The Zapata Times 7/13/2016

WEDNESDAY-

FREE

POPOVICH BIDS DUNCAN FAREWELL

JULY 13, 2016

SPURS COACH THANKS ‘IRREPLACEABLE’ PLAYER, A6

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY

TO 4,000 HOMES

A HEARST PUBLICATION

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS

EDINBURG

Obama, in Dallas, seeks to console and reassure

Agents find two dead immigrants

Former President Bush also speaks at memorial

By Gardiner Harris and Mark Landler NEW YORK TIME S

Eric Gay / AP

President Barack Obama, left, and first lady Michelle Obama, center, reach out to former President George W. Bush, left.

DALLAS — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the nation mourned along with Dallas for five police officers gunned down by a black Army veteran, but he implored Americans not to give in to despair or the fear that “the center might not hold.”

“I’m here to say that we must reject such despair,” Obama said at

Summer heat cited as possible factor

a memorial service for the officers in Dallas. “I’m here to insist that we are not so divided as we seem. I say that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds. I know we’ll make it because of what I’ve experienced in my own life.”

Obama acknowledged that the killings — “an act not just of demented violence but of racial hatred” — had exposed a “fault

EDINBURG, Texas — Border Patrol agents have found the bodies of two immigrants in rural South Texas on a day when temperatures topped the 90s.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Tuesday announced the deaths and warned about the dangers of human smuggling during the summer heat.

A CBP statement says the Kenedy County

Dallas continues on A5

Edinburg continues on A5

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

TEXAS

CORRUPTION ON THE BORDER Feds tight-lipped on weeding out agents

By Neena Satija TH E TEXAS T RI BUNE

In a video message intended for the tens of thousands of men and women working to keep drugs and people from illegally entering the United States, then-Deputy Border Patrol Chief Ron Colburn wanted to leave little doubt about the consequences for those who betrayed their mission.

"The light of justice will ultimately drive you from the shadows,” Colburn said in the 2009 message, one of many produced by the agency to combat corruption in its ranks.

“You will find no safe haven among fellow criminals. You will be identified. You will be arrested.

You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The video ended with the sound of a prison door creaking and slamming shut.

But whether most — or even a significant fraction of — corrupt federal border agents really are caught and punished is an open question. In recent years, Customs and Border Protection — the $12 billion law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security in charge of guarding the nation’s borders — has turned to polygraph tests and behavioral research to weed out criminals in its ranks. Background checks are now repeated every five years to make sure agents still pass muster.

But the behemoth agency will reveal little about what those efforts have accomplished. And there is almost no public data to Border continues on A5

Martin do Nascimento / The Texas Tribune

A Border Patrol agent makes his way through harsh terrain along the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas.

2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

‘Far and away the best candidate’: Sanders finally endorses Clinton

By Ken Thomas and Kathleen Ronayne ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Jim Cole / AP

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton smiles as she arrives on stage with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Tuesday, in Portsmouth, N.H. Sanders announced his endorsement for Clinton.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — With hugs and handshakes, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday and emphatically told his supporters their “political revolution” must now turn to electing his Democratic former rival.

Sanders bestowed his long-awaited support before a boisterous New Hampshire crowd, declaring he wanted to make it “as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton.” He congrat-

ulated her for securing enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination and vowed to do everything he could to help her defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“This campaign is not really about Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders, or any other candidate who sought the presidency.

This campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face,” Sanders said.

He added: “And there is no doubt in my mind that, as we head into Novem-

ber, Hillary Clinton is far and away the best candidate to do that.”

As Sanders delivered the endorsement just two weeks shy of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Clinton offered a huge smile, embracing him as they raised their arms in unity. The former secretary of state said the final four months of the campaign would be “much more enjoyable” working alongside Sanders and echoed her campaign slogan, “We are stronger together.”

During much of her remarks, Clinton embraced many of Sanders’

causes, vowing to oppose trade deals like the TransPacific Partnership, fight to raise the federal minimum wage — adopting Sanders’ tone, she called it a “starvation wage” — and overhaul the campaign finance system.

“These aren’t just my fights. These are Bernie’s fights. These are America’s fights,” Clinton said.

Democrats have coalesced around Clinton’s candidacy since she defeated Sanders in primaries last month in California and five other states, helped along by endorsements from President Barack Obama.

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE WORLD

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, JULY 16

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

1 Second Annual Super Shredder Day. 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Laredo Fire Department Administration Building, 616 East Del Mar across from St. Patrick Church. Citizens are urged to bring their documents of up to 50 pounds to shred for privacy at no charge. A free will donation to the South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry will be requested.

Today is Wednesday, July 13, the 195th day of 2016. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On July 13, 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

MONDAY, JULY 18 1 Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Pink To Do membership recruitment dinner. 5:30 p.m. Mirage Reception Hall, 5411 McPherson Road. $10. Open to men and women.

No children. Call or text 333-5096 to confirm attendance.

TUESDAY, JULY 19 1 Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Fun exercise for all ages and it's free.

Must sign release form. For more information call 956-795-2400 x2520.

THURSDAY, JULY 21 1 Cancer Friends Meet. 6 p.m.

Every third Thursday of the month.

Laredo Medical Center, A.R. Sanchez Cancer Center, Tower A, 1st Floor.

Having cancer is often one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. However, support groups help many people cope with the emotional aspects of cancer by providing a safe place to share their feelings and challenges and learn from others who are facing similar situations. For more information, call Nancy Santos at 956-285-5410.

MONDAY, JULY 25 1 Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st Floor, Tower B in the Community Center. The meeting is open to anyone with Parkinson’s disease, a friend or family member of a PD patient, and primary care givers of patients with PD who are interested in learning more about the disease. Pamphlets with more information in both English and Spanish are available at all support group meetings. For more information, call Richard Renner at 645-8649 or 237-0666.

TUESDAY, JULY 26 1 Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Fun exercise for all ages and it's free.

Must sign release form. For more information call 956-795-2400 x2520.

Gaetano Lo Porto / AP

A man watches the scene of a train accident after two commuter trains collided head-on near the town of Andria, in the southern region of Puglia, killing several people, Tuesday.

TRAINS CRASH HEAD-ON IN ITALY

By Gaia Pianigiani NEW YORK TIME S

ROME — Two passenger trains collided head-on in the Puglia region of southern Italy on Tuesday morning, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens more, some of them critically.

The crash occurred around 11:30 a.m. on a single track running through an olive grove between the towns of Corato and Andria. The closest major city is Bari, about 20 miles east of Ruvo di Puglia.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sent the infrastructure and transportation min-

German president admits failures in colony in Chile SANTIAGO, Chile — Germany’s president said Tuesday that he regrets his country’s diplomats failed for years to act on human rights violations at a secretive colony of German immigrants in Chile.

Germany recently ordered documents about Colonia Dignidad, or Dignity Colony, from

ister, Graziano Delrio, and the head of the civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, who oversees emergency response in Italy, to the site of the crash. “It’s an incident of enormous proportions,” Delrio said when he reached the scene Tuesday afternoon, adding that the crash was “very violent.”

The circumstances that led to the collision were unclear.

Teams of rescuers worked through the afternoon to separate the two trains, extricating victims and searching for survivors in the intense July heat.

1986 until 1996 to be unclassified for research purposes. For three decades from 1961, the enclave was the site of torture, slavery and child abuse.

“German diplomats didn’t take seriously the human rights violations at a concrete time,” Gauck said at a joint news conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

The leaders met earlier and Gauck said they spoke about “dark chapters” in their countries’ past.

“We hope that the declassifying of these documents will help contribute to knowing the truth about the many disappeared and executed at Colonia Dignidad and its surroundings,” Bachelet said.

The colony was founded by Paul Schaefer, a former medic.

After his World War II service, Schaefer became an evangelical preacher. He fled Germany after being accused of molesting boys at an orphanage.

— Compiled from AP reports

THURSDAY, JULY 28 1 Spanish Book Club. 6–8 p.m.

Laredo Public Library–Calton. For more information, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

SATURDAY, JULY 30 1 7th annual Cat Appreciation Day Cat Contest. 2 p.m. Petco, 2450 Monarch Dr. There will be a contest for live cats and photos of cats. $1 for each category. All donations will go toward projects to protect community cats, including a trap, neuter and return program for Laredo. Cats will be available for adoption. Sponsored

by Gateway Gatos of Laredo.

MONDAY, AUGUST 1 1 Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Cancer Friends Meet. 6 p.m.

Every first Monday of the month.

Doctors Hospital at the Community Center. Having cancer is often one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. However, support groups help many people cope with the emotional aspects of cancer by providing a safe place to share their feelings and challenges and learn from others who are facing similar situations. For more information, call Nancy Santos at 956-285-5410.

1 Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting.

6:30–7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month. People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual's medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.

AROUND THE NATION NASA spacecraft beams first pictures from Jupiter PASADENA, Calif. — A NASA spacecraft has sent back the first pictures since arriving at Jupiter.

An image released Tuesday shows Jupiter surrounded by three of its four largest moons.

The picture was taken on Saturday when the Juno spacecraft was circling 3 million miles away. Even at that distance, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot — a centuries-old atmospheric storm — was visible.

Juno entered orbit around Jupiter last week after a fiveyear journey. It’s on a 20-month mission to map the giant planet’s poles, atmosphere and interior. During the approach, the camera and instruments were powered off as a precaution as Juno braved intense radiation. The instruments were turned back on several days after the arrival.

FBI no longer investigating D.B. Cooper skyjacking SEATTLE — The FBI said Tuesday it is no longer investigating the enduring mystery of the skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper, nearly 45 years after he vanished out the back of a

Boeing 727 into a freezing Northwest rain wearing a business suit, a parachute and a pack with $200,000 in cash.

Calling the investigation one of the longest and most exhaustive in the agency’s history, the FBI Seattle field office said in an email it was time to focus on other cases.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Family: Military changed Dallas shooting suspect

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 1 Alzheimer’s Disease Support Group. 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st Floor, Tower B in the Community Center. Meetings are open to individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as family, friends and caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

Juno/NASA / AP

This July 10 image released by NASA was taken by the Juno spacecraft, five days after it arrived at Jupiter.

DALLAS — Military service changed the Dallas gunman from an extrovert into a hermit, his parents said in an interview excerpt published Monday.

Micah Johnson’s mother, Delphine Johnson, told TheBlaze website in an interview that her son wanted to be a police officer as a child. His six years in the Army Reserve,

On this date: In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first commercial recording, “From the Bottom of My Heart” and “Melancholy Mood,” with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

In 1955, Britain hanged Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old former model and nightclub hostess convicted of killing her boyfriend, David Blakely (to date, Ellis is the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom).

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his party’s convention in Los Angeles.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be U.S. Solicitor General; Marshall became the first black jurist appointed to the post. (Two years later, Johnson nominated Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

In 1972, George McGovern received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Miami Beach.

In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II. In 1985, “Live Aid,” an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa’s starving people.

In 1990, the romantic fantasy “Ghost,” starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, was released by Paramount Pictures.

In 1999, Angel Maturino Resendiz, suspected of being the “Railroad Killer,” surrendered in El Paso, Texas.

(Resendiz was executed in 2006.)

Five years ago: California became the first state in the nation to add lessons about gays and lesbians to social studies classes in public schools under a measure signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Three coordinated bombings in India’s busy financial capital killed 26 people in the worst terror attack in the country since the 2008 Mumbai siege. The United States earned its first trip to the Women’s World Cup final since winning it in 1999 with a 3-1 victory over France.

The initial version of Snapchat, a mobile messaging app that lets people send photos, videos and messages that disappear in a few seconds, debuted under the name Picaboo in Apple’s iOS App Store.

One year ago: Calling America “a nation of second chances,” President Barack Obama cut the prison sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders.

Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman from suburban Chicago, was found hanged in a Waller County, Texas, jail cell three days after being arrested during a traffic stop; her death was ruled a suicide, a finding disputed by her family.

Today’s Birthdays: Game show announcer Johnny Gilbert (TV: “Jeopardy!”) is 92. Actor Patrick Stewart is 76. Actor Robert Forster is 75. Actor Harrison Ford is 74. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 74.

Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 70.

Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 68.

Actress Didi Conn is 65. Singer Louise Mandrell is 62. Rock musician Mark “The Animal” Mendoza (Twisted Sister) is 60. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 59. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 55. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 54. Comedian Tom Kenny is 54. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 54. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 54. Actor Kenny Johnson is 53. Roots singer/songwriter Paul Thorn is 52. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 51. Actor Ken Jeong is 47.

Singer Deborah Cox is 43. Actress Ashley Scott is 39. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 38. Actor Fran Kranz is 35. Actress Aya Cash is 34.

Actor Colton Haynes is 28. Actor Steven R. McQueen is 28. Soul singer Leon Bridges is 27. Actor Kyle Harrison Breitkopf is 11.

Thought for Today: “If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never.” — Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813-1855).

CONTACT US including a tour in Afghanistan, were “not what Micah thought it would be ... what he thought the military represented, it just didn’t live up to his expectations.” According to the military lawyer who represented him, Johnson was accused of sexually harassing a female soldier while deployed.

His father, James Johnson said haltingly and through tears: “I don’t know what to say to anybody to make anything better. I didn’t see it coming.”

The black 25-year-old fatally

shot five officers in Thursday’s attack while hundreds of people were gathered in downtown Dallas to protest recent fatal police shootings, and wounded at least nine officers and two civilians. Dallas Police Chief David Brown clarified Monday where Johnson was killed with a bomb delivered by a remotecontrolled robot, saying that it happened on the second floor of El Centro College, not a parking garage as authorities previously described.

— Compiled from AP reports

Publisher, William B. Green .....................................728-2501 General Manager, Adriana Devally ..........................728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................................728-2531 Circulation Director ..................................................728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo..................................728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ..............................728-2582 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ........................................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo.......................728-2569

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.

The Zapata Times is free.

The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas, 78044. Call (956) 728-2500.

The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 |

A3

STATE

Supreme Court to consider report on Rio Grande water case Courtesy

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to President Obama on the phone Saturday while receiving treatment for burns.

Governor to miss Republican convention

By Will Weissert A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will miss next week’s Republican National Convention as he recovers from extensive burns sustained when he came into contact with scalding hot water — meaning his state’s large delegation to Cleveland will be without its chosen chairman.

Spokesman Matt Hirsch told The Associated Press on Tuesday that doctors said it would be “irresponsible” for Abbott to travel, including to the gathering celebrating presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Abbott, who took office last year, suffered what his office termed a “minor infection” after sustaining second- and third-degree burns on both legs below the knee and both feet on Thursday, while vacationing with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

He spent Monday night at San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center, and the following day “underwent a successful skin graft procedure,” his office said in a separate statement.

But rather than returning immediately to Austin as planned, Abbott “will extend” his hospitalization to “allow for further healing and to ensure a prompt recovery,” it said.

There was no word on Abbott’s up-coming schedule beyond Hirsch’s confirmation that he won’t be in Cleveland when the convention starts July 18.

The governor endorsed the Republican presidential bid of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, his former colleague at the state attorney general’s office, but now says he will back Trump.

The injury caused Abbott to miss the visit to Dallas Tuesday of President Barack Obama, who addressed a memorial service along with former President George W. Bush for the five police officers killed there.

Exactly how Abbott scalded himself remains unclear and his office has declined to answer questions seeking further details.

By Susan Montoya Bryan ASSOCIATED PRE SS

The nation’s highest court will likely have to settle a dispute between Texas and New Mexico over management of water from the Rio Grande.

Officials in both states have been waiting for nearly a year for a recommendation on the handling of the case that could dramatically curb groundwater pumping in some of New Mexico’s most fertile valleys and force the state to pay as much as $1 billion in damages.

Now, a special master assigned by the U.S. Supreme Court is recommending the rejection of a motion by New Mexico to dismiss the case, meaning it can move forward as long as the high court agrees.

Texas sued in 2013, claiming New Mexico failed to deliver water as required under a decadesold compact involving the river that serves more than 6 million people in several major cities and irrigates more than 3,100 square miles of farmland in the U.S. and Mexico.

New Mexico state Sen. Joe Cervantes, whose district includes the border region, said the special master’s recommendation was not a surprise, and that he and a small group of lawmakers have been warning about potentially dire outcomes if Texas gains the upper hand in the legal battle.

Cervantes said the recommendation to let the case proceed seems to

Jett Loe/The Las Cruces Sun-News / AP file

In this May 27, 2015, photo, the Rio Grande river flows near Mesilla and Bosque State Park, N.M. It will likely be up to the nation's highest court to settle a dispute between Texas and New Mexico.

support demands by Texas for more water from the Rio Grande.

“A great deal more water delivered to Texas to make up for historic shortfalls seems to be a clear direction he’s going,” Cervantes said of the special master. “And since water won’t make up for all of the shortfalls, we’re looking at the risk of large financial damages.”

The parties have a chance to respond to the special master before the Supreme Court weighs in on what is the latest legal battle over water to pit states against one another. Connecticut and Massachusetts, Nebraska and Wyoming, and New York and New Jersey all have been embroiled in water disputes over the de-

cades.

The federal government has weighed in on the New Mexico-Texas case, arguing that pumping north of the border is tapping a shallow aquifer that would otherwise drain back into the Rio Grande and flow to Texas and eventually to Mexico.

Officials in Texas made similar claims about water shortages under the compact more than a decade ago. Irrigation districts that serve farmers on both sides of the border reached an operating agreement with the federal government in 2008 that shared the burdens of drought while ensuring everyone received water allotments.

Local water managers say the agreement worked even during the

driest of times, but former New Mexico Attorney General Gary King insisted that it was more beneficial to Texas and sued over his concerns, setting the stage for Texas to take its complaints to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Current Attorney General Hector Balderas said New Mexico will continue to work diligently to protect state residents and their water supply.

New Mexico argues that its only duty under the compact is to deliver water to Elephant Butte Reservoir for storage for downstream users. It also argues that state law, not the compact, governs the distributions of water released from Elephant Butte within state boundaries.

Officials with the Ele-

phant Butte Irrigation District — responsible for funneling Rio Grande Project water to farmers and other users — say the special master’s report implies that the water is protected by the compact and federal law.

In his report, the special master suggested New Mexico has a “stunted interpretation” of the compact and that the state may not divert or intercept water it’s required to deliver downstream.

The Rio Grande stretches from southern Colorado, through New Mexico and Texas and into Mexico. In recent years, stretches of the river have gone dry in New Mexico and flows often don’t reach the Gulf of Mexico.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Is the U.S. on the path to ruin?

SAN ANTONIO — I never really understood how fascism could have come to Europe, but I think I understand better now. You start with some fundamental historical transformation, like the Great Depression or the shift to an information economy. A certain number of people are dispossessed. They lose identity, self-respect and hope.

They begin to base their sense of self-worth on their tribe, not their behavior. They become mired in their resentments, spiraling deeper into the addiction of their own victimology. They fall for politicians who lie about the source of their problems and about how they can surmount them.

Facts lose their meaning.

Entertainment replaces reality.

Once facts are unmoored, everything else is unmoored, too. People who value humility and kindness in private life abandon those traits when they select leaders in the common sphere.

Hardened by a corrosive cynicism, they fall for morally deranged little showmen.

And then perhaps there’s a catalyzing event.

Societies in this condition are culturally tense and socially isolated. That means there are a lot of lonely, alienated young men seeking self-worth through violence. Some wear police badges; some sit in their rooms fantasizing of mass murder.

When they act, the results can be convulsive.

Normally, nations pull together after tragedy, but a society plagued by dislocation and slipped off the rails of reality can go the other way. Rallies become gripped by an exaltation of tribal fervor.

Before you know it, political life has spun out of control, dragging the country itself into a place both bizarre and unrecognizable.

This happened in Europe in the 1930s. We’re not close to that kind of descent in America today, but we’re closer than we’ve been. Let’s be honest: The crack of some abyss opened up for a moment by the end of last week.

Blood was in the streets last week — victims of police violence in two cities and slain cops in another. America’s leadership crisis looked dire.

The FBI director’s statements reminded us that Hillary Clinton is willing to blatantly lie to preserve her career. Donald Trump, of course, lies continually and without compunction. It’s very easy to see this country on a nightmare trajectory.

How can America answer a set of generational challenges when the leadership class is dysfunctional, political conversation has entered a postfact era and the political

“

DAVID BROOKS

parties are divided on racial lines — set to blow at a moment’s notice?

On the other hand …

I never really understood how a nation could arise as one and completely turn itself around, but I think I’m beginning to understand now. Back in the 1880s and 1890s, America faced crises as deep as the ones we face today. The economy was going through an epochal transition, then to industrialization. The political system was worse and more corrupt than ours is today.

Culturally things were bad, too. Racism and anti-immigrant feelings were at plaguelike levels.

Urban poverty was indescribable.

And yet America responded. A new leadership class emerged, separately at first, but finally congealing into a national movement. In 1889, Jane Addams created settlement houses to serve urban poor. In 1892, Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance to give the diversifying country a sense of common loyalty. In 1902, Owen Wister published “The Virginian,” a novel that created the cowboy mythology and galvanized the American imagination.

New sorts of political leaders emerged. In city after city, progressive reformers cleaned up politics and professionalized the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt went into elective politics at a time when few Ivy League types thought it was decent to do so. He bound the country around a New Nationalism and helped pass legislation that ensured capitalism would remain open, fair and competitive.

So which path will we take, the horrific path of 1930s Europe or the renewal path of 1890s America? The future of the world hangs on that question.

One way to think about it is this: America still has great resources at the local and social level. Here in San Antonio, there are cops who know how to de-escalate conflicts by showing dignity and respect. Everywhere I go there are mayors thinking practically and non-dogmatically. Can these local leaders move upward and redeem the national system, or will the national politics become so deranged that it will outweigh and corrupt all the good that is done block by block?

I’m betting the local is more powerful.

David Brooks is a columnist for the New York Times.

COLUMN

Country Baptists loved Stamps Quartet’s ‘sangin’ When you’re born, bred and raised ‘country’, there are some givens. My mother saw to my baptism, inoculation and total exposure to what is known today as “Southern Baptist quartet sangin’.”

That was enough to ensure my lifelong liking for that music genre’ and to always marvel at the variety of the music and the devotion of country Baptists to the Stamps “brand” and the resulting “products.” And, if that wasn’t sufficient, we happened to live across the street from a veterinarian by that same last name and a brother of Frank and V.O. Stamps, founders and leaders the wellknown quartet.

Occasionally on their travels to concerts, the Stamps Quartet would stop in my hometown to visit their vet brother.

With the reaction and activity among the neighbors you’d think that day’s version of a rock band was making an appearance.

Our little one-room country church had paperback “song books,” not

hymnals (too citified), for all to use in the congregational singing. Those songbooks were published by the Stamps Quartet Gospel Music Publishing Company.

And, the Stamps boys thought of everything.

Musical notes had different shapes, one for each part — soprano (lead), alto, tenor and bass — to help the untrained singer easily follow his part.

At that age, I only knew one part — LOUD — and sang that way.

After all, in our little frame one-room church — the Luna Missionary Baptist Church — we needed every one of the two-dozen or so voices booming away to sound like a sizable congregation and, more likely, to match the faithful zeal expected of all seated on those handmade wooden benches.

As I grew older, I imagined myself more “manly”

than my years and thought I should sing bass. However, in high school choir director LaClair Williamson set me straight and had me in the tenor section. I couldn’t read music, so I was thankfully seated next to Douglas Aycock, who had a good tenor voice and could read music. He also played piano and had a brilliant mind (later P.D. Aycock, M.D.).

My musical ear was pretty good, so I could follow a tenor note from the piano or from someone nearby who could belt out the tenor part where I could easily follow. Doug was my ticket to a good grade in choir.

Through the years, a sinful trail of cigarettes, a pipe and demon rum deepened my voice to the much-desired “manly” bass. Now, I can chirp along with the best of ‘em.

Oh, and the only sinful contribution to my manly voice now is an occasional glass of white wine before dinner/supper.

My exposure to the gospel music continued into young manhood,

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.

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience.

He can be reached by email at wwebb19937@att.net.

EDITORIAL

Ginsberg, stay out of politics BL OOMBERG VIEW

Some things are better left unsaid.

Exhibit A: In recent interviews, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed horror at the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency: “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she told a reporter. “For the country, it could be four years.

For the court, it could be

— I don’t even want to contemplate it.”

Ginsburg has earned a reputation for delivering sharply pointed opinions.

It’s no secret that her politics are liberal, just as it’s no secret that Clarence Thomas’s are conservative. Despite the court’s partisan divide, however, tradition holds that justices stay above the political fray. And there’s much to be said for keeping up appearances.

The Founding Fathers gave justices lifetime

appointments to ensure that they could remain impartial, and the court likes to be seen as studiously neutral in political matters. When the president delivers a State of the Union address, justices sit on their hands in the front row, refusing to applaud anything he says.

It’s a charade, of course, but an important one. The public expects justices to decide cases on the legal merits. And the court’s legitimacy rests on public acceptance of its rulings. The more people

LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters.

To be published, letters must include the writer's first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity.

The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary.

Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the

thanks to my mother.

She loved to sing, particularly the Southern Gospel she’d grown up singing all of her life.

Mother was basically always shy, or as she would say, “timid.” She often described herself as a “timid alto.”

Once I attended a gospel quartet concert and was keeping my ear closely tuned to the bass singer, who was quite good.

At a break in the concert, I caught up with the bass singer and told him I admired his singing. During the conversation, I said Mother labeled herself a “timid alto,” and that I supposed I must be a “closet bass,” meaning to me shy or timid.

The concert quartet bass looked at me in shock and said, “Well, I don’t think I’d describe it quite that way.”

I made a mental note to eliminate the phrase from my vocabulary.

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

see the court as arm of a political party, the more likely they are to resist or ignore its decisions.

To sustain the rule of law, members of the court must respect the public’s expectation of judicial neutrality. If justices wish to increase public transparency of the court’s workings, there are better ways to do it.

Many Republicans are outraged at Ginsburg’s comments, but Democrats should be, too — and they would be if the situation were reversed.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 |

A5

FROM THE COVER EDINBURG From page A1 Sheriff ’s Office received an anonymous call about a body at a ranch. The caller described the location, which assisted agents in locating the

victim on Friday.

Agents in McAllen, working in the brush near Havana, discovered another body later Friday.

Authorities did not immediately release additional information about the victims.

BORDER From page A1 show that its efforts have stemmed the flow of drugs, undocumented immigrants and illegal goods facilitated by the very people whose job it is to keep them out.

Just a few months ago, a report from an outside committee created to advise homeland security officials concluded the current state of affairs at the agency “leaves CBP vulnerable to a corruption scandal that could potentially threaten the security of our nation.”

“CBP must be proactive in its approach if it is to prevent corruption from taking root,” the Homeland Security Advisory Council wrote in the report, released in March.

The agency declined The Texas Tribune’s request to interview officials about its anti-corruption efforts. In statements, CBP has said it takes corruption allegations seriously and that those engaging in misconduct make up a tiny fraction of its workforce.

Data compiled by CBP show that close to 180 of the agency's employees were arrested, charged or convicted on corruption charges between October 2004 and October 2015 — less than one-half of a percent of its 44,000 law enforcement officers.

Still, outside observers and some homeland security officials have said the dozens of CBP personnel convicted isn’t a true measure of the extent of corruption.

“The true levels of corruption within CBP are not known,” the Homeland Security Advisory Council wrote last year. “Nor is there an evaluation based on sophisticated risk

The National Weather Service predicted highs in the upper 90s on Tuesday for parts of far South Texas.

Also on Tuesday, Border Patrol announced that their agents have rescued 35 immigrants from a stash house in

analysis. This means that pockets of corruption could fester within CBP, potentially for years.”

Vetting weaknesses On paper, it’s not easy to become a Customs and Border Protection officer or a Border Patrol agent. CBP officers work at airports, seaports and official ports of entry; Border Patrol agents work the spaces in between.

The application process includes a background investigation, fitness and drug tests, written tests and oral interviews. Just one of 52 applicants makes it through the Border Patrol process, and one in 28 through the CBP officer process, according to a December 2011 report. The agency also aims to “reinvestigate” employees every five years, once again looking into their backgrounds and searching for possible signs of corruption, such as “unexplained wealth.”

But the system has its weaknesses, reports and officials have said. And it didn’t help when the agency embarked on a massive hiring surge — prompted by national security laws signed in the wake of 9/11 — that swelled the ranks of CBP officers and Border Patrol agents from 27,000 in 2001 to 43,000 today.

Most of those new hires occurred between 2006 and 2008, and the agency has admitted it may have gone for quantity over quality in some cases.

“No one in the senior leadership of CBP was willing to stand up to the White House and say, ‘We can’t hire this many people safely in this short a period of time,’” said Shawn Moran, vice president of the Border Patrol's main

South Texas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said a suspected smuggler from Mexico was arrested. The 34 adults and one juvenile found Monday night at a home in Edinburg were turned over to federal

union.

Internal affairs officials later told the Government Accountability Office that five-year reinvestigations fell by the wayside during the hiring push “because resources were focused on meeting mandated hiring goals.” By 2010, CBP was overdue on more than 15,000 of the five-year checks, the GAO report found.

Former CBP internal affairs chief James Tomsheck also said that the private companies contracted to do background investigations — one of the pricier aspects of the CBP hiring process, at $3,200-$3,600 a pop — were cutting corners.

An email he sent to the agency detailing his concerns with the hiring and vetting process shows that CBP was aware of the issues back in 2008.

In an April 2008 memo titled "The 'Perfect Storm' for CBP Integrity," Tomsheck wrote that "inexperienced and unqualified persons" were doing background checks on new hires.

"We are operating in totally uncharted waters of personnel screening and security," he continued. (In response to the memo, Tomsheck told the Tribune, CBP was given an extra 90 days to complete its hiring.)

Since its hiring surge, the agency says it has “reviewed and refined its vetting and selection process to ensure qualified candidates are hired for law enforcement positions.”

The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 beefed up the vetting requirements further, requiring lie detector tests for all applicants and strengthening the mandate on five-year reinvestigations. The agency says there is no longer a backlog of those periodic checks.

The impact of those changes is unclear.

authorities for processing.

Agents became aware of the stash house following a vehicle stop, when the driver acknowledged being the caretaker of the home.

Officers who were granted permission to

DALLAS From page A1 line” in American democracy. He said he understood if Americans questioned whether the racial divide would ever be bridged.

“I’m not naive,” he said. “I’ve spoken at too many memorials during the course of this presidency.”

Obama acknowledged the limitations of his own words, and quoted from the Gospel of John: “Let us love not with words or speech but with action and in truth.”

Obama, as he has before, balanced praise for the heroism of police officers with a blunt acknowledgment of racial bias in the criminal justice system.

“We can’t simply dismiss it as a symptom of political correctness or reverse racism,” he said.

Behind him, a row of police officers did not clap. But when Obama added, “We ask the police to do too much, and we ask too little of ourselves,” the officers behind him applauded.

The president appealed for an honest debate over the tensions inherent in policing and the nation’s legacy of racism.

“It is forging consensus, and fighting cynicism, and finding the will to make change,” he said.

“I confess that sometimes, too, I experience doubt,” Obama said.

“I’ve been to too many of these things. I’ve seen too many families go through this.”

Former President George W. Bush spoke earlier at the memorial.

“Today the nation grieves, but those of us who love Dallas and call it home have had five deaths in the family,” Bush said. He added, “At times it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together.”

search the residence found immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Authorities did not immediately provide additional information on the investigation.

But, Bush said, “Americans, I think, have a great advantage. To renew our unity we only have to remember our values.”

Obama had huddled with his speechwriters for much of Monday, hoping to find words that would not only console the officers’ grief-stricken families but also reassure a nation fearful that racial divisions are worsening after the Dallas slaughter and the killing days before of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Obama approached the effort with the frustration of a man who has poured his heart and soul into similar speeches, only to later feel that nothing has changed and no one is listening.

This was the 11th time in his presidency that he sought to comfort a city after a mass killing, and the second time in a month that such a killing grew out of bias.

“The president recognizes that it’s not just people in Dallas who are grieving, it’s people all across the country who are concerned about the violence that so many Americans have witnessed in the last week or so,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Monday.

Obama’s task was especially tough because Dallas has already undertaken many of the steps that his administration has advocated to improve race relations and foster better community ties with the police. The police chief, David O. Brown, has won high marks for his frank and unsparing remarks after the tragedy.

During a news conference Monday, Brown, who is black, said that he remained committed to reform, and his message to those protesting police conduct was simple: “Don’t be part of the problem. We’re hiring. Get out of the protest line and put an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood.”

Sports&Outdoors A6 | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

Kin Man Hui / AP

Gregg Popovich keeps his emotions in check as he addresses the media Tuesday in San Antonio to bid farewell to Tim Duncan.

Popovich bids Duncan farewell

By Tim Reynolds ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Jon Krawczynski A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

Players synonymous with their cities and their franchises are now gone in a summer of upheaval the NBA has rarely seen before, and the teams left behind begin their searches for new identities after saying the hardest of goodbyes.

“You never would’ve been able to convince me a couple years back that Wade wouldn’t finish his career in Miami or Durant would have moved on in his prime from that great Oklahoma City team, or Rose after his MVP year, four years later he’s not in Chicago anymore,” ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. “It just shows you. It’s a hard league. It’s hard to keep your group together. And when it is able to stay together, stay relevant, stay competitive, you’re very, very fortunate.”

Count the San Antonio Spurs among the chosen few. Duncan fell in their lap when the Spurs won the draft lottery in 1997, and coach Gregg Popovich has long credited that bit of luck for the franchise’s unprecedented run of success.

Five championships, two MVPs for Duncan, the most enduring success story in American sports.

“Leadership can come from many different

areas, but when your best player is the best leader, it’s amazing how everybody else falls in line,” said Timberwolves GM Scott Layden, who was an assistant GM with the Spurs for the previous four seasons. “The other thing is how he’s done it with such humility and modesty. Not looking for any attention and accolades. It’s more of what is good for the team. ... Both on and off the court, he set the tone day-in and day-out.”

Bryant beat Duncan out of the door by a couple of months, ending 20 colorful seasons with the Lakers with a 60-point outburst in his final game. The consistency wasn’t the same as Duncan’s, but the Lakers captured five titles as well during Bryant’s time and vaulted back into the league’s hierarchy.

Wade left the Heat for his hometown Bulls after 13 brilliant seasons and is perhaps the biggest sports hero in Miami history, having delivered three championships to South Beach and serving as an ambassador for the glitzy city by the bay.

“Moments like this, it sucks,” Wade said on Saturday after taking a two-year, $47 million deal from the Bulls over Miami’s offer of two years and $40 million. “The business side of the sport, sometimes it just sucks.

That’s what we’re dealing with.”

Durant stunned the NBA by leaving his beloved Oklahoma City for

the juggernaut in Golden State, ending a nine-year love affair between the low-key superstar and a city he and Russell Westbrook put on the basketball map.

“Kevin was a part of the renaissance,” Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett told ESPN last week.

“This city has come so far, so fast, probably further, faster than any city in American history. Kevin was right there along with us. There’s a slight sense of panic.”

And finally, the Bulls traded Rose, a former MVP and one of the city’s favorite sons, to the New York Knicks. Noah followed his friend to the Big Apple in free agency, meaning two of the players who embodied the franchise’s grit and determination are now elsewhere.

The departures came under different circumstances and by different means, but they have served to upend the NBA. Player movement is one of the league’s hallmarks, but Dwyane Wade in a Bulls jersey?

All players see their careers end eventually.

But Kobe and Timmy in the same summer?

Injuries to Rose and Noah no doubt forced Chicago’s hand. But both of the proud fighters wearing blue and orange?

It will take some getting used to for everyone involved, and it stands to have a major impact on the playoff chases in both conferences.

Duncan may not have

been the force of nature he was for the Spurs in his earlier days, and he may have passed the torch to Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge last season. But his loss in the locker room, and in the paint, will be hard for the Spurs to overcome.

With Leonard, Aldridge, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and now Pau Gasol in the fold, the Spurs should still be able to hang near the top of the Western Conference.

Without No. 21 in the middle to keep things calm, it won’t be easy.

“I think it goes way beyond the championships and the winning,” said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, a longtime Spurs assistant. “I think the culture that really, he’s kind of the pillar it’s been built around. It is almost impossible to quantify.”

In some ways, things have only gotten easier for the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, who have met in the NBA Finals the last two seasons.

Durant’s move to Golden State gutted the Warriors’ chief rival in the West and assembled perhaps the most potent starting lineup in league history in the Bay Area.

Wade’s move to Chicago weakened a challenger to LeBron in the East.

Maybe the only question left to answer going into next season is not who will be there in the end, but how each of these proud franchises will handle their new beginnings.

Gregg Popovich spoke for about 15 minutes, sometimes unable to hide his emotions, all the while wearing a T-shirt that had Tim Duncan’s face printed on the front.

When the last question was answered, the coach turned, put his hands in his pockets and silently walked into a new era for the San Antonio Spurs.

It’s a day Popovich knew was coming.

That clearly didn’t make it any easier.

“He’s irreplaceable,” Popovich said.

Choking up at times and making wisecracks at others, Popovich bade a public farewell to Duncan’s playing career on Tuesday. The five-time NBA champion announced his retirement on Monday in a statement released through the team, ending a 19-year career that was spent entirely in San Antonio.

“I figured I better come out here and do this and somehow say goodbye to him,” Popovich said.

“Which is an impossibility, for a lot of reasons.”

Popovich spoke in a corner of the Spurs’ practice facility in San Antonio, the spot where he holds court with reporters after workouts during the season. There was no news conference, no elaborate setup, not even any live coverage permitted.

Even for something that will have so much impact on the team, the league and the sport, the Spurs kept things as simple as possible.

Duncan is leaving. In some respects, everything is changing. In others, nothing will.

“I think it will be a seamless transition for the team,” former NBA coach and current television analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. “I think who it’s going to be hard on is Gregg Popovich.”

Popovich gave no indications otherwise Tuesday.

All in one answer — the premise being picking one person in history to have dinner with — Popovich made mention of Mother Teresa, Jesus, the Dalai Lama, William F. Buckley, Gore Vidal and actor John Cleese. But given the choice between any of those people, or anyone else, Popovich said he would choose to dine with Duncan.

“I can honestly tell you my dinner would be with Timmy,” Popovich said.

“And it would be because he’s the most real, consistent, true person that I’ve ever met in my life.”

“I can be on him in a

game and ask him why he’s not rebounding in a relatively stern way and really get on him in front of everybody,” Popovich continued. “And on his way back to the court, he’ll say, ‘Thanks for the motivation, Pop. Thanks for the support, Pop.’ Then he’ll turn away with his eyes up in the air and we’ll both start laughing.

And people don’t see those things. But his teammates have and that’s why his teammates love him.”

Duncan will go down as one of the best to ever play the game, and Popovich said he was the best teammate any Spurs player could have had.

There were moments of humor, too, like Popovich saying Duncan made him wear the clothes he gave him — including the shirt he donned Tuesday — or else he wouldn’t play.

“I remember a pretty neat summer league game when he first came in and (Greg) Ostertag blocked his shot,” Popovich said when asked what moment of Duncan’s career he enjoyed most. “That was pretty cool.”

Mostly, Popovich’s words showed sadness and appreciation.

He spoke at length about Duncan’s humility, and how that was instilled in him long ago.

Popovich told a story about when Duncan’s father, who died in 2002, told the Spurs coach he needed to ensure his son would not be changed by fame or fortune.

“I can still remember before his father passed away, looking me in the eye and saying ‘I’m going to hold you responsible to make sure that when he’s done he’s the same person he is now.’ And in that respect, he is,” Popovich said. “He’s grown as a person, as we all do, through experiences. But his inner core, he was over himself when he came in and after all these accolades and all this success, he’s still over himself. Hasn’t changed a lick.”

Duncan and Popovich won more games together than any player-coach combination in NBA history — and Popovich said he owes his own success to the now-retired star, not the other way around.

To think of a season without Duncan, Popovich said, is mindboggling.

“I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for Tim Duncan,” Popovich said. “I’d be in the Budweiser league, someplace in America, fat and still trying to play basketball or coach basketball. He’s why I’m standing.”

Zfrontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 |

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE CIUDAD MIER, MÉXICO 1 Policías de Tamaulipas lograron asegurar 134 paquetes conteniendo marihuana en el municipio de Ciudad Mier, México, el sábado.

Los policías estatales realizaban reconocimientos terrestres sobre el tramo carretero Mier-Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, a la altura del kilómetro 105+500, cuando detectaron los paquetes confeccionados con cinta canela.

La droga fue puesta a disposición del Ministerio Público para la investigación correspondiente.

AZUL EN JUEVES 1 “Stand with Dallas” es una campaña que motiva a los ciudadanos a vestir de color AZUL, el día jueves 14 de julio en apoyo a Dallas y las agencias policíacas de todo el país.

STAAR 1 Zapata County ISD informa las fechas para los exámenes STAAR -TAKS de verano. Los exámenes se aplicarán a partir de las 7:45 a.m. en Zapata High School. Miércoles 13 de julio, English II -Ciencias; Jueves 14 de julio, Biology -Historia; viernes 15 de julio, US History.

CAMINATA/ CARRERA 1 La Cuarta Caminata/Carrera y Competencia Infantil Anual de 5K PFC Ira “Ben” Laningham IV se realizará el sábado 16 de julio a partir de las 8 a.m. con salida del Palacio de Justicia (Courthouse) del Condado de Zapata. Habrá trofeos para ganadores en cada categoría. Cuota de participación es de 15 dólares, si se inscriben con anterioridad visitando active.com o 20 dólares el mismo día. Precio especial para estudiantes y niños.

PINK TO DO 1 La Asociación para Atención al Cáncer de Seno “Pink To Do” realizará una cena para reclutar integrantes el lunes 18 de julio a las 5:30 p.m. en Mirage Reception Hall, 5411 McPherson Road.

Abierto a hombres y mujeres. Costo 10 dólares. No se aceptan niños. Confirme asistencia en el (956) 333-5096 ENCUESTA PARA PADRES 1 Zapata County ISD pide a los padres de familia, cuyos hijos estudiarán el Pre-K 4 en el ciclo escolar que inicia en agosto, que respondan una encuesta. Los padres de familia pueden responder la encuesta visitando el sitio surveymonkey.com/ r/6VPWSHJ 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) 7658983.

A7

DALLAS

Obama exhorta a reconciliación Rinden tributo a policías caídos Por DARLENE SUPERVILLE ASSOCIATED PRE SS

DALLAS — El presidente Barack Obama estuvo en Dallas para rendir tributo a los policías asesinados por un francotirador que deseaba vengar las muertes de personas de raza negra abatidas por policías.

El mandatario trató de dar un mensaje de reconciliación a Dallas, una ciudad en luto a menos de una semana después de la muerte de los policías a manos de un francotirador que había servido en el ejército. Obama ha calificado la matanza como un “ataque vil, premeditado y execrable contras las fuerzas del orden”, perpetrado por un hombre “desquiciado”.

Acompañando a Obama estaban la primera dama Michelle Obama, el ex presidente George W. Bush, y su esposa Laura Bush; el vicepresidente Joe Biden, el senador republicano Ted Cruz y la líder de los demócratas en la Cámara de Representantes Nancy Pelosi, entre otros.

Hace pocas semanas, Obama pasó unas horas en Orlando, Florida, consolando los seres

Foto por Smiley N. Pool | Associated Press

De izquierda a derecha, Jill Biden, el Vice Presidente Joe Biden, la ex primera dama Laura Bush, el ex presidente George W. Bush, Michelle Obama y el Presidente Barack Obama, son visto durante la interpretación del himno nacional durante el servicio funerario en Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center en Dallas, el martes, en honor de los cinco oficiales de policía que murieran la semana pasada durante una marcha del Black Lives Matter.

queridos de 49 personas asesinadas en una masacre en un club nocturno.

En lo que se ha vuelto una rutina sombría y desagradable de su presidencia, Obama habló en un servicio religioso en Dallas en honor a los oficiales que cayeron el jueves pasado, en medio de una protesta pacífica en contra de las muertes de personas negras esa semana en Louisiana y Minnesota.

El francotirador, Micah

Johnson, de 25 años, fue eventualmente muerto con una bomba traída con un robot de la policía. El veterano del ejército, que era negro, había dicho que el ataque contra los oficiales blancos era en venganza por la muerte a manos de la policía de hombres negros en Baton Rouge, Louisiana, y en un suburbio de Minneapolis.

Partes de esos sucesos habían sido grabados en video y transmitidos a toda la nación, lo que

suscitó más enojo, protestas y veintenas de arrestos. Las muertes causaron tensión en todo el país, agravaron la división racial y reabrió el debate sobre el uso de la violencia por parte de policías blancos contra individuos negros.

Obama intentó abordar esos temas en sus palabras de reconciliación y su homenaje a los cinco policías caídos, entre los cuales había un veterano Ranger del Ejército, un veterano de la Marina y

un agente que recién se había casado.

Algunos policías culpan al presidente por el incremento de las tensiones raciales, afirmando que no ha apoyado mucho a las fuerzas del orden. En sus comentarios desde los sucesos de Dallas, Obama ha exhortado al público a reconocer que los policías tienen un trabajo difícil y a tratarlos con respeto.

Darlene Superville en Twitter:@dsupervilleap

ELECCIONES 2016

CORTE

Sanders respalda a Clinton para presidente

Mujer niega ser culpable

Por KEN THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRE SS

PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — Bernie Sanders, quien promovió una “revolución política” que motivó a millones de votantes de todo el país, ofreció el martes un muy esperado respaldo a su oponente demócrata, Hillary Clinton, pidiendo unidad a casi dos semanas de la Convención Nacional Demócrata.

De pie el uno al lado del otro en un evento en Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Sanders, quien se define como socialista demócrata, felicitó a Clinton por ganar la nominación y prometió hacer lo que pueda para ayudarla a ganar al virtual nominado a la presidencia

por el Partido Republicano, Donald Trump.

“Hillary Clinton entiende que debemos de arreglar la economía en Estados Unidos, que está manipulada y que dirige casi todas las nuevas riquezas e ingresos a (los más ricos del país, que están dentro del) 1% de la población”, dijo Sanders, al enumerar las razones por las que apoyó a Clinton. “Hillary Clinton entiende que si alguien en Estados Unidos trabaja 40 horas a la semana, esa persona no debe de ser pobre”.

Los demócratas se han unido detrás de la candidatura de Clinton desde que derrotó a Sanders en las primarias el mes pasado en California y otros cinco estados, comenzando

Foto por Doug Mills | NYT

Hillary Clinton habla conforme el Senador Bernie Sanders observa, durante un evento de campaña en Portsmouth High School en Portsmouth, N.H., el martes.

por el presidente Barack Obama, el vicepresidente Joe Biden y otras personas.

Sanders ha pasado los últimos cinco meses tratando de influir la plataforma del partido en la convención de Filadelfia y promover reformas electorales como permitir que los independientes participen en futuras primarias. La plataforma incluye varias de sus propuestas, como el salario mínimo de 15 dólares por hora, restricciones más duras en Wall Street y poner fin a la pena de muerte.

El evento en una secundaria de Portsmouth procuraba proyectar unidad demócrata antes de que los republicanos nominen formalmente a

Trump la próxima semana en la Convención Republicana en Cleveland. Pero algunos de los seguidores de Sanders que estuvieron presentes en el gimnasio no parecieron listos para seguir adelante.

Trump, quien previamente había dicho que Sanders “fue tratado terriblemente por los demócratas” y debería ser candidato independiente, no perdió tiempo para responder al senador.

“Bernie Sanders, quien ha perdido casi todo su apoyo, se vendió totalmente a la deshonesta Hillary Clinton”, escribió el republicano en varios mensajes por Twitter.

“Sanders no fue verdadero a sí mismo y sus partidarios”.

COMUNIDAD

Invitan a destruir papeles E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

El segundo Super Shredder Day anual está programado para el sábado 16 de julio de las 8 a.m. a las 2 p.m., en el Departamento de Administración de Bomberos de Laredo ubicado

en el 616 E Del Mar enfrente de la iglesia St. Patrick.

Ciudadanos pueden llevar sus documentos de hasta 50 libras para cortar en tiras, protegiendo así su privacidad.

Aunque el evento es gratuito, se pedirá una donación al Ban-

co de Alimentos del Sur de Texas (South Texas Food Bank) para ayudar en su misión de ayudar a los necesitados.

Para más información se puede comunicar con Salo Otero al 956-324-2432.

Por César G. Rodríguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Una mujer quien supuestamente recogió inmigrantes ilegales en el Condado de Zapata, recientemente fue acusada en una corte fedeal de Laredo, indica una declaración jurada.

El 26 de junio, un gran jurado acusó a María Trinidad López con conspiración para transportar personas indocumentadas dentro de los Estados Unidos e intento para transportar personas indocumentadas por dinero.

López se ha declarado no culpable a los alegatos. Ella enfrenta hasta 10 años en la cárcel de ser condenada.

El intento de contrabando ocurrió el 1 de junio.

La Patrulla Fronteriza de EU respondió a reportes de varias personas subiéndose a una Chevy Avalanche, color blanco, en U.S. 83 cerca del Arroyo Tejón. Agentes vieron al vehículo sospechoso pero posteriormente lo perdieron de vista. Volvieron a verlo en el estacionamiento ubicado al lado este del Corrections Corporation of America.

“En ése momento, el vehículo sospechoso aceleró y empezó a manejar sobre un terreno, entre la maleza, en un intento por evadirse, y/o lograr separarse de los agentes a fin de tener una oportunidad de salir del vehículo”, indica la querella criminal presentada el 6 de junio.

El vehículo se detuvo al norte de la alcantarilla en Margarita, en Río Bravo, de acuerdo con los reportes.

Identificada como la conductora, López y el pasajero salieron del vehículo.

Agentes atraparon a López, pero el pasajero logró escapar, indican reportes. En declaraciones posteriores al arresto, López dijo que ella y el pasajero recogieron a los inmigrantes en San Ygnacio, indican archivos.

A8 | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

Police: Three suspects arrested in ‘credible threat’ to harm officers

By Mike Kunzelman ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Andrew Sullivan / New York Times

A stained-glass window of John C. Calhoun is shown at Yale.

Yale worker destroys stained-glass window depicting slaves A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW HAVEN, Conn.

— A former Yale University dining services worker facing criminal charges for destroying a stainedglass window depicting slaves in a cotton field said Tuesday that he should not have done it, but he found the image disturbing.

Corey Menafee, who is black, used a broomstick last month to break the window inside Calhoun College, which has been the target of student protests because it is named for former Vice President John C. Calhoun, an ardent 19th century defender of slavery.

Menafee, 38, appeared in court Tuesday charged with felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor reckless endangerment.

He did not enter a plea.

Afterward, he told reporters outside New Haven Superior Court that he was upset over the image in the window.

“You look up and there is an image of slaves,” he said. “It’s the 21st century; you shouldn’t have to see that.”

BATON ROUGE, La. — Police arrested three suspects and were seeking a possible fourth suspect accused of stealing several handguns as part of what authorities Tuesday described as “substantial, credible threat” to harm police officers in the Baton Rouge area.

The arrests come at a time of heightened tensions after the deadly police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers in Dallas last week.

Authorities in Baton Rouge discovered the alleged plot while responding to a burglary at a pawn shop early Saturday morning, Baton

Rouge police Chief Carl Dabadie said in a press conference. The first suspect arrested told police that “the reason the burglary was being done was to harm police officers.”

The chief said the suspect didn’t indicate any details about when or where a possible plot would be carried out.

“We have been questioned repeatedly over the last several days about our show of force and why we have the tactics that we have. Well, this is the reason, because we had credible threats against the lives of law enforcement in this city,” he said.

The police department has come under criticism for the tactics it’s employed to deal with protesters, using riot police and military-style vehicles

Gerald Herbert / AP

Keilosha Walker, left, of Baton Rouge, puts her fist up during live music at a night rally in honor of Alton Sterling, outside the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge, La., Monday.

on the streets of the capital city. Over a three day period, police arrested about 200 protesters.

Authorities said they arrested one suspect at the pawn shop and tracked

down two others. The third suspect arrested was a 13-old boy who was apprehended on a street.

They called on the fourth suspect to turn himself in.

Police didn’t immedi-

ately release the names of the suspects but said they all are from Baton Rouge and all are black.

State Police Col. Mike Edmonson called it a “substantial, credible threat” to police.

Six of the eight stolen firearms have been recovered and two are still at large, authorities said.

A week after 37-yearold Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two white police officers in Baton Rouge outside a convenience store, tension are high in the city. While protesters demand justice for Sterling, the shootings in Dallas last week and other attacks on police around the country have put the police on edge.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 |

A9

BUSINESS

Dow Jones industrial average closes at a record high

By Bernard Condon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK— The stock market reached another milestone Tuesday as the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record high.

A day earlier, the broader Standard & Poor’s 500, a widely used benchmark for index funds, also reached a record-high close. Both indexes beat peaks set in May 2015.

The Dow, which is made up of just 30 stocks, is an older and betterknown barometer of the market than the S&P 500, but professional investors generally pay much closer attention to the S&P 500.

The Dow rose 120.74 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,347.67. That is 35 points higher than its previous closing high set on May 19 last year.

The S&P 500 gained 14.98 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,152.14. The Nasdaq composite rose 34.18 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,022.82.

The Nasdaq is still lagging the other two main U.S. stock market indexes. The index, which is heavily weighted with technology and biotech stocks, erased its losses for the year on Tuesday.

The Dow and S&P 500 are each up 5.3 percent for 2016, having roared back following a big drop in January and early February. The S&P has soared 17.7 percent since reaching a low of the year of 1,829 on Feb. 11.

Investors continued to show an appetite for taking on risk. The biggest gainers included energy companies, which have been benefiting from a recovery in the price of oil, materials companies and banks.

Financial companies, which have lagged the market this year, have been rising in recent days as long-term interest rates move higher in the bond market. Higher rates mean banks can make more money from lending. Citigroup gained 93 cents, or 2.7 percent, to

Drew Angerer / Getty

Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday in New York City. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high.

$43.44.

Despite recent increases, however, bond yields remain near historic lows, a worrisome sign to many analysts. Just last week the yield on the 10-year Treasury note touched an all-time low. Bond yields tend to fall when demand for bonds rises, which can indicate that investors are seeking safety.

“I wish we can be celebrating, but it’s a little disconcerting,” said Rob Bartenstein, CEO of Kestra Private Wealth Services. “You’ve got government bonds at historical lows and equity markets at historical highs. That’s not something you see at

the same time. ... I feel underinvested, but I’m not willing to chase stocks.”

Sectors that investors tend to favor when they’re nervous, including utilities, phone companies and makers of consumer staples, all fell as investors moved money out of lower-risk assets. Bond prices also fell sharply, sending yields higher.

Aluminum maker Alcoa kicked off the second quarter earnings season on a positive note by reporting revenue and profit that beat Wall Street expectations. The stock jumped 55 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $10.69. Earnings for companies in the

S&P 500 are expected to fall compared to the year ago period, but then rise in the next quarter.

Seagate Technology surged $5.26, or 21.8 percent, to $29.35 after forecasting strong sales. It also announced it will cut 6,500 jobs, about 14 percent of its total.

Benchmark U.S. crude added $2.04 to close at $46.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a standard for international oil prices, rose $2.22 to $48.47 a barrel in London. In other energy trading in New York, wholesale gasoline rose 5 cents to $1.43 a gallon, heating oil rose 5 cents to $1.46 a gallon and natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.5 percent, a day after soaring 4 percent. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised new government spending to help jolt Asia’s secondbiggest economy back to life now that his Liberal Democratic Party has won in parliamentary elec-

tions. Investors are betting he’ll keep flooding the market with money by expanding bond purchases.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7 percent. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.6 percent and Germany’s DAX added 1.3 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat.

Shares of Nintendo jumped 12.7 percent in Tokyo, fueled by the craze for “Pokemon Go,” a smartphone game that’s become the top grossing app in the iPhone store less than a week after its release in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.50 percent from 1.43 percent. The yield plunged last week as low as 1.32 percent, an all-time low, according to Tradeweb.

The dollar rose to 104.79 yen from 102.77 yen. The euro rose to $1.1067 from $1.1058.

‘Pokemon Go’ digital popularity is also warping real life

By Ryan Nakashima A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

LOS ANGELES — The “Pokemon Go” craze has sent legions of players hiking around cities and battling with “pocket monsters” on their smartphones. It marks a turning point for augmented reality, or technology that superimposes a digital facade on the real world.

But the game’s popularity has created unintended consequences in everyday life, from annoyed property owners dealing with hordes of monster hunters to store owners using the game to attract customers.

Though perhaps that’s to be expected from a game that has players visit real-world landmarks such as train stations, churches and museums in order to find and trap cartoon creatures.

Here’s a look at some of the bigger Pokequestions that have emerged since the game went live last Wednesday: Can digital lures lead to real cash?

Some shops are exploring ways to use “Pokemon Go” to drum up business.

An Atlanta cafe owned by digital ad agency Huge

turned out to be roughly 30 feet away from two prominent “Pokestops” — game representations of physical landmarks where players can stock up on digital game gear.

So it spent about $40 in real money to add digital "lures" to the stops, refreshing them every 30 minutes. The lures increase the chance that rare Pokemon with names like “Starmie” and “Poliwag” turn up nearby — drawing players in turn.

“Our corner was essentially lit up all day long,” says Huge executive creative director Derek Fridman.

In San Francisco, enthusiastic players working for Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli likewise set out lures and branded the store as a “charging station” for drained phones. (The game is notoriously hard on batteries.)

Given that the shop is bracketed by Pokestops on one side and a battle arena on the other, players “have no choice but to walk past us,” says owner David Nottage III. “So we put up some signs.”

The deli plans additional Pokemon-related activities in the future.

Who’s to blame when

Danny Zaragoza / The Zapata Times

Pokemon Go player Kassy Perez sports a Pokemon shirt as she displays her phone showing the Pokemon Go app, Monday afternoon, at North Central Park in Laredo.

playing really gets out of hand?

In St. Louis, police say robbers perched near attractive digital spots to rob players engrossed in the game.

Another man who lives in a former church says his home — now also a Pokestop — has become a digital magnet for Pokemon Go players, who sometimes block his driveway and passing traffic as they pull over to stare at their phones.

A 21-year old player in Forest Grove, Oregon, even shrugged off a stab wound to continue his gaming. He approached a stranger on the street and asked him if he was playing, too, police say.

The other man then stabbed him. Police say the player described his

attacker, refused treatment and continued on his Pokemon hunt.

Phoenix police are telling people not to trespass while playing the game. New York’s subway is warning people not to jump onto the tracks to chase digital “Rattatas.” The National Safety Council implored players not to play and drive.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. called playing the game inside its walls “extremely inappropriate” and is trying to remove itself from the game. At the Associated Press bureau in Los Angeles, an outdated reference to a statue no longer on the property beckons Pokemon players in from the street.

Todd Richmond, a

director at the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California, says a big debate is brewing over who controls digital assets associated with real world property.

“This is the problem with technology adoption — we don’t have time to slowly dip our toe in the water,” he says. “Tenants have had no say, no input, and now they’re part of it.”

How big can augmented reality get?

Stock in Nintendo, which part owns “Pokemon Go,” jumped 25 percent on Monday and another 13 percent Tuesday, adding nearly $8 billion to its market value as investors assessed the breakout game.

But Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal says that’s just the beginning. He now targets a share price of 30,000 yen, or $286.40, nearly a third higher still.

Nintendo is transitioning from console games to smartphone games, and “it has just started that journey,” Goyal says.

The game’s success on smartphones also could spur faster development from hardware makers — Microsoft with its HoloLens, the secretive startup Magic Leap, or Goo-

gle, which could still revive its failed Glass headgear, says Timothy Carone, a professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

“The reaction (to Pokemon Go) is a quick of vote of ‘Yeah, they got this right,”’ Carone says.

“My guess is that a lot of developers have gone back to figure out how to take this approach.”

Does this affect my privacy?

Adam Reeve, principal architect of security firm Red Owl, however, found that “Pokemon Go” required overly broad permission for those using a Google account as a signin. Even setting aside the location data collected by the app, he said, the app is a “huge security risk.”

He noted the app, in theory, could allow “Pokemon Go” to read one’s Gmail, send email as you and access your Google search history.

Niantic said in a blog post Monday that it never intended to request such sweeping data access, hasn’t collected information beyond the user’s ID and email address. By Tuesday, signing in on an iPhone with a Google ID showed this pared back authorization.

A10 | Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES