The Zapata Times 6/7/2017

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MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL

ZAPATA COUNTY

Man gets 15 years in prison Diaz-Reyes receives sentence for fatally shooting 20-year-old Courtesy / Webb County Sheriff’s Office

By Taryn T. Walters LA R ED O MORNI NG T IME S

A man accused of fatally shooting a 20-year-old in 2014 received a 15-year prison sentence Monday in Zapata after pleading guilty to manslaughter the day trial in his case was scheduled to begin.

Trial was expected to begin Monday for Alexis Abram DiazReyes, a man facing a seconddegree manslaughter charge for the death of Irvin Garza, a Roma resident, in late January 2014.

Diaz-Reyes, 25, reached a plea agreement with the prosecution Monday, pleading guilty to manslaughter, the Zapata County

District Attorney’s Office said.

49th District Court Judge Joe Lopez honored the agreement reached, sentencing Diaz-Reyes to serve 15 years in prison. A second-degree felony carries a punishment range of two to 20 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine.

The indictment filed against

Diaz-Reyes alleges he acted recklessly by pointing a firearm with live ammo in the direction of Garza and recklessly discharged the firearm, striking Garza in the head on Jan. 31, 2014.

Garza’s body was recovered in late March at a ranch in BustaTrial continues on A12

TEXAS LAW

ABBOTT SIGNS TEXTING-WHILE-DRIVING BAN

The Webb County Sheriff’s Office recently seized over 200 pounds of marijuana. One person arrested is facing drug possession charges.

Over 200 pounds of drugs seized

By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S

A tip regarding suspicious activity in Zapata County yielded one arrest and over 200 pounds of marijuana seized, according to the Webb County Sheriff’s Office.

Alfredo Mendez, 22, was charged with Mendez felony possession of marijuana.

Mendez is from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, the Sheriff’s Office.

Mendez remained in custody at the Webb County Jail as of Drugs continues on A12

TEXAS’ SPECIAL SESSION

Agenda topics to be discussed ASSOCIATED PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state lawmakers back to work starting July 18 for a sweeping, 30-day special legislative session covering 20 topics.

Here’s what the governor wants tackled as the Legislature enters overtime for the first time since 2013:

when lawmakers meet in special session in July and August, he wants them to pass a state law that will roll back any local ordinances that ban mobile device use beyond texting while driving. “We don’t need a patchwork of regulations,” across the state, Abbott

Bathroom Bill Abbott wants Texas to become the first state since North Carolina to restrict restroom access for transgender people, demanding legislation that “protects the privacy of our children” in public schools. The Republican-led Texas House passed such a measure doing that during the regular, 140-day session that ended May 29 — but it died in the GOP-controlled state Senate, which was holding out far broader restrictions applying to most

Texting continues on A12

Agenda continues on A12

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

A driver on her cell phone as she waited for a light in the Medical Center, May 16, in Houston.

Fine of up to $99 will be given to first-time offenders

By Jim Vertuno A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Texting while driving will soon be illegal in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the ban into law Tuesday, ending a decade-long effort by safety advocates to reduce potentially

deadly driver distractions on the road.

Texas will become one of the last states to adopt some kind of texting while driving ban when the law takes effect Sept.

1. Texting would be punishable by a fine of up to $99 for firsttime offenders and $200 for repeat offenses.

Dozens of Texas cities already ban texting while driving. The state law covers texting only and prohibits the use of hand-held phones to “read write or send an electronic message” while driving. Other Internet use for navigation or music programs is allowed.

Abbott said Tuesday that

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE WORLD

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

United ISD job fair. 1:30 p.m. to Today is Wednesday, June 7, the 158th day of 2017. There are 207 days left in the year.

5:30 p.m. United Middle School (Gym) located at 700 E. Del Mar Blvd. United ISD will host a job fair for current or anticipated vacancies in the following areas: Teacher, Teacher Aides, Substitutes, Police Department, Transportation, Facilities, After School Day Care Program Caregivers, Food Service Employees, and Custodial staff members.

Individuals should take their resume to the event as they will be meeting with individuals on site and inquiring about various job vacancies.

LCC, Convergys host job fair. 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Laredo Community College’s De La Garza building, room 101, at the Fort McIntosh campus. Convergys Corporation, together with the LCC Economic Development Center and Workforce Solutions for South Texas, are joining forces to hire 200 certified health care agents.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8 Laredo Cardiac Support Group. 6

p.m. Doctors Hospital Cafeteria.

To register or more information, call Ana Sanchez, Doctors Hospital Cardiac Rehab Unit, at 956523-2779.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10 The Martin High School Class of 1957 60th Reunion. Embassy

Suites, 110 Calle Del Norte. Classmates wishing to attend should register by checking the class website at mhsclassof57.org or calling Irma Perales Mireles at 956-286-6385.

THURSDAY, JUNE 22 Why Invasive Species are So Invasive—An Ecosystem Approach.

6:30 p.m. Lake Casa Blanca International State Park Ranchito. Presented by Stephen Lange, Project Leader, South Texas Ecosystem Project, Chaparral and Daughtrey Wildlife Management Areas. Free and open to the public. For more information, email: brushcountrychapter@gmail.com Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A Guerra Public Library. For more info call Sylvia Reash at 956-7631810.

Today's Highlight in History: On June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway ended in a decisive victory for American naval forces over Imperial Japan, marking a turning point in the Pacific War.

Bertrand Guay / AFP/Getty Images

French police officials gather at the entrance to Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Tuesday.

MAN SHOT AFTER ATTACKING POLICE AT NOTRE DAME PARIS — A police officer shot and wounded an assailant armed with a hammer and kitchen knives on the square outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

The cathedral, a Gothic landmark on the Île de la Cité on the Seine, across from the headquarters of the Paris police prefecture, was sealed off, and about

900 visitors and worshippers were told not to leave until the situation was declared safe. The square was evacuated.

Gérard Collomb, the French interior minister, told reporters that the attack occurred around 4:20 p.m. when the man approached three police officers from behind and started hitting one of them with a hammer.

“This is for Syria,” the assailant yelled. At least one officer opened fire, injuring the attacker, who was hospitalized.

The attacker was carrying an identity card describing him as an Algerian student, Collomb said, adding that investigators still need to verify his identity, as well as his motivations. He appeared to be acting alone.

Five killed as Indian farmers clash with police at a protest

latest in a series of confrontations in rural areas.

The authorities blocked some social media sites in an effort to prevent the farmers from further organizing, but demonstration leaders vowed to intensify their actions on Wednesday.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, one of the protest leaders, said five farmers were killed and six others were wounded when the police opened fire on the crowd.

“Our demands are very simple: Give us remunerative pric-

es of our products and waive our farm loans,” Sharma said.

The state’s home minister, Bhupendra Singh, told Indian television that the police did not open fire on the crowd, but that an investigation into the deaths had been opened.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh and the neighboring state of Maharashtra have been protesting the crop prices, in some cases throwing tomatoes, onions, potatoes, garlic and milk into the street.

— Compiled from the New York Times News Service

MONDAY, JULY 3 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.

SATURDAY, JULY 22 Laredo and South Texas Weather. 2 p.m. TAMIU Student Center, Room 236. Presented by Richard ‘Heatwave” Berler, Chief Meteorologist, KGNS-TV. Free and open to the public. For more information, email: brushcountrychapter@gmail.com

FRIDAY, AUG. 18 South Texas Food Bank Empty Bowls XI. Laredo Energy Arena.

Tex-Mex power rock trio Los Lonely Boys will perform. The event includes a dinner, a benefit concert and a silent auction featuring artworks from local and regional artists. Sponsorship tables of 10 that include dinner and access to silent auction items are available. There are different levels of sponsorship available: Diamond $20,000, Platinum $10,000, Gold $5,000, Silver $2,500 and Bronze $1,500.

Individual table tickets are $150.

Table tickets are available at the food bank, 1907 Freight at Riverside. Concert only tickets are $10, $15 and $25. Tickets are available at the LEA box office, Ticketmaster.com, select Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4 Les Amies Birthday Club monthly meeting. 11:30 a.m. Ramada Pla-

za. The hostesses are Rosita Alvarez, Marta Rangel Bennett, Imelda Gonzalez and Carmen Santos. The honoree will be Magda Sanchez.

NEW DELHI — Five people were killed Tuesday at a protest in central India, as the police battled with farmers demanding debt relief.

The farmers, who believe that the government is intentionally keeping crop prices low to meet the demand of the country’s growing cities, clashed with police in Mandsaur, in Madhya Pradesh, the

AROUND THE NATION Existing climate efforts to keep goals on track SAN FRANCISCO — The momentum of climate change efforts and the affordability of cleaner fuels will keep the United States moving toward its goals of cutting emissions despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris global accord, business and government leaders in a growing alliance said Tuesday.

New York, California and 11 other states, mayors of about 200 cities, and leaders of business giants including Amazon, Apple and Target have signed pledges to keep reducing their fossil-fuel emissions after President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate accord.

“Our coalition wants to let the world know that absent leadership from our federal

Branden Camp / Associated Press

The coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, stands in the distance in Juliette, Georgia.

government,” the country will keep cutting its emissions from fossil fuels, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told reporters Tuesday.

Market forces of cheaper, cleaner forms of energy are likely to help keep the states moving toward their targets even without the formal pledg-

es, experts said.

California, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Washington state, Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware, Oregon and Washington, D.C., have signed pledges.

— Compiled from AP reports

GALVESTON, Texas — The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords will be commissioned this week-

Ten years ago: At the G-8 summit in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin, bitterly opposed to a U.S. missile shield in Europe, presented President George W. Bush with a surprise counterproposal built around a Soviet-era radar system in Azerbaijan; Bush promised to consider the idea, but ended up essentially rejecting it.

After three days in jail for a recklessdriving probation violation, Paris Hilton was released by Los Angeles County sheriff's officials to be sent home under house arrest. (The next day, a judge ordered Hilton back to jail, where she spent 2½ weeks.)

Five years ago: Bob Welch, a former member of Fleetwood Mac who went on to write songs and record several hits during a solo career, died in Nashville.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director James Ivory is 89. Former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner is 88.

Actress Virginia McKenna is 86. Singer Tom Jones is 77. Actor Ronald Pickup is 77. Poet Nikki Giovanni is 74. Actor Ken Osmond (TV: "Leave It to Beaver") is 74. Former talk show host Jenny Jones is 71. Americana singersongwriter Willie Nile is 69. Actress Anne Twomey is 66. Actor Liam Neeson is 65. Actress Colleen Camp is 64. Singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg is 64. Author Louise Erdrich is 63. Actor William Forsythe is 62. Record producer L.A. Reid is 61. Latin pop singer Juan Luis Guerra is 60. Vice President Mike Pence is 58. Rock singer-musician Gordon Gano (The Violent Femmes) is 54. Rapper Ecstasy (Whodini) is 53. Rock musician Eric Kretz (Stone Temple Pilots) is 51. Rock musician Dave Navarro is 50. Actress Helen Baxendale is 47. Actor Karl Urban is 45. TV personality Bear Grylls is 43. Rock musician Eric Johnson (The Shins) is 41. Actress Adrienne Frantz is 39. Actor-comedian Bill Hader is 39. Actress Anna Torv is 38.

Actress Larisa Oleynik (oh-LAY'-nihk) is 36. Tennis player Anna Kournikova is 36. Actor Michael Cera is 29. Actress Shelley Buckner is 28. Rapper Iggy Azalea is 27. Rapper Fetty Wap is 26.

Thought for Today: "I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remember any of the damn things." — Dorothy Parker (1893-1967).

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AROUND TEXAS Warship USS Gabrielle Giffords to be commissioned in Galveston, Texas

On this date: In 1654, King Louis XIV, age 15, was crowned in Rheims, 11 years after the start of his reign.

In 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offered a resolution to the Continental Congress stating "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States."

In 1892, Homer Plessy, a "Creole of color," was arrested for refusing to leave a whites-only car of the East Louisiana Railroad.

In 1917, the Lions Clubs service organization was founded in Chicago.

Actor-singer Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio.

In 1929, the sovereign state of Vatican City came into existence as copies of the Lateran Treaty were exchanged in Rome.

In 1937, actress Jean Harlow died in Los Angeles at age 26.

In 1958, singer-songwriter Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis.

In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Griswold v. Connecticut, struck down, 7-2, a Connecticut law used to prosecute a Planned Parenthood clinic in New Haven for providing contraceptives to married couples.

In 1967, the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic opened in San Francisco. Author-critic Dorothy Parker, famed for her caustic wit, died in New York at age 73.

In 1977, Britons thronged London to celebrate the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, who was marking the 25th year of her reign.

In 1981, Israeli military planes destroyed a nuclear power plant in Iraq, a facility the Israelis charged could have been used to make nuclear weapons.

In 1998, in a crime that shocked the nation, James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old black man, was hooked by a chain to a pickup truck and dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas. (Two white men were later sentenced to death; one of them, Lawrence Russell Brewer, was executed in 2011. A third defendant received life with the possibility of parole.)

end in Texas.

Navy officials say ceremonies will be held Saturday in Galveston to commission the ship named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who in 2011 was shot but survived an assassination attempt in Tucson.

The $475 million USS Gabrielle Giffords was constructed by

Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, and arrived in Galveston last weekend.

Giffords in 2015 helped christen the ship. It’s the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters.

Giffords’ husband is retired

astronaut Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain stationed in Galveston County during his NASA service.

Free public tours of the warship are available each afternoon through Friday in Galveston.

San Diego will be its homeport.

— Compiled from AP reports

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times in those areas at newstands, The Zapata Times is inserted.

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The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 |

A3

STATE

Texas police arrest mom of boy left in warehouse A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

EL PASO, Texas — Police in Texas have arrested the mother of a 4-year-old boy found in February at an abandoned warehouse in Mexico and now identified as an American.

El Paso police on Tuesday announced 25-yearold Ruby Esmeralda Gonzalez of El Paso was charged with child abandonment and endangerment.

Investigators believe Gonzalez on Feb. 22 took the boy, who calls himself Luis, to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, left him at an old warehouse and she returned home. Mexican officials who found the

Investigators believe Gonzalez on Feb. 22 took the boy, who calls himself Luis, to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, left him at an old warehouse and she returned home.

boy noted he speaks and understands English.

El Paso police last Friday released photos of the then-unidentified boy.

Gonzalez on Saturday called police to report her son had been kidnapped.

Police didn’t immediately release further details on the child.

Online records don’t list an attorney to speak for Gonzalez. Bond is $10,000.

Officials review fatal altercation involving deputy, husband A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

HOUSTON — The death of a man who was restrained by a Harris County sheriff’s deputy and her husband during a late-night altercation outside a restaurant has been ruled a homicide.

The Harris County medical examiner ruled Tuesday that 24-year-old John Hernandez died of asphyxiation caused by strangulation and chest compression.

Randall Kallinen, an attorney for the Hernandez family, says bystander video of the May 28 con-

frontation proves there’s enough evidence to charge the husband of deputy Shauna Thompson.

Investigators say Thompson’s husband was offended when he allegedly saw an intoxicated Hernandez urinate outside the Houston-area restaurant. The ensuing altercation ended with the man lying on Hernandez’s back and using a chokehold.

Hernandez died three days later.

An attorney for the Thompson family says Hernandez was the aggressor.

Texas governor Abbott revives ‘bathroom bill’ for special session

By Paul J. Weber ASSOCIATED PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is reviving a so-called “bathroom bill” targeting transgender people after the last try ended with Republican lawmakers angry and deadlocked.

Abbott on Tuesday recommitted to making Texas the first state since North Carolina to restrict bathroom access for transgender people. He included a “bathroom bill” on the lengthy agenda of a special session

that will begin in July.

Big businesses and pro sports leagues including Google, Facebook and the NFL have called the proposals discriminatory and have urged Texas lawmakers for months to drop the idea.

Abbott said Texas needs a law that “protects the privacy of our children” in public schools.

Similar proposals divided the GOP-controlled Legislature last session and ended with House moderates and social conservatives in the Senate fuming at each other.

Eric Gay / Associated Press

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces that there will be a special session of the Texas Legislature on Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

Beaumont police seek suspects after pregnant woman slain ASSOCIATED PRE SS

BEAUMONT, Texas — Police in Southeast Texas say a woman who was seven months pregnant has died after being shot and her unborn child did not survive.

A Beaumont police statement says officers were seeking three male suspects following the shooting around 2 a.m.

Tuesday. Police didn’t immediately provide a possible motive for the gunfire in what officials

are calling a capital murder investigation.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired and located the wounded 19-year-old woman in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex.

Investigators say the woman was transported to a hospital and her baby was delivered. Both the mother and child died.

The name of the woman wasn’t immediately released.

Security upgrades added to Dallas emergency siren system ASSOCIATED PRE SS

DALLAS — Officials in Dallas say they’ve completed security upgrades to the city’s outdoor sirens that will prevent the kind of “malicious activation” that caused the emergency system to blare across the city in April.

Authorities said in a statement Monday that the city’s more than 150 sirens now have “con-

Authorities said in a statement Monday that the city’s more than 150 sirens now have “constant encrypted communication.”

stant encrypted communication.”

They say the security enhancements were completed in late May and the next round of testing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Authorities said hackers were able to infiltrate the warning system used to notify people of dangerous, destructive weather and activate it late on a Friday night.

They later clarified

that the false activation was not the result of computer hacking but instead caused by someone who used radio or some other transmission to broadcast tones that activated the sirens.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

A pop star accomplishes what the president can’t

By Francis Wilkinson B L OOM BE RG

For a few hours on Sunday, Ariana Grande was the leader of the free world.

Two weeks after 22 people were killed and more than 60 injured in a terrorist attack at her “Dangerous Woman” concert in Manchester in the U.K., Grande returned to the city to hallow the ground and soothe the survivors. In the process, she rededicated her generation to the proposition that all men and women are created equal.

Grande delivered what will likely stand as the official American response to the bombing in Manchester and to another terrorist attack, the night before the concert, in London.

Her hastily organized “One Love Manchester” benefit concert rejected fear and bitterness.

Time and place, along with a leavening of good will, were sufficient to elevate sugary pop songs to public anthems. Watching the concert streaming online, it was obviously more than a good time.

Tears flowed. So did joy.

Yet it might also be that a good time is among the most powerful collective responses to jihadist nihilism.

Grande didn’t just replace Trump on the world stage for the day; she subtly refuted him, offering a face that was brave and kind in the wake of terror while accomplishing several useful goals. Whatever the terrorists had hoped to produce in Manchester, it certainly wasn’t this party.

Trump’s dull-witted sexism, his white-maleonly photo ops and the cultural reaction that he both champions and embodies can’t turn back the wave that Grande and company are riding. Trump defeated one woman last November; he can’t defeat them all.

Had the terrorist attacks provoked an effective, or even decent, response from the president of the United States, Grande’s concert would have taken up decidedly less space.

But horrific assaults like those in Manchester and London inspire a longing for connection, and a need for affirmation of liberal values, that Trump can’t even understand how to meet. His leadership void opens a range of potential for cultural figures beyond the

overtly political fare of “Saturday Night Live.”

I asked author Elizabeth Samet, editor of the Norton Anthology of writings on leadership, about the infiltration of cultural leadership into political terrain. She emailed: “In extraordinary circumstances, such figures can transcend their niche. Uncle Tom’s Cabin gave new impetus to anti-slavery feeling in the country. Lincoln’s apocryphal comment on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe -- ‘So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war’ -- tells us something about the perceived power of the novel, which did succeed in making the political realities of the day personal, immediate, dramatic.

“Traditionally, reactionary regimes love to censor because they assume that culture has a powerful influence on people’s politics. At the 20th-century extremes of totalitarian censorship, we have Stalin exiling Osip Mandelstam for a poem that mocked him, and the Nazis’ show of “degenerate art,” the catalog for which described the exhibit’s purpose to ‘[reveal the philosophical, political, racial and moral goals and intentions behind this movement, and the driving forces of corruption which follow them.’

There’s also the attractive idea -- which not everyone endorses -- that jazz artists (black and white) contributed to integration and positively affected race relations in the U.S. We want to believe culture can have an ameliorating political influence.”

Pop stars and “Wonder Woman” won’t defeat Islamic State. But boisterous expressions of commercial and artistic liberty, and the signals they convey about the culture that nurtures them, have long been a crucial element of American soft power.

Trump’s White House is as culturally barren as it is politically toxic.

Given a president who spreads division at home and abroad, it’s especially important to have visible counterpoints in politics, sports, business and the arts. At a crucial hour, the pint-sized Grande showed that America is still big. It’s the White House that’s gotten small.

Francis Wilkinson writes editorials on politics and U.S. domestic policy for Bloomberg View.

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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.

OP-ED

Conservatives say Muslims need to stop terrorism. I wish we could.

By Afshan Jafar WASHINGTON P O ST

Saturday’s attack on the London Bridge was horrific and jarring, especially coming on the heels of the Manchester attack. In the aftermath of such events, we look for people to blame.

Shortly afterward, British Prime Minister Theresa May commented that there is “too much tolerance” of Islamist extremism in Britain.

Although May did not single out Muslims in her statement, she seems to be implying that people willingly and knowingly tolerate extremists.

I wish I could prevent them, because random killings and the fear they invoke are all too familiar. I wish I could, because I long for the Pakistan I knew as a child.

I grew up in a Pakistan where I enjoyed a relatively high degree of freedom.

As a 12-year-old girl in Pakistan, I saw Zia-ulHaq’s dictatorship abruptly come to an end and a woman, Benazir Bhutto, elected as our prime minister in 1988.

The country seemed to

burst into spontaneous and prolonged celebration. We would drive out at night after dinner until we found a street celebration, which never took long. The sound of joyous music and singing, the sight of crowds dancing with abandon on the streets, the reverberations of the pounding hand drums surged through our bodies and our streets. They signaled a new beginning and a bright future.

Nearly two decades later, this feeling is unknown to my nieces and nephews who live there.

They don’t know the freedom of walking the streets on their own while the adults take refuge indoors from the afternoon sun.

In January 2015 and again in 2016, many Pakistani schools had to be shut down for several days because of a Taliban threat against schools and students. When my then-11-year-old niece and 8-year-old niece and nephew returned to school, they saw snipers posted on the roof.

“I don’t want to be killed by the Taliban, Mama. I don’t want to

die,” she told my sister.

I would like very much to “root out” extremists or to “drive them out,” because my heart breaks for my nieces and nephews and all other children who must grow up fearful and cautious.

But a fundamental point often missed in this conversation is this: To root something out and prevent its return, we must first know where the roots are.

What conditions allowed it to propagate and establish itself ?

Many people, including President Donald Trump, point to “the Muslim community” as a cause and a solution. Let me say this bluntly: There is no such thing as “the Muslim community,” there is no such thing as “the Muslims,” or even “the Muslim man” or “the Muslim woman.”

It is this falsely constructed singular identity which makes us think that the cause of extremism is somehow inherent in Islam and not a product of specific political, social and economic histories of a region or

country. One need only look at the history of Afghanistan and the rise of the mujahideen, funded and trained in part by the United States to fight a proxy war with the Soviet Union, to understand that it was not Afghan culture that gave rise to the Taliban.

We are not the ones who tended the soil for this evil to take root. Nor do we have the power to end it on our own. For like an invasive species, terrorism has grown by choking other lives, as the casualties of these attacks have long been our own societies.

The casualties have been Muslim children who fear walking the streets and know not what freedom means.

The casualties have been our children who are killed in school. The casualties have been hope and optimism, long abandoned by the old and unknown to the young.

Afshan Jafar is an associate professor of sociology at Connecticut College and a Public Voices fellow with the OpEd Project.

OP-ED

Trump will show us way to clean energy, more jobs

By Rick Perry THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

On Thursday, President Trump announced that the United States will no longer be party to the Paris Accord, an agreement entered into by the Obama administration.

During his address in the Rose Garden, the president laid out a convincing case detailing how this rather one-sided agreement is not in the best long-term economic interest of the United States.

The president’s decision will prove to be the right course of action, and one I fully support as the U.S. secretary of energy.

The president and I agree on a fundamental tenet: Our work and deeds are more important than unenforceable words in a nonbinding agreement. Rather than

preaching about clean energy, this administration will act on it.

We are confident we can unleash our domestic energy sector, drive economic and job growth, and protect the environment at the same time.

We know this not because of theory, but because of cold, hard facts. The data is evident in what I witnessed while serving as the governor of Texas.

During my 14 years as governor, Texas grew by 6.8 million people - more than the population of all but 13 states. We also added 2 million new jobs during that time. In fact, from December 2007 to December 2014, Texas added 1.4 million jobs while the rest of the country lost 400,000.

Texas leads the United States’ energy revolution, producing more than 3 million barrels of oil and more than 20 billion cu-

bic feet of natural gas daily.

But Texas is also the country’s largest producer of wind energy. Texas has two of the largest wind farms in the Western Hemisphere, and during my time as governor we invested $7 billion in transmission facilities to distribute that new, clean energy.

At the same time, Texas power plants reduced their output of carbon by 17 percent, sulfur dioxide by 56 percent and nitrous oxide by 66 percent.

That’s a lot of people, a lot of new jobs and wealth, and a lot of new energy. And we accomplished this at the same time we addressed challenges to our environment.

The same holds true for the United States of America. This country has been and must continue to be a leader in

energy technology, development, and delivery.

This leadership will not occur if we disqualify sources of energy as we did through the Paris agreement, but only if we unleash America’s know how and ingenuity to unlock our natural resources.

We don’t need to rely on other countries to show us the way to energy jobs or to a cleaner environment.

Under the president’s leadership, the United States will serve as an example to the rest of the world on how to achieve economic, energy, and environmental goals simultaneously.

And in the process, he will allow us to determine our own future, and that future will indeed be brighter.

Rick Perry is the U.S. secretary of energy.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 |

A5

CRIME

2 arrested in home at Falcon Lake Estates

By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S

A raid at a home in the Falcon Lake Estates yielded two arrests, firearms and narcotics, according to the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office.

Xiomara Nohemi Rodriguez, 25, and Marc Anthony Quintanilla, 30, were charged with possession of marijuana and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Quintanilla was additionally charged with resisting arrest, authorities said.

On May 24, Sheriff’s Office investigators executed a narcotics search warrant in the 2000 block of Yucca Drive.

Authorities said they found 1.467 pounds of hydroponic marijuana, a

Courtesy

Authorities found a “black sticky substance” identified as Tetrahydrocannabinols, or an extractive of cannabis, during a narcotics search on May 24.

shotgun, a .380 pistol, and “black sticky substance” identified as TetrahyQuintanilla drocannabinols, or an extractive of cannabis, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The weight of the substance was approximately 3 grams. Investigators said they also seized nine

Xanax tablets with an approximate weight of 2.3 grams.

QuintaRodríguez nilla and Rodriguez were allegedly found in possession of the substances mentioned above.

Both remained in custody as of Friday evening. The investigation continues.

Suspects sought by Zapata County Sheriff’s Office

By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S

The Zapata County Sheriff’s Office is asking the community for information on three wanted suspects.

Zapata Crime Stoppers will pay a Medina cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the following people: 1 Kristopher Alan Es-

Sierra

Essary

sary: He is wanted for assault causes bodily injury, a misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to one year in jail or a $4,000 fine or both. He stands 6 feet tall.

1 Jaime Alejo Sierra: He is also known as “El Mascafierro." Sierra is wanted

for evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor punishable with up to one year in jail or $4,000 fine or both. His height is 5 feet, 6 inches.

1 Felipe Adair Medina: He is wanted for burglary of habitation, a seconddegree felony punishable with two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Medina is 5 feet, 3 inches tall.

To provide information on their whereabouts, call the Sheriff’s Office at 956-765-9960 or Zapata Crime Stoppers at 765TIPS (8477).

Supreme Court refuses appeal from condemned Texas prisoner A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

HOUSTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review lower court rulings that a Texas death row inmate may have faked mental illness to avoid execution for the fatal shooting of his exgirlfriend and her daughter 24 years ago in Houston.

Attorneys for 53-yearold condemned prisoner Gerald Eldridge contend he is mentally ill. The high court has said mentally ill people can be executed if they have a factual and rational understanding of why they’re being punished.

The justices’ decision Monday, with no comment, moves Eldridge

closer to execution for the 1993 slayings of his 28year-old former girlfriend, Cynthia Bogany, and her 9-year-old daughter, Chirissa.

Eldridge in 2009 was less than two hours from lethal injection when a federal judge halted the punishment so the mental illness claims could be examined.

Texas man sought in death of woman shot, killed by troopers A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN ANTONIO — Authorities say a 37-yearold man who fatally shot his estranged girlfriend in San Antonio and took their 1-year-old child was later shot dead by state troopers.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Jason Reyes says Adrian Maurice Hardeman had a

handgun Monday when troopers responded to a report of a single-vehicle accident about an hour east of San Antonio.

Reyes declined to explain why troopers were prompted to shoot Hardeman, saying Texas Rangers are investigating.

It was only after the shooting that DPS

learned Hardeman was being sought by San Antonio police in the death earlier Monday of 35-year-old April Russell.

Authorities say Hardeman went to the woman’s apartment in an effort to reconcile but was rejected. He later returned and shot Russell.

The child was found safe at a relative’s home.

Courtesy

This photo shows the firearms and narcotics that were found in a home in the Falcon Lake Estates.

Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE CAMPAMENTO DE VERANO DE TENNIS 1 Hawk Tennis Summer Camp se llevará a cabo del 5 al 8 de junio y del 12 al 15 de junio, de 9 a.m. a 10:30 a.m., para niños desde kinder hasta 9o. grado. Los participantes serán divididos en grupos de principiantes, intermedios y avanzados. Cuota es de 40 dólares y descuentos para hermanos.

PROGRAMA DE COMIDA EN VERANO 1 El distrito escolar Zapata Independent School District participa en el Programa de Servicio de Comida en el Verano que se proporciona a todos los menores sin cargo alguno. Las escuelas y lugares participantes son Zapata High School, Zapata Middle School, Fidel & Andrea Villarreal Elementary, Zapata North Elementary, Zapata South Elementary, A.L. Benavides Elementary, Boys and Girls Club of Zapata, Siesta Shores Park, Zapata Community Center y First Baptist Church.

ZAPATA

Acepta acuerdo de culpa Acusado de homicidio imprudencial pasaría 15 en prisión Por Taryn Walters TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un hombre acusado de disparar a muerte a un hombre de 20 años de edad en 2014 recibió como sentencia pasar 15 años en prisión el lunes en Zapata después de declararse culpable a homicidio imprudencial el día que su juicio estaba programado para comenzar.

Se esperaba que el juicio comenzara el lunes para Alexis Abram Díaz-Reyes, un hombre enfrentándose a un cargo por homicidio imprudencial de segundo grado por la muerte de Irvin Garza, un residente de Roma, a finales de enero de

2014.

Díaz-Reyes, de 25 años de edad, llegó a un acuerdo de culpabilidad con la fiscalía el lunes, declarándose culpable a homicidio imprudencial, dijo la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Zapata.

El Juez Joe López de la Corte de Distrito 49 honró el acuerdo, sentenciado a Díaz-Reyes a pasar 15 años en prisión. Una felonía de segundo grado puede ser castigada desde dos hasta 20 años en prisión y una posible multa de 10.000 dólares.

La acusación emitida contra Díaz-Reyes alega que actuó irresponsablemente al apuntar un arma de fuego cargada en la

dirección de Garza e imprudentemente descargó el arma, baleando a Garza en la cabeza el 21 de enero de 2014.

El cuerpo de Garza fue recuperado a finales de marzo en un rancho en Bustamante, donde Díaz-Reyes supuestamente dejó el cuerpo después del tiroteo.

La Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata se enteró del caso después de que un Texas ranger notificar a oficiales que Díaz-Reyes había acompañado a agentes del FBI y a Texas Rangers al rancho donde el cuerpo había sido descubierto, de acuerdo con la querella emitida contra Díaz-Reyes.

Durante una entrevista graba-

VILLARREAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

tiroteo TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

TORNEO DE GOLF 1 Boys and Girls Club of Zapata County invitan al 1er. Torneo de Golf que se llevará a cabo el sábado, 24 de junio en Los Ébanos Golf Course.

Registro inicia a las 7 a.m. Para mayores informes contacte a Cipriana GonzálezWells al (956) 8981365.

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.

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.

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.

LAREDO

ESTUDIANTES Sospechoso VISITAN SIX FLAGS fallece en

CONSULADO MÓVIL 1 El Consulado General de México en Laredo llevará a cabo el Consulado Móvil el 17 de junio en San Diego, Texas, de 8 a.m. a 2 p.m. y en donde se estarán emitiendo pasaportes, matrículas consulares y recepción de documentación INE, en la iglesia St. Francis de Padua, 401 S. Victoria, St.

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.

da en video, Díaz-Reyes supuestamente dijo a autoridades de Zapata que había visto a Garza sacar un revolver cuando vio a un individuo en una reunión apuntando un cuchillo a José Guillermo Cantú.

“Alex Abram Díaz-Reyes dijo que le quitó el revolver a Cantú… intentando descargarlo y que el revolver se disparó, baleando a Garza”, indica la querella.

Además dice que Díaz-Reyes dijo a las autoridades que después de deshacerse del cuerpo de Garza en el rancho, “no regresaron a revisar si estaba vivo, en su lugar simplemente dejaron el cuerpo ahí y no reportaron el incidente”.

Foto de cortesía

El grupo de quinto grado de Villarreal Elementary School fue a Six Flags-Fiesta Texas en San Antonio. Los estudiantes de quinto grado y sus maestros tuvieron un día lleno de diversión. El grupo tuvo la oportunidad de posar para una foto con Bugs Bunny.

Redada deja dos tras rejas, armas y droga Por César G. Rodriguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Una redada en Falcon Lake Estates resultó en dos arrestos y la incautación de armas de fuego y narcóticos, de acuerdo con la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata.

Xiomara Nohemí Rodríguez, de 25 años de edad, y Marc AnQuintanilla thony Quintanilla, de 30 años de edad, fueron acusados de posesión de marihuana y Rodríguez dos cargos de posesión de una sustancia controlada.

Quintanilla aparte fue acusado de resistirse al arresto, dijeron autoridades.

El 24 de mayo, investi-

Foto de cortesía

La imagen muestra las armas y narcóticos que fueron confiscados en una residencia en Lake Falcon Estates.

gadores de la oficina del alguacil ejecutaron una orden de cateo por narcóticos en la cuadra 2000 de Yucca Drive.

Las autoridades dijeron que encontraron 1,46 libras de marihuana hidropónica, una escopeta, una pistola calibre .380, y una “sustancia negra pegajosa” identificada como tetrahidrocannabinol, un extracto del cannabis, dijo la Oficina del Alguacil.

El peso de la sustancia

era de aproximadamente tres gramos. Los investigadores dijeron que también incautaron nueve tabletas de Xanax con un peso aproximado de 2,3 gramos.

Quintanilla y Rodríguez supuestamente fueron encontrados en posesión de las sustancias mencionadas anteriormente.

Ambos permanecían bajo custodia el viernes por la tarde. La investigación continúa.

Un hombre buscado por las autoridades en conexión con un homicidio falleció mientras que tres oficiales del Departamento de Policía de Laredo resultaron heridos en un tiroteo el viernes por la tarde, de acuerdo con LPD. La policía de Laredo dijo que el hombre, Antonio Gerardo Rodríguez y tres oficiales de policía estuvieron involucrados en un tiroteo en la tienda de conveniencia Stripes ubicada en la intersección de McPherson y Hillside.

Personal de primeros auxilios trasladaron a los oficiales y a Rodríguez a hospitales locales. Rodríguez fue declarado muerto poco después de llegar al hospital.

Alrededor de las 4:20 p.m. del viernes, la policía anunció que estaban tratando de localizar a Rodríguez en conexión con la muerte de su novia. La policía brindó una descripción de su vehículo y dijo que el hombre estaba armado y era considerado peligroso.

Oficiales observaron al vehículo del sospechoso afuera de Stripes alrededor de las 5 p.m. La policía dijo que Rodríguez disparó a los oficiales cuando se acercaban al vehículo. Los oficiales abrieron fuego.

“Fue intenso”, dijo Baeza del tiroteo.

La novia de Rodríguez, Reyna González Zamora, de 50 años de edad, fue encontrada muerta alrededor de las 11:15 a.m. el viernes después de que LPD realizará una revisión por una llamada de preocupación por bienestar en la cuadra 400 de la calle Travis.

Cuando entraron al departamento, encontraron a una mujer con una herida de bala en el torso superior.

Cuando se acercaron al vehículo, Rodriguez, de 55 años de edad, supuestamente disparó a los oficiales, hiriendo a Mario Casares, Agapito Pérez y Arturo Vela. Rodriguez también fue baleado durante el intercambio. Él falleció en Doctors Hospital.

La policía había puesto un aviso de búsqueda por Rodriguez ese mismo día temprano.

Historial violento Compañeras de trabajo

González Zamora

Rodríguez

de González Zamora dijeron que su novio y supuesto homicida era un hombre celoso y abusivo.

Rodríguez era el sospechoso de haber dado muerte a González. La policía dijo que recibieron una llamada del empleado de un restaurante local solicitando a los oficiales revisaran el estado de su compañera de trabajo, identificada como González.

Las autoridades fueron informadas que Rodríguez había llamado al restaurante desde el teléfono celular de González y pidió a un compañero que enviara una ambulancia al departamento.

Aunque González nunca confiaba cosas personales a sus compañeros, los signos de abuso eran evidentes. Rossy Morín y Alejandra López trabajaban con González y la conocían por cerca de 25 años. Ellas dijeron que insistía en que estaba bien cuando le ofrecieron ayuda.

“Ella nunca dijo, ‘sí, él me maltrata’, pero había detalles como los moretones que tenía”, dijo Morín.

Ambas mujeres recordaron haber sido testigos una vez cuando Rodríguez insultó a González enfrente de los clientes y dijeron que le habló groseramente. También dijeron que el comportamiento de González había cambiado y la describieron nerviosa desde que empezó su relación con Rodríguez.

“No pensamos que escalaría al punto donde la mataría”, dijo López.

“Le dijimos que una día terminaría en el hospital”.

Una cuenta de GoFundMe se abrió para cubrir sus gastos funerarios. Para donar, visite https://www.gofundme.com/reyna-gonzalez-zamora.

Rodríguez tenía una condena previa en Houston y estuvo en la cárcel en Huntsville, Texas por un caso previo de homicidio, se establece en un comunicado de prensa de LPD.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 |

A7

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS

NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS

Houston rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson 'doing good'

Texans' Jadeveon Clowney given day off

By Aaron Wilson

By Aaron Wilson

H OUSTON CHRONICLE

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

The true litmus test for Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson won't happen until he's actually playing in a real NFL game.

For now, the measuring stick is based on incremental progress as Watson gains knowledge about the Texans' complex playbook and absorbs the nuances of how coach Bill O'Brien wants him to execute on the field.

The Texans are encouraged by what they've seen so far from Watson, their first-round draft pick who was a Heisman Trophy finalist and won a national championship at Clemson.

Watson has delivered some sharp throws during organized team activities while also missing some open receivers and overthrowing a few. Overall, he's looked solid during the practices that have been open to reporters.

Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was given a day off from practice Tuesday during an organized team activity, according to coach Bill O'Brien.

Clowney was at practice, but went inside after working on the side.

Clowney has been a regular participant in organized team activities.

Clowney transformed his reputation last season from an injury-prone disappointing former top overall pick into a disruptive run-stopper and pass rusher.

The Texans signaled their confidence in Clowney when they exercised a $13.846 million fifth-year club option for the 2018 season. He was named an All-Pro last season, recording 52 tackles, six sacks, 16 tackles for losses and 17 quarterback hits.

He forced one fumble.

Pro Bowl alternate offensive tackle Duane

Bob Levey / Associated Press

Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson passed for 83 touchdowns and over 9,200 yards in his college career at Clemson.

"He's doing good," O'Brien said of Watson, who passed for 9,201 yards and 83 touchdowns in college while rushing for 1,744 yards and 21

NBA: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

scores. "For a rookie coming in here, he's spent a lot of time. He's studying hard. He has great questions. He has good answers to the questions

when we kind of quiz them every morning. I've been impressed with all three guys It's a good room and he's working hard."

Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was given a day off on Tuesday during OTAs.

Brown remains absent from the voluntary practice sessions as he's unhappy with his contractual situation. He's due a nonguaranteed $9.65 million this season.

Meanwhile, several other players were sidelined at practice.

That includes inside linebacker Brian Cushing (shoulder surgery), outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, tight ends C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin, cornerback Kevin Johnson and safeties K.J. Dillon (anterior cruciate ligament) and Eddie Pleasant.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: THE FINALS

WARRIORS SEEM CAPABLE OF ANYTHING — EXCEPT ANOTHER COLLAPSE

Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News file

San Antonio has compiled a 723-269 record in regular-season games in which Manu Ginobili appeared.

How Spurs' Manu Ginobili became the NBA's net rating king Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

By Nick Moyle SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS

Over 15 NBA seasons, Manu Ginobili made a habit out of winning. He might have even deemed it an addiction.

The Spurs compiled an astounding 723-269 record in regular-season games in which Ginobili appeared, the eighth-highest individual winning percentage in league history.

He reached the NBA Finals five times, winning four rings.

And even those numbers undersell how successful the Spurs were with the former 57th overall pick on the court.

In Ginobili’s 31,509 career minutes across the regular- and post-season, the Spurs outscored opponents by 10.3 points per 100 possessions, the best mark since this data became available in 1996-97.

"He has that same footin-your-neck attitude that Kobe (Bryant) and Michael (Jordan) had, those kinds of guys, Magic (Johnson) and Larry

(Bird)," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He plays with that same fire."

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the top 10 is dominated by current and former Spurs: David Robinson is second, Kawhi Leonard is third, Tim Duncan is fourth, Robert Horry is eighth, and Tony Parker is 10th.

Playing exclusively for a franchise that redefined what success looks like the course of two decades, Ginobili still managed to stand out.

Even if he returns for one more campaign and loses his crown as the net rating king, Ginobili will forever be hailed as one of the game’s greatest winners.

"He's been obviously great for the game of basketball, great for the NBA, great for the Spurs organization," said Golden State guard Stephen Curry, whose career 8.5 net rating ranks sixth. "I want to see where that fountain of youth is so I can see if I can get a hold of that for the rest of my career."

Golden State’s Klay Thompson and the Warriors will look to go up 3-0 in the NBA Finals on Wednesday in Cleveland.

Golden State looks to take 3-0 series lead

By Brian Mahoney ASSOCIATED PRE SS

CLEVELAND — The possibilities seem endless for the Golden State Warriors when they are rolling.

A 150-point game isn’t even out of reach.

“I mean, we could have gotten at least 140 the other night if we only had about 10 to 15 turnovers,” AllStar guard Klay Thompson said.

Dominating like no team ever has in the postseason, the Warriors look capable of anything — except another NBA Finals collapse.

They take a 2-0 lead over Cleveland into Wednesday’s Game 3, just as they did last year. The Warriors actually had a higher victory margin through two games in the 2016 Finals, but they didn’t have Kevin Durant or a fully healthy Stephen Curry then.

They do now and are playing much better basketball than this time last year.

“As a team, I think so,” Thompson said. “I think we’re moving the ball great, we’re shooting the ball at a high clip and our defense has

been unbelievable.”

Somehow, the Cavaliers have to change all that.

They did last year, coming home after losing the first two by a combined 48 points and beginning the turnaround with a 120-90 rout in Game 3. The opponent and the situation are the same, yet things feel different.

“That’s last year and I don’t even know the feeling anymore,” LeBron James said. “So I’m just mentally strengthening my mind and getting my mind ready and focused on what tomorrow’s going to bring, and so I look forward to it.”

The Warriors committed 20 turnovers in Game 2 but simply shook that off with an NBA Finalsrecord 18 3-pointers in a 132-113 romp. It was the second time in the postseason they committed at least 20 turnovers, and yet they scored at least 120 points in both games.

They are averaging nearly 119 points and winning by a record 16.9 per game in the postseason, and they’ve really picked it up lately.

Golden State has scored 126 per game on nearly 52 percent shooting over the last five games.

“We played against good teams, and we came to the Finals undefeated, and here we are up 2-0, so we’re playing amazing basketball right now. The best we probably played throughout the year,” center Zaza Pachulia said.

With a loaded lineup and enough hot hands to fill an octopus, the Warriors don’t need to rely on any one player to take a lot of shots. If somebody is struggling, they can just find someone else with their precision ball movement.

The Cavaliers don’t have that luxury. They need big nights from James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — and even then a roster of struggling role players has to pick it up.

“We just need our supporting group to be themselves as much as possible,” Irving said. “Understand that they have a unique opportunity to make us that much better, and for a majority of this season it’s been on myself, Bron and K-Love’s shoulders. And we have done a great job of getting everyone involved and making sure that everyone feels comfortable, but now we need everything and everybody.”

A8 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | LAREDO MORNING TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT

Cosby’s accuser says she ‘It Comes at Night’ is almost was drugged, groped as bad as being there

By Maryclaire Dale and Michael R. Sisak

By Mick Lasalle

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

SA N FR ANCI SCO CHRONICLE

You can watch ‘‘It Comes At Night’’ straight through and never know exactly what ‘‘comes at night.’’ Perhaps ‘‘it’’ refers to the fatal illness that is ravaging the world and that seems to have destroyed civilization. Or maybe it refers to something else.

In any case, this is an apocalyptic thriller, one that doesn’t show the apocalypse but the world that arises right after that.

It’s a world in which the people remaining don’t quite know what happened.

As a portrait of what it might be like after the whole thing collapses, after systems carefully designed over centuries give way to bad luck or colossal stupidity, ‘‘It Comes at Night’’ is pretty convincing. Food and water are at a premium.

People retreat into their families and trust no one on the outside, etc. There’s just one big problem here: ‘‘It Comes at Night’’ is about as enjoyable for the audience as it is for the people in the movie.

Joel Edgerton and Carmen Ejogo are husband and wife, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. is their 17-year-old son, and they are holed up in a big house in the woods. They have access to water. They have guns.

They have locks on entrance, and every window is boarded up. And then one day — at night, of course — a man (Christopher Abbott) breaks in, and the family must take defensive action.

That’s the initial event, and things build and expand from there, but they don’t build or expand

Eric McNatt / Associated Press

This image released by A24 Films shows Joel Edgerton, left, and Christopher Abbott in a scene from "It Comes At Night."

gleaned, not just for the audience, but for the filmmaker. How did the world get like this? What does it mean? Is the situation irreversible?

It is not unreasonable for an audience to be interested in these questions when our interest is generated by the film itself. In the absence of such answers, or the intimation of such answers, or even of characters in pursuit of answers, ‘‘It Comes at Night’’ begins to seem thin, a torment without purpose. After all, the characters may be stuck in the world of the movie, but we’re not. We can still leave, for the time being.

very much. To the extent that ‘‘It Comes at Night’’ is a mystery, it stays a mystery. It depicts the characters’ predicament reasonably well — although the loud and noisy soundtrack is more annoying than pulse-pounding. But it doesn’t venture much past the premise.

Written and directed by Trey Edward Shults, it represents the second time in the last few weeks that a film with a lone writer-director has run into the same difficulty.

Like Robin Swicord’s ‘‘Wakefield,’’ ‘‘It Comes at Night’’ has one good idea, and some smart development of that idea, but it pulls back just when you want and expect it to move forward. There was simply more here to be

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicle’s movie critic.

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NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby’s chief accuser took the stand at his sexual assault trial Tuesday to tell her story publicly for the first time, saying the comedian groped her after giving her three blue pills that left her paralyzed and helpless.

“In my head, I was trying to get my hands to move or my legs to move, but I was frozen,” Andrea Constand, a 44-year-old former employee of the basketball program at Temple University, Cosby’s alma mater, said in their long-awaited courtroom confrontation. “I wasn’t able to fight in any way.”

She added: “I wanted it

Matt Rouke / AFP/Getty Images

Andrea Constand walks to the courtroom during Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial in Pennsylvania.

to stop.”

Cosby, 79, is charged with drugging and violating Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The TV star once dubbed America’s Dad could get 10 years in prison if convicted.

Constand, an athletic

6-footer with colorful arm tattoos and a mane of dark curly hair, could face a bruising cross-examination from Cosby’s lawyers, who have argued that the two had a romantic relationship, that she wasn’t incapacitated and that the sexual encounter was consensual.

Constand was calm and collected as she testified.

She said Cosby gave her pills he claimed were a natural remedy to ease her stress about a looming career change. She told the jury she started feeling woozy after about 20 minutes, with blurred vision, slurred words and legs that felt like rubber.

Cosby then penetrated her with his hand and also placed her hand on his penis and moved it back and forth, she said.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 |

A9

BUSINESS

Silicon Valley billionaires Oil rises remaking public schools as crude

By Natasha Singer N EW YORK T I ME S NEWS S ERVICE

In San Francisco’s public schools, Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, is giving middle school principals $100,000 “innovation grants” and encouraging them to behave more like startup founders and less like bureaucrats.

In Maryland, Texas, Virginia and other states, Netflix’s chief, Reed Hastings, is championing a popular math-teaching program where Netflixlike algorithms determine which lessons students see.

And in more than 100 schools nationwide, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief, is testing one of his latest big ideas: software that puts children in charge of their own learning, recasting their teachers as facilitators and mentors.

In the space of just a few years, technology giants have begun remaking the very nature of schooling on a vast scale, using some of the same techniques that have made their companies linchpins of the U.S. economy. Through their philanthropy, they are influencing the subjects

Koren Shadmi / NYT

Technology giants have begun remaking the very nature of schooling on a vast scale, using some of the same techniques upon which their companies were built.

that schools teach, the classroom tools that teachers choose and fundamental approaches to learning.

The involvement by some of the wealthiest and most influential titans of the 21st century amounts to a singular experiment in education, with millions of students serving as de facto beta testers for their ideas.

Some tech leaders believe that applying an engineering mindset can improve just about any system, and that their business acumen qual-

ifies them to rethink U.S. education.

“They are experimenting collectively and individually in what kinds of models can produce better results,” said Emmett D. Carson, chief executive of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which manages donor funds for Hastings, Zuckerberg and others. “Given the changes in innovation that are underway with artificial intelligence and automation, we need to try everything we can to find which pathways work.”

Code.org, a major nonprofit group financed with more than $60 million from Silicon Valley luminaries and their companies, has the stated goal of getting every public school in the United States to teach computer science. Its argument is twofold: Students would benefit from these classes, and companies need more programmers.

Together with Microsoft and other partners, Code.org has barnstormed the country, pushing states to change education laws and fund computer science courses. It has also helped more than 120 districts to introduce such curricula, the group said, and has facilitated training workshops for more than 57,000 teachers. And Code.org’s free coding programs, called Hour of Code, have become wildly popular, drawing more than 100 million students worldwide.

Hastings of Netflix and other tech executives rejected the idea that they wielded significant influence in education.

The mere fact that classroom internet access has improved, Hastings said, has had a much greater impact in schools than anything tech philanthropists have done.

Twitter users, blocked by President Trump, cry censorship A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump may be the nation’s tweeterin-chief, but some Twitter users say he’s violating the First Amendment by blocking people from his feed after they posted scornful com-

ments.

Lawyers for two Twitter users sent the White House a letter Tuesday demanding they be unblocked from the Republican president’s (at)realDonaldTrump account.

The White House hasn’t responded.

The Knight First

Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York wrote the letter on behalf of the blocked tweeters.

Although Trump started (at)realDonaldTrump as a private citizen, the institute’s lawyers argue he’s made it a government-designated public

forum by using it to discuss polices and engage with citizens. They say it’s unconstitutional to exclude people from such a forum based on their views.

Blocking people on Twitter means they can’t easily see and comment on your tweets.

inventories drop for ninth week

By Jessica Summers BL OOMBERG NEWS

Oil rose as U.S. crude stockpiles are seen falling for a ninth week, ahead of the release of industryfunded data on inventories.

Futures climbed 1.7 percent in New York after declining as much as 1 percent during the session. A Bloomberg survey found that U.S. crude inventories probably dropped last week, creating impetus for higher prices. Contango, the market structure where the near-term contract trades at a discount to those for expiration later, narrowed between the July and August West Texas Intermediate crude contracts, lending to bullish sentiment.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq told official news agency KUNA that Qatar is committed to the global oil-cuts deal, with a compliance rate of 93 percent to 102 percent.

This comes as efforts are under way to resolve a clash between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“The rumors that this could somehow disrupt the OPEC production deal obviously were overplayed,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said by telephone. Oil’s rally comes as investors expected a drop in U.S. crude inventories, pushing them out of short positions, he said.

Oil has traded below $50 a barrel in New York

since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners agreed to extend output cuts into 2018 amid speculation that despite the curbs, a supply glut will persist.

While American stockpiles have recently edged lower, output from the country has expanded to the highest since August 2015.

U.S. crude inventories probably declined by 3.25 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before the release of data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, probably decreased by 750,000 barrels, according to a forecast compiled by Bloomberg.

West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 79 cents to settle at $48.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 26 percent above the 100day average. The spread between July and August WTI narrowed to a discount of 15 cents, the smallest contango for the rolling front-month spread since September 2015.

Investors are expecting a U.S. crude inventory draw, which is lending support to the market, according to Tariq Zahir, a New York-based commodity fund manager at Tyche Capital Advisors.

Uber fires 20 employees as part of sexual harassment investigation

By Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin WA S H INGT ON P O ST

Uber has fired 20 employees in recent months, the company said at a staff meeting Tuesday, as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the climate and culture at the popular ride-hailing ser-

vice.

The report of the firings came from an attorney at the Perkins Coie law firm, which Uber hired to assist in a broader sexual harassment investigation at the company and which made a presentation at the company’s weekly staff meeting Tuesday. The firings, the company confirmed

Tuesday afternoon, were for sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behavior, retaliation, bullying and physical safety.

The company has faced a series of allegations of misconduct this year, including a criminal investigation by the Justice Department for using software to trick reg-

ulators and avoid government scrutiny. Taken together, the probes have tarnished the image of one of Silicon Valley’s most aggressive and widely emulated companies and its embattled chief executive, Travis Kalanick.

Bloomberg was the first to report the firings Tuesday. The person who

initially confirmed the news for The Washington Post was familiar with Uber’s action and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter not yet announced publicly by the company.

The firings were among the first visible results of an investigation led by former attorney

general Eric H. Holder Jr., who was hired by Kalanick after reports of widespread sexual harassment within the company, triggered by a blog post by former employee Susan Fowler in February.

That prompted a barrage of criticism over sexual harassment and a discriminatory work environment.

A10 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

STATE

Jordan soldier faces murder charges in deaths of 3 US troops

By Karin Laub A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian soldier faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of three U.S. military trainers whose convoy came under fire at a Jordanian air base last year, a government official said Tuesday.

The Jordanian soldier will be tried by a military court, with proceedings to begin Wednesday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

The decision was welcomed by parents of the U.S. Army Green Berets, after Jordan initially claimed the Americans triggered the Nov. 4 shooting by disobeying orders of Jordanian troops at the gate of the al-Jafr air base in southern Jordan.

“I believe it is a good first step toward justice,” said Chuck Lewellen, of Kirksville, Missouri, whose son, 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Matthew C. Lewellen, was among those killed.

The other two slain Americans were 30-yearold Staff Sgt. Kevin J. McEnroe of Tucson, Arizona, and 27-year-old Staff Sgt. James F. Moriarty of Kerrville, Texas.

Lewellen and Moriarty’s father, James, said they were not told of the start of legal proceedings in Jordan. They said they were informed by the FBI last week that murder charges were being filed.

Moriarty, a 70-year—old lawyer, said he was

“shocked that Jordan has not bothered to tell anybody that they were going to do this trial because I wanted to be there in person.”

The Jordanian government official said that the trial would be closed to the public and that he did not want to engage in an exchange with the bereaved families through the media.

Moriarty has sharply criticized Jordan’s handling of the aftermath of the shooting, arguing a surveillance video of the incident left no doubt about what happened.

“The Jordanians have the video and they have had it since the time of the shooting,” he said in a phone interview.

Moriarty said he has repeatedly watched the surveillance video at an FBI office and requested, so far unsuccessfully, that it be released to the public.

He said that on Nov. 4, his son and three other U.S. trainers were approaching the gate of the air base after finishing a training session at a shooting range.

Moriarty said a Jordanian soldier at the gate opened fire, killing McEnroe and Lewellen who were in the same vehicle.

He said his son and a surviving U.S. soldier took cover and began returning fire.

Moriarty said they both called out to the soldier saying they were friendly forces, but that he kept shooting, killing his son before being wounded by the surviving U.S. soldier.

Fear of deportation drives people off food stamps in US

By Claudia Torrens and Gisela Salomon ASSOCIATED PRE SS

NEW YORK — A crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump has driven some poor people to take a drastic step: opt out of federal food assistance because they are fearful of deportation, activists and immigrants say.

People who are not legal residents of the U.S. are not eligible to take part in what is formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

But many poor families include a mix of non-legal residents and legal ones, such as children who have citizenship because they were born in the U.S. In those cases, it is often an adult who is not a legal resident who submits the application.

Some now feel that is too dangerous under a president who has made immigration enforcement a priority. Throughout the U.S., there are accounts of people resisting efforts of nonprofit organizations to sign them up for food stamps, letting benefits lapse or withdrawing from the program because of the perceived risk.

“They don’t want to put their name and address on a form for a government public benefit out of fear that they’ll be sought out and asked to leave,” said Teresa Smith, executive director of Catholic Charities of Orange County, California.

The food stamp program provides monthly payments, typically about $125 per eligible household member, to poor families to buy essential staples.

Going without can be an extreme decision, advocates say.

“This means less food

Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press

In this May 17 photo, Rosa, an undocumented immigrant who who wants her last name withheld, pauses as she speaks during an interview, in New York.

on the table, fewer meals in houses where the kids have rights because they are U.S. citizens,” said Andrew Hammond, an attorney for Chicago’s Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. It is not possible to determine the extent of the phenomenon. The number of food stamp recipients has declined as the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession and people could drop out for various reasons.

A 52-year-old woman interviewed in New York City, a Mexican in the country illegally, told The Associated Press she was motivated in January to drop a benefit that was supporting her teenage daughter, a U.S. citizen, purely because she was afraid of being in the food stamp system, which requires applicants to state their immigration status.

“I had been told that it’s OK to apply for food stamps. But, for the moment, I don’t want to take any risks,” said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of her immigration status and was introduced to AP through an organization that helps immigrants, the Mexican Coalition of the South Bronx.

“I need it but I have peace of mind because my

case is closed,” said the woman, who makes $8.50 an hour cleaning houses and lives in small apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

A Honduran immigrant and single mother with one child in Silver Spring, Maryland, decided not to renew the food stamps she received when they expired in January. “We fear deportation,” said the 29-year-old immigrant, who also spoke on condition of anonymity and was introduced to AP through a local nonprofit. She normally earns about $350 per week answering phones at a travel agency but has been working extra hours cleaning homes to make up for the loss of about $150 per month in food stamps.

Mark Krikorian, a wellknown advocate for reducing immigration to the U.S., said their situation reflects the fact that many people who come to the country lack the skills to earn enough money here.

“It is an attempted moral blackmail to say ‘If you Americans don’t give me your money, I can’t stay here and feed my children,”’ he said. “Well, it’s your choice. No one made you sneak into the United States.”

About 3.9 million citizen children living with non-

citizen parents received food stamps in the 2015 fiscal year, the most recent available data, according to the Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program.

The Department of Agriculture says a lower percentage of noncitizens who qualify for the program known as SNAP have historically used the benefit than citizens because of an incorrect perception that it could affect their immigration status or hurt their chances of becoming a U.S. citizen.

“It is important for non-citizens to know they will not be deported, denied entry to the country, or denied permanent status because they apply for or receive SNAP benefits,” the agency says on its website.

Driving the most recent fears about the program is an increase in immigration enforcement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 40 percent more people suspected of being in the country illegally in the first 100 days under Trump than in the same period a year earlier. The agency said nearly 75 percent of them had been convicted of criminal offenses but “non-criminal arrests” were up by more than 150 percent.

Immigrant advocates see the aversion to food stamps as a reflection of a climate of fear that drives people in the country illegally deeper underground, which in some cases also makes them reluctant to report crimes.

“We should care if people are afraid to interact with institutions that all of us rely on for our health and well-being,” said Tanya Broder, senior attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 |

A11

NATIONAL

Buffalo trail tour traces story of American bison

By James Nord A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

PIERRE, S.D. — From historical details of Native Americans’ final great wild buffalo hunts to tales of the animal’s rescue from near extinction, a new self-guided tour across 10 sites in the western Dakotas tells the story of the last stand of the American bison, the national mammal.

The trail, which is accompanied by the tour book “Buffalo Trails in the Dakota Buttes” oriented toward history and nature enthusiasts, officially opens June 11. Starting in Hettinger, North Dakota, the route runs — at times across gravel or pasture roads — into South Dako-

ta before returning north with an opportunity to see the Standing Rock Sioux’s tribal bison herds.

“They’re authentic places, and not only that, but most of them are unspoiled,” said Francie Berg, the tour book’s author. “There’s one place where it’s good to be able to roll under a fence.”

Tens of millions of bison, also known as buffalo, once thundered across a range stretching from central Canada through the Great Plains and northern Mexico.

After a century-long slaughter driven by commercial hunting for buffalo pelts, the population dwindled to a thousand or fewer near the end of the 1800s.

Accused leaker shared harsh opinions on Trump before arrest

By Russ Bynum and Johnny Clark A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUGUSTA, Ga. — A Georgia woman charged with leaking U.S. government secrets to a reporter shared sometimes scathing opinions on President Donald Trump before her arrest.

Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old government contractor, remained locked up Tuesday on federal charges that she mailed a classified report to an online news outlet.

The Justice Department announced her arrest

Monday as The Intercept reported that it had obtained a classified report suggesting Russian hackers attacked a U.S. voting software supplier days before last year’s presidential election.

Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, says her daughter moved to Georgia after six years in the Air Force and “believes in always doing what’s right.”

On Facebook, Winner posted concerns about climate change and lamented that “people voted for a soulless ginger orangutan.”

Joe Burbank / Associated Press

A woman reacts after a deadly shooting Monday in Orlando, Florida. A man who was fired from a Florida awning factory in April returned Monday with a gun and methodically killed several people, then took his own life, authorities said.

At the tour’s second stop in North Dakota, visitors see the valley near Hiddenwood Cliff where the “Great Buffalo Hunt” began in June 1882 on the Great Sioux Reservation.

According to the book, for the previous 15 years those grasslands were empty of buffalo as white hide hunters had pushed them west and most herds had been killed.

But Indian agent James McLaughlin describes in his memoirs a herd that summer estimated at 50,000, with roughly 600 Native American hunters on horseback and others taking 5,000 buffalo.

“The story of the buffalo— that powerful, resilient, magnificent creature — is an American story,”

By Terrance Harris and Mike Schneider A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ORLANDO, Fla. — A devoted father always photographing the games of his teenagers, now orphaned by a workplace shooting. A loving husband who “would give the shirt off his back” for anyone in need. A grandfather “taken way too soon.”

Friends and family members grieved Tuesday over the losses of loved ones in the shooting of five workers at an awning maker outside Orlando, where a recently fired co-worker returned through a rear door and opened fire.

One of the victims, Kevin Clark, was “generous, giving, polite and he was an extremely upstanding person,” said his friend, Allan Saltman, who befriended Clark while taking pictures of youth league sports. “He was a warm and compassionate person.”

Authorities said John

Robert Neumann Jr., 45, methodically shot his victims and then killed himself at the sound of an approaching siren on Monday.

Neumann was fired from Fiamma Inc. in April for undisclosed reasons. Clark began working there several months before that, after jobs in insurance and at an office supply company, Saltman said.

“The fact that some moron would go and do this stuff to somebody who has been working there for six months and then kill four other people. It makes no sense,” Saltman said.

The dead were identified as Robert Snyder, 69; Jeff Roberts, 57; Clark, 53; Kevin Lawson, 46; and Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44.

Fiamma asked the public to keep all the victims in their thoughts and prayers. “The company is heartbroken following the unspeakable attack upon our loved ones and employees,” the company’s statement said.

Berg writes. “In large part it is an Indian story. For thousands of years they flourished together, and as is fitting, Native Americans were in charge of the final hunts.”

The tour’s fifth site, with a view of the south fork of the Grand River in South Dakota, tells the story of Pete Dupree and

other families honored as critical to saving the buffalo from extinction. By Dupree’s death in 1898, his herd had grown to over 80 buffalo, according to the tour book.

North Dakota Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman said in a statement that the new experience tells the story of the histo-

ry and preservation of the buffalo in the Dakotas.

The 10 stops are marked with signs for visitors, and Berg recommended taking two days to traverse the entire route.

“I think people get a taste of what it really was like, and of course you can see buffalo herds here, too,” she said.

Gorilla gives birth to healthy baby with help from doctors ASSOCIATED PRE SS

PHILADELPHIA — A gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo has given birth to a healthy baby after a difficult labor that required medical techniques typically used for delivering humans.

A keeper noticed 17year-old Kira had gone into labor on Thursday.

Gorilla labor is typically very quick, but by Friday, it had not progressed and she seemed unwell.

Concerned about her and the baby’s health, the zoo brought in a team of veterinarians and doctors who treat people.

They included an obgyn, surgeons and anesthesiologists from hospitals affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University, as well as University of Penn-

Philadelphia Zoo / Associated Press

This photo shows a newly born western lowland gorilla resting on its mother Kira in Philadelphia.

Kira had a difficult labor that required medical techniques typically used for delivering human babies.

sylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

A similar team was in place for a gorilla birth at the zoo last year, but the emergency response wasn’t needed.

After 1 1⁄2 hours, the team delivered the male baby using forceps and an episiotomy, a procedure to enlarge the birth opening.

“It was an anxious and

dramatic day at the zoo, but in the end a tremendously rewarding one,” said Andy Baker, the zoo’s chief operating officer.

There have been several successful cesarean section deliveries for gorillas over the past few years, but assisted vaginal delivery isn’t common, according to the zoo.

Kira was reunited with the baby by Saturday morning and has been continuously cradling and nursing him.

This is the first birth for Kira and third offspring for 32-year old Motuba, who is also father to baby Amani, a female born at the zoo last August.

Western lowland gorillas, which inhabit African forests, are listed as critically endangered species.

Attempted murder charge in Bronx shooting of boy on his 5th birthday

By Benjamin Mueller, Al Baker and Ashley Southall NEW YORK TIME S NEWS SERVICE

Factory shooting leaves 2 teens without mother or father

Blake Nicholson / Associated Press

In this May 24 file photo, a bison munches grass in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota.

NEW YORK — As the 5-year-old boy’s family waited for word early Tuesday about his grave head wound, investigators scoured a Bronx public housing project just 300 feet from where the child had been shot.

Detectives had the gunman’s nickname, a play on his light complexion. They had witnesses; people tend to talk when a child is shot. And they had tracked down the man whom, according to the police, the suspect had meant to shoot on Monday night when a .380-caliber bullet struck Jaheen Hunter instead.

The investigators, part of a regional task force, rushed into an apartment at 1162-1176 Washington Avenue early Tuesday and found the suspect, Michael Quiles, 27, in a back room. He had a broken hand from a fight last week. They put him in handcuffs and later on Tuesday charged him with attempted murder in Jaheen’s shooting.

At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, doctors were operating on Jaheen’s head and the boy was in critical condition. Around 11 a.m.

Tuesday, his father, Charles Hunter, hurriedly

Jaheen was between Quiles and the other man when Quiles fired four shots, striking Jaheen once in the head, Wilcox said. Surveillance video captured the shooting and shows Jaheen fall.

walked into the hospital clutching a blue doll.

“He’s in bad shape,” Hunter said.

He and his son are known to be inseparable.

Hunter often took his the boy for rides on a motorbike and wheeled around with him on bicycles, Hunter’s cousin, Arthur Johnson, said. They had the same face, the same features, Johnson said.

“He tells me, ‘That’s my little man, we go everywhere,’” Johnson recalled. “He loves him.”

Hunter and his son had celebrated Jaheen’s fifth birthday on Monday at Hunter’s apartment, on Washington Avenue near 167th Street in the Morrisania neighborhood.

Shortly after 5 p.m., the boy’s sister came to pick him up.

As Hunter walked the boy out to the car, a fight was brewing on the sidewalk. Quiles and another man, whom the police would not identify, “were sort of having a verbal sparring match,” Deputy Chief Jason Wilcox, commanding officer of Bronx

detectives, said in an interview.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that Quiles had been selling marijuana there, the authorities said. He had been arrested at least twice before on marijuana charges outside the same public housing building where he was taken into custody.

They are also investigating whether the fight that led to the shooting was a continuation of a fight on June 1 involving Quiles, during which someone hit him with a bat and broke his hand.

“We know Quiles was assaulted back a few days ago,” Wilcox said. “We believe that’s why he was carrying a gun now.”

Jaheen was between Quiles and the other man when Quiles fired four shots, striking Jaheen once in the head, Wilcox said. Surveillance video captured the shooting and shows Jaheen fall.

Hunter carried him into the car and the boy’s sister drove him to St. Barnabas Hospital, before

he was transferred to NewYork-Presbyterian Wilcox said that the motive for the shooting was under investigation, and that detectives had not determined if the intended target of Monday night’s shooting had been involved in the earlier assault. Quiles had not reported that assault but described it to detectives on Tuesday, Wilcox said.

He asked for a lawyer after he was arrested; the lawyer’s name was not available on Tuesday afternoon, and a relative of Quiles hung up when reached by phone.

At the home in Yonkers where Jaheen’s sister takes care of him, a neighbor recalled the boy’s smile.

“When I talked to him, he was happy and laughed,” said the neighbor, Veronica Kirkland, a retired teaching assistant.

“We talked about school and how his day was, and he would show me his toys.”

She continued: “When I first heard what happened this morning, I started praying. All that hit me was that smile on his face.”

Quiles has been on parole since October after serving six years for attempted kidnapping in Albany County, prison records indicate. The authorities said he had been reporting to scheduled meetings since his release.

A12 | Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | LAREDO MORNING TIMES

FROM THE COVER AGENDA From page A1

insurance plans from covering the procedure.

He also wants to strengthen regulations mandating that clinics and other health facilities report to state authorities all complications arising after abortions are performed, even though such complications are rare.

School Vouchers Abbott revived a voucher proposal offering taxpayer funding so some special education students can attend private school.

The bill passed during the regular session in the Senate — which for years has championed school vouchers — but stalled in

the House. There, Democrats and rural Republicans, who represent small districts where private schools are scarce and public ones are social and cultural hubs, have long teamed up to oppose vouchers in any form.

TRIAL

DRUGS From page A1

From page A1

Tuesday.

“I congratulate our deputies for their quick reaction. This is another example on how we continue striving to get these drugs off the streets,” Sheriff Martin Cuellar states.

At about 6:30 p.m. May 31, dispatch in Webb County received information about two vehicles —

a Grey Mazda 6 with dealer tags and a red four-door car — that were allegedly involved in loading up undocumented immigrants in Zapata County.

Deputies said they encountered the vehicles on U.S. 83. When a deputy tried pulling over the red car, it accelerated and went off the highway, crashing into a barbed wire fence. The driver escaped, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

However, authorities said they found five bundles of marijuana in the vehicle. The contraband weighed 205 pounds and had an estimated street value of $164,000.

Minutes later, another deputy located the Mazda and arrested its driver, who was identified as Mendez.

Cuellar said the public can get involved in the fight against drugs by reporting suspicious activity to 956-523-4408.

public restrooms and facilities in government buildings.

Abortion The governor wants to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions and to bar some

mante, Texas, where DiazReyes allegedly dumped it after the shooting occurred.

The Zapata County Sheriff’s Office became aware of the case after a Texas ranger notified officials Diaz-Reyes had accompanied FBI agents and Texas Rangers to the ranch where the body was discovered, according to a complaint filed against Diaz-Reyes.

During a video-recorded interview, Diaz allegedly told Zapata authorities he witnessed Garza pull out a revolver when he saw an individual at a get-together pointing a knife at Jose Guillermo Cantu.

Leaving the gathering in a Ford Expedition, “Alexis Abram Diaz-Reyes went on to say that then he took away the revolver from Cantu … attempted to remove the rounds and that the revolver went off, striking Garza,” the complaint states.

It further states that Diaz-Reyes told authorities that after disposing of Garza’s body at the ranch, “they did not return to check if he was alive, rather they just left the body there and did not report the incident.”

Taryn Walters may be reached at 956-728-2528.

Other Education Policy Abbott endorsed leg-

islation that would increase teacher pay statewide by $1,000 and proposals giving school administrators more flexibility in hiring and retaining teachers. He also wants Texas to create a commission to study ways to fix its troubled school finance system after a bill that would

have begun an actual revamp died during the regular session amid a House-Senate battle over vouchers.

TEXTING From page A1

of a pickup truck that hit the bus said he was checking for a text when the crash happened and had taken prescription drugs.

Some lawmakers have worried the ban will be difficult and confusing to enforce, and will give police new powers to pull over people who might be doing something legal if they mistake the presence of a phone or mobile device for texting.

said.

Safety advocates have been pressing for the texting ban for years.

Lawmakers passed a ban in 2011, only to see it vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Perry. The issue gained new momentum after a March church bus crash killed 13 people. Federal investigators have said the driver

Voter Fraud Abbott wants lawmakers to take another try at cracking down on what he called “mail-in ballot fraud.”