason Lee is 48. Actor Jason Wiles is 48. Actress Emily Bergl is 43. Actor Jonathan Angel is 41. Thought for Today: "There is nothing in the universe that I fear but that I shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it." — Mary Lyon, American educator (1797-1849).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, MAY 26 Mexico Lindo 2018. Laredo Little Theater, 4802 Thomas Ave. 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 years of age or younger.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
AROUND THE STATE George HW Bush hospitalized with blood infection HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston with an infection, just after attending the funeral of his wife Barbara, a spokesman said Monday. Jim McGrath said on Twitter that the 93-year-old Bush is “responding to treatments and appears to be recovering.” He
was admitted Sunday morning to Houston Methodist Hospital after an infection spread to his blood, McGrath said. Barbara Bush was laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony attended by her husband and former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and their wives, along with current first lady Melania Trump. The elder Bush uses a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility after developing a former of Parkinson’s disease,
CONTACT US and he has needed hospital treatment several times in recent years for respiratory problems. A year ago this month, Bush spent two weeks in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, a constant irritation of the lining of tubes that carry air to one’s lungs. Bush’s doctors said chronic bronchitis is a condition more prevalent with age and can aggravate the symptoms of pneumonia. — Compiled from AP reports
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 |
A3
CRIME
Woman suspected in 2 killings waives extradition A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
BROWNSVILLE — It will be first come, first served for two states wanting to take custody of a Minnesota woman who is suspected in two killings, a Texas judge ruled Monday. Lois Riess waived extradition before the judge in Brownsville, Texas. The 56-year-old fugitive was the subject of a national hunt after her husband, David Riess, 54, was found fatally shot last month at their home in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota. Authorities believe Lois Riess fled to Florida and killed Pamela Hutchinson to assume
her identity. Hutchinson was found dead with gunshot wounds earlier this month in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Minnesota and Florida have 10 days to move Riess. Cameron County Associate Judge Louis Sorola ruled that the first state to send their authorities to retrieve her will get her. Riess had been on the run since at least late March, when her husband’s body was found. Investigators believe she used the same gun to fatally shoot 59-year-old Hutchinson. Riess had checked into a motel in the South Texas beach resort town of South Padre Island
Appeal denied in Texas execution ASSOCIATED PRE SS
South Padre Island Police Dept / TNS
This file photo shows Lois Riess, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who was arrested by federal deputy marshals at a restaurant in South Padre Island in connection with the killings of two people in separate states, including her husband.
and was sitting at a restaurant bar with others Thursday when, according to South Padre Island Police Chief Randy Smith, a witness recognized Riess from a video and called police. The Star Tribune reported that the witness — a worker — recognized Riess from the way she
flipped back her silvery hair. “I thought, ‘I know this lady,”’ George Higginbotham, a manager at Dirty Al’s restaurant and bar in South Padre Island, said. “She had a smile on her face like a vacationer, not really worried that people were looking for her. She
Transportation PD: Woman sets department to car on fire with waive $1.3B in children inside toll road fines ASSOCIATED PRE SS
A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Transportation will forgive more than $1.3 billion in late fines and fees owed by drivers on state toll roads since 2007. The department announced the decision last week at a House Transportation Committee meeting in response to a cap on unpaid toll fees lawmakers imposed last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported The move only covers tolls incurred on roads operated by the Transportation Department, such as State Highway 130 and State Highway 45 North. The decision doesn’t affect tolls, fines or fees racked up on tollways operated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority or other local toll agencies. The new law took effect last month and limits administrative fees on state-operated tollways to $6, with an annual maximum of $48. The department will charge $4 a month for unpaid tolls. Texas didn’t have such a cap before, so the department’s fines could quickly amount to $25 per unpaid toll or more when cases were referred to a collection agency or a court. Some drivers saw debts up to tens of thousands of dollars. Department officials said they won’t refund late fees and fines previ-
The move only covers tolls incurred on roads operated by the Transportation Department ously paid, including those made in the first two months of this year.
HOUSTON — Authorities in Houston have taken a woman into custody after witnesses reported she set her car on fire as she sat inside with her three children. Houston police say 31-year-old Ana Segovia was at a car wash Sunday evening when she began repeatedly revving the engine to the point that it caught fire. Witnesses intervened and rescued Segovia’s three daughters, ages 9, 11
and 13. Witnesses told investigators that at one point she said, “We’re going to see Jesus.” She left on foot with the children but was later detained by a Harris County deputy constable. Segovia is charged with aggravated assault on a family member. A mental health evaluation is pending. The children are with relatives. Online records don’t indicate an attorney for Segovia.
flipped her hair, and that is what made it kick in.” Higginbotham said that flip was the same move he had seen Riess make in a video of her fateful encounter with Hutchinson in an oceanside bar in Fort Myers Beach. Riess did not stay at Dirty Al’s long, Higginbotham said. After checking the menu for about two or three minutes, she left and Higginbotham called police while a co-worker followed her and saw her get into a white car and drive to the north. Federal marshals caught her about 20 minutes later dining at the Sea Ranch Restaurant. South Padre Island is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the nearest border cross into Mexico.
HUNTSVILLE — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously has refused a clemency request from a Texas prisoner set for execution this week for the shooting deaths of a 5-year-old girl and her grandmother at a home in Fort Worth a decade ago. The six-member panel rejected convicted killer Erick Davila’s request for a 30-day reprieve from his scheduled Wednesday lethal injection and also refused to recommend his death sentence be commuted to life. Also Monday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to allow his attorneys to file a new appeal focusing on claims that Tarrant County prosecutors improperly withheld some evidence from Davila’s trial lawyers. That issue also is among several in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court for the 31-year-old former Fort Worth street gang member.
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
A4 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COMMENTARY
OTHER VIEWS
Both sides of abortion debate By Gloria Johns TR IB UN E NEWS SE RV ICE
In terms of pro-choice and pro-life, Conor Lamb, who won the March 13 special congressional election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, demonstrated how to win office, in Trumpland, no less, by being pro-choice and pro-life at the same time: Swear on your faith that you’re devoted to the dogma that states that life begins at conception, but present yourself as a person dedicated to the rule of law, and therefore upholding of the decadesold Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. But there’s always been something surreptitious about the two-sided debate. Lamb’s motive was to be elected to office. Even now, pro-choice is synonymous with empowerment while pro-life is synonymous with righteousness. That’s an oversimplification of a complex topic, but not necessarily inaccurate. And neither side addresses the impact of poverty and race on abortion in any meaningful way. But in 2014 the Guttmacher Institute found that 39 percent of women having abortions identified as white. Minority women accounted for 61 percent of abortions performed that year. And 75 percent of women who had abortions lived at or below the federal poverty level. For this group, choice meant having no choice at all. They came into the abortion arena poor, and left the abortion arena poor, and for those championing the cause, the victory was in the abortion itself. And without debating the right or wrong of it, the optic is bad, with white women and those at higher income levels cheering for mostly poor, minority women who now have access to abortion. Hillary Clinton is fiercely opposed to the Hyde amendment, which forbids Medicaid dollars from being used for abortion. At a fundraising event in January of 2016, Clinton said, "Any right that requires you to take extraordinary measures to access it is no right at all." In other words, for those already in the top tier of women getting abortions-the poor and women of color-more legislation may be required so they can get even more abortions. It sounds more than a little like infanticide.
And Roe v Wade began with this exact scenario. Norma McCorvey, "Roe" of Roe v. Wade, was a ninth-grade dropout who was sometimes homeless, sexually assaulted and married by the age of 16. At age 22, she was pregnant for the third time, when she met two lawyers, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, who had long sought a woman wanting an abortion, someone they could wrap a case around. McCorvey never testified on her own behalf; in fact, although she was the defendant she never attended court at all. And pro-life advocates are just as blind to poverty and race, the impetus for abortion, and the outcomes of women seeking or having an abortion. Based on the cycle of poverty that exists for women of color it almost seems that the sanctity of life ends at birth. Even the Catholic Church, being at the forefront of the pro-life movement, could do more. The most recent post on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was a three-page intercessory prayer for those contemplating abortion. Without questioning the power of prayer, shouldn’t the richest religion in the world do more? Maybe buy every unwed mother a house? (I’m being slightly facetious.) On the flip side, in the 1960s, the pro-choice movement resembled the red carpet on Oscar’s night: Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Germain Greer, who was described as a "public intellectual," and Robin Morgan, "poet, author, political theorist and activist, journalist, lecturer, and former child actor." For these, choice means privilege; not so much the instinct to survive, but to thrive, and there is a difference. Not to acknowledge this difference and approach it as a problem to be solved represents women failing women on a grand scale. To ignore what brings women to such levels of poverty and what sustains the cycle of poverty in spite of having had an abortion, or chosen life, is to remove the human element from the cause either espouses. And so from those less fortunate, the questions for pro-life advocates and pro-choice advocates alike, becomes, "If all life is sacred what about my life?" And "Now what?" Gloria Johns is a Tribune News Service columnist.
COLUMN
Hateful tweets is not what tenure should protect By Mitch Albom DETROIT FREE PRE SS
Don’t speak badly of the dead. De mortuis nihil nisi bonum. That phrase goes back more than 1,500 years and has been practiced at least that long. But not so much today. So it should surprise no one that, upon the death of former first lady Barbara Bush last week, someone used Twitter to call her an "amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F— outta here with your nice words." What did surprise people was that the tweeter was a Fresno State English professor named Randa Jarrar, who continued her Twitter jousting with Internet critics, including the following comments: "Either you are against these pieces of s— and their genocidal ways or you’re part of the problem." "I’m happy the witch is dead. can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million iraqis have. byyyeeeeeeee." When showered with angry responses, some calling for her dismissal, Jarrar pulled the most incendiary trump card of all: her tenure. "I work as a tenured professor. I make 100K a year . I will never be fired." The academic form of sticking out your tongue and yelling, "Nyah, nyah." Disgusting, obnoxious, insensitive tweets Naturally, Jarrar’s ac-
tions - and her tweeting out a suicide hotline number, saying it was hers, which jammed that line for days - brought immediate scrutiny to Fresno State, and heated debate over free speech on college campuses. Conservatives screamed for her head and asked why Jarrar is tolerated when right-wing speakers are protested or even banned from universities. Liberals claimed that if Jarrar were punished, it would only prove that free speech in this country is in peril. And lost in this debate is the simple fact that Jarrar behaved like an obnoxious, petulant child. Her timing was insensitive, her glee at another’s death was disgusting, her lack of empathy for a grieving family was subhuman, and her chest pounding about tenure, a concept put into effect by the very government she apparently abhors, was hypocritical. It’s also beneath the behavior you’d expect from any teacher. Jarrar, according to the Los Angeles Times, in her late 30s. She identifies as Arab-American and Muslim. She was born in the U.S. and lived in the Middle East until 1991. With three advanced degrees one from the University of Michigan - she apparently has spent most of her adult life in academia. Yet, according to numerous websites, she has tweeted out things like this: - "I can’t wait for the old white guard of literary writers and ’critics’ to die. Their time is f—ing
up, too." - "We are sooooo much cooler than Israelis, don’t at me b—." - " . f— outta here with your white feminism. I said don’t at me, b—. I’m a professor . " This is someone teaching our kids. Tenure wasn’t designed to protect this Which raises the question, how low must you sink before getting fired from a university? Tenure, which protects certain professor’s jobs, sometimes for entire careers, makes it unclear. Invented in the 20th century, tenure was designed to keep powerful college donors from influencing freedom of thought. It’s a noble idea. But in an era when a Facebook post can get high school teachers fired, and a video clip can close down a national coffee chain for a day, a tenure bubble seems out of step with every other working American. There was no Twitter when tenure was conceived. Back then, it was about protecting lectures or written works. Behaving like an insensitive ass in public - which, let’s be blunt, is what Jarrar did was never the intent. Nor was bragging about a $100,000 salary and your inability to get fired. Fresno State president Joseph Castro called Jarrar’s tweets "unacceptable." But what will he do about them? Last year, another Fresno State professor, Lars Maischak, tweeted out that "to save American democracy, (President) Trump must hang. The sooner and the
LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer's first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the
letter. Laredo Morning Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. This space allows for public debate of the issues of the day. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Also, letters longer than 500 words will not be accepted. Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
higher, the better." He also called for designs for a monument to whomever assassinated Trump. For this, he was investigated by the feds, and ultimately demoted to teaching only online courses. Last Thursday, he wrote a piece for the Fresno Bee defending Jarrar, likening the criticism of her to Nazism, and saying Castro is a "parade marshal for the lynch mob. Shame on him." Really? Shame on him? Not the woman who clogged a suicide hotline and spat on a dead woman’s memory? That pretty much sums up the rabid blindness of our political wars. From a president who tweets like an angry teen, to a professor who tweets like a taunting rap artist, we’re missing the point. It’s not about politics. It’s about being human. A 92-year-old woman died. Her family is grieving. She was not an elected official. Can’t you express your issues without dancing on her grave? Don’t speak badly of the dead. Like other timehonored civilities, that seems to be crushed by the "You Will Hear Me!" mentality of social media. Too bad someone as educated as Jarrar can’t understand that most of her critics aren’t reacting to her ideals, just her foul, cruel, immature way of expressing them. If she doesn’t like the reaction, there’s a pretty simple solution. Don’t tweet. Mitch Albom is a Detroit Free Press columnist.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 |
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Frontera A6 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE VAQUERO DAY FESTIVAL 1 La Ciudad de Escobares invita al Vaquero Day Festival en su 13ava. edición, el sábado 27 de abril. Música en vivo, cabalgata, parrilladas, y más actividades para toda la familia. Entrada gratuita. Mayores informes al 956-847-4106. MEDICAMENTOS CADUCOS 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a la comunidad a la recolección de medicamentos sin uso y/o caducos en la plaza Roma Guadalupe el sábado 28 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m. TORNEO DE CAZA 1 1er Torneo de caza de cerdo y depredadores del sur de Texas, el 28 de abril de las 10 a.m. hasta el 29 de abril a las 10 a.m. Mayores informes en Brush County Insurance Agency, 702 Hidalgo Blvd., Suite 4, en Zapata, o al teléfono 956-750-3600. TORNEO DE SOFTBOL 1 Torneo de Softbol Batalla de las Insignias, donde particiarán bomberos y policías del Condado de Zapata, el 28 de abril, a beneficio de Israel “Ike” Gutiérrez. Cuota de entrada 150 dólares más 10 dólares para los umpires de los equipos. Mayores informes con Martha al 956-251-3075 o con Carlos al 956269-6436. COCINA SALUDABLE 1 Cena esta nocheEscuela de Cocina Saludable, organizado por Texas A&M AgriLife Extension del Condado de Zapata, el 4 de mayo, de 6 a 8 p.m., en Zapata High School. Mayores informes en la Oficina de Extensión de Zapata, en el 956-765-9820 i regístrese en Zapata County Courthouse, suite 249 en el segundo piso. EVENTO CONTRA LUPUS 1 3er. evento anual contra Lupus, el 10 de mayo en el parque Bravo. Mayores informes con Gilda Jasso al 956-2379456 y 956-2088390. AVIARIO 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero. Mayores informes al 956-849-1411 BOTES DE BASURA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411 PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día.
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA
Juez niega fianza Agente es acusado de acribillar a su novia e hijo de 1 año Por Joana Santillana TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Un agente de Patrulla Fronterizo que se encuentra suspendido y acusado de acuchillar a su supuesta novia de 27 años de edad y su hijo de 1 año de edad se le fue negada la fianza el lunes por el juez después de una audiencia de dos días. El agente, Ronald Anthony Burgos-Avilés, había pedido al Juez de la Corte de Distrito 406 Oscar J. Hale Jr., imponer una fianza razonable. Pero después de escuchar horas de testimonio, Hale encontró que hay causa probable para mantenerlo tras las rejas hasta su
juicio, en donde posiblemente se enfrentaría a la pena de muerte. Burgos BurgosAvilés, de 28 años de edad, es acusado de dos cargos de homicidio capital por la muerte de Grizelda Hernández y su hijo Dominic Alexander Hernández. Sus cuerpos fueron encontrados el 9 de abril cerca de Father Charles McNaboe Park al noreste de Laredo. El Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Webb Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz dijo a Laredo Morning Times
que la audiencia para fijar sentencia, la cual duró 15 horas, había sido una especie de mini juicio con evidencia y testimonio en contra de Burgos-Avilés. “Creo que la evidencia que presentamos durante los pasados dos días presenta un caso bastante claro y fuerte que indica él cometió homicidio capital, porque involucra a un niño menor de 10 años”, él dijo. “Él mató dos personas en el mismo episodio criminal… él representa un peligro futuro y hay una fuerte posibilidad que basado en la evidencia, la brutalidad del homicidio, la habilidad especializada que utilizó, su engaño al com-
eter los homicidios bajo el color de la ley, esconderse detrás de la placa, que un jurado fácilmente podría sentenciarlo a muerte por inyección letal”. Silverio Martinez, el abogado de Burgos-Avilés no pudo ser localizado inmediatamente para comentarios. Martinez emitió un mandamiento de hábeas corpus el 13 de abril, pidiendo a la corte una fianza razonable para su cliente. La fiscalía presentó múltiples testigos que testificaron sobre su participación en la investigación del doble homicidio para mostrar causa probable para mantener a Burgos-Avilés detenido
hasta que el caso vaya a juicio. La Oficial de Asuntos Internos de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de los EU Adriana Escamilla testificó que durante una búsqueda de la oficina de Burgos-Avilés en la Estación de la Patrulla Fronteriza del Norte de Laredo, ella encontró un folio con correspondencia personal. Éste contenía dos avisos de la División de Manutención de Menor de la Oficina de Fiscal General de Texas que referían a un caso abierto nombrando a BurgosAvilés como el padre sin custodia y a Hernández con la custodia del menor.
BROWNSVILLE
NO COSTEA ABOGADO Ex Gobernador de Tamaulipas se presenta ante corte Por Aaron Nelsen SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
BROWNSVILLE — Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba, el ex gobernador de Tamaulipas acusado de narcotráfico y de lavar millones de dólares procedentes de actividades delictivas, declaró el lunes que no puede costear un abogado. El juez magistrado Ronald Morgan le designó un abogado a Yarrington y ordenó que permanezca detenido sin derecho a fianza. El ex gobernador, quien fue extraditado de Italia a los Estados Unidos el viernes, compareció por primera vez el lunes ante una corte en Texas. Morgan dio lectura a la imputación, la cual incluye cargos por narcotráfico, lavado de dinero y extorsión, y posteri-
ormente fijó para el próximo jueves la audiencia de declaración de cargos. Yarrington, de 61 años, fue el gobernador de Tamaulipas, un estado mexicano que comparte frontera con Texas, de 1999 a 2005 y estuvo fugitivo por varios años. El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos y la Interpol lo rastrearon en una ciudad de Italia llamada Paola, donde había estado viviendo bajo un nombre falso. Eventualmente fue arrestado en Florencia. De ser encontrado culpable, Yarrington se enfrenta a cadena perpetua y multas por cientos de millones de dólares. Además, el posible decomiso de un avión, más de 46 acres en propiedades en el Condado Bexar y 132 millones de dólares en efectivo.
Miguel Roberts / Associated Press
El ex gobernador de Tamaulipas Tomás Yarrington llega al Aeropuerto de Brownsville/South Padre Island y es escoltado por agentes federales el viernes 20 de abril de 2018 tras ser extraditado de Italia a Texas.
UNITED WE DREAM
App para celular ayuda a inmigrantes Nota de la editora: Esta es la segunda de un reportaje de dos partes sobre una aplicación de celulares para inmigrantes Por Olivia P. Tallet HOUSTON CHRONICLE
La aplicación, llamada Notifica, permite a los inmigrantes aquí ilegalmente activar un plan si entran en contacto con las autoridades policiales de inmigración o si corren el riesgo de ser detenidos. En demanda Sin embargo, los partidarios de políticas fuertes contra la inmigración ilegal ven iniciativas como Notifica como herramientas para evadir la ley. “No me sorprende la aplicación”, dijo Marri Velásquez, una activista republicana de Houston que cofundó el grupo Hispanos para Trump. “Es como fugitivos, siempre corriendo tratando de encontrar algo nuevo. ... Ellos usan Nextdoor.com y otros grupos
de redes para alertarse unos a otros”. “Siempre habrá otra protección, otro encubrimiento”, agregó Velásquez. “Pero esto no va a cambiar nada”. Sin embargo, las herramientas contemporáneas como Notifica, tienen demanda entre las comunidades de inmigrantes, y no solo para los residentes indocumentados. United We Dream dijo que Notifica y la línea directa de Texas están diseñadas para ayudar a las familias inmigrantes “bajo una creciente amenaza de criminalización a medida que (la administración del presidente Donald Trump) lleva a cabo su agenda de detención masiva y deportación”. Las detenciones en el interior del país por ICE, el brazo del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional a cargo de las deportaciones, aumentaron un 42 por ciento desde el ascenso al poder de Trump el 20 de enero de 2017, hasta el final del año
fiscal 30 de septiembre, en comparación con el mismo período en 2016, de acuerdo con el Centro de Investigación Pew utilizando datos de ICE. Houston, con 13.565 arrestos, fue la ciudad con el segundo mayor número de detenciones de ICE en todo el país después de Dallas con 16.520 durante el año fiscal 2017. La tasa de aumento anual, sin embargo, fue mucho menor en Houston, con solo un 5 por ciento en comparación con el 71 por ciento en Dallas. Las poblaciones inmigrantes “a menudo experimentan una sensación de impotencia para protegerse a sí mismas, y en particular, a sus hijos de las tácticas de control de inmigración, así como de los perfiles raciales y étnicos”, dijo Berger Cardoso. Políticas como el Proyecto de Ley Senatorial 4 de Texas suscitaron preocupación entre los defensores de los derechos humanos por el
potencial de perfiles raciales; permitiendo a los agentes de policía solicitar documentos de estado migratorio cuando detienen a las personas. Notifica incluye información y orientación sobre los derechos de los inmigrantes y consejos sobre qué hacer en diferentes escenarios. Es una iniciativa del Programa de Red Nacional de Defensa de UWD, que también ha desarrollado otros proyectos como la Línea directa de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Texas, 888-507-2970, que proporciona información y referencias a servicios legales en Texas. Reyna dijo que UWD ya está trabajando en una segunda versión de Notifica, que incluirá la posibilidad de utilizar más idiomas. Actualmente emplea español e inglés, pero se actualizará a finales de este verano con características de idioma en vietnamita, coreano y chino. Otra característica que se incluirá es la capacidad de determinar la
ubicación de la detención de una persona. ‘Formas de sobrevivir’ Una característica del desarrollo que Reyna dijo podría ser útil para los inmigrantes es una herramienta como un mapa de calor que permitiría a las personas monitorear el nivel de riesgo en un lugar específico en un momento dado. “En términos generales, todos tratamos de encontrar formas de sobrevivir en nuestra vida, y esto no es diferente”, dijo Luis Zayas, decano de la Escuela de Trabajo Social Steve Hicks de la Universidad de Texas en Austin. Bajo el actual “control agresivo de inmigración ... es natural que estas comunidades bajo tal escrutinio usen la tecnología de comunicación que tenemos hoy”, dijo Zayas, también autor del libro “Forgotten Citizens: Deportation, Children, and the Making of American Exiles and Orphans”.
Sports&Outdoors
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 |
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS
Cowboys DL Irving under investigation
Jim Cowsert / Fort Worth Star-Telegram file
Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving is being investigated for potential domestic violence. Andy Lyons / Getty Images file
Troubling string of social media posts raises suspicion By Mac Engel FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM
One of the best defensive players for the Dallas Cowboys had some interesting, and potentially troubling, developments on social media on Monday morning; so troubling that the Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving is being investigated for potential domestic violence, per the Frisco, Texas Police Department. Per Frisco PD information officer Ryan Chandler, Irving is being investigated for, "Assault bodily injury of family member; assault family member impeding breath/ circulation; and unlawful restraint." The claim of "assault family member breath/circulation" is the lone potential felony charge. Chandler said Frisco PD responded to a pair of calls to Irving’s home on Sunday, one at 5:30 p.m. and the other at 10 p.m. "We are just investigating," Chandler told the Star-Telegram’s Drew Davison. A source told the Star-Telegram’s Clarence E. Hill that the Cowboys are investigating this now, too. So David Irving’s Twitter account, Caliboy—95, was either hacked, someone is playing a bad joke on him, or something really indeed went down. Shortly after 8 a.m. CT on Monday, Irving’s Twitter account read, "David irving going to jail say good by to his football career." That was followed by, "Domestic vilance (sic) again" Five minutes later, it read, "Profile hacked." One minute later: "Cut his gf hair and kicked her to the streets" And then these in succession: "With no where to go" "Nope his gf is on it" "Watch the nes (sic) soon guys" "All his dirty laundtty (sic) " "Even all the drug test he’s failing" "No hacks her" His account responded directly to a Tweet from my account MacEngelProf when I wrote, "This is either a case of hacking, a bad joke, or something much worse." Four responses sent to me read: "Hack." "Nope you’ll all see." "He cut my hair." "And hit me again." The last tweet, from 8:50 a.m. reads, "Profile hacked." The other tweets were deleted. On Irving’s Facebook profile, he wrote, "Excuse the posts, my ex hacked me because I kicked
her out for cheating . Again lol." The ex-girlfriend, Angela Sanchez, also wrote that he failed drug tests. And that she has video evidence. The Cowboys are aware of the social media activity but are not commenting, "At this time," per the team’s director of public relations, Rich Dalrymple. During his college career at Iowa State, Irving was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, who is the mother of their daughter. She did later request that all charges be dropped. Sanchez is believed to be the same woman. For as talented, charming and personable as he is, there remains a side to him that is . different. There is always some noise following David Irving. Led by Sheriff Stephen Jones, we have seen these Cowboys don’t want noise. There is a reason why the Cowboys did not give Irving a larger contract this offseason. He recently signed a secondround tender, a one-year deal at $2.91 million. Irving is 6-foot-7, 291-pounds; he’s fast, athletic and can pressure a passer and make plays on the defensive line. He’s a commodity. Irving is worth more than $2.91 million. He must turn down the noise, and the stupid trouble, that has followed him since his days at Iowa State. Irving missed the first four games of the 2017 NFL season because he failed a drug test for using PEDs. When he played at Iowa State, he was involved in multiple incidents with the law. The most infamous was 2014, when Irving was caught holding a stop sign during the school’s annual party, "Veisha riot." Then coach Paul Rhoads kicked Irving off the team. Irving went undrafted in 2015, was picked up by Kansas City as a rookie free agent; the Cowboys grabbed him when the Chiefs put him on their practice squad. Since becoming a Cowboy, he has developed into a good player. Not a great player, but a good one. In eight games last season, he had seven sacks and was a noticeable player along the Cowboys’ defensive line. He’s only 24, and there is so much ability there. Irving is bright. He’s charming. He is sitting on a lotto ticket for a life both during, and after, football. He just has to turn down the noise. And if he is guilty of some of these charges, his career is over.
Dorian O'Daniel had a team-high 103 tackles last season at Clemson. He had 11 1/2 tackles for loss including five sacks and was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.
TEXANS WORK OUT TIGERS LINEBACKER Clemson’s O’Daniel on Houston’s radar By Aaron Wilson HOUSTON CHRONICLE
One of the most versatile linebackers in the draft, Clemson standout Dorian O'Daniel is a firm believer in the importance of special teams. He has the build of a large safety and is excellent on special teams with 48 career special-teams tackles. O'Daniel worked out privately for the Texans, visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets. Wherever O'Daniel winds up playing, the athletic Butkus Award finalist is expected to excel on special teams and operate as a hybrid linebackersafety. "Absolutely, I just know it's going to be a big impact and a big role for me coming in wherever I go," O'Daniel said. "They like what I do on special teams and that's definitely going to be an emphasis. "I just like the opportunity to display what I can do. Wherever you have an opportunity, just take pride in that chance to be on the field and take advantage of it and go down there and make plays." O'Daniel worked out for inside linebackers coach Bobby King, whom he had met when the Texans were coaching in the Senior Bowl. "It went really well," O'Daniel said. "Coach King and I already had the relationship. He knew what kind of player I was." He has drawn comparisons to Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith. O'Daniel led Clemson last season with 103 tackles and was named second-team AllAtlantic Coast Conference. O'Daniel had 11 1/2 tackles for losses and five sacks. As a junior, O'Daniel had 60 tackles, 10 for losses and 2 1/2 sacks. O'Daniel has run the 40yard dash in 4.61 seconds and bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times. "Teams like my closing speed, my instincts, my coverage ability and my versatility," O'Daniel said. "I think my
physicality is a plus. I'm not afraid to put my head in there and tackle and hit someone. My athleticism, not a lot of linebackers have that. The traditional 250-pound linebacker is going of going extinct. They want a guy who can move and run and cover. I bring a lot to the table." O'Daniel finished his career with 227 tackles, 28 for losses, 8 1/2 sacks, three interceptions and two touchdowns, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. A former all-state and AllAmerican linebacker in Maryland at Good Counsel, he had 1,307 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior and 16 1/2 tackles for losses and five sacks as a junior. O'Daniel grew up in Pittsburgh, but moved to Maryland to challenge himself athletically and academically. "My family went out on a limb to give me that opportunity to excel," he said. O'Daniel said he's relaxed about the draft process. "I feel confident," he said. "Everybody asks me how I feel. I feel like I've answered the bell. I did well at the combine and private workouts and visits. I'm excited and confident." Limestone WR Vyncint Smith intrigues Texans, other NFL teams When Limestone wide receiver Vyncint Smith visited the Texans, the conversation centered around his size and athleticism. Smith checked a lot of boxes that the Texans are looking for. The Division II standout is big, tall and fast at 6-3, 195 pounds with a 4.36 time in the 40-yard dash. He's reached the point where he's not really regarded as a sleeper in NFL circles. "Brian Gaine said they have criteria of what type of receivers they need as far as athleticism," said Smith, who's represented by Adam Seifer of Premier Athlete Advisors. "They're looking for guys over 6-feet who run a 4.4. I check the box on everything they're looking to check off. Gaine is a
really nice guy, a great guy. I had an excellent visit. "I can stretch the field and take it to the house and I'm developing my intermediate game. Being in the Texans' facility, seeing Deshaun Watson, Tyrann Mathieu, J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, Kevin Johnson, they have a star-studded roster. It was pretty cool to be there. I'd love to play for them." Smith met with receivers coach John Perry in addition to Gaine and took a physical. He has visited the New York Jets and worked out privately for the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. He has had private meetings with the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. "I'm extremely excited about the process," Smith said. "It's going much better than I expected it to be a year ago. I didn't think I would be somebody who's considered to be drafted. I didn't think coming from a Division II school I would get this much attention from the NFL." Smith talked with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick following the South Carolina Pro Day. "That was really cool," Smith said. "He introduced himself. It was cool to shake the hand of a man of his caliber. I was star-struck." The 6-3, 195-pound all-conference selection caught 49 passes for 849 yards and three touchdowns last season. As a junior, he caught 44 passes for a school record 709 yards and four touchdowns. For his career, he has caught 153 passes for 2,371 yards and 11 scores. Can a Division II standout's game translate to the NFL? It has in the past. Smith isn't worried about where he started, just his destination. "I would simply say that I'm a competitor to the very core," Smith said. "I'm a smart player. I don't think it will take me too much time to get acclimated and start making plays. I'm a consistent type of player and I will elevate my game."
A8 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
NATIONAL Pompeo nomination narrowly clears panel, goes to full Senate By Lisa Mascaro A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, avoided a rare rebuke Monday as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee narrowly recommended him, but the vote served as a warning shot to the White House as nominees to lead the CIA and Veterans Affairs are hitting stiff resistance. Pompeo, who’s now CIA director, received the panel’s approval only after Trump’s last-minute overtures to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Pompeo’s nomination now goes to the full Senate, where votes are tallying in his favor and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he looks forward to voting to confirm him later this week. Trump has been quick to fire his top cabinet secretaries, but Senate Democrats are not so fast to confirm replacements. A grilling is expected Wednesday of Ronny Jackson, the White House physician nominated to head the VA, and Pompeo’s potential replacement at the CIA, Gina Haspel, is also facing scrutiny. It’s also a reminder of how tough it could be to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Trump has publicly mused about firing Rosenstein, who is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “Hard to believe,” Trump tweeted Monday about what he called “obstruction.” ‘’The Dems will not approve hundreds
Lawrence Jackson / The New York Times
The committee, in a late pivot on April 23, approved the confirmation of Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state, after Sen. Rand Paul bowed to pressure from President Donald Trump and dropped his opposition.
of good people... They are maxing out the time on approval process for all, never happened before. Need more Republicans!” Republicans hold just a slim Senate majority, 5049, with the prolonged absence of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Pompeo’s bid to become the nation’s top diplomat was in the hands of a few senators, but received a boost Monday when two Democrats, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, announced their support. Pressure is mounting on senators from all sides. White House allies are unloading ad campaigns against Democrats from Trump-won states, but progressive groups are pounding senators’ offices in opposition. As soon as Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., announced her support for Pompeo, one group called on her to switch. Ahead of the Foreign Relations Committee’s vote, chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said of the full Senate, “It does appear Mike Pompeo has the
votes to be secretary of state.” Supporters point to Pompeo’s resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate who has the president’s confidence, particularly on North Korea. Opponents are focusing on his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims. Paul’s earlier objections to Pompeo, along with overwhelming opposition from Democrats, had set the secretary of state nominee on track to be the first since 1925, when the committee started keeping records, not to receive a favorable recommendation. But Trump and Paul talked repeatedly, including a chat just moments before the vote. “I have changed my mind,” Paul said, explaining he received reassurances that Pompeo agrees with the president that the Iraq war was a “mistake” and that it is time for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan. Paul’s office said he “got a win” out of the situation, but declined to provide details.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 |
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BUSINESS
Putting a price on a newspaper By Nicholas Riccardi and Brady Mccombs A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
DENVER — Across the street from the Colorado Capitol rises an 11-story building emblazoned with The Denver Post’s logo. No reporters work out of the building any more, only executives of Digital First Media, whose cuts at the Post triggered an unusual plea from the paper’s own editorial page to be sold to another owner. Five hundred miles to the west, the Salt Lake Tribune newsroom takes up one floor of the building that bears its name, overlooking snow-capped mountains and the arena where the Utah Jazz play. Once a Digital First property that dealt with staff reductions and feared
closure, the paper was sold to a prominent local family in 2016. Since then, its reporters received their first raise in a decade and won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Though its home city is less than one-third the size of Denver, the Tribune’s newsroom staff of about 90 is larger than the Post’s roughly 60, who work out of leased offices in an industrial area northeast of the city. “Denver is such a big, vibrant community to have a staff that is smaller than ours — that’s just a mockery,” said Mike Gorrell, a veteran Tribune reporter. As Colorado’s civic community tries to mount a journalistic rescue mission and buy the Post, it is looking to Salt Lake
City and other cities like Boston, Minneapolis and Philadelphia that have seen wealthy residents keep their newspapers viable. What happens in Denver could be a signal to a battered newspaper industry, reeling from dwindling ad revenues, of what the future looks like. “You’ve got a better shot when there’s a local owner — there’s going to be pressure on that person to keep that asset vibrant,” said former Denver Post editor Greg Moore, who contributed a column to the Post’s April 9 editorial package. “If Denver’s future was like Salt Lake’s and they had a local owner with deep pockets who cared, that’d be the best outcome.” That was the hope of the Post’s editorial page when it published its
rebellious call for a sale with the headline: “As vultures circle, The Denver Post must be saved.” Editorial Page Editor Chuck Plunkett did not inform the newspaper’s editor or owners of the editorial and accompanying columns slamming Digital First and the New York-based Hedge Fund that owns it, Alden Global Capital, which the editorial called “vulture capitalists.” “The smart money is that in a few years The Denver Post will be rotting bones,” the editorial warned. Digital First and Alden did not reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment. The chain owns more than 80 newspapers and is known for cutting deeply. Critics say it vacuums up the
David Zalubowski / AP
This photo shows the front page of the Perspective section of The Denver Post from Sunday, April 8. The Post's cry for help in the form of an editorial pleading for new ownership resonated nationally.
profits from the reduced newsrooms and funnels them into other ventures. In the days after the Post editorial, the editor of the Bay Area News Group, also owned by Digital First and reeling from heavy cuts, published a sympathetic column . Last week, the editorial page editor of
the Boulder Daily Camera, another Digital First property, self-published his plea for a buyer, saying his bosses would not allow it in their newspaper. It’s unclear if the Post is even for sale, and there’s no guarantee of a buyer surfacing in Denver.
Sears’ shareholder offers to buy Kenmore By Damian Troise and Anne D’innocenzio A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — Sears’ biggest shareholder has suggested the company sell its well-known Kenmore brand and some real estate holdings, offering itself as a potential buyer. The ailing company has sold off other major brands as it struggles to stay afloat, with Kenmore a notable remainder of the powerhouse retailer that survived two world wars and the Great Depression. The private equity firm ESL Investment, headed by Sears chairman and CEO Edward Lampert, said it might buy the assets — Kenmore, Sears Home Services’ home improvement business and the company’s Parts Direct business — if the company is willing to sell. That sent shares of Sears Holding Corp., which have lost more than 70 percent of their value in the past year, up nearly 5 percent. Lampert, who combined Sears and Kmart in 2005 after helping bring Kmart out of bankruptcy, has long pledged to turn the company’s fortunes around. He said the retailer would find ways to capitalize on its bestknown brands like Kenmore appliances and DieHard car batteries, as well as its vast holdings of land. But the company has
David Zalubowski / AP
This photo shows a for sale sign outside a single-family home in Denver. The National Association of Realtors reported March sales of existing homes on Monday. Rick Bowmer / AP
The Kenmore Elite Smart Electric Dryer and Front Load Washer appear on display at a Sears store. Private equity firm ESL Investments is offering to buy struggling Sears Kenmore brand and home improvement unit.
continued to see shoppers move on to Target, Walmart and Amazon, and has closed hundreds of stores, cut costs and sold brands to deal with falling sales. In his letter to the board, Lampert said Sears has been trying to sell the Kenmore businesses for nearly two years but it has been unable to do so. Kenmore could have substantial value. Amazon.com began selling Kenmore appliances on its site almost a year ago. ESL has not placed a potential value on Kenmore, but said its nonbinding proposal gives the services and home improvement units an enterprise value of $500 million. ESL said it also would be open to making an
offer for Sears’ real estate, including the assumption of $1.2 billion in debt. “In our view, pursuing these divestures now will demonstrate the value of Sears’ portfolio of assets, will provide an important source of liquidity to Sears and could avoid any deterioration in the value of such assets,” Lampert wrote. Sears, which started in the 1880s as a mail-order catalog business, was a back-to-school and appliance shopping destination for generations. Its storied catalog featured items from bicycles to sewing machines to houses, and the company’s stores were a fixture of suburban malls from the 1950s to 1970s. AP-WF-04-23-18 1820GMT
Existing home sales rise in March By Josh Boak ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — U.S. sales of existing homes increased 1.1 percent on a monthly basis in March, which suggests that buyers are undeterred by the dwindling number of properties available on the market. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that homes sold last month at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.60 million, up from 5.54 million in February. This sales rate is higher than the 2017 total, but March sales were down slightly over the past 12 months. The housing market continues to be in the grip of an inventory crunch that has restricted
sales and growth in home ownership. Even as the overall economy has improved, there has been a 7.2 percent decline in listing from a year ago to just 1.67 million homes. The decline in listings could bottom out later this year because there has been a recent uptick in people listing homes that are then quickly purchased. But rising mortgage rates are also making it less likely that homeowners will choose to sell in order to buy another property at a higher interest rate. Nor have gains in new construction been enough to make up for the decline in inventories. “Demand is outstripping supply, and builders have been constrained in
their efforts to add new homes by tight labor, zoning restrictions, and most recently a run-up in materials costs,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities. Homes stayed on the market for 30 days in March, down from 34 days a year ago in a sign that the lack of inventory is prompting buyers to sign contracts quickly. The shortage is also causing prices to grow at roughly double the pace of wages. The median sales price has risen 5.8 percent from a year ago to $250,400. Home sales rose last month in the Northeast and Midwest, but they fell in the South and West.
A10 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
INTERNATIONAL NAFTA ministers to meet amid intensified push for deal By Eric Martin B L OOM BE RG NEWS
Senior trade officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will meet again in Washington in an intensified push to reach a NAFTA agreement in the next few weeks. Talks will pick up on Tuesday, after cabinetlevel members vowed on Friday to keep up the momentum following consultations with their technical teams over the weekend. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said last week that after seven months of discussions, the three sides have entered a concentrated phase where “my negotiating team is practically living in Washington.” Still, major differences remain over key U.S. demands. Mexico scored a separate commercial victory over the weekend with a deal in principle to update a 17-year-old freetrade agreement with the European Union. Guajardo jetted to Brussels to help close the deal. Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister for foreign affairs, said Friday that North American Free Trade Agreement negotiators have been making good progress on updated rules for cars, which she said will be at the heart of any eventual updated NAFTA. “We have had some very energetic and productive conversations,” Freeland told reporters on the steps of the U.S. Trade Representative’s office following meetings with her counterparts. “We are certainly in a more intense period of
Lars Hagberg / AFP/Getty Images
This photo shows the Mexican, US and Canadian flags in the lobby where NAFTA renegotiations took place in Canada. Senior trade officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will meet again Tuesday in Washington in an intensified push to reach a NAFTA agreement in the next few weeks.
negotiations, and we are making good progress.” Immigration Controls U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said again that he could make Mexican-immigration curbs a condition of a new NAFTA deal, highlighting that a deal is still far from certain. Trump in a Twitter post said Mexico “must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S,” adding “We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement. Our Country cannot accept what is happening!” Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray responded it’s unacceptable to demand that Mexico tie changes to its “sovereign” immigration policy to an updated trade pact. “Mexico decides its immigration policy in a sovereign manner, and the migration cooperation with the U.S. takes place in such a way that Mexico agrees,” Videgaray said
on Twitter. Cars, Agriculture This week’s talks are set to be the broadest and biggest since the final official negotiating round in Mexico City in early March, according to a preliminary agenda obtained by Bloomberg. Topics include automotive rules, agriculture, and legal and institutional matters such as dispute settlement mechanisms. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto traveled to Germany over the weekend to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Hannover Messe, a huge industry show where Mexico is the chosen partner country this year. Deepening ties with the EU is part of Mexico’s push to diversify beyond the U.S., the destination for 72 percent of the nation’s $435 billion in exports last year. Pena Nieto said he’s optimistic he’ll have good news to announce from the NAFTA talks.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 |
A11
FROM THE COVER
Three MS-13 gang members convicted By Sarah Betancourt A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS
BOSTON — Three members of the notorious MS-13 gang have been convicted of racketeering and murder by a Boston federal jury. U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said 27-year-old Noe Salvador Perez Vasquez, a Salvadoran national; 27-year-old Luis Solis Vasquez, a Salvadoran national; and 39-year-old Hector Enamorado, a Honduran national were found guilty Monday by a jury for racketeering and knowingly committing murder as a part of a racketeering conspiracy. They are the 41st, 42nd and 43rd defendants to be convicted in an indictment targeting the criminal activities of alleged associates and leaders of the criminal organization. Perez was also found guilty of intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana. The murder charge is related to the killing of a 29-year-old male victim in a Chelsea, Massachusetts, apartment complex in 2014. According to trial testimony, Enamorado used Perez’s gun to fatally shoot the man three times. James J. Cipoletta, the attorney for Enamorado, said his client maintains “he is not a member of MS-13, and had nothing to do with the Chelsea murder.” He will appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Perez is charged with the July 2015 murder of a gang member in Lawrence, Massachusetts, who MS-13 members believed was cooperating with law enforcement.
CHIP From page A1 week, three Texas Health and Human Services Commission employees were fired following a scathing letter from Abbott to Executive Commissioner Charles Smith over contracting failures related to the Children’s Health Insurance Program in rural communities. Problems arose with the scoring tool used to decide which company should win the contract. At the health commission, insurance companies seeking to do government business must submit competitive applications, which are supposed to be scored by the agency and awarded based on which application received the most points. In this case, the procurement tool failed to tally points properly, which was discovered by competing health insurance companies when they reviewed their applications afterward. “The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s apparent mismanagement of the agency’s procurement process undermines the core mission of CHIP, which is to protect our most vul-
MISTRIAL From page A1 immediately return a phone call seeking comment late Monday afternoon. Art Del Cueto, head of the Tucson union for Border Patrol officers, said: “I believe that justice was properly served. The jurors took their time, and we’re pretty happy with it.” Prosecutor Elizabeth Strange said her office respects the jury’s decision. “I am proud of our office’s work in presenting this difficult case to the jury,” Strange said. The Border Patrol
File photo / courtesy of FBI
A MS-13 gang member shows his tattoo identifying him as a member of that gang. Three members of the notorious MS-13 gang have been convicted of racketeering and murder by a federal jury.
Perez planned the murder and promised to promote other members of the gang for assisting. All three sentencing hearings are scheduled for July. Attorneys Raymond O’Hara and Jason Benzaken, representing Perez Vasquez, could not be reached for comment. Attorney Ian Gold, representing Solis Vasquez, did not return a phone call for comment. Defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for racketeering conspiracy charges. The charge of distributing cocaine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, a minimum of five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. All three men will be subject to deportation upon completion of their sentences.
Alfredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images
Shown is a screen of Mexico's presidential candidates during the first presidental debate held in Mexico City on Sunday.
First presidential debate held By Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — The first of Mexico’s presidential debates opened Sunday night with rivals concentrating their fire on front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who defended the idea of an amnesty to fight drug violence and revived his famous campaign slogan from 2006, “For the good of all, the poor come first.” The leftist candidate defended his proposals to “speak with everybody” to solve Mexico’s crime problem. He said he would even invite the pope to discuss how to carry out such a dialogue. The other candidates harshly criticized the amnesty proposal. Thirdplace candidate Jose Antonio Meade said the proposal put Lopez Obrador “on the side of the criminals.” But all of the candidates conceded that Mexico’s anti-crime and law enforcement policies have been a failure. Even Meade, who is running for the governing
Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, and who served in several Cabinet posts in the current administration, acknowledged the weakness of police. “Above all, we don’t investigate,” he said. Several candidates proposed creating an FBI-style federal investigation agency to make up for the fact that drug cartels operate freely in many parts of Mexico. Since his failed presidential bids in 2006 and 2012, Lopez Obrador has sought to move to the middle and hadn’t much mentioned the “poor come first” slogan of the 2006 campaign until Sunday. He later hedged it a bit, saying that if he is elected, his government “would represent the rich and the poor.” In 2006, Lopez Obrador also held a significant lead early in the race, and conservative sectors sought to link him to another leftist — then President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, whose socialist policies are blamed by many for the economic implosion that is wrack-
ing that country. Ricardo Anaya, the former head of the conservative National Action Party, again sought to play the Venezuela card Sunday, saying Lopez Obrador’s proposal to hold recall votes was similar to tactics used by Venezuela’s ruling socialists to hold on to power. Known in the past for his extremely slow and often rambling speech, Lopez Obrador on Sunday was focused and appeared better prepared. He had little problem distinguishing himself from the other four candidates, because they all often turned to attack him. Lopez Obrador has held a lead of as much as 20 points in some opinion polls on the July 1 elections. “This isn’t just another election,” Lopez Obrador said. “This is to truly change things in this country.” Lopez Obrador became overconfident in 2006, skipped a debate and eventually lost by a tiny margin, and that the danger appeared to hover
over him Sunday. At one point he said: “Here is the latest poll and, not to brag, but with all humility, 48 percent. Something terrible would have to happen” for him not to win. Foreign policy was absent from the first debate, though it will be on the agenda for debates in May and June, but independent candidate and former first lady Margarita Zavala still got in a swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump. “The focus of my government will be to defend Mexicans, to defend you, from the corrupt ones, from the criminals, defend you from Trump,” Zavala said. The debate was also marked by a couple of bizarre proposals. Independent candidate Jaime Rodriguez, the swaggering governor of the northern state of Nuevo Leon, proposed cutting off the hands of politicians who steal public funds. And, he said, “Mexico would be great ... if the president answered WhatsApp messages.”
we have sufficient prosecutors available” and that he may transfer immigration judges to the border. He said caravan members have ignored the Mexican government’s willingness to let them stay in Mexico. “Let today’s message be clear: Our nation has the most generous immigration system in the world, but this is a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system,” Sessions said. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Monday that “DHS continues to monitor the remnants of the ‘caravan’ of individuals headed to our Southern border with the apparent intention of entering the United States illegally.” “If members of the ‘caravan’ enter the country illegally, they will be referred for prosecution
for illegal entry in accordance with existing law,” Nielsen said in a statement. “For those seeking asylum, all individuals may be detained while their claims are adjudicated efficiently and expeditiously, and those found not to have a claim will be promptly removed from the United States.” She said her agency was working with the Justice Department in “taking a number of steps to ensure that all cases and claims are adjudicated promptly including sending additional USCIS asylum officers, ICE attorneys, DOJ Immigration Judges, and DOJ prosecutors to the Southern border.” “DHS encourages persons with asylum or other similar claims to seek protections in the first safe country they enter, including Mexico,” the statement said.
immigration and building a wall along the U.S.Mexico border a cornerstone of his presidency. The killing of Elena Rodriguez was felt deeply in the twin communities of Nogales, where about 20,000 people live on the Arizona side and about 300,000 in Mexico. The communities are linked by family members, trade and culture and have long been referred to locally as “Ambos Nogales” - “Both Nogales” in Spanish. During the trial, jurors visited the border area at night to get a better idea of what Swartz was facing. The agent, who has
been on administrative leave pending the trial’s outcome, testified that he remembered little of what happened. The Border Patrol has not said if he was receiving his salary. A parallel civil case filed by the teen’s mother against Swartz seeking monetary damages is pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. ——— Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/ jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://bit.ly/2GGWEPO. AP-WF-04-24-18 0037GMT
nerable citizens,” Gonzalez added. “The agency needs to be held accountable, but not at the expense of children.” The canceled CHIP contracts cover services to 34,000 low-income children in the Hidalgo service area. The terminated contracts with Driscoll Children’s Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Texas Children’s Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of Texas and Superior HealthPlan were scheduled to begin in September and continue through December 2019. Abbott said he had asked the state auditor’s office and the health commission’s office of inspector general, a unit that acts as a sort of anti-fraud police, to investigate where the contract award went wrong. But Abbott said he did not have any reason to believe the failure was a result of “intentional misconduct.” “Mistakes like this are unacceptable, which is why I am requesting immediate action to examine and address errors in the existing procurement tool and system as well as the underlying process moving forward,” Abbott wrote.
The approximately 600 migrants arrived in the northern city of Hermosillo aboard trains over the weekend. Mujica has said the migrants plan to arrive in Tijuana later this week. Trump tweeted Monday that “I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country.” “Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement,” Trump tweeted. In response, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray tweeted, “It would be
unacceptable to condition the NAFTA negotiations on immigration actions that are outside that framework.” “Mexico decides its own immigration policy in a sovereign manner, and Mexico’s cooperation on immigration matters with the United States occurs because Mexico considers it in its own interest,” Videgaray wrote. Many of the migrants say they are fleeing gang violence and extortion in Honduras and El Salvador. The U.S. government “should be more understanding of the women and children in this caravan ... and the dangers they face in their countries,” Mujica said. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday that he told his offices in border states to “take whatever immediate action to ensure that
came under close scrutiny during the Obama administration for allegations involving excessive use of force. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency, reported 55 incidents in which employees used firearms from Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012. The number of incidents fell to 17 for the same period five years later. Swartz initially was charged with seconddegree murder in the shooting of Elena Rodriguez in Nogales, Mexico. Collins told the jury in his instructions that they could consider a lesser charge of voluntary or involuntary manslaugh-
ter if they had trouble reaching a verdict on the more serious charge. During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Heath Kleindienst said Swartz “was fed up with being rocked” after being targeted in at least six other attacks. “He was angry with those people who had been throwing rocks against the fence,” Kleindienst said. “It was not about eliminating a threat, because there was no threat,” he said. “It was about eliminating a human being.” Defense attorney Sean Chapman argued there was “not a scintilla of
evidence” that Swartz was angry or fed up. He said Swartz shot because he was trying to protect himself and his fellow agents during a drug operation. “From his first day in the Border Patrol, it had been ingrained in him that rocks were dangerous,” Chapman said. The trial played out as President Donald Trump called for National Guard troops to be sent to the Mexican border to free Border Patrol agents to concentrate on stopping drugs and people from illegally entering the United States. Trump has made his crackdown on illegal
MIGRANTS From page A1
A12 | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Prince heirs sue hospital over care during overdose By Amy Forliti A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
MINNEAPOLIS — Prince’s heirs have sued Walgreens and the Illinois hospital that treated the music superstar after he suffered from an opioid overdose, alleging that a doctor and various pharmacists failed to provide Prince with reasonable care, contributing to his death. The wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Cook County, Illinois, alleges a doctor and pharmacist at Trinity Medical Center in Moline, Illinois, failed to appropriately treat and investigate Prince’s April 15, 2016, overdose, and that he died “as a direct and proximate cause of one or more ... deviations from the standards of care.”
It accuses Walgreen Co. and pharmacists at two of its Minnesota branches of “dispensing prescription medications not valid for a legitimate medical purpose.” Walgreens and the hospital’s parent company both declined to comment Monday, citing pending litigation. Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park studio compound in suburban Minneapolis on April 21, 2016. An autopsy found he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin. Authorities said it was likely Prince didn’t know he was taking the dangerous drug, which was laced in counterfeit pills made to
look like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin. The source of those pills is unknown and no one has been charged in Prince’s death. A week before he died, Prince passed out on a flight home from an Atlanta concert and the private plane made an emergency stop in Moline. The musician had to be revived with two doses of a drug that reverses effects of an opioid overdose. At Trinity Medical Center, Prince refused medical tests but was asked what drugs he took. Documents show a pill that he had with him, which was marked as Vicodin, was sent to the pharmacy for testing. A hospital pharmacist said it appeared to be Vicodin and returned it to Prince.
‘A Quiet Place’ beats ‘Rampage’ at the box office A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — John Krasinski’s thriller “A Quiet Place” rose to the top spot of the box office in its third weekend in theaters, just barely beating out last week’s champ “Rampage” for the title. “A Quiet Place” added $20.9 million from North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $131.3 million, while “Rampage,” in its second weekend grossed $20.1 million. Both films beat out newcomers like Amy Schumer’s comedy “I Feel Pretty,” which placed third with $16 million, and
“Super Troopers 2,” which landed in fourth with $15.2 million. The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore: 1. “A Quiet Place,” Paramount, $20,911,809, 3,808 locations, $5,492 average, $131,270,520, 3 Weeks. 2. “Rampage,” Warner Bros., $20,094,294, 4,115 locations, $4,883 average, $65,694,360, 2 Weeks. 3. “I Feel Pretty,” STX
Entertainment, $16,030,218, 3,440 locations, $4,660 average, $16,030,218, 1 Week. 4. “Super Troopers 2,” 20th Century Fox, $15,181,624, 2,038 locations, $7,449 average, $15,181,624, 1 Week. 5. “Blumhouse’s Truth Or Dare,” Universal, $7,793,425, 3,068 locations, $2,540 average, $30,268,840, 2 Weeks. 6. “Ready Player One,” Warner Bros., $7,418,738, 3,208 locations, $2,313 average, $126,100,064, 4 Weeks. 7. “Blockers,” Universal, $6,835,145, 3,134 locations, $2,181 average, $48,102,190, 3 Weeks.