The Zapata Times 5/23/2018 by The Zapata Times

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WORLD TRADE BRIDGE

Protesters block truck traffic Group demands answers regarding missing loved ones By César G. Rodriguez L AREDO MORNING TIME S

Courtesy photo

People demanding answers regarding their missing loved ones blocked traffic on the Mexican side of World Trade Bridge on Monday.

About 200 people blocked northbound and southbound traffic on the Mexican side of World Trade Bridge on Monday, causing long lines and traffic delays in the Sister Cities. Protestors are demanding answers from the government regarding their loved ones who were allegedly kidnapped by the Mexican navy. They want troops out of Nuevo Laredo, Mexican media reported. Relatives told Mexican me-

dia they have reported 43 cases involving people whom they believe were kidnapped by the military. In Laredo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection suggested commercial traffic crossing via the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge. “Due to a protest taking place in Nuevo Laredo near the World Trade Bridge, commercial traffic is being temporarily diverted to ColombiaSolidarity Bridge,” CBP said in a statement. “CBP is working in close coordination with our counterparts with Servicio de Bridge continues on A3

SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING

GUN RESTRICTIONS UNLIKELY TO CHANGE Texas has more than 1.2M people licensed to carry handguns By Jim Vertuno A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to address school violence and safety in the wake of another mass school shooting. But Abbott’s call to do “more than just pray” for the victims comes in a state that has fully embraced its gun culture and resisted previous attempts to scale it back. Earlier this month at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Abbott himself said, “The problem is not guns. The problem is hearts without God. It is homes without discipline and communities without values.” The killing of eight students and two teachers last week at Santa Fe High School prompted the governor to call a series of roundtable discussions on school safety, starting Tuesday in Austin. Abbott said the discussions will include lawmakers, educators, students, parents, gun-rights advocates and shooting survivors. The first one features officials from school districts that arm some teachers or contract with local police for security. “I am seeking the best solutions to make our schools more secure and to keep our communities safe,” Abbott said.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Mourners visit a memorial in front of Santa Fe High School on Tueday. The memorial honors victims of last Friday's shooting when 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the school with a shotgun and a pistol and opened fire, killing 10 people.

But few expect the meetings to result in any major push for new gun restrictions, especially in a state where more than 1.2 million people are licensed to carry handguns and are allowed to openly carry them in public if they wish. The state’s 20-year dominance by the

Republican Party all but guarantees the meetings will be dominated by calls to boost school security and “harden” campuses — an idea backed by the NRA — instead of demands for gun restrictions, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

That’s in sharp contrast to the response to the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead. Three weeks after the bloodbath, Florida politicians defied the NRA and passed a gun control package after a School continues on A3

TIJUANA, MEXICO

Trump becomes punching bag at debate Candidates demand protection for Mexican citizens By Alfredo Corchado DA LLAS MORNING NEWS

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In a rare moment of unity, Mexico’s four presidential candidates have demanded protection for Mexican citizens whose lives have been turned upside down by President Donald Trump’s relentless crackdown on immigrants. "We will look for a relationship with the United States based on mutual respect, not subordination," said front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, head of MORENA, the

National Regeneration Movement. "We won’t be subordinate to Trump or to any other foreign government." The candidates stood up to Trump in a heated, at times awkward if not comical second presidential debate that ended near midnight Sunday in the northern border city of Tijuana. It was tagged "Mexico’s place in the world," but the vast majority of the 90-minute debate was largely limited to U.S.-Mexico issues. In between the namecalling, Trump was the punching bag for large parts of the evening.

"Before we talk about trade, or investment, we need to talk about respect," said Jose Antonio Meade, candidate of the Institutional Ruling Party, or PRI. "Every time Trump disrespects us — and he did recently again — and every time he insults us, he insults the lives, the dignity of our immigrants." But Lopez Obrador, a threetime presidential candidate, surprisingly confessed he agrees with the former TV reality show star in two areas: Yes, as Trump has said, Mexico is a corrupt nation, though Lopez Obrador said no foreign leader should

National Electoral Institute (INE) / AP

Presidential candidates, from left, Jaime Rodriguez, Ricardo Anaya, Jose Antonio Meade and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador attend the second of three debates in Tijuana, Mexico on Sunday. Mexico will hold general elections on July 1.

use such language to describe a sovereign nation. And, he said, "I agree with Trump that Mexican wages must go up." Lopez Obrador’s biggest rivals, Ricardo Anaya, who leads the "For Mexico in Front" coalition of three parties from the

right and left, and Meade of the PRI, took off their gloves and landed a few punches on the former Mexico City mayor, but perhaps not enough to alter the race in which Lopez Obrador is comfortably ahead in all polls. Debate continues on A3

In Brief A2 | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

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

THURSDAY, MAY 24 Healthy Woman Luncheon. 12 p.m. Laredo Medical Center invites women between the ages of 21 and 54 to have lunch and listen to a presentation on stroke by the city’s newest neurosurgeon, Dr. Scott Robertson. To reserve a space, call the LMC Healthy Woman program at 956-796-2222.

FRIDAY, MAY 25 Special Needs Transition Conference. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Joe E. Guerra Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Rd. Call Area Health Education Center for more information at (956) 7120037. A conference for parents seeking information about their child’s transition into independent adulthood.

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.

Eric Gay / AP

John Locke works to move a herd to another field at his family's ranch in Glen Flora, Texas. Now domesticated cattle and pigs outweigh all wild mammals by 14 to 1 according to a study.

GLOBAL CENSUS EYES FOOTPRINT OF LIFE

SUNDAY, MAY 27 St. Patrick Catholic Church Men's Club Steak Plate Sale. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Patrick Church grounds, 555 Del Mar Blvd. $5 per plate for scholarships to St. Patrick parish high school seniors. For more information, call 956-324-2432.

TUESDAY, MAY 29 Tiny Toes Virtual Tour – Spanish. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. 1700 East Saunders. Tower B, 1st floor. The virtual tour gives mothers-to-be detailed information about what to expect upon arrival and during their stay at Laredo Medical Center. To reserve a space, call 956-796-4019 or visit www.laredomedical.com/tiny-toes.

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.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 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.

MONDAY, JUNE 4 AHEC College Academy. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo, 1937 Bustamante St. A free one-week summer program to prepare students for the high school to college transition. To register: https:// aheccollege2018.eventbrite.com

WASHINGTON — When you weigh all life on Earth, billions of humans don’t amount to much compared to trees, earthworms or even viruses. But we really know how to throw what little weight we have around, according to a first-of-itskind global census of the footprint of life on the planet. Humans only add up to about one tenthousandth of the life on Earth, measured by the dry weight of the carbon that makes up the structure of all living things, also known as biomass. The planet’s real heavyweights are

Netflix says it has signed Barack and Michelle Obama NEW YORK — Barack and Michelle Obama are getting into the television business with Monday’s announcement that they had signed a multiyear deal with Netflix. The former president and first lady have formed their own production company, Higher Ground Productions, for the material. In announcing a deal that had been rumored

plants. They outweigh people by about 7,500 to 1, and make up more than 80 percent of the world’s biomass, a study in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said. Bacteria are nearly 13 percent of the world’s biomass. Fungi — yeast, mold and mushrooms — make up about 2 percent. These estimates aren’t very exact, the real numbers could be more or less, but they give a sense of proportion, said study lead author Ron Milo, a biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. — Compiled from AP reports

since March, Netflix offered no specifics on what shows they would make. Netflix said the Obamas would make “a diverse mix of content,” potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries or features. “We hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the wider world,” Barack Obama said. The Obamas can be expected

to participate in some of the programming onscreen, said a person familiar with the deal, not authorized to talk publicly about it. The programming itself is not expected to be partisan in nature; a president who often derided the way things were covered on cable news won’t be joining in. The type of people that Obama brought forward as guests at his State of the Union addresses would likely provide fodder for the kinds of stories they want to tell. — Compiled from AP reports

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13

AUSTIN — Texas held its primary runoff election just four days after a 17-year-old student killed 10 people and wounded 13 others at his Santa Fe High School near Houston. That sent shockwaves through Texas and the nation. But it’s unlikely to be a major factor in Tuesday’s balloting, which will decide 34 races, including party nominees for governor and Congress, where no candidate won at least 50 percent of the votes cast during March 6 primary. Texas has 17 U.S. House runoffs, 11 Democratic and six Republican. Getting the most attention is a tony Houston district where the national Democratic Party openly criticized Laura Moser, who is running to unseat Republican Rep. John Culberson. The seat is one of three held by the GOP that Democrats hope

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 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, JUNE 27 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, JULY 7 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.

MONDAY, JULY 9 AHEC Summer Biomedical Enrichment Program. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo, 1937 Bustamante St. A three-day workshop for high school students to explore opportunities in health care professions. To register: https://summerbio2018.eventbrite.com

FRIDAY, JULY 13 6th U.S. – Mexico Regional Binational Health Conference. 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 956-712-0037.

School shooting unlikely to rile Texas runoffs

Jason Fochtman / AP

Rene Schulze, left, and Kathleen Yount stand in support of their candidates at an early voting location in downtown Conroe.

to flip in November because they supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Texas has a record eight open House seats, with six Republicans and two Democrats all leaving Congress. But none of those seats are likely to switch parties — meaning the bulk of the state’s 36-member congressional delegation will

remain strongly in favor of gun ownership rights. Two possibly vulnerable incumbents are U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions in Dallas, who has rarely been challenged since arriving in Congress in 1997, and Rep. Will Hurd, whose sprawling border district has frequently changed parties. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD Mexico suspends charter company in Cuba airliner crash MEXICO CITY — Mexican aviation authorities on Monday announced the temporary suspension of a Mexican charter company that owned a passenger jet that crashed in Cuba, killing 110 people. The General Directorate of Civil Aviation said in a statement that the decision was made to carry out an “extraor-

dinary” review to verify whether Aerolineas Damojh, which uses the commercial name Global Air, is complying with the law. Authorities also want to compile information to help with an investigation launched by the Cuban government into the cause of Friday’s crash. Both Mexico and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have announced they would send experts to Cuba, and Havana has said that Boeing, which made the airliner in question, is participating.

Today is Wednesday, May 23, the 143rd day of 2018. There are 222 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 23, 1618, the Defenestration of Prague took place as Bohemian Protestants angry over what they saw as a threat to their religious freedom threw two Catholic imperial regents and their secretary out an upper-story palace window; the men survived the incident, which helped trigger the Thirty Years' War. On this date: In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English. In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution. In 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. In 1939, the Navy submarine USS Squalus sank during a test dive off the New England coast. Thirty-two crew members and one civilian were rescued, but 26 others died; the sub was salvaged and re-commissioned the USS Sailfish. In 1945, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler committed suicide by biting into a cyanide capsule while in British custody in Luneburg, Germany. In 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, an action which helped precipitate war between Israel and its Arab neighbors the following month. In 1984, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report saying there was "very solid" evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers. In 1993, a jury in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, acquitted Rodney Peairs of manslaughter in the shooting death of Yoshi Hattori, a Japanese exchange student he'd mistaken for an intruder. Ten years ago: Televangelist John Hagee parted ways with John McCain following a storm over his endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate. (McCain rejected Hagee's endorsement a day earlier after an audio recording from the late 1990s surfaced in which the preacher suggested that God had sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the Promised Land.) Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in a speech to the National Defense University, defended America's controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy, but acknowledged the targeted strikes were no "cure-all" and said he was haunted by the civilians who were unintentionally killed. The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks to gay Scouts but not to gay Scout leaders. LeBron James was a unanimous pick for the All-NBA team and Kobe Bryant earned his record-tying 11th first-team selection. One year ago: President Donald Trump made a personal appeal for peace between Israel and the Palestinians as he closed a four-day swing through the Middle East. Roger Moore, the suavely insouciant star of seven James Bond films, died in Switzerland at age 89. NFL owners meeting in Chicago cut the overtime period from 15 to 10 minutes during the regular season, but also gave players plenty of leeway to celebrate after a touchdown. Today's Birthdays: Bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman is 93. Actress Barbara Barrie is 87. Actress Joan Collins is 85. Actor Charles Kimbrough is 82. International Tennis Hall of Famer John Newcombe is 74. Actress Lauren Chapin is 73. Country singer Misty Morgan is 73. Country singer Judy Rodman is 67. Chess grandmaster Anatoly Karpov is 67. Boxing Hall of Famer Marvelous Marvin Hagler is 64. Singer Luka Bloom is 63. Baseball manager Buck Showalter is 62. Actor-comedian-game show host Drew Carey is 60. Actress Lea DeLaria is 60. Country singer Shelly West is 60. Author Mitch Albom ("Tuesdays with Morrie") is 60. Actor Linden Ashby is 58. Actress-model Karen Duffy is 57. Actress Melissa McBride is 53. Rock musician Phil Selway (Radiohead) is 51. Actress Laurel Holloman is 50. Rock musician Matt Flynn (Maroon 5) is 48. Singer Lorenzo is 46. Country singer Brian McComas is 46. Actor John Pollono is 46. Singer Maxwell is 45. Singer Jewel is 44. Game show contestant Ken Jennings is 44. Actor LaMonica Garrett is 43. Actor D.J. Cotrona is 38. Actor Lane Garrison is 38. Thought for Today : "We do not usually look for allies when we love. Indeed, we often look on those who love with us as rivals and trespassers. But we always look for allies when we hate." — Eric Hoffer, American author and philosopher (1902-1983).

