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Cuellar sets funds to fight cattle fever ticks
Trump fires Comey
An extra $3.7M will be added for the cause S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) announced an additional $3.7 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding to fight cattle fever ticks in areas like Starr, Zapata, and Webb Counties. This is in addition to the $8.5 million already allocated for fiscal year 2017, bringing the total to $12.2 million. “Cattle producers are an important part of our econo-
my, and our way of life, here in Texas,” said Cuellar. “With their hard work, they feed America and the world, so controlling cattle fever ticks is a priority. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, it is my job to make sure the USDA has the funding to protect this industry and our food supply. That is why I have consistently fought for significant funding for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s
(APHIS) Cattle Health program, which received $91.5 million in the Fiscal Year Cuellar 2017 Omnibus Appropriations Act. This program helps improve the quality, productivity, and economic viability of the U.S. cattle industry. “I would like to thank the Texas Farm Bureau, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and the South Texans’ Property Rights Association for their ad-
vocacy on this issue. I also thank my colleagues Rep. Filemon Vela and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, as well as House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt and Ranking Member Sanford Bishop for their support on this issue.” Susan Kibbe, the Executive Director of the South Texans’ Property Rights Association (STPRA), said, “South Texans’ Property Rights Association (STPRA) applauds Congressman Cuellar’s quick response in securing additional funding to help fight cattle fever tick in the recent outbreaks in Cuellar continues on A11
ANTI-ABORTION MOVEMENT
ABORTION FOES CHEER ADVANCES; OPPONENTS PROTEST
President will get to nominate new director By Chris Strohm and Margaret Talev BL OOMBERG NEWS
President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey late Tuesday on the recommendation of the attorney general and his top aide, who cited the bureau’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email while secretary of state. “Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office,” according to a White House statement. “President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Comey Attorney General Jeff Sessions.” Comey, who has led an investigation into Russia’s meddling during the 2016 election and possible links to Trump aides and associates, is only the second FBI chief to have been fired. In 1993, President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno dismissed William Sessions. Trump’s decision means that he will get to nominate Comey’s successor while the agency is deep into the Russia inquiry and has been counted on by the intelligence committees in Congress to aid their separate investigations. The move may further intensify Democratic calls for a special prosecutor. The White House statement made no direct mention of the Russia probe in announcing Trump’s decision and instead focused on Comey’s handling of the Clinton inquiry last year. ‘Wrong to Usurp’ FBI continues on A11
TEXAS SENATE
Anti-hazing bill approved Proposal criminalize harsh initiations J. Scott Applewhite / AP
In this March 8 file photo, activists voice their objections as House Republicans work on their long-awaited plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Planned Parenthood: the world’s worst week for women’s health By David Crary and Clarice Silber A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
P
HOENIX — From the U.S. Capitol and the White House to far-flung battlegrounds in Arizona, Iowa and elsewhere, it's been a dramatic fortnight in the debate over access to abortion and birth
Under the GOP-backed health care bill that cleared the House last week, people who rely on Medicaid would be unable to get subsidized preventive care ... including birth control, cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
control. Foes of abortion celebrated a series of advances and claimed new momentum, as abortion rights supporters mounted protests to try to blunt it. Planned Parenthood, the anti-abortion movement's prime target, called it "the world's worst week for women's health." Among the developments in recent days: House Republicans passed a health care bill that would halt most federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a
year and expand restrictions on private insurance coverage of abortion. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on religious liberty that will likely make it easier for employers to drop coverage of contraceptives from their health care plans. The secretary of Health and Human Services, conservative physician Tom Price, said he would act swiftly "to safeguard the deeply held religious beliefs of Americans who provide health insurance to their emAbortion continues on A11
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has approved a bill expanding the definition of hazing in civil and criminal cases. Laredo Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini’s measure is designed to curb hazing at universities. It spells out as hazing those cases involving coerced consumption of alcohol and drugs — which can be common during fraternity pledges and other campus Zaffirini situations. Zarririni said current state statue on hazing is often too vague. Her bill further bars those who carry out hazing incidents from seeking immunity from prosecution when reporting their own hazing. It was approved by a vote of 24-7 on Tuesday and now heads to the state House. A similar bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2015 but stalled in the House without reaching a floor vote.
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10
A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S
LEGO Night. 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free and family friendly. LEGOs, DUPLOs, and LEGO Robotics will be made available to the public for free-play.
Today is Wednesday, May 10, the 130th day of 2017. There are 235 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
Lighthouse Assembly of God Church invites you to a conference on the power of the Holy Spirit with international speaker Vivian Boyles. 7 p.m. 8731 Belize Drive. For more information, call 956-334-6901 or 956251-1784.
THURSDAY, MAY 11 Lighthouse Assembly of God Church invites you to a conference on the power of the Holy Spirit with international speaker Vivian Boyles. 7 p.m. 8731 Belize Drive. For more information, call 956-334-6901 or 956251-1784.
FRIDAY, MAY 12 Lighthouse Assembly of God Church invites you to a conference on the power of the Holy Spirit with international speaker Vivian Boyles. 7 p.m. 8731 Belize Drive. For more information, call 956-334-6901 or 956251-1784.
SATURDAY, MAY 13 Lighthouse Assembly of God Church invites you to a conference on the power of the Holy Spirit with international speaker Vivian Boyles. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 8731 Belize Drive. For more information, call 956-334-6901 or 956-251-1784.
MONDAY, MAY 15 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17 LEGO Night. 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free and family friendly. LEGOs, DUPLOs, and LEGO Robotics will be made available to the public for free-play.
SATURDAY, MAY 20 Harry Potter Book Club. 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free and family friendly. Children and adults are welcome. We will discuss “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling.
SUNDAY, MAY 21 St. Patrick Men's Club steak asado plate sale scholarship fundraiser. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Patrick Church ground, 555 Del Mar Blvd. $5 per plate. For more information call, 956-3242432.
MONDAY, MAY 22 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 LEGO Night. 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free and family friendly. LEGOs, DUPLOs, and LEGO Robotics will be made available to the public for free-play.
THURSDAY, MAY 25 Landscaping with Native Plants. 6:30 p.m. Lake Casa Blanca International State Park Ranchito. Presented by George Altgelt, Sr., Soil Scientist, and Danny Gunn, Sr., Master Gardener. Free and open to the public. For more information, email: brushcountrychapter@gmail.com. Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society regular meeting. 3-5 p.m. Joe A Guerra Public Library, second floor. Speaker: Judy Jordan, "When It Rains It Pours; The Story of the Jordan Family.” For more information, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810. Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, conference room. Discussion of La Quinta Montaña by Paulo Coelho of Brazil. Power Point on Brazil. For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
MONDAY, MAY 29 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
Michael Schumacher / AP
In this Wednesday photo, Peter Balderas discusses plans to build a new house next door to his former house where his four children were accidentally poisoned and died on in Amarillo, Texas.
DONATIONS HELP FAMILY AFTER ACCIDENTAL DEATHS AMARILLO, Texas — After the accidental pesticide poisoning that killed four of Peter and Martha Balderas' children and hospitalized their remaining four kids as well as the parents on Jan. 2, the family has bounced around, depending upon the kindness of their parish and friends to keep a roof over their heads. The Amarillo Globe-News reports they've moved from the Baptist St. Anthony Health System to the care of the St. Laurence Catholic Church to a friend's house in northwest Amarillo. And now, next door to the home where they lost
Texas votes to give immigration lockups child care licenses AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers are advancing a proposal to license family immigrant detention centers as child care providers. The state Senate voted 20-11
nearly half their family, the Balderases are starting to rebuild. The five-bedroom, two bathroom wood house under construction will be 3,163 square feet and is valued at $319,225 plus a $4,000 carport, according to city permits. Peter Balderas said he expects it to be finished around October. Balderas said five of his eight children slept on the floor of the manufactured home where tragedy struck in January. He said he was determined going forward that each of his children would have their own room where they could sleep. — Compiled from AP reports
Tuesday to approve a bill that would allow Texas to license two family lockdowns, despite past state court rulings that such facilities do not meet requirements to care for kids. The bill would enable detention facilities to hold families for prolonged stays, which advocates say would further children's psychological harm. The private prison company GEO Group has lobbied for the
bill, which could help its 830bed Karnes Residential Facility remain open. That lockup, which mainly holds women and children seeking asylum from Central America, earns GEO $55 million annually. Recently Karnes' population has plummeted, since fewer immigrant families are crossing the border into the U.S. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Paul Ryan visits New York school run by charter advocate NEW YORK — U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan paid a visit to a charter school run by a Democrat who was briefly in the running to be Republican President Donald Trump's education secretary. The Wisconsin Republican did not speak with reporters gathered outside the Success Academy charter school in Harlem on Tuesday, but he praised the school's "great kids and their committed teachers" in a statement afterward. "The quality of teacher training and preparedness was extraordinary," Ryan said. More than 100 activists greeted Ryan with chants including "Paul Ryan shame on you! You don't care if people die." Ryan, who helped lead an
Mary Altaffer / AP
House Speaker Paul Ryan, center, smiles as he leaves the Success Academy charter school Tuesday in New York.
effort to pass a House bill seeking to repeal and replace Democratic former President Barack Obama's health care law, waved at the demonstrators as he left the school building. The school is part of a network of 41 schools run by former city Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, a longtime ad-
vocate of school choice and charter schools. The Success Academy schools have won praise for students' high scores on statewide math and English tests but have weathered controversies including a leaked video that showed a teacher disciplining a student harshly. — Compiled from AP reports
On this date: In 1774, Louis XVI acceded to the throne of France. In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, New York. In 1863, during the Civil War, Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died of pneumonia, a complication resulting from being hit by friendly fire eight days earlier during the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia. In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI). In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany. In 1940, during World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government. In 1941, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission. (Hess ended up serving a life sentence at Spandau Prison until 1987, when he apparently committed suicide at age 93.) In 1960, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton completed its submerged navigation of the globe. In 1977, Academy Award-winning actress Joan Crawford died in New York. In 1984, the International Court of Justice said the United States should halt any actions to blockade Nicaragua's ports (the U.S. had already said it would not recognize World Court jurisdiction on this issue). In 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath of office in Pretoria to become South Africa's first black president. The state of Illinois executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, for the murders of 33 young men and boys. Ten years ago: The Democraticcontrolled House, by a vote of 255171, defeated legislation to require the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within nine months. Five years ago: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney apologized for "stupid" high school pranks that might have gone too far and moved quickly to stamp out any notion that he'd bullied schoolmates because they were gay. One year ago: deputy. Stephen Curry became the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season. Today's Birthdays: Author Barbara Taylor Bradford is 84. Rhythm-andblues singer Henry Fambrough (The Spinners) is 79. Actor David Clennon is 74. Writer-producer-director Jim Abrahams is 73. Singer Donovan is 71. Singer-songwriter Graham Gouldman (10cc) is 71. Singer Dave Mason is 71. Actor Mike Hagerty is 63. Sports anchor Chris Berman is 62. Actor Bruce Penhall is 60. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., is 59. Actress Victoria Rowell is 58. Rock singer Bono (U2) is 57. Rock musician Danny Carey (Tool) is 56. Actor Darryl M. Bell is 54. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is 54. Model Linda Evangelista is 52. Rapper Young MC is 50. Actor Erik Palladino is 49. Rock singer Richard Patrick (Filter) is 49. Actor Lenny Venito is 48. Actor Dallas Roberts is 47. Actress Leslie Stefanson is 46. Actor-singer Todd Lowe is 45. Country musician David Wallace (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 45. Actress Andrea Anders is 42. Race car driver Helio Castroneves is 42. Rock musician Jesse Vest is 40. Actor Kenan Thompson is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jason Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 37. Rock musician Joey Zehr (The Click Five) is 34. Singer Ashley Poole (Dream) is 32. Actress Odette Annable is 32. Actress Lindsey Shaw is 28. Actress Lauren Potter is 27. Olympic gold medal swimmer Missy Franklin is 22. Thought for Today: "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." — William James, American psychologist and philosopher (1842-1910).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 LEGO Night. 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco. Free and family friendly. LEGOs, DUPLOs, and LEGO Robotics will be made available to the public for free-play.
MONDAY, JUNE 5 Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting. 6:30—7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month. People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual’s medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.
AROUND THE WORLD Liberal claims victory in South Korea presidential election SEOUL, South Korea — Hours after celebrating his election win with thousands of supporters in wet Seoul streets, newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday will be thrown into the job of navigating a nation deep-
ly split over its future and faced with growing threats from North Korea and an uneasy alliance with the United States. Moon, whose victory capped one of the most turbulent political stretches in the nation's recent history and set up its first liberal rule in a decade, will begin his presidential duties after the National Election Commission officially declares him as winner in a meeting scheduled on Wednesday morning. The election body had finished
CONTACT US voting as of 6 a.m., with Moon gathering 41 percent of the votes, comfortably edging conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, who gathered 24 percent and 21 percent of the votes, respectively. Moon's first schedule as president was expected to be a morning visit to the National Cemetery in the central city of Daejeon, where the country's independence fighters and war heroes are buried. — Compiled from AP reports
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The Zapata Times
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 |
A3
STATE
Texas adoption bill OK's rejection of non-Christian parents By Meredith Hoffman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — Many state-funded Texas adoption agencies routinely deny non-Christian, gay, and unmarried applicants on religious grounds — and now they are backing legislation being considered Tuesday by the state House designed to protect them from potential lawsuits. The private organizations, which are paid by the state to place foster children with adoptive families, want to continue the practice and are seeking legal protections through Texas' "Freedom to Serve Children Act," which is up for consideration Tuesday in the GOP-controlled House. If it clears the House, the bill heads to the even more conservative Senate and then for an approval signature by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not commented on the bill. The bill would be the nation's second allowing state-funded adoption agencies to reject families on religious grounds. South Dakota passed similar legislation in March but it's too soon to measure its practical effects. While the Texas proposal may not pass constitutional muster, that hasn't stopped the state's lawmakers before, who
Eric Gay / AP
In this Jan. 10 file photo, Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, stands before the opening of the 85th Texas Legislative session in the house chambers at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas.
have recently approved a voter ID law and abortion restrictions that were overturned in court. Randy Daniels, vicepresident of Child and Family Services for the Dallas-based Christian child welfare organization Buckner International, said religious agencies are terrified of lawsuits for turning away parents. "We want to make sure we can practice within the framework of our sincerely held religious beliefs," said Daniels. Buckner only accepts Christian heterosexual couples who have been married for at least four years, in addition to some single individuals — which is more liberal than many other faith-based groups, which refuse single parents, said Daniels.
"These are our requirements, and we're clear, this is just who we are," said Daniels. "We want to make sure that groups like Buckner continue to have a place at the table because we bring solutions." The state's child welfare system is overburdened with about 3,800 children currently up for adoption. Private firms receive state funding to handle the "vast majority" of adoptions, said Patrick Crimmins, a Department of Family and Protective Services spokesman. "We want to make reasonable accommodations so everyone can participate in the system," said state Rep. James Frank of Wichita Falls. "Everyone is welcome. But you don't have to think alike to participate."
ACLU warns Texas travelers about ‘sanctuary city’ law A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a warning about traveling to Texas because of the state's new law banning so-called sanctuary cities. The ACLU said Tuesday that Texas travelers should anticipate "the
possible violation of their constitutional rights" if stopped by police. The new law allows officers to ask people about their immigration status during routine stops. The law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday doesn't take effect until September. Republicans reject claims that the law
will lead to racial profiling and say it's needed to keep criminals off the streets. ACLU officials have pledged to challenge the law in court. Texas's attorney general's office took the unusual step Monday of asking a federal judge to pre-emptively declare the law constitutional.
Zopinion
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
A4 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
OP-ED
OTHER VIEWS
The word ‘adulting’ is gross and sexist By Jessica Grose WA S H INGT ON P O ST
You never hear anyone say it out loud, but the unfortunate gerund “adulting” is everywhere. Yuck. I confess that as my 30s progress, I’m becoming distressingly Andy Rooney-ish, but my burgeoning crankiness isn’t why I hate the word. And I don’t hate it because it’s an example of a noun becoming a verb, something that one linguist told me “a lot of pedants hate in general.” I hate it because it’s a self-infantilizing rejection of female maturity in a culture that already has almost no love for grownup women. Deploying “adulting” to describe what’s otherwise known as “life” is a sure way for woman not to be seen as an adult. According to the folks at Merriam-Webster, using the word “adulting” to mean “to do the things that adults regularly have to do” started appearing on Twitter in 2008 and 2009, but it surged in popularity in 2014, when podcaster Mignon “Grammar Girl” Fogarty named it her word of the year. Per Digiday, the term’s use really exploded in 2016, with more than 80,000 online mentions of the “adulting” monthly. This is a common trajectory for new words nowadays, says Robin Lakoff, professor of linguistics emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley. Before social media, young women would invent new words and they’d eventually reach the written form. Now many words begin in writing, and then later, migrate to speech. The way most women are using it online is “selfreferentially ironic,” according to Lakoff. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, who took on the hashtag #adulting last week in the Wall Street Journal, misses that crucial irony -- he argues that millennials just don’t want to grow up and their social media is a straightforward representation of their deepest selves. I don’t think that’s the case. As Danielle Tullo delightfully rants for Cosmopolitan, women who use the term aren’t deeply impressed with themselves for doing basic adult tasks like laundry. They know it’s not a huge achievement, and though millennial-bashers think 20-somethings want a trophy for purchasing car
insurance or managing to regularly put on clean underwear, they really don’t. She’s right, but I’d take Tullo’s argument a step further. Young women are just afraid to be public about their actual achievements because if their public persona is self-assured, they are also perceived to be less likable. Portraying themselves as less competent in their online personas is a hedge against a societal ethos that regularly denigrates mature women and devalues their knowledge, sending the message that youth is the only worthwhile currency a woman has. I’m not just talking about Hollywood, where a 37year-old woman is apparently too old to play a 55-year-old man’s girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal, who did not name the actor). Age discrimination begins for women in the workplace at 35, as PBS NewsHour reported last year. That’s reflected in popular culture by the popular TV show “Younger”: A 40-year-old woman passes herself off as 26 to get the job she needs to make ends meet as a single mother. Research shows that when women become mothers, they are seen as less competent than their male or childless counterparts. And you already know the kind of trashing that mature women’s expertise took in the 2016 election. “It makes sense that women would want to hold onto their youth when everything commercial in our society says, you better hold onto your youth,” Lakoff says. “Men don’t get that message.” They can mature at their leisure, and be rewarded for it. Here’s the thing. Maybe you won’t get public affirmation for being a nonironic adult female, but it’s still pretty great. I manage people at my workplace. I am a married, taxpaying, organicfood-making mother of two, and while I may no longer be adorkable, I feel in control of my life. Sometimes I even eat cold pizza for breakfast, which, I suppose, falls somewhere along the adulting spectrum. But I will never, ever be a mermaid. Jessica Grose is the editor of the Lenny email newsletter and author of the novels “Soulmates” and “Sad Desk Salad.”
EDITORIAL
Rupert Murdoch explains the sickness of Fox News By Erik Wemple WASHINGTON P O ST
Attorney Douglas Wigdor told CNN’s Brian Stelter that his law firm is busy with folks who claim to have been mistreated at Fox News. “Every day we get contacted by people of color at Fox and women at Fox who’ve been either discriminated based on their race or gender. In the coming days and the coming weeks, we will be filing new actions and bringing forth new actions — that I can guarantee you,” said Wigdor. Spreadsheets are becoming necessary: Whether it’s Gretchen Carlson, Andrea Tantaros, Julie Roginsky, Diana Falzone, a group of 10plus complainants alleging racial discrimination or a radio correspondent,
the word is out that now is the time to file your grievances against this organization. And those are just the publicly filed claims — who knows how many hush-hush settlements and arbitration proceedings have concluded in the haze of secrecy? The public knows about the fallout. Roger Ailes, the founding network boss, was ousted last summer after Carlson’s July suit, an event that triggered many other women to come forward with similar accounts. Bill O’Reilly left just last month, after the New York Times reported that he’d tallied five settlements for sexual harassment or just plain boorish behavior. Bill Shine, who was promoted to co-president
after Ailes’ departure, parted ways with Fox News just last week, a casualty of excessive proximity to the 20-year excesses of Ailes & Co. This entire record of harassment, concealment and misery is finding its way into the offices of Ofcom, the British media regulator now considering the attempt of 21st Century Fox — Rupert Murdoch’s media-entertainment empire, which includes Fox News -- to purchase the remaining 61 percent of Sky that it doesn’t already own. Attorneys who have participated in the plume of litigation against Fox News are traveling to Britain to make their case against the deal. Asked by the BBC on Monday about the Fox News situation, Murdoch
EDITORIAL
Dove’s body wash bottles are an answer to a question nobody asked Jess Zimmerman WASHINGTON P O ST
Does your boyish frame earn you scorn from people who think there’s only one way to look feminine? Well, get ready to finally, finally feel at peace with your body: In Britain, Dove body wash will now come in six limited-edition bottles that are supposed to evoke the infinite variety of female forms. “Real beauty breaks moulds,” the ad declares over visuals of bottles being manufactured and sorted. “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.” The accompanying PR statement reads, in part: “Recent research from the
Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report revealed that one in two women feels social media puts pressure on them to look a certain way. Thankfully, many women are fighting with us to spread beauty confidence.” All right, but these are objects being made in a factory; that’s literally the factory there in the ad. Dove is congratulating itself for sending a “body-positive message” using six injection-molded plastic shells. These bottles are the answer to a question nobody asked, the solution to a spurious problem — and worse, the solution to a spurious
problem that is actually a distorted version of something real and devastating. Dove isn’t wrong that most women hate their bodies; it’s just wrong about why and about what can be done. And while shadowboxing with this issue in effigy and calling it a win, Dove actually contributes to the problem. The ways that we talk about women’s body shapes have always seemed designed to dodge the actual reality of bodies. The most common approach to classifying body types makes us sound like a sort of Renaissance memento mori still life: the apple, the pear, the hourglass. Oth-
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.
himself responded, “Fox News is getting record ratings, and so I’m not worried at all. Nothing’s happening at Fox News. Nothing, OK?” That, right there — the first six words of his statement — is the very mentality that got Fox News into this mess to begin with. For a decade and a half, Fox News ruled the ratings through bad journalism and — as we learn with each new civil complaint — bad management. Though pressures from the litigation, advertisers and the public have forced some personnel changes, what incentive is there to change the rotten product? Despite on-air embarrassment after on-air embarrassment, the answer to the question has been not much.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
er times we’re reduced to simple geometric forms, like diamond and triangle. Often they congratulate themselves for acknowledging that women come in as many as six or eight shapes. By all means, contemplate your body in the shower. Contemplate the heck out of it — but not because you see it reflected in your bottle of soap. Confusing human women for shapely bits of plastic is actually the trouble, not the cure. Jess Zimmerman is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in such publications as the Guardian, Hazlitt and the New Republic.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 |
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Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE PAGO DE IMPUESTOS 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St. PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día. CAMINATA/ CARRERA 5 K 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita al Tributo a las Fuerzas Armadas con Caminata/Carrera 5K iniciando en Guadalupe Plaza, el sábado 20 de mayo a las 8 a.m. a 12 p.m.
LEY DE CIUDADES SANTUARIO
Presentan demanda Por Jason Buch SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
La Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC por sus siglas en inglés) y funcionarios de dos comunidades fronterizas del sur de Texas, incluyendo El Cenizo, han presentado una demanda por una nueva ley estatal que penalizará a funcionarios locales que impidan que agentes de las fuerzas del orden cuestionen individuos sobre su esta-
tus migratorio. La demanda, que incluye al alcalde de El Cenizo Raúl Reyes y al Alguacil del Condado de Maverick Tom Schmerber, alega que la ley de ciudades santuario —que podría acarrear sanciones civiles y permite al estado remover funcionarios de sus puestos si no cumplen con ella— viola los derechos de funcionarios municipales y del condado. La ley estatal, Proyecto
del Senado 4, también prevé el enjuiciamiento criminal de funcionarios de las fuerzas del orden que no cumplan con solicitudes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) de detener a personas sospechosas de violar leyes migratorias. "El Proyecto del Senado 4 es una invasión severa a los derechos soberanos de los demandantes como gobiernos locales para
formar sus propias leyes y políticas, sin ser requisados por agencias y funcionarios federales", se lee en la demanda presentada el lunes ante una corte federal en San Antonio. El Cenizo aprobó una ordenanza en 1999 que impide que los empleados de la ciudad pregunten a los residentes sobre su estatus migratorio y colaboren con el gobierno federal en investigaciones de inmigración. Reyes dijo que la ciudad de poco más
VETERANOS DE LA SEGUNDA GUERRA MUNDIAL
RECIBE MEDALLAS 70 AÑOS DESPUÉS
LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411.
de 3.000 habitantes cuenta con solo cinco oficiales de reserva en su fuerza policial y no puede asumir la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración. "Como funcionarios electos creo que es nuestra responsabilidad salvaguardar el bienestar de nuestras comunidades y de las familias que residen dentro de ellos, sin importar quiénes sean, de dónde vienen o de qué idioma hablan", dijo Raúl Reyes, alcalde de El Cenizo.
TAMAULIPAS
Buscan debilitar finanzas de grupos delictivos E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el 956-765-8983. GRUPOS DE APOYO 1 El grupo de apoyo para personas con Alzheimer se reunirá en su junta mensual, a las 7 p.m., en el Laredo Medical Center, primer piso, Torre B en el Centro Comunitario. Las reuniones se realizan el primer martes de cada mes en el mismo lugar y a la misma hora. 1 El grupo Cancer Friend se reúne a las 6 p.m. el primer lunes del mes en el Centro Comunitario de Doctors Hospital. Padecer cáncer es una de las experiencias más estresantes en la vida de una persona. Sin embargo, los grupos de apoyo pueden ayudar a muchos a lidiar con los aspectos emocionales de la enfermedad. 1 Grupo de Apoyo para Ansiedad y Depresión Rayo de Luz. En Centro de Educación del Área de Salud, ubicado en 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. El grupo se reúne de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. en 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430, cada primer lunes de mes.
Foto por John Davenport | San Antonio Express-News
El veterano Ángel A. Cruz recibe de parte del Congresista Joaquín Castro la medalla de la campaña Asiática-Pacífico con cuatro Estrellas de Bronce, la Estrella de Plata al Servicio, la medalla por buena conducta, la Mención de la Unidad Presidencial, el Listón de Liberación de las Filipinas y el Listón por Servicio Honorable.
Laredense fue sargento técnico del Ejército Por J.P. Lawrence SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
SAN ANTONIO — Rodeado de sus familiares, el laredense Ángel A. Cruz sostenía medallas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial cerca de si al final de la ceremonia el lunes en el edificio federal Hemisfair. Siete décadas después de la guerra, el ex sargento técnico del Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejército recibió las medallas de manos del Representante de los Estados Unidos Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio. “Les tomó 70 años, pero estoy feliz de que las tengo”, dijo Cruz, de 94 años, quien estuvo en el Frente del Sudoeste del Pacífico en la Segunda Guerra Mundial como parte del escuadrón de bomba 499, conocido como “Bats Out of Hell”. Cuando tenía 19 años, Cruz, quien nació en Laredo, se enlistó voluntariamente en el Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejército poco después del bombardeo en Pearl Harbor. Su motivación era el deseo de luchar contra el fascismo, dijo su familia. Cruz estaba encargado del mantenimiento de bombarderos B-52 mientras servía en bases en Nueva
Guinea, Australia, las islas Salomón y las Filipinas. Su unidad se trasladaba de isla en isla. Cruz dijo que solía dormir cerca de los bombarderos, preparaba el avión antes de su partida y los reparaba cuando —y si— regresaban. Recordó pasar los días en condiciones selváticas, comiendo raciones "K" y buscando ríos en los que bañarse. En un aeródromo en Nueva Guinea, dijo, los ingenieros cavaron una zanja donde pudieron bañarse. Un día casi se ahoga cuando él y sus amigos accidentalmente entraron a la zanja con su jeep. Cruz dijo que le gustaba trabajar con aviones, incluso si no le gustaba el fuerte sonido proveniente de los propulsores. Gracias a su servicio en varias campañas, Cruz recibió cuatro estrellas de bronce y una estrella de plata. Estas estrellas de campaña son diferentes a las medallas de estrella de bronce y de estrella de plata, que se otorgan individuamente. La familia de Cruz se dio cuenta que el veterano no había recibido
los galardones cuando solicitaron los beneficios de veteranos a principios de este año. Después de la guerra, Cruz se apresuró a regresar a casa para cuidar a su madre enferma, dijeron miembros de su familia. Ellos creen que por eso no recibió las medallas cuando la guerra terminó. La familia se acercó al personal de Castro, quien dijo que examinó los registros de Cruz y confirmó su elegibilidad para las medallas y los beneficios. Después de la guerra, Cruz se mudó a San Antonio, donde trabajó en la construcción de sitios como HemisFair Park, ahora llamado Hemisfair y en el antiguo campo de Kelly. Su nieta, Crystal Viagran, dijo que Cruz permaneció siendo un reparador ávido en sus años de adulto mayor. "Siempre podía arreglar cualquier cosa", dijo Viagran. "Estoy muy orgullosa, porque realmente creo que él es parte de la Gran Generación". Cuando se le preguntó dónde guardaría los premios, Cruz dijo: "Cerca de mi corazón".
REYNOSA, México— El Gobernador de Tamaulipas Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca solicitó a instancias federales establecer convenios de colaboración, para otorgar al Gobierno de Tamaulipas, facultades para combatir delitos que contribuyen a fortalecer la estructura financiera de grupos criminales en el estado, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa. Durante una gira de trabajo en Reynosa, García Cabeza de Vaca reiteró el compromiso de su administración de atacar de manera coordinada con la federación el problema de las organizaciones delictivas en el estado, que se ven fortalecidas en gran medida gracias a actividades ilegales como el robo de combustible, el contrabando de mercancías, la operación de negocios de apuestas y otros que son del orden federal. “Esas son acciones que debe llevar a cabo el gobierno federal, ¿quiere el apoyo del gobierno del estado aunque no sea de mi competencia? Pues por supuesto, por supuesto que le entro”, dijo el Gobernador en conferencia de prensa. El gobernador destacó también que la comunidad de Tamaulipas requiere un compromiso del gobierno de Estados Unidos en cuanto al tema de las armas, ya que la gran mayoría de ellas provienen de aquel país. Anunció también que solicitó que el Gabinete de Seguridad Pública sesione en Reynosa, y se fortalezca una estrategia integral de combate a los grupos criminales.
GUERRERO AYER Y HOY
Luchan por independencia Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEM P O DE ZAPATA
En el transcurso de los años 1770 a 1774 nacieron en Revilla dos hermanos a quienes la historia recuerda por sus grandes prendas de valor e integridad así como por su amor a la libertad. Ellos fueron José Antonio y
José Bernardo Maximiliano Gutiérrez de Lara, quienes entregaron bienes, esfuerzos y su vida misma a la causa por el México independiente. Luchando sin tregua por tan bello ideal, José Bernardo ofreció a Hidalgo su decidida colaboración en la consecución de la libertad, y sacrificando familia y bienes
marchó a los Estados Unidos del Norte en busca de apoyo para la causa insurgente. Allí celebró varias entrevistas con Madison Monroe, y a la vez que trataba de encontrar su apoyo, defendía la soberanía que buscaba para México, en la cual no consintió menoscabo alguno, y por esto regresó
sin obtener lo que buscaba. Continuó la lucha y no desmayó en ella hasta la consumación de la Independencia lograda con la unión del caudillo Vicente Guerrero y el español Agustín de Iturbíde, en el abrazo de Acatempan. Correspondió a Bernardo el honor de ser el
primer gobernador del estado de Tamaulipas en el México independiente. En la Nueva Ciudad Guerrero una plaza, una estatua y una biblioteca pública honran la memoria de José Bernardo, quien falleció en Villa de Santiago, Nuevo León, el 13 de mayo de 1841, a la edad de 67 años. Una de las principales
avenidas de acceso a la población lleva el nombre “Hermanos Gutiérrez de Lara”. Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (19272016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 |
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Moving forward with Prescott takeover Cowboys leaders making a point to empower Dak By Clarence E. Hill Jr. FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM
FRISCO, Texas — It’s no secret the Dallas Cowboys turned the keys to the team over to quarterback Dak Prescott during his rookie season when he officially supplanted Tony Romo as the starter. It was the beginning of the process that sent Romo, the team’s all-time leading passer, out of the league and into a broadcasting career this offseason. Still, for Prescott, earning the job in 2016 with arguably the best season of any rookie quarterback in NFL history when nothing was expected of you and now leading the team in the offseason when you are considered the new franchise quarterback are two different things. Tight end Jason Witten, linebacker Sean Lee and the other veteran leaders have done their part in helping Prescott grab the mantle by mak-
ing a point to empower him during organized workouts. "Dak has earned that with what he did as a rookie," Witten said during the Reliant Home Run Derby at Dr Pepper Ballpark. "He understands you have to get back at it. You have to recommit. And establish it again, certainly for a guy in second year. And I have to do it in my 15th year. "He is the quarterback. That voice needs to be heard. He’s earned that. He has had a great offseason and how he has approached it. As he moves forward he will be more comfortable with that. "For all us, you try to empower him and help him and he’s done a great job. I can’t say enough great things about how he’s gone about it so far." The Cowboys raised a total of $50,000 for the Salvation Army with their effort in the Home Run Derby, including a total of $31,400 from the
players trying their hand at hitting a baseball. Witten finished second overall behind the champion, coach Jason Garrett. Prescott didn’t play baseball growing up because he was focused on football, but he clubbed a respectable six home runs. He said the Home Run Derby was a fun getaway for a great cause for a Cowboys team already focused on next season. He acknowledges that going into the offseason as the unquestioned starter is quite different than year ago, when he came to the Cowboys as a fourth-round draft pick and developmental project from Mississippi State. "It’s completely different," Prescott said. "This is my first offseason running the show. I’m excited for it. I just take it for what it is. I take it day by day and just having fun. I got great vets around me, supporting me, helping me and pushing me up."
Prescott’s leadership skills as a rookie were one of the most impressive things about him in 2016. But there is no question that this offseason is different and he appreciates that Witten and Lee are making a point to call him to the front. "I got to thank all the vets for doing a good job, fiving me more to say and things to do," Prescott said. "When you are in the locker room and working out with Jason Witten and Sean Lee, you let them have it. But for them to call me out sometimes to get the group together, it’s been good." So what does Prescott think he needs to work on in the offseason so he can improve on his magical rookie season? Everything. "I’m only one season in, so the whole game," Prescott said. "I can watch film better. Be better in my dropbacks. Be more accurate. "It’s a lot I can get better at."
Joe Sargent / Getty Images file
Dak Prescott passed for 3,667 yards with 23 touchdowns and four interceptions in his rookie season with the Cowboys.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS
PRO SPORTS
SAVAGE REMAINS HUNGRY TO BECOME STARTING QB
Texas pro sports rivalries lacking luster By Dale Robertson HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle file
Tom Savage completed 63 percent of his passes in limited action last season throwing for 461 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Deshaun Watson appears to be Savage’s competition By Aaron Wilson H OUSTON CHRONICLE
Tom Savage has waited a long time for this moment, far too long to become complacent now that the Texans’ starting quarterback job is within his grip. After dealing with a myriad of injuries, plenty of time watching from the bench and absorbing coach Bill O’Brien’s complex playbook, Savage is determined to maintain his new status as the Texans’ latest QB1. Even though the organization reaffirmed that he remains atop the depth chart after trading a pair of first-round draft picks to land multidimensional Clemson All-American quarterback Deshaun Watson, Savage has no plans to relax. “Listen, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to play like I have to play to keep this job,” Savage said. “I mean, you got to earn it every day to be the starter. It doesn’t matter if a coach says you’re the starter. You have to perform. I know that, and that’s the attitude I have.” Savage has displayed flashes of being a viable NFL quarterback. Big at 6-4, 228 pounds,
the strong-armed Philadelphia native and former fourthround draft pick from Pitt has a deep knowledge of the system. It’s durability and a lack of ideal mobility that have held him back. Savage replaced $72 million quarterback failure Brock Osweiler late last season. He completed 63 percent of his throws for 461 yards and no interceptions in three games and two starts for an 80.9 passer rating. That was before suffering a concussion during a meaningless regular-season finale loss to the Tennessee Titans, ending his season. Savage had previous knee and shoulder injuries, spending the entire 2015 season on injured reserve. “I don’t play this game thinking about injuries,” Savage said. “I’m going to go out there and play like I always do and play hard.” Savage has yet to throw a touchdown pass in an NFL regular-season game. In 92 career passes, he has 588 yards and one interception for a 74.9 career passer rating. Beyond statistics, though, Savage has earned respect from his teammates. “He's had time to learn and
grow,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. “He's got a chance to prove what he's got. That's all you can ask for in this league an opportunity. I think he's embracing that chance this offseason." The fan base is excited about Watson’s arrival and some publications have already anointed him as an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Savage has vowed to be up to the task, and he anticipates a competitive situation. “I’m super ready,” Savage said. “There’s no doubt it’s going to be a battle, but it’s a tough league. I can’t tell you how excited I am.” The Texans like Savage’s poise as a pocket passer, his toughness and leadership qualities as a popular, respected personality in the locker room. Savage acknowledged he needs to play more consistently and get the football out of his hands quicker. Analysts have knocked Savage for his approach and mechanics being too deliberate. “Well, Tommy’s smart,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “He’s got all the ingredients that are necessary to play quarterback at our level. He’s intelligent. He works
hard. He’s got the athletic ability. The opportunitiest he’s had, he’s done well with them. “It’s just a function of having the opportunity to be there consistently. I think he will continue to get better. I think he’s got all of those traits and I think the more he plays and the more experience that he gains, the better he’ll be.” Savage is a gracious competitor and was the first player to reach out to Watson via a text message welcoming him to town during the draft after the Texans selected the Heisman Trophy finalist and national championship winner 12th overall. “I congratulated him and his family,” Savage said. “It’s an incredible honor to get drafted in the first round. I told him that the only thing that matters to me ultimately is that we win. So, let’s just go to work.” Savage has remained hungry since a well-traveled college career during which he transferred from Rutgers to Arizona and Pitt before showing enough potential at Pitt, passing for 2,958 yards and 21 touchdowns, to catch NFL scouts' attention. Savage used to work construction with his father, putting up dry wall.
When Patrick Beverley was asked about the Rockets’ “state championship” series against the San Antonio Spurs before a recent practice, he responded with a puzzled look, replying, “State championship?” Well, yeah. Texas has two teams standing in the NBA playoffs and his team is one of them. By midMay, one of them is going to be cutting the nets down. “OK, OK,” Beverley said, nodding. “Guess this is for the state championship.” And this is a relatively rare treat because, despite all the passion that exists for sports in Texas, our bigboy teams rarely cross paths come playoff time. Going to back to 1970, the first season in which it would have been possible on any playing field at the major-league level, no two of them have faced off with the end result being a banner hanging from the rafters. In fact, only two conference championships since 1976, the year San Antonio’s franchise joined the NBA fold, have come down to a Spurs-Rockets or Spurs-Mavericks dustup. And, now that the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers share the same American League West address, there never can be a Texas World Series. As for hockey, the Dallas Stars by default are destined to be No. 1 in Texas every year, a circumstance that Houston — and the NHL, one would think — should be working to fix, rather than accepting the status quo. But the real onus, of course, is on the Houston Texans, who, like the Oilers before them, never have gone to the Super Bowl and, with apologies to the grand and glorious history of the “Governor’s Cup” — awarded to the annual preseason victor during the Oilers-Cowboys era — that’s the only place they could have taken on the Dallas Cowboys in a game of consequence. At least the Astros and the Rangers, the Rockets and the Spurs and the Rockets and the Mavericks can pretend their multiple regular-season collisions and their occasional playoff dustups possess cosmic implications.
A8 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
INTERNATIONAL
Fireworks cache explodes in 5 killed, Mexico, killing at least 14 including officer, bystander, in northern Mexico A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities near the U.S. border say a state police officer and four other people have been killed in a shootout. The clash occurred around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Officials say Tamaulipas state police were on patrol when they came under fire from a vehicle. Two other police officers were wounded and
three suspects in the other vehicle were killed when police returned fire. Three rifles were seized from the vehicle. The Tamaulipas public security agency said in a statement Tuesday that a man at a taco cart was killed by a stray bullet. Reynosa has been plagued by near daily violence since marines killed a local cartel boss in late April, setting off a power struggle between factions of the Gulf cartel.
By Peter Orsi ASSOCIATED PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — An errant firecracker landed on a cache of fireworks and touched off a powerful explosion at a home in central Mexico, killing at least 14 people, 11 of them children, authorities said Tuesday. Puebla state authorities reported that 22 others were injured in Monday night's blast in the town of San Isidro, in Chilchotla municipality. State officials said the fireworks had been stored inside a home behind a church ahead of a May 15 religious celebration, and the firecracker that set off the explosion came from outside as part of a procession of an image of the
local patron saint. "One of the rockets that are being launched into the air doesn't go up but falls instead, it turns ... and it touches down right there in the room where the pyrotechnic material was," Puebla government secretary Diodoro Carrasco said in an interview with Milenio TV. "Totally accidental," he added. The ensuing blast blew out the walls and roof, destroying the home. Cinco Radio posted a video on Twitter of a priest praying with community members, while images from Periodico Sintesis showed weeping residents hugging each other and walking through the wreckage of cinderblocks and twisted
rebar. Fireworks are a mainstay of holiday celebrations in Mexico, and accidental blasts are relatively common occurrences often with fatal consequences. On Dec. 20 a particularly large chain-reaction explosion ripped through a fireworks market in Tultepec, on the northern outskirts of Mexico City, as it was bustling with shoppers stocking up to celebrate Christmas and New Year's, killing several dozen people. There have been at least two other deadly pyrotechnic blasts in the country since then, including one at a home in Tultepec and another at a fireworks workshop in the central state of Tlaxcala, which
borders Puebla. Carrasco said Puebla state has strong regulations in place for the production and sale of fireworks, but beyond that it can be tricky to ensure safety practices are observed. "It is very difficult to review and oversee the cases of the whole state and more so in the mountain communities that have this tradition and have an intense program of patron fiestas. ... What is very difficult to foresee is how (fireworks) are transported, whether they are stored properly," Carrasco said. "Unfortunately we cannot be in all places at all times," he added, "and like last night, accidents happen."
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 |
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BUSINESS
Amazon undercuts Wal-Mart with $25 free shipping By Spencer Soper B L OOMBE RG NEWS
Amazon.com Inc. lowered its free shipping threshold to $25 from $35, undercutting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by $10 and escalating a battle between the world’s e-commerce leader and the world’s biggest retailer. The new threshold shows Amazon competing for shoppers who don’t pay $99-a-year for Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping on millions of items as well as access to music and video. These customers
are Amazon’s most loyal shoppers. The new pricing targets consumers who are more likely to defect to WalMart since the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant offered free two-day shipping on orders of at least $35 while expanding its online marketplace inventory. Amazon’s non-Prime customers who qualify for free shipping will have to wait longer for their deliveries than Wal-Mart shoppers — five to eight business days, according to the Seattle-based company’s website.
Disney dogged by ESPN woes, with fewer viewers and higher costs By Christopher Palmeri BL OOMBERG NEWS
Walt Disney Co. failed to assuage investor concern about its struggling cable division, saying profit in the business slumped last quarter as ESPN continued to lose subscribers and spent more to televise games. Sales in the cable division totaled $4.06 billion, trailing the $4.2 billion average of analysts’ estimates. The unit’s profit slid 3 percent, the company said, a reflection of higher expenses for NBA games and college football. Disney shares fell in late trading. The results show Disney struggling to get a handle on the troubles at its largest business — TV programming. The owner of ESPN and ABC has seen ratings slide as
audiences watch more video online, while sports leagues keep demanding more money. The company is paying $600 million more for rights to National Basketball Association games alone, and a shift in college football schedules also lifted expenses. The cable unit’s struggles overshadowed positive results in other divisions. The entertainment company said Tuesday total profit rose to $1.50 a share in the fiscal second quarter, beating the $1.41a-share average of analysts’ estimates. Sales at the Burbank, Californiabased company rose 3 percent to $13.3 billion, slightly behind expectations. Disney shares fell 1.7 percent to $110.20 in extended trading. The stock rose 0.6 percent to
$112.06 at the close in New York and is up 7.5 percent this year. Problems in the cable division led Disney to warn of modest profit growth this year. Ad sales have slumped at competitors including Time Warner Inc. and Viacom Inc. Last month, ESPN eliminated about 100 positions including many on-air personalities. Profit at Disney’s ABC broadcast division rose 14 percent, fueled by fees from pay-TV providers, sales of programs to other outlets and lower marketing costs. Disney’s namesake theme parks were buoyed by the new Shanghai Disney Resort, which opened on the Chinese mainland last June. Profit rose 20 percent to $750 million in
the division, which is expected to account for as much as two-thirds of Disney’s earnings growth over the next two years as new attractions draw more guests. The company’s newest attraction, Pandora -- the World of Avatar, opens May 27 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Film profit grew 21 percent to $656 million, driven by the “Beauty and the Beast,” the company’s only release in the quarter. The live-action remake of the company’s 1991 animated hit has grossed $1.19 billion in theaters worldwide since its March 17 release, underscoring the success of the company’s strategy of redoing past films for contemporary audiences. Revenue for the studio was down 1 percent.
Fiscal discipline? Not now, as President Donald Trump and GOP push tax cuts By Stephen Ohlemacher A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Republicans relentlessly complained about big budget deficits during Democratic President Barack Obama's two terms, but now a growing number in the GOP are pushing for deep tax cuts even if they add to the government's $20 trillion debt. President Donald Trump says he is pushing for "the biggest tax cut in the history of our country," as Congress tries to overhaul the tax code for the first time in more than 30 years. It won't be easy. Congressional Republicans are divided over concerns about the government's debt, and Senate rules make it difficult to pass deep tax cuts without support from Democrats, something majority Republicans are not actively seeking. Still, the tax cutters are gaining momentum, even though neither Trump nor Republican leaders in Congress are willing to tackle the government's long-term drivers of debt — Social Security and Medicare. "If you want to have real tax reform and a
robust economy, you have to both reduce taxes and reduce spending," said Rep. Raul Labrador, RIdaho. "Now, if we're not going to reduce spending, I still want to give families their tax cut." The push to cut taxes has picked up an important ally in Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes. "Franky, I think if we can get a tax reform bill that would stimulate the economy, I don't think it has to be revenue neutral," Hatch said Tuesday. That's a big difference from the way Hatch talked about deficits under Obama. "Continued deficits and accumulated debt are a genuine threat to individual liberty, continued prosperity and national security," Hatch said in 2011 after Obama released a budget proposal. The national debt grew from about $10.6 trillion when Obama took office to nearly $20 trillion when he left. Some of the debt came from new spending in the aftermath of the financial crisis. But much of it was from tax cuts approved under President George W.
Susan Walsh / AP
In this March 28 file photo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Bush, two wars waged by Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan and mandatory spending programs initiated decades ago. Under Obama, the annual budget deficit shrunk to $621 billion last year. That's lower than the budget deficit in Bush's last year in office. House Republican leaders have been working for years on ways to overhaul the tax code without adding to the budget deficit. Their goal is to make the tax code simpler, fairer and more efficient in an effort to spur economic growth. Their plan is to lower overall tax rates and off-
set the lost revenue by reducing the number of exemptions, deductions and credits. In Washington, it's called revenue neutral, meaning the new tax code would generate about the same amount of revenue as the old one. "We're going for the greatest growth for the greatest number of years," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. "That happens when tax reform is bold, when it is balanced within the budget, accounting for economic growth, and when it's built to last, when it's permanent."
This type of tax reform, however, means eliminating popular tax breaks enjoyed by millions of families and businesses. House Republicans and the Trump administration have already called for getting rid of the deduction for state and local taxes, a big tax break that benefits millions, especially people living in Democratic-controlled states with high local taxes such as New York, New Jersey and California. It gets more complicated. Republicans are working under a budget maneuver that would allow them to pass a tax bill without Democratic support in the Senate. But they can only use the maneuver, called budget reconciliation, if the tax bill doesn't add to longterm budget deficits. Otherwise, the bill would have to pass a 60-vote threshold, and Republicans have only 52 senators. Traditionally, Congress uses a 10-year budget window to measure the effects of tax and spending legislation. That means the tax bill couldn't add to budget deficits in the second decade because those
years are outside the budget window. This is what happened under Bush. Congress passed massive tax cuts for individuals that expired after 10 years. Eventually, Congress made most of the tax cuts permanent, except for some taxes affecting high-income families However, the budget law doesn't prevent lawmakers from using a longer budget window, such as 20 or 30 years, said Rohit Kumar, a former tax counsel for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who is now with PricewaterhouseCoopers. That means congressional Republicans could pass tax cuts that don't expire for 20 or 30 years, leaving future generations of lawmakers to sort it out, Kumar said. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is pushing this strategy. "It would be a good idea because it would give us a long-term tax cut rather than one that expires after a short time," Toomey said Tuesday. "If you fix (the tax system) and you create a competitive, rational system, but then it expires in nine or 10 years, it is very difficult for businesses to plan," he added.
A10 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Colbert has good week in ratings despite controversy By David Bauder A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — A storm over a crude remark Stephen Colbert made about President Donald Trump didn’t hurt the late-night host in the ratings — to the contrary. Colbert’s CBS “Late Show” had its widest margin of victory over NBC’s “Tonight” show since Colbert’s debut week in September 2015, the Nielsen company said. The CBS show averaged 3.06 million viewers last week, which was up 12 percent from the previous week, Nielsen said. During last Monday’s show, a risque reference to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prompted calls for a boycott and an FCC investigation. Colbert said two nights later that he might have changed some of his language, but didn’t apologize for the attack; the late-night host said he was angry with how Trump treated CBS “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson in an interview. Colbert has been riding high in the ratings, eclipsing Jimmy Fallon as the most popular late-night host since Trump’s inauguration with a steady stream of ridicule for the new president. Last week, Fallon’s show averaged 2.65 million viewers, although NBC points out that “Tonight” retains its lead among younger viewers. Meanwhile, television’s
Gail Schulman / Associated Press
In this Feb. 22 photo released by CBS, host Stephen Colbert appears on the set of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," in New York.
biggest broadcasters are preparing for one of the most important weeks of their business year, when they introduce next season’s schedules to advertisers in a series of meetings in New York. Their challenge is to come up with some new ideas to stem an audience decline that is partly due to greater competition and viewers making their own TV schedules through time-shifting, and partly due to a paucity of new hits. The most popular prime-time shows last week were CBS’ “NCIS”
and “The Big Bang Theory,” which have been on the air since 2003 and 2007, respectively. Viewership at each of the four biggest networks last week was down compared with the same week last year, ranging from 5 percent at NBC to 11 percent at Fox, Nielsen said. CBS won the week with a prime-time average of 7.1 million viewers. NBC had 5.2 million, ABC had 5 million, Fox had 2.4 million, Univision had 1.7 million, the CW had 1.24 million, ION Television had 1.2 million and Telemundo had 890,000.
WHY DO I HEAR... BUT NOT UNDERSTAND? Study by Cambridge University in England Reveals Key Answer
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new hearing aid.” The results have been phenomenal. For the first time, a patient is able to actually realize the exact percentage of speech understanding improvement in noisy listening environments. These new products come in all shell sizes, including the smallest digital models, with low introductory prices available. During its release, NewSound Hearing Aid Centers is offering this new frequency-shaping hearing instrument on a 30-day satisfaction trial. “Your satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed,” Schoenborn said. Find out what you are hearing and what you’re not. Call us at NewSound Hearing Aid Centers for a FREE no-obligation appointment: 956-790-0936.
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Techno-infused opera about Steve Jobs gets new backers By Morgan Lee ASSOCIATED PRE SS
SANTA FE, N.M. — A techno-infused opera about the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has earned the financial backing of opera companies in San Francisco and Seattle, ensuring the musical meditation on the iconic entrepreneur will travel to America's high-tech enclave. The partnerships were announced Tuesday as the Santa Fe Opera prepared for its July world premiere of "The (R)
evolution of Steve Jobs" at its open-air summer stage in the foothills of New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The Seattle Opera and the San Francisco Opera are underwriting both the already completed artistic creation of the opera, led by composer and electronica DJ Mason Bates, and its physical stage production Sponsors of the Jobs opera are counting on Bates and librettist Mark Campbell to deliver a "deeply layered, moving portrayal of a man grap-
pling with the complex priorities of life, family and work," in the words of San Francisco opera General Manager Matthew Shilvock. "He was also a real person and a member of our community," Shilvock said of Jobs.. Charles MacKay, general director of the Santa Fe Opera, said Jobs provides the "sort of heroic, tragic figure" that operas have explored for centuries — who also may lure new and younger audiences to metropolitan opera houses.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 |
A11
FROM THE COVER
Kansas, Texas lead nation on abortion restrictions By Roxana Hegeman Andrew Knapp / AP
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
In this Monday photo, a "Blue Lives Matter" billboard is shown on Remount Road in North Charleston, South Carolina.
‘Blue Lives Matter’ sign stands near site of police shooting A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Less than a week after a white former South Carolina police officer pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge in the 2015 death of an unarmed black man who ran from a traffic stop, a "Blue Lives Matter" billboard was installed on the road where the shooting happened. The sign expressing support for police was installed Friday about a mile from where Walter Scott was killed, The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Monday. On May 2 former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott's civil rights by shooting him without justification. Scott Garland, a resident of Charleston's West
FBI From page A1 Rosenstein, in a separate memo circulated by the White House on Tuesday, faulted Comey for publicly announcing his decision to close the Clinton investigation. The director “was wrong to usurp the Attorney General’s authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution.” Rosenstein added that “It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement.” Even so, Trump alluded to the Russia investigation in his letter to Comey. “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau,” Trump wrote. Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation and the roiling debate over Russian interference in the presidential cam-
Ashley community, sponsored the billboard which bears its message on a black background with a blue line through it. He has held a cardboard sign with the same words outside Slager's hearings and would not comment on whether the billboard's placement was purposeful. "It's nothing negative against anybody," Garland said. "It was intended as a show of support to the men and women in blue." The message on the billboard in North Charleston discourages scrutiny of police-involved shootings, local activist Thomas Dixon says. "There is no dispute that officers' lives matter," Dixon said. "But this just drives another wedge between law enforcement and the community."
A fundraising effort that began two weeks ago for the billboard raised roughly $500 in donations through GoFundMe.com, according to The Post and Courier. In April 2015 Slager pulled over Scott's car, and after a struggle the former officer shot Scott. A video showed the man running away while Slager fired shots. Slager testified at his murder trial that he feared for his life because Scott was trying to grab his stun gun. The jury in the murder trial deadlocked, and a mistrial was declared. Slager, 35, is currently awaiting sentencing on the civil rights charge. He could get up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine, though prosecutors agreed to ask for about 20 years behind bars.
paign left him with few political allies in Washington. He was vilified by Republicans last summer when he initially closed the investigation into Clinton’s email use, saying that she and her aides were “extremely careless” in their handling of classified information but that no prosecutor would be able to bring charges. Democrats faulted Comey for reopening the Clinton email probe just before Election Day while failing to state in public that the agency was investigating possible Trump campaign links to Russian officials.
rarily, by his deputy, Andrew McCabe. But McCabe might not be politically acceptable to Trump and his leadership team. McCabe came under scrutiny last year when he helped oversee the Clinton investigation even though his wife had accepted donations from Democratic political organizations for a failed 2015 election bid to the Virginia state senate. The FBI said in a statement at the time that McCabe “played no role” in his wife’s campaign “and did not participate in fundraising or support of any kind.” The startling move came less than a week after the FBI chief defended his decision to reveal that the agency was restarting its probe into Clinton’s email use just days before last year’s election. He told the Senate Judiciary Committee May 3 that the decision was difficult and that it “makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.” Yet, he added, he’d do it all again.
Russia Ties Comey confirmed in March that the FBI is investigating potential ties between Trump’s associates and the Russian government during the 2016 campaign. He also publicly contradicted Trump’s assertion that the Obama administration “wiretapped” Trump Tower last year. With Comey’s departure, the FBI chief will be succeeded, at least tempo-
ABORTION From page A1 ployees." Trump appointed a prominent anti-abortion activist, Charmaine Yoest, to serve at HHS as assistant secretary of public affairs. Yoest, as president of Americans United for Life from 2008-2016, played a key role in the enactment of scores of state laws restricting abortion access. Her appointment was lauded by Vice President Mike Pence, who declared in a speech, "For the first time in a long time, America has an administration that's filled top to bottom with people who stand without apology for life." Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A similar bill has reached the governor's desk in Tennessee; a third such measure is pending in Missouri. Similar laws are in effect in at least a dozen other states, and Trump has promised to sign a federal 20-week ban if it can survive a potentially difficult path through Congress. Republican lawmakers in Arizona and Iowa took steps to join a growing list of states that have acted to curtail public funding for Planned Parenthood, which is the leading pro-
vider of abortions in the U.S. but also provides a range of other health services that would be affected by the funding cuts. In Iowa, the GOP plan is to create a state-run family planning program that excludes abortion-providing organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Iowa would give up federal Medicaid money and instead spend about $3.1 million in state funds. In Arizona, GOP lawmakers have included a provision in the state budget that diverts about $2 million in federal funding away from Planned Parenthood. Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, says the five clinics now in jeopardy serve many uninsured patients and could close if they lose the money. He said those funds have helped serve 20,000 people with contraception, cancer screenings and other non-abortion treatments. Blanca Chico, a 39-year-old from Phoenix, said that as an uninsured patient, Planned Parenthood Arizona has given her health services at a reduced cost that she can afford. Chico, a mother of four, said she was able to get an intrauterine device for less than half its usual price because her clinic only made her pay what she was able to. "They are helping a lot of
WICHITA, Kan. — More than half of U.S. women of reproductive age live in states with unneeded restrictions on abortion facilities, according to an analysis released Tuesday by a research group that supports abortion rights. The report from Guttmacher Institute comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year struck down a widely replicated Texas law that required abortion clinics to have hospital admitting privileges and meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery. The court held the regulations were medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limit a woman's right to an abortion. Americans United for Life countered that Gutt-
macher is a partisan organization that opposes "longstanding and commonsense" abortion regulations. It said in an email that the abortion industry is trying desperately to redefine a scientific debate that it is losing as more studies show abortion is harmful to women and their unborn children. "The one truly irrefutable scientific fact in the abortion debate is the humanity of the unborn child; if they come up with a scientific report proving that wrong, we're all ears," said Mary Kay Culp, executive director for Kansans for Life. The Supreme Court ruling prompted Guttmacher to look at state laws it says are not based in science. It analyzed abortion clinic restrictions such as mandating abortion providers have nearby hospital admit-
ting privileges, imposing hospital-like standards for clinics, requiring waiting periods or banning abortions after 20 weeks. The review found Kansas and Texas each have the most such unnecessary restrictions in the nation, followed by Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Dakota. "The legislatures in Kansas and Oklahoma are well known as incubators for abortion restrictions and places where other states look to for new restrictions," said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at Guttmacher. Twenty-eight states have at least two abortion clinic restrictions — which means 53 percent of women of the reproductive ages between 15 and 44 — live in states with multiple restrictions tied to misinformation, Nash said.
US reports another drop in arrests at Mexico border ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Arrests of people caught trying to enter the United States from Mexico without authorization declined again last month, a likely sign that fewer would-be immigrants are trying to cross the border illegally. President Donald Trump has highlighted
CUELLAR From page A1 Starr, Zapata, and Webb Counties. He has risen as a strong leader for South Texans and one on whom we can rely when we ask for help on landowner issues. We’d also like to thank Congressmen Filemon Vela and Vicente Gonzalez for their support on this very important landowner issue.” The U.S. cattle industry is valued at roughly $81 billion. Cattle fever ticks carry micro-
people, because not everyone is able to pay for a consultation or all of the medication," Chico said. "And they only ask for a donation for the services." Chico, who also has used the clinic for annual checkups and pap tests, said the proposed cuts would force her to find another provider. "It's very complicated finding a place that is low cost and that I feel confident I can get the services," Chico said. "I have felt really satisfied with the clinic ... they have always helped me with everything." Several other states where Republicans hold power have sought in previous years to curtail funding to Planned Parenthood. After Texas cut off state funding to abortion providers in 2011, 82 family planning centers closed in the state — a third of which were Planned Parenthood affiliates. A state report later found that 30,000 fewer women were served through a Texas women's health program after the changes. Planned Parenthood now has 35 clinics in Texas and served more than 126,000 individual patients last year, including those seeking abortions. Under the GOP-backed health care bill that cleared the House last week, people who rely on Medicaid would be
the falling numbers as a sign that his tough approach on immigration is working. Trump’s antiimmigration rhetoric and more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws may be discouraging people from crossing illegally. The Homeland Security Department reported border patrol arrests fell
to 11,129 in April, compared with 12,196 in March. That’s the lowest level in more than 17 years. Arrests at the border plummeted soon after Trump took office. The relatively modest difference between the March and April figures suggest that the decreases may be leveling off.
scopic parasites that cause anemia, fever, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and often death for up to 90 percent of infected cattle. Along the Rio Grande, there is a Permanent Cattle Fever Tick Quarantine Zone, an area that spans eight Texas counties on the border and over a half million acres stretching from the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville to Amistad Dam north of Del Rio, intended to prevent the spread of the often deadly tickborne disease. However,
infestations have been reported elsewhere in Central and South Texas as well. Fighting these ticks has been an ongoing effort. In 2008 Congressman Cuellar included language in the Farm Bill for the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program which provided research grants to study cattle fever ticks and their eradication. These additional funds are a good step in helping control the tick population and stop the spread of their disease.
unable to get subsidized preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers — including birth control, cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office suggest that defunding Planned Parenthood would save roughly $200 million in federal spending while reducing health care for perhaps 390,000 people. The bill's fate is uncertain, with senators of both parties saying the House version will not survive in its current form. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate will be engaged in a heated lobbying battle over whether the Planned Parenthood defunding is maintained or scrapped in the revised version. "We urge the Senate to keep these nonnegotiable provisions and quickly advance this bill to the president's desk," said antiabortion leader Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. Dannenfelser and other leading antiabortion activists threw their support behind Trump in last year's election in part because of his pledge to sign a defunding measure. Planned Parenthood and its allies have been organizing protests at the offices of Republican members of Congress who voted for the new health care
bill. "This is the worst bill for women's health in a generation," said Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards. "It makes it harder to prevent unintended pregnancy, harder to have a healthy pregnancy, and harder to raise a family." A few states where Democrats have at least a share of power have taken steps to ensure continued funding of Planned Parenthood and to protect access to abortion and contraception. In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed a bill last week that would have outlawed most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto a similar bill if it reaches his desk, as well as a proposal to ban a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure. Overall, however, the antiabortion camp says momentum is on its side. As evidence, they cite Trump's appointment of federal judges who are widely viewed as receptive to further restrictions on abortion. "Folks are excited that we've got a different administration, so there's a sense of optimism," said Melanie Israel of the conservative Heritage Foundation. "Everyone is curious to see what's going to happen."
A12 | Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
NATIONAL
Teen arrested in video recorded death of Utah girl A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah teenager was arrested for investigation of murder after using cellphone video to record the death of a 16-yearold girl found hanged from a tree, authorities said Tuesday. Tyerell Joe Przybycien, 18, approached deputies Saturday evening at the scene in Payson Canyon and acknowledged that he had been there when the girl died, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said. Przybycien, of Spanish Fork, bought the items the girl used, including a rope, "and he stood there while she hanged to death," Cannon said. Assisted suicide is not legal in Utah, Cannon said,
and county prosecutors were reviewing the case to determine whether Przybycien should Przybycien face murder, manslaughter or other charges. Przybycien told deputies he had a fascination with death and that he had wanted to see what it was like to see someone die, Cannon said. The girl, also from Spanish Fork, didn't return home from work Friday, and her mother reported her missing Saturday morning, Cannon said. Przybycien and the girl were friends, and a police affidavit stated that a handwritten note identified the girl and said questions would
be answered by watching the video. Cannon said Przybycien made no effort to help the girl after she became unconscious. The girl's name wasn't immediately made public. Cannon said investigators believe she struggled with mental health issues and thoughts of suicide in the past, and do not think Przybycien encouraged her to kill herself. But he did not discourage her, the sergeant said. "They talked about it. He knew what she intended to do. And he played an active role in her death." Przybycien was held on $20,000 bail pending an initial court appearance. It wasn't immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
Woman gets 60 years for killing her husband and their mistress ASSOCIATED PRE SS
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A woman convicted of killing her husband and their live-in mistress has been sentenced to 60 years in prison. The Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Office says in a news release that 44-year-old Ann Anastasi was sentenced Tuesday. She entered an Alford plea to two counts of first-degree murder in December. Prosecutors say in October 2015, police found 40-year-old Anthony Anastasi Jr. fatally shot and 25-year-old Jacqueline Riggs stabbed to death in the basement of the Lothian home they shared with Ann Anastasi. Prosecutors say the three were in a relationship, but Riggs and
Prosecutors say in October 2015, police found 40-year-old Anthony Anastasi Jr. fatally shot and 25-year-old Jacqueline Riggs stabbed to death in the basement of the Lothian home they shared with Ann Anastasi.
Anthony Anastasi moved together into the basement. Investigators say Ann Anastasi plotted with a 13-year-old girl and the girl's boyfriend, 18-year-old Gabriel Struss, to kill Anthony Anastasi and Riggs. Struss has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.