CONTACT US The 39-year-old Boeing 737 was rented from Damojh and operated by Cuban state-run airline Cubana de Aviacion, with a Global Air flight crew. It crashed in a fireball just after takeoff Friday from Havana’s international airport bound for the eastern Cuban city of Holguin. Only three people survived, with severe injuries. The directorate said the company had been suspended twice before, in 2010 and 2013. — Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 |

FROM THE COVER SCHOOL From page A1 lobbying campaign led by student survivors of the attack. “The difference in Texas is the Republican Party is in complete control. It is unchallenged at the state level,” Jillson said. “Even the young people from Santa Fe are not fullthroated advocates of gun control to keep the children safe.” On Monday, 15-year-old Santa Fe student Tessa Ybarra stood at a memorial for the shooting victims. Her T-shirt had “Santa Fe Strong” stenciled on the front and the victims’ names on the back. She said teachers should be armed. “Some people are saying you can’t prevent guns with guns,” Ybarra said. “But if our teachers had guns that could change a lot. If something like this happened again, our teachers would be ready.” Sentiments like those could give Abbott political cover if his roundtable discussions don’t lead to major changes. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is jailed on murder charges in Friday’s attack. Authorities said the Santa Fe High student opened fire with his father’s shotgun and .38-caliber handgun. Gun control advocates around the country have long pressed for expanded background checks and a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, but such measures would probably have had no effect on the Santa Fe High shooting. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Monday police were able to “engage” the shooter four minutes after they were called. He said the shooter was contained until his arrest, with minimal gunfire from law enforcement officers, to the art classroom where his bloody rampage was focused. That allowed the rest of the school to be evacuated safely. Santa Fe High School had an active-shooter plan and two armed security guards on campus. Trochesset said 200 officers from law enforcement agencies throughout the region converged Friday afternoon on the shooting scene. Abbott and Texas Republicans have embraced a steady relaxation of gun laws in recent years. Since 2013, Texas has reduced the cost and hours of training needed to be licensed to carry a handgun, allowed “open carry” for handgun license holders, and allowed concealed handguns in college classrooms and dorms. In 2015, Abbott tweeted he was “embarrassed” that Texas lagged behind California in gun sales. In 2017, he bragged about his accuracy with a pistol at a shooting range. On Monday, Abbott’s re-election campaign scaled back its

shotgun raffle in the wake of the Santa Fe shooting, replacing it with a raffle for a $250 gift certificate. A photograph of the governor aiming a shotgun was removed. After the Florida tragedy, President Donald Trump organized discussions on how to prevent school shootings and at least mentioned the idea of limiting gun sales, though little concrete came out of those. Abbott so far has committed to even less. Texas Gun Sense, which advocates for tighter gun controls, was invited to Wednesday’s meeting, said the group’s executive director, Gyl Switzer. Her group will stress tougher background checks, suicide prevention, gun safety at home and so-called “red flag” laws that restrict gun access for people identified as potentially dangerous to themselves or others. “We can’t do gun violence prevention without being optimistic. We are glad the governor invited us,” Switzer said. Texas holds primary runoffs Tuesday, meanwhile, and the Santa Fe shooting is not expected to be a deciding factor in any major race, just as the November 2017 massacre that killed more than two dozen worshippers at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, barely registered as a campaign issue before last week.

DEBATE From page A1 Lone Independent candidate Jaime "El Bronco" Rodriguez said Mexico needs to put the U.S. "in their place." Veteran radio commentator Sergio Sarmiento noted on the air Monday morning that Lopez Obrador’s nearest opponents, trailing behind by more than 20 points, "may have won some points, but I don’t think enough to change" the outcome. Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute and author of the upcoming book "Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States," agreed. He noted Monday that the candidates generally avoided answering tough question by offering general responses, and he said they seemed to lack deep knowledge about the issues confronting Mexicans immigrants. "Overall, Anaya was the most prepared, but sometimes seemed to have studied his answers," said Selee. "Meade spoke out of reasoned experience, but without any passion; and Lopez Obrador kept coming back to his favorite domestic themes about addressing corruption, poverty, and inequality without ever really answering the foreign policy questions. It’s hard to tell

is this debate will move the needle much in public opinion." The second of three debates featured a live audience for the first time, pumping much needed energy into an otherwise dry format. The focus moved from security, which dominated the first debate and according to polls is considered to be the top priority among Mexicans, to issues ranging from immigration and uncertainty over the North American Free Trade Agreement to Trump’s demand for a wall along the border. Sunday night should have been Meade’s big moment. The Yale-educated Meade is the former economic and foreign minister who holds a vast amount of knowledge on bilateral U.S.-Mexico issues. He came out

swinging. NAFTA’s future remains murky. Efforts to renegotiate the treaty appear to have stalled and may drag on beyond Mexico’s July 1 presidential election or even November’s midterm contests in the U.S. Lopez Obrador said he is in favor of NAFTA, but Meade at times ridiculed his vision, saying his populist antiforeign investment rhetoric looks inward and not outward. Meade said the leftleaning Lopez Obrador "yearned for a Mexico that no longer exists, one that wasn’t very good for Mexicans." He cited examples of food shortages and Mexico’s currency crisis. "If we want to bridge the gap between north and south, you need to invest more . not close off," Meade said.

BRIDGE From page A1 Administración Tributaria to facilitate the processing of lawful trade in a timely manner at Colombia-Solidarity Bridge.” Laredo police informed the community about the blockage via Facebook. “Hundreds of trucks are lined up waiting for the bridge to open up, and Monday is usually one of the busiest days. Please use extreme caution of you are on Mines Road or on Loop 20 headed to Mines Road as all traffic is backed up leading into World Trade Bridge,” police said. LPD said the bridge remained closed as of 7 p.m. Monday.

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A4 | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

New strategy for normalizing Iran By Eli Lake B L OOM BE RG NEWS

If you ever wanted to know what the opposite of Barack Obama’s Iran strategy would look like, I recommend Mike Pompeo’s speech Monday at the Heritage Foundation. In his first major address as secretary of state, Pompeo outlined a new strategy that overturns three key assumptions that underpinned the Iran policy of Obama and his top diplomat, John Kerry. These are: that America can live with Iranian regional aggression in exchange for temporary limits on its nuclear program; that the 2015 nuclear bargain expressed the will of the international community; and that Iran’s current elected leadership can moderate the country over time. Let’s start with that first assumption. While past U.S. presidents sanctioned Iran for a variety of bad behavior — ranging from its sponsorship of terrorism to its human rights abuses — Obama by his second term offered to lift the most biting ones in exchange for nuclear concessions. Obama gave the regime a choice: your nukes or your economy. Pompeo on Monday said the old deal no longer applied. Under renewed sanctions, he said, Iran would be forced to make a different choice: “either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both.” This formulation flips Obama’s gamble on its head. Obama argued that for all of the instability Iran sowed in the Middle East, it was worth relaxing sanctions on Iran’s banking system and oil exports in exchange for limitations on its nuclear program. Pompeo says that deal was a loser. “No more cost-free expansions of Iranian power,” Pompeo said. Speaking of the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, America’s top diplomat said he “has been playing with house money that has become blood money; wealth created by the West has fueled his campaign.” Pompeo on Monday also took aim at one of the more insidious elements of Obama’s diplomatic strategy, which was that the countries most effected by the change in U.S. policy toward Iran — Israel and America’s Arab allies — were not included in negotiations. The negotiators of the deal were the U.S., China, the European Union, Iran, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were briefed later about the talks. Now the Europeans, Russians and Chinese are part of a much larger group America wants to press the Iranians to change their ways. “I want the Australians, the Bahrainis, the Egyptians, the Indians, the Japanese, the Jordanians, the Kuwaitis, the Omanis, the Qataris, the Saudi Arabians, South Korea, the UAE, and many, many others worldwide to join in this effort against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pompeo. The secretary also made an explicit appeal to the Iranian people. “Next

year marks the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Republic, the revolution in Iran,” he said. “At this milestone, we have to ask: What has the Iranian Revolution given to the Iranian people?” In a dig at Obama and Kerry, Pompeo called out Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, and foreign minister, Javad Zarif. Addressing the Iranian people, Pompeo said, “The West says, ‘Boy, if only they could control Ayatollah Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani then things would be great.’ Yet, Rouhani and Zarif are your elected leaders. Are they not the most responsible for your economic struggles? Are these two not responsible for wasting Iranian lives throughout the Middle East?” Compare that with Obama’s and Kerry’s careful courting of Rouhani and Zarif. Even after Iran’s revolutionary guard corps detained and humiliated 10 U.S. sailors who drifted into Iranian territorial waters, Kerry made sure to thank Zarif for helping to get them released. After Rouhani won the 2013 presidential election, the Obama administration began relaxing sanctions designations months before the formal nuclear negotiations started. Pompeo’s appeals to the Iranian people stopped short of calling for regime change. The closest he came to that was saying, “We hope, indeed we expect, that the Iranian regime will come to its senses and support — not suppress — the aspirations of its own citizens.” That said, Pompeo’s expectation about Iran’s treatment of its own people was not included in his list of 12 demands of the Iranian regime if they wish to rejoin the international community. Those demands covered a range of activities, from releasing U.S. citizens arrested in recent years to removing all personnel from Syria and allowing unfettered access to nuclear inspectors to military sites. If Iran complies, Pompeo said the Trump administration would support a treaty agreement (something Obama did not do) that would give Iran access to American markets and full diplomatic recognition. As many have already quipped, the chance of Iran meeting these conditions is zero. But that misses an important point. In his enthusiasm for a bargain with Iran, Obama was willing to normalize a nation that was aiding and abetting a horrific crime against the Syrian people, overthrowing the government in Yemen and undermining the elected one in Iraq. It arrested U.S. citizens even as its diplomats were negotiating the nuclear deal. It shipped missiles to terrorists in Lebanon aimed at Israel. All of that was worth it, Obama and Kerry insisted, because Iran had agreed to place temporary limits on its nuclear program that would expire over the next 10 to 20 years. But the norms that separate rogue states from international citizens were weakened in the process. Pompeo on Monday took the first step in trying to restore them. Eli Lake is a Bloomberg News columnist.

COLUMN

We have met the enemy and he is us By Rex Huppke CHICAGO TRIBUNE

It’s Ritalin. It’s a culture of death. It’s not enough religion, and too many violent video games. Those, we’re told, are the things causing America’s almost rhythmic school shootings. That’s where the blame was placed — again — this weekend as students and families and pundits and lawmakers grappled with Friday’s slaughter of 10 people at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, the incoming president of the National Rifle Association, said on Fox News Sunday: "The problem that we’ve got is we’re trying like the dickens to treat the symptom without treating the disease, and the disease in this case isn’t the Second Amendment. The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence. They’ve been drugged in many cases. Nearly all of these perpetrators are male, and they’re young teenagers in most cases. And they’ve come through a culture where violence is commonplace. All we need to do is turn on the TV, go to a movie. If you look at what has happened to young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten." Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on ABC’s This Week: "We have devalued life, whether it’s through abortion, whether it’s the breakup of families, through violent movies, and particularly violent video games which now outsell movies and music. . But we, again, we have to look at our culture of violence, just our violent society, our Facebook, our Twitter, the bullying of adults on adults and children on children. We have to look at ourselves, George, it’s not about the guns, it’s about us."

To quote the great comic strip character Pogo by cartoonist Walt Kelly: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Right? Well, yes, but not in the ways North and Patrick and a slew of other gun-protecting folks want you to believe. The "our culture is causing mass shootings" argument is compelling and can sound reasonable on a visceral level. But it’s based on emotion, not reality. According to global marketing firm Newzoo, the five countries that spend the most money on video games are: China, the United States, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Using data from 2016, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found that the rate of violent gun deaths per 100,000 people in those countries is: 0.06 for China, 3.85 for the United States, 0.04 for Japan, 0.12 for Germany and 0.07 for the United Kingdom. Violent video games are available everywhere, but America’s gun violence rate is staggeringly higher than those other top video-game-purchasing countries. How about the importance of religion in our society? A Pew Research Center study found that a little more than half of Americans say religion is very important in their lives. Does that indicate moral decay that would turn boys into monsters? Look at the other countries referenced above. In China, only 3 percent say religion is very important. Japan is only 11 percent. The United Kingdom and Germany are both at 21 percent. In Canada, only 27 percent of people think religion is very important in their lives. Our level of religiosity is high compared with those countries, but our gun violence problem is

off the charts. Abortion? According to data from a study released this year by the Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 49 in the United States was 13. The rate was the same in the United Kingdom. Sweden had a higher abortion rate at 18 per 1,000 women, but there were only 41 people shot to death there last year. Violent movies? Those are shown in other countries that have minor to nonexistent gun violence problems. Ritalin? That’s also not unique to America. Iceland, which is virtually gun-violence-free, saw its use of the drug commonly used to treat ADHD jump more than 230 percent between 2004 and 2014. Furthermore, there hasn’t been any indication the Santa Fe shooter was taking Ritalin, and a 2000 report on school shootings conducted in part by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center and the Department of Education found: "Few of the attackers had been diagnosed with any mental disorder prior to the incident. Additionally, fewer than one-third of attackers had histories of drug or alcohol abuse." These cultural factors can all be concerning in their own right, but they aren’t to blame for America’s gun violence epidemic. If they were, other countries would have the same problems. There’s only one significant factor that separates America from places like England and Japan and Germany and Sweden: We have an illogical number of easily accessible guns. And if we want to do something about how often teenagers and adults use those guns to kill other people, we must be able to have an honest discussion, not one based on drummedup cultural hysteria. Personally, I’d like to

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

melt all the guns down, forge a giant steel statue of a hand making a rude gesture then place the statue directly outside the NRA’s headquarters. But I realize that’s wildly unrealistic and, truth be told, embarrassingly childish. So let’s talk about stronger enforcement of existing gun laws, a return of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, limiting the size of gun magazines or a federal safe storage law that might help prevent cases like Santa Fe, where the teenage shooter was able to access his father’s guns. And let’s listen to suggestions on making schools safer. When the lieutenant governor of Texas wasn’t reciting canned lines about cultural issues, he made a reasonable point about limiting the number of ways students can enter a school, allowing school officials a better chance to screen people. I think arming teachers is crazy — we already can’t pay them enough just to teach — but since we’re not going to turn all the guns into an inappropriate statue, the idea of making schools more secure makes sense. Put in metal detectors. Hire more security guards. Look at it this way: Pinning the problem on cultural factors is a lazy argument, just as shouting "Ban all the guns!" is a nonstarter. If we really care, if we really hurt at the thought of our children going to school assuming they might get shot, we can’t fall back on lame excuses and we can’t lean in too hard on unrealistic goals. We need to listen to each other and find some common ground. Without a doubt, we have met the enemy and he is us. Time to make peace so we can find a way to make things better. Rex Huppke is a Chicago Tribune columnist.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 |

INTERNATIONAL

LGBT community cheers pope’s remark By Nicole Winfield A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ reported comments to a gay man that “God made you like this” have been embraced by the LGBT community as another sign of Francis’ desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church. Juan Carlos Cruz, the main whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, said Monday he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month. Cruz said he told Francis how Chile’s bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to try to discredit him, and of the pain the personal attacks had caused him. “He said, ‘Look Juan Carlos, the pope loves you this way. God made you like this and he loves you,”’ Cruz told The Associated Press. The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the pope’s private conversations. The comments first were reported by Spain’s El Pais newspaper. Church teaching says gays should be respected, loved and not discriminated against, but considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered.” Francis, though, has sought to make the church more welcoming to gays, most famously with his 2013 comment “Who am I to judge?”

Richard Drew / AP

A passage from the first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that says gay individuals "do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial," is displayed in New York on Monday. Pope Francis' reported comments to a gay man that "God made you like this" have been embraced by the LGBT community.

He also has spoken of his own ministry to gay and transgender people, insisting they are children of God, loved by God and deserving of accompaniment by the church. As a result, some commentators downplayed the significance of the comments to Cruz, saying they merely were in line with Francis’ pastoral-minded attitude and not in any way a challenge to current doctrine. “What the pope was saying is, ‘God loves you and made you just as you are, and therefore you should accept yourself as you are while struggling to live according to the Gospel,”’ said the Rev. Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Rome’s Pontifical Holy Cross University. Whether or not the pope intended to break ground, there was a time when the Catholic Church taught that sexual orientation was not something people choose.

The first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the dense summary of Catholic teaching published by St. John Paul II in 1992, said gay individuals “do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial.” The updated edition, which is the only edition available online and on the Vatican website, removed the reference. The revised edition says: “This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.” Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for equality for LGBT Catholics, said the pope’s comments were “tremendous” and would do a lot of good. “It would do a lot better if he would make these statements publicly, because LGBT people need to hear that message from religious leaders, from Catholic leaders,” he said.

Frontera A6 | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Premios televisivos

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO

Cierran Puente 3

1 La preparatoria Roma High School invita a la entrega de premios Roma High School Gladiator Television Network Awards el 24 de mayo desde las 6:30 p.m., en el Centro de Artes Escénicas del Roma ISD.

Programa ayuda para ganado 1 La Oficina del Representante Henry Cuéllar invita a conocer el Programa de Emergencia para el Ganado dirigido a ganaderos y agricultores. La cita es el 30 de mayo en el Cento Comunitario de Zapata, de 3:30 p.m. a 5 p.m.

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 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 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.

Danny Zaragoza / Laredo Morning Times

El tráfico se extiende desde el Puente del Comercio Mundial hasta Mines Road mientras manifestantes protestan del lado mexicano.

Familiares bloquean Puente del Comercio Mundial pidiendo respuestas de las autoridades Por Alfredo Peña y César G. Rodriguez ASSOCIATED PRE SS Y TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

IUDAD VICTORIA, México— Al menos 200 familiares de desaparecidos en la ciudad mexicana de Nuevo Laredo, México cerraron el lunes un puente internacional que comunica con la Ciudad de Laredo. Los manifestantes en el paso fronterizo, utilizado para importar y exportar mercancía a Estados Unidos, protestaban por lo que consideran es la falta de respuesta de las autoridades ante las 43 denuncias por desapariciones interpuestas ante la fiscalía federal de Nuevo Laredo, ubicada en el estado

de Tamaulipas. La toma del puente inició a las 9:30 a.m. al llegar un nutrido grupo de personas con lonas y cartulinas en las que exigían justicia al gobierno estatal y federal. Al caer la noche, la protesta continuaba. “Pedimos justicia”, dijo Estela González, una de las manifestantes que busca a su sobrino político. “Vivos, muertos o como estén queremos saber de ellos”. El bloqueo generó largas filas de camiones. El alcalde interino de la ciudad, Rafael Pedraza Domínguez, acudió al mediodía a entrevistarse con los manifestantes y les exhortó a que abrieran el paso con la promesa tener una plática y buscar soluciones, pero las fami-

lias no le hicieron caso y continuaron con el plantón. “Lo que queremos es una solución, y si ya les hicieron daño pues saber qué paso con los cuerpos”, se quejaba González. En Laredo, Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza sugirió utilizar el Puente Colombia-Solidaridad para los cruces comerciales. “Debido a una protesta llevándose a cabo en Nuevo Laredo cerca del Puente del Comercio Mundial, el tráfico comercial está siendo temporalmente redireccionado hacia el Puente Colombia-Solidaridad”, dijo CBP en una declaración. “CBP se encuentra trabajando en coordinación con nuestras contrapartes de Ser-

Llenado de aplicaciones

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 246-7177.

Vecino simulado: el problema con las ‘robocalls’

Laboratorio computacional

Por Miguel Segura

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 849-1411. 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 765-8983.

Grupos de apoyo 1 El grupo de apoyo para personas con Alzheimer a las 7 p.m., en LMC, primer piso, Torre B en el Centro Comunitario. Las reuniones se realizan el primer martes de cada mes.

DIRECTOR REGIONAL , BETTER BUSINE SS BUREAU

¿Está notando un aumento en el número de llamadas locales a su hogar y / o teléfono celular? No está solo. Este fenómeno se llama "spoofing”, o vecino simulado, y es la estrategia de falsificación de los identificadores de llamadas que utilizan los estafadores para que la gente conteste el teléfono. Para que las estafas telefónicas tengan éxito, estafadores necesitan que las personas contesten el teléfono para poder iniciar la conversación. El fraude del vecino simulado usa la tecnología de hoy para engañar a una persona y hacerle pensar que alguien local, posiblemente hasta alguien que ellos conocen, está llamando. Estas llamadas robóticas han visto un aumento en los últimos años. De acuerdo con el New York Times, se realizaron 3.400 millones de llamadas automatizadas en abril. Eso es un aumento de las más de 900 millones del año anterior. Es probable que este gran volumen de llamadas fraudulentas tendrá un impacto real. El artículo menciona a un médico de sala de emergencia que dice que el tratamiento para un paciente se retrasó debido a que él pensaba que el número no reconocido en su teléfono era un “robocall”. Al contestar una de estas llamadas falsas, se le indicará al “robocaller” —el llamador fraudulento— que usted tiene una línea activa.

Las líneas telefónicas activas son valiosas para estafadores, y probablemente lo pondrán en una "lista viva" que puede abrir su línea telefónica para recibir llamadas adicionales. Better Business Bureau ofrece algunos consejos sobre cómo manejar llamadas telefónicas de "vecino simulando": 1 No conteste. Evite contestar llamadas de números de teléfono que no reconoce, aunque si parezcan ser locales. Si es importante, la persona que le llama dejará un mensaje. 1 Aplicaciones de bloqueo de llamadas. Existen aplicaciones de bloqueo de llamadas que pueden ayudar a disminuir la cantidad de llamadas spam. Su proveedor de teléfono también pueda ofrecer un servicio similar u ofrecer asesoramiento. 1 Reporte el número a la FTC. La Comisión Federal de Comercio toma los números de teléfono que usted denuncia y los comparte con el público cada día. Esto ayuda a los operadores telefónicos y otros socios que trabajan en soluciones de bloqueo de llamadas. También puede asegurarse de que su número de teléfono esté en el ‘Registro Nacional No Llame’ en www.donotcall.gov. Aunque es poco probable que evite la mayoría de las llamadas telefónicas fraudulentas, ayudará a reducir las llamadas recibidas de vendedores legítimos, lo cual también puede ser útil para detectar llamadas fraudulentas.

vicio de Administración Tributaria para facilitar el proceso de comercio legal de manera eficaz en el Puente Colombia-Solidaridad”. La policía de Laredo informó a la comunidad del bloqueo vía Facebook. “Cientos de tráilers se encuentran en fila esperando que abran el puente, y el lunes es usualmente uno de los días mas traficados. Por favor extreme precauciones si está en el área de Mines Road o Loop 20 camino a Mines Road ya que el tráfico se esta formando camino al Puente del Comercio Mundial”, dijo la policía. Nuevo Laredo ha estado inmerso en una ola de violencia y hallazgos de fosas clandestinas en los últimos meses. El crimen organizado considera a la ciudad como un punto estratégico debido a que usa sus puentes para enviar contrabando a Estados Unidos. En marzo, cuatro miembros de una familia murieron en un fuego

cruzado entre presuntos delincuentes y miembros de la Marina, que utilizaron un helicóptero para repeler a los atacantes. En un gesto poco habitual, esa fuerza armada reconoció su responsabilidad en los hechos. Tamaulipas, en la frontera nororiental del país, es un estado azotado por la violencia vinculada al crimen organizado, donde las fuerzas armadas tienen una fuerte presencia y realizan numerosos operativos. En muchas ocasiones los medios de comunicación y los habitantes de la zona guardan silencio por miedo o amenazas, por lo que las protestas como la del lunes no son frecuentes. Es también el estado mexicano con mayor número de desaparecidos: más de 6.000 desde 2006, según registros del gobierno federal. Muchas partes de su territorio se las disputan el Cártel del Noreste y Los Zetas, lo que ha incrementado la violencia.

FALCÓN

Foto de cortesía

La Patrulla Fronteriza incautó más de 800 libras de marihuana de un bote que intentaba pasar de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero a Zapata por la Presa Falcón.

Incautan más de 800 libras de droga TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza confiscaron mas de 300.000 dólares en marihuana de un bote que intentaba cruzar de México a los Estados Unidos por medio de la Presa Falcon, dice un comunicado de la agencia. El viernes 18 de mayo, agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza incautaron 868,64 libras de marihuana mientras trabajaban en sus tareas asignadas. Mientras los agentes patrullaban el área, observaron un bote en la Presa Flacón viajando hacia los Estados Unidos desde México. Después de una búsqueda, ellos encontraron 56 paquetes de marihuana. La marihuana tiene un valor

estimado de 315.280 dólares. Los agentes arrestaron a un individuo, ciudadano estadounidense. El caso fue entregado a la Agencia de Control de Drogas (DEA por sus siglas en inglés). “La vigilancia de los hombres y mujeres de la Patrulla Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos para disrumpir el flujo de narcóticos atesta a nuestro compromiso de mantener al país y sus comunidades a salvo”, dijo el Jefe Asistente de la Patrulla Fronteriza el Agente Gabriel H. Acosta. Para reportar actividad sospechosa como el trafico de drogas o personas baje la aplicación móvil “USB Laredo Sector” o contacte a la Patrulla Fronteriza al 1-800-343-1994.

Sports&Outdoors

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 |

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

Texans’ Watt visits Santa Fe HS shooting survivors Watt heads to the homes and hospital rooms of high school shooting victims By Craig Hlavaty H OUSTON CHRONICLE

Days after offering to pay for the funerals for the 10 people killed in the Santa Fe High School shooting on Friday, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt stepped into the homes and hospital rooms of recovering shooting victims. Clay Horn, 17, was excited to see the football star walk into

his hospital room Monday. A bullet went clean through Horn's upper thigh Friday while another shot broke his arm above the elbow. Horn is scheduled for surgery Tuesday, according to KPRC. Watt also visited 16-year-old Sarah Salazar. According to a Facebook post from her mother, Salazar has a broken jaw and will need a shoulder replacement, but was able to

NCAA BASEBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press file

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt visited survivors of the Santa Fe High School shooting this week.

have a tube removed Monday so she can continue breathing on her own. "JJ Watt visited her right after (they removed the tube) and it put a smile on her face," her mother Sonia Lopez-Puentes wrote. "Thankful for all the support and prayers." It was just last Friday, in the hours after the tragedy 30 miles south of Houston, that word came that Watt would

pay for the funerals of the victims who died in the shooting. Ten people were killed and at least 10 others were injured. The move stunned but didn't surprise Houstonians who have seen Watt raise more than $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief. For his tireless efforts he was the recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in February.

The first of the funerals for the deceased in the shooting was held on Sunday. Sabika Sheikh, a 17-year-old foreign exchange student from Pakistan, was honored by more than 2,000 people at the Masjid Al-Sabireen mosque, the Brand Lane Islamic Center in Stafford. After the emotional service the girl's remains were returned to her parents in Pakistan for burial.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

SPURS FANS REACT TO DECISION TO DISBAND SILVER DANCERS

Nick Wagner / Associated Press file

Texas baseball cleaned up at the Big 12 awards as Kody Clemens was named the conference’s player of the year while David Pierce was selected as coach of the year.

Clemens, Pierce earn top honors as Big 12 awards announced By Nick Moyle SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS

AUSTIN — It didn't take Texas coach David Pierce long to turn things around. In year two under the former Sam Houston State and Tulane coach, Texas boosted its regular-season winning percentage from .629 (34-20, 11-12 Big 12) to .672 (37-18, 17-7) and claimed a conference title for the first time since 2011. UT went 27-9 after starting the year 9-9, and last week swept TCU to claim the program's eighth Big 12 championship. The league rewarded Pierce on Tuesday by naming him Big 12 coach of the year. Over the weekend, he explained what made this group of overachievers so remarkable. "This group is special because — they've got talent, don't get me wrong — they have heart, they have such desire, and the love for each other in our clubhouse is what made this happen," Pierce said after beating TCU on Saturday. "The unselfish play and not worrying about their stats and just filling in their piece to help the team win. It's an incredible group because of that, not because we're so overly talented. We know that we have to do little things right to win

ball games and when it comes together this team it's worth watching and seeing this development because this team is so special." Texas couldn't have done it without junior second baseman Kody Clemens, who was revealed as Big 12 player of the year shortly after the Pierce announcement. He is the first Longhorn to pick up player of the year honors since Kyle Russell in 2007. Clemens led UT in nearly every major hitting category, including: batting average (.344), onbase percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.703), home runs (19), runs batted in (61), runs scored (53), and total bases (147). In league play, Clemens paced the field in home runs, total bases, runs scored and slugging percentage, and ranked among the top five in hits and RBI. Additionally, Clemens, outfielder Duke Ellis and designated hitter Zach Zubia were selected to the All-Big 12 first team. Pitchers Blair Henley and Andy McGuire, along with shortstop David Hamilton, were named to the second team. The All-Big 12 team and awards are voted on by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News file

The San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers perform in April at the AT&T Center. The Silver Dancers have been disbanded for the 2018-19 season after a 26-year run.

Citing ‘lack of fan interest,’ Silver Dancers are no more after a 26-year run By Madalyn Mendoza SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS

Spurs Sports and Entertainment confirmed on Monday the Silver Dancers and Team Energy squads would not return to the court for the 2018-2019 season. Social media speculation swirled over the weekend after Jason Minnix, host of The Blitz on ESPN San Antonio, tweeted the dancers "are no more" after 26 years, citing "lack of fan interest." The Spurs confirmed in a phone call with mySA the organization was doing away with the teams, but could not divulge on the reasoning behind the changes. Rather than having the Silver Dancers, the Spurs will debut a 35-member coed and "familyfriendly" hype team at the start of the upcoming season. Auditions for the new group will be held July 21 and Aug. 4 at the University of the Incarnate Word. As news spread throughout the weekend, fans and former Silver Dancers reacted via social media and many took to Twitter to vent their grievances. Some worried the disbandment was a sign that trou-

ble was afoot for the team overall, while others argued the squad provided a springboard for local dancers. Some vowed to no longer be a fan of the basketball team. Future Silver Dancer hopefuls also voiced their disappointment. "I am crushed to hear that my dream pro team will be no more. Spurs Silver Dancers are not only talented, but great role models," @christel_rudd tweeted. "I always hoped to someday be a part of it. I'm feeling a bit lost about my plans after graduation. Grateful to have had a great team to look up to." Silver Dancer alumna Michelle Vogel replied to Minnix's tweet and Facebook post, disagreeing there was a "lack of fan interest" and questioning whether the decision was made in "fear" of the #MeToo movement. "Does 'lack of interest' really mean 'we don't want to deal with it,'" she wrote online. Recent think pieces and articles have debated whether professional cheerleading teams should be a thing of the past following reporting on alleged abuses by teams. A recent New York Times piece detailed a 2013 Costa Rica trip in

which Washington Redskins cheerleaders posed topless and were personal escorts. Another, earlier, New York Times piece was called "How N.F.L. teams use social media to promote, and control, cheerleaders," and yet another detailed rules banning cheerleaders from wearing sweatpants in public and requiring them to leave a restaurant if an NFL player entered. In Nancy Armour's USA Today Sports article, she argued there was "no place" in the NFL for cheerleaders, citing gender discrimination complaints and a "degrading" premise of teams. Jacie Scott, a former NFL cheerleader, wrote a counter think piece for DallasSportsFanatic.com in which she said she understood Armour's stance, but begged others to realize there are "different perspectives." Scott agreed reform was needed in terms of "sexist" restrictions some professional cheerleaders and dancers are met with. Though speaking in regards to the NFL, Scott shared her view on disbanding squads and the conversation of women being "ogled" on the sidelines. "Getting rid of NFL cheerleading sends the message that these women are doing something wrong. They aren't. So why punish them," Scott wrote.

A8 | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

New CIA director sworn in By Ken Thomas and Deb Riechmann A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

LANGLEY, Va. — New CIA Director Gina Haspel pledged to send more spies into the field during her swearing-in Monday as President Donald Trump offered up praise for the rank-and-file, who felt snubbed during his first visit to the headquarters of the premier U.S. intelligence agency. “We must learn from the past, but we cannot dwell in the past,” said Haspel, whose ascent from undercover operative to the top job was challenged because of her role in a program to harshly detain and interrogate terror suspects after 9/11. “We must constantly learn, adjust, improve and

strive to be better. We demand it of ourselves and America deserves nothing less,” she said, drawing loud applause from her co-workers assembled inside the headquarters at Langley, in northern Virginia. Haspel, 61, succeeds Mike Pompeo, whom Trump tapped to become secretary of state. Pompeo was present at the swearing-in and the oath was administered by Vice President Mike Pence. Critics have said Haspel’s role in the nonbanned program should have disqualified her from becoming CIA director, although she has vowed not to restart it. Her supporters cited her three decades of experience at the spy agency both domestically and at many

posts abroad. Haspel, who has spent 33 years with the CIA, pledged to boost foreign language proficiency, strengthen the CIA’s partnerships with intelligence agencies in the U.S. and abroad and deploy more officers to the field. She said the CIA also needed to focus on strategic threats to U.S. national security as well as the ongoing one from global terrorism. As the first female CIA director, Haspel said she was indebted to female intelligence officers who blazed the trail for women in the field. “I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim, but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them,” she said.

She also referenced her rocky confirmation during which lawmakers had called for her mostly classified past career to be open to public scrutiny. “It has been nearly 50 years since an operations officer rose up through the ranks to become the director, and after the experience of the last two months, I think I know why that is,” Haspel joked. Trump said she showed courage during the Senate confirmation process. The president struck a different tone than on his previous visit to CIA headquarters. He hailed the agency rank-and-file, calling them the “most elite intelligence professionals on the planet” and promised them the “the tools, the resources and the support they need.”

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Gina Haspel is sworn in as CIA director in Langley, Virginia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is shown during the ceremony.

When Trump visited the CIA headquarters in January 2017, one day after taking office, it was on the back of his repeated criticisms of the U.S. intelligence community over its conclusion that Russian had interfered in the presidential election. That day, many of his remarks were focused on settling scores with the media. His comments raised the ire of former intelligence officials because he spoke in front of a wall marked with stars representing

fallen CIA officers, which was viewed as disrespectful. This year, he paid tribute to the lost lives, saying “their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time.” Only hours before Trump visited CIA headquarters, he was promoting criticism of former CIA Director John Brennan. He suggested Brennan was to blame for the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 |

BUSINESS

Neighbor spoofing robocalls increase Are you experiencing an increase in the number of local calls to your home and/or cell phone? You’re not alone. This phenomenon is called “neighbor spoofing” and it’s the latest caller ID spoof strategy being used by phone scam artists to get people to answer the phone. For phone scams to be successful, scammers need people to pick up the phone so they can initiate the conversation. Neighbor spoofing uses

today’s technology to trick a person into thinking somebody local, possibly even someone they know, is calling. These automated calls have seen a surge in recent years. According to the New York Times, 3.4 billion robocalls were made in April. That’s an increase of over 900 million from the year before. This large volume of nuisance calls is bound to have a real impact. The article mentions an emergency room doctor who says treatment for a patient was delayed due

to him thinking the unrecognized number on his phone was a robocall. Answering one of these caller ID spoofed calls will indicate to the robocaller that you have an active phone line. Active phone lines are valuable to phone scammers, and they will often put you on a “live list” that can potentially open your phone line up to additional scam calls. Better Business Bureau offers a few tips on how to handle “neighbor spoofing” phone calls: • Don’t answer. Avoid answering calls from

Hope for US-China trade progress sends stocks up By Marley Jay A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

A man in Miami who set up a program that made nearly 100 million robocalls was fined $120 million by the FCC.

partners that are working on call blocking solutions. You can also make sure your phone number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. Though it is unlikely to prevent most phone scam calls, it

will help to reduce calls received from legitimate telemarketers, which can be helpful in screening fraudulent calls. Miguel Segura is regional director of the Better Business Bureau.

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house Air Brake Technologies in deal worth $11.1 billion. It’s the latest step by GE’s CEO, John Flannery, to break off parts of the conglomerate. GE will get $2.9 billion in cash and will own 50.1 percent of the combined company, and the deal will help it narrow its business down to the aviation, health care and energy industries. Wabtec gained 3.5 percent to $98.55. Chipmakers rallied after Micron Technology raised its profit and revenue forecasts for the fiscal third quarter. Micron jumped 3.9 percent to $55.48 while Intel picked up 1.5 percent to $54.32 and Lam Research added 2.2 percent to $199.87. That contributed to a broad rally in technology stocks. Microsoft gained 1.3 percent to $97.60 and Google’s parent company Alphabet rose 1.3 percent $1,084.01. The dollar rose to 111.11 yen from 110.68 yen late Friday. The euro dipped to $1.1772 from $1.1773. Energy companies advanced as benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 1.3 percent to $72.24 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oil, added 0.9 percent to $79.22 per barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline added 1 percent to $2.26 a gallon and heating oil rose 0.4 percent to $2.27 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.3 percent to $2.81 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gold was little changed at $1,290.90 an ounce. Silver rose 0.4 percent to $16.52 an ounce. Copper picked up 1.1 percent to $3.10 a pound. Bond prices held steady.

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NEW YORK — Industrial and technology companies led stocks to solid gains Monday after the U.S. and China appeared to make significant progress in trade talks. That helped ease concerns among investors that the world’s two biggest economies might be headed for a trade war. After another round of talks, the two countries agreed not to place tariffs on goods imported from the other. The Chinese government said it will buy more U.S. goods, including energy and agricultural products, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. postponed its proposal to put tariffs on up to $150 billion in goods from China. The two sides gave no indication of how much progress they had made toward ending their dispute entirely and both said hostilities could increase again. Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide Investment Management, said investors overreacted to the possibility of a trade war and they may be slowly learning to take a more patient approach with statements by the Trump administration and other nations, which is a good thing, Hackett says, because future administrations may borrow from Trump’s aggressive style. “Treating Trump literally is destructive for investors,” he said. “There’s a lot of these issues where there are going to be hyperbolic statements made in the public sphere by

both sides.” The S&P 500 index climbed 20.04 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,733.01. The Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 371 points during the morning and finished with a gain of 298.20 points, or 1.2 percent, to 25,013.29. The Nasdaq composite gained 39.70 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,394.04. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks set another record close as it jumped 10.81 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,637.44. All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 index finished higher. Among industrials, Boeing gained 3.6 percent to $363.92 and construction equipment maker Caterpillar rose 2.1 percent to $158.92. In the financial sector, Bank of New York Mellon added 1.3 percent to $57.72 and JPMorgan Chase rose 0.9 percent to $112.15. Trade disputes have occupied a lot of investors’ attention for the last two months. Stocks have rallied on signs progress was being made, only to fall back when the situation appeared to worsen. Hackett said Wall Street could get over its trade worries relatively quickly if talks go well. If that happens, he said stocks could be set for further gains because they are still below their early 2018 highs and analysts expect stronger earnings growth, which makes stock prices seem less expensive. General Electric rose 1.9 percent to $15.26 after announcing that its train engine division will combine with railroad equipment maker Westing-

phone numbers you don’t recognize, even if they appear to be local. If it’s important, the caller will leave a message. • Call blocking apps. There are call blocking apps that may help decrease the amount of spam calls. Your phone carrier may also provide a similar service or offer advice. • Report number to FTC. The Federal Trade Commission takes the phone numbers you report and releases them to the public each business day. This helps phone carriers and other

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A10 | Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES