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‘Sanctuary cities’ law could cost Texas $13.8B
Suspect allegedly steals card By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
New study claims the state is also at risk of losing 248,000 jobs By Joshua Fechter SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
A new Texas law banning so-called sanctuary cities that’s been deemed discriminatory by civil rights groups and business leaders will cost the state $13.8 billion and 248,000 jobs, according to a new study released Tuesday. The law “essentially allows rogue police officers with badges to harass and intimidate people of color,” Adriana Cadena — director of Texas Together, a Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance campaign — said at a news conference Tuesday releasing the report by Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance. “In doing so, it will drive away individuals from
our state. In driving away those individuals, we’re going to feel the consequences in the jobs that will be lost, in the lack of investment we will see.” Senate Bill 4, which takes effect Sept. 1, allows local police officers to ask detainees about their immigration status and penalizes law enforcement and public officials who don’t comply with federal immigration law. The new law could cost an additional $335 million in lost state and local tax revenue each year if 10 percent of the state’s estimated population of undocumented immigrants moved elsewhere, the organization concluded after analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Cost continues on A11
Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News
A so-called sanctuary cities bill signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could kill up to 248,000 jobs and shrink the state’s economy by up to $13.8 billion when the law takes effect, according to an analysis by the group Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance.
A man has been arrested for allegedly purchasing items for a cookout with an EBT card he stole from person with special needs, according to the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office. Juan Carlos Garcia, 38, was Garcia arrested July 26 and charged with credit card abuse, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine. On July 28, Garcia was released on bond. “Juan Carlos Garcia is being accused of taking a disabled person’s (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card and using it to Card continues on A11
TEXAS CAPITOL
RELIGIOUS LEADERS FIGHT BATHROOM BILL Rabbi: Bill is a ‘manifestation of senseless hatred’ By Peggy Fikac SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
AUSTIN — Religious leaders kept up their passionate fight against the bathroom bill at the Capitol Tuesday, while a big-city mayor who met with Gov. Greg Abbott said he didn’t push the issue because he believes the governor’s mind is made up on it. “We did not talk about the bathroom bill in particular. He knows how I feel about that. I know how he feels about it. We’ve met before on this issue. So we tried to say, how do we use our time fruitfully, and our partnership to do what’s right by the citizens,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings after he and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price met with Abbott. Abbott put the bathroom bill, which would restrict which public restrooms transgender people can use, on the agenda of the special session. Rawlings has long said the issue has been raised by companies when he has tried to lure them to Dallas. Businesses are speaking out ever-more forcefully against the measure. Abbott has been meeting with a number of mayors after 18 of them sent him a letter asking to talk about meaFight continues on A11
Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News
Leaders from a broad coalition of religious groups demonstrate on the steps of the Capitol against the "bathroom bill" on Tuesday.
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, AUG. 5
A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S
Brightwood College Back to School Event. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
6410 McPherson Road. Event is free. Will feature refreshments, a moonwalk, face painting, a bike show, a Taekwondo exhibition, a photo booth, a variety of food booths, campus tours, program demonstrations and a school supplies drive for which everyone is invited to bring and donate supplies. Attendees will be entered to win prizes such as Amazon gift cards and backpacks filled with school supplies.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 9 Rhythm Path Library Drumming Circle. 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. McKendrick
Ochoa Salinas Branch Library. 1920 Palo Blanco. Event is free and and family friendly. Join the library drumming circle and learn to play West African rhythms and songs.
SATURDAY, AUG. 12 Harry Potter Book Club. 3 p.m - 5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library. 1920 Palo Blanco. Event is free and children, teens and adults are welcome to attend. Discussion about “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will be held at the meeting.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
In this July 12 file photo, FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SENATE CONFIRMS WRAY TO LEAD FBI
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 or Ticketmaster.com.
Homeland Security will waive laws to build US border wall SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will waive environmental reviews and other laws to replace a stretch of border wall in San Diego, moving to
WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, replacing James Comey, who was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump amid the investigation into Russian meddling in last year's presidential election. The vote was 92-5 for Wray, a former high-ranking official in President George W. Bush's Justice Department who oversaw investigations into corporate fraud. Wray, 50, inherits the FBI at a particularly challenging time given Trump's ousting of Comey, who was admired within the bu-
make good on one of the president's signature campaign pledges. Critics including the Center for Biological Diversity criticized the move as overreach and a threat to the environment. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it will publish in "the coming days" in the Federal Register a notice exempting
reau. "This is a tough time to take this tough job," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during a relatively low-key Senate debate of the nomination. "The previous FBI director, as we know, was fired because of the Russia investigation. The former acting attorney general was fired. And we've had a slew of other firings throughout the government over the last few months." Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said after the vote: "Chris Wray will bring character and competence to a city that is hemorrhaging public trust."
the government from the National Environmental Protection Act, which calls for extensive reviews of environmental impacts, and a host of other laws on 15 miles of border extending east from the Pacific Ocean. A law passed in 2005 gave Homeland Security broad authority to waive "all legal requirements" to build border barriers following years of
ultimately unsuccessful court challenges to border wall construction in San Diego on grounds that it violated environmental laws. Congress passed the law to blunt similar efforts elsewhere and it led to hundreds of miles (kilometers) of new U.S.-Mexico border fencing in the final years of President George W. Bush's administration. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD 2 Venezuelan opposition leaders jailed as crisis escalates CARACAS, Venezuela — Teams of heavily armed security agents seized two of Venezuela's top opposition leaders from their homes in the middle of the night Tuesday, dragging one into the street in his pajamas as President Nicolas Maduro's government defied U.S. sanctions and international condemnation of a plan to assume nearly unlimited powers. Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were being held at the Ramo Verde military prison south of the capital, accused by the government-allied Supreme Court of violating the terms of their house arrest by plotting to escape and releasing video statements criticizing Maduro. Both men's allies denied the charges and vowed to continue to try to push the ruling party from power. But they gave little indication of how they planned to do that, and the capital was unusually quiet after months of sometimes violent protests.
Fernando Llano / AP
In this file photo, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez holds a national flag as he greets supporters in Venezuela.
Lopez's supporters released a video he taped last week saying he expected to be imprisoned again soon, and calling on Venezuelans to be firm in resisting Maduro.
"If you are looking at this video now, it's precisely because that occurred, because they came and they illegally imprisoned me again unjustly, a prisoner of consciousness, a
prisoner for my ideas, a prisoner for wanting a better Venezuela," the 46-year-old Lopez said. — Compiled from AP reports
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 2, the 214th day of 2017. There are 151 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 2, 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. On this date: In 216 B.C., during the Second Punic War, Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal defeated the Roman army in the Battle of Cannae. In 1876, frontiersman "Wild Bill" Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, by Jack McCall, who was later hanged. In 1923, the 29th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding, died in San Francisco; Vice President Calvin Coolidge became president. In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge issued a written statement to reporters: "I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty-eight." In 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program. President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act, which prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns. In 1943, during World War II, U.S. Navy boat PT-109, commanded by Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy, sank after being rammed in the middle of the night by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off the Solomon Islands. Two crew members were killed. In 1967, the crime drama "In the Heat of the Night," starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, premiered in New York. In 1974, former White House counsel John W. Dean III was sentenced to one to four years in prison for obstruction of justice in the Watergate coverup. (Dean ended up serving four months.) In 1985, 137 people were killed when Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.) In 1997, "Naked Lunch" author William S. Burroughs, the godfather of the "Beat generation," died in Lawrence, Kansas, at age 83. Ten years ago: Mattel apologized to customers as it recalled nearly a million Chinese-made toys from its Fisher-Price division that were found to have excessive amounts of lead in their paint. A Marine Corps squad leader was convicted at Camp Pendleton, California, of murdering an unarmed Iraqi man during a frustrated search for an insurgent. (Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III was sentenced to 11 years in prison; he served more than half of his sentence before his conviction was overturned. Although convicted in a 2015 retrial, Hutchins received no additional prison time.) Five years ago: Kofi Annan resigned as peace envoy to Syria, blaming the Syrian government's intransigence, the growing militancy of Syrian rebels and a divided U.N. Security Council that he said failed to forcefully back his effort. Gabby Douglas became the third American in a row to win gymnastics' biggest prize when she claimed the all-around Olympic title. One year ago: President Barack Obama castigated Donald Trump as "unfit" and "woefully unprepared" to serve in the White House, and challenged Republicans to withdraw their support for their party's nominee, declaring "there has to come a point at which you say 'enough.'" Today's Birthdays: Actor Nehemiah Persoff is 98. Former Sen. Paul Laxalt, R-Nev., is 95. Rock musician Garth Hudson (The Band) is 80. Singer Kathy Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 74. Actor Max Wright is 74. Actress Joanna Cassidy is 72. Actress Kathryn Harrold is 67. Actor Butch Patrick (TV: "The Munsters") is 64. Rock music producer/drummer Butch Vig (Garbage) is 62. Singer Mojo Nixon is 60. Actress Victoria Jackson is 58. Actress Apollonia is 58. Actress Cynthia Stevenson is 55. Actress Mary-Louise Parker is 53. Rock musician John Stanier is 49. Writer-actordirector Kevin Smith is 47. Actress Jacinda Barrett is 45. Actor Sam Worthington is 41. Figure skater Michael Weiss is 41. Actor Edward Furlong is 40. Rock musician Devon Glenn is 37. TV meteorologist Dylan Dreyer (TV: "Today") is 36. Singer Charli XCX is 25. Actress Hallie Eisenberg is 25. Thought for Today : "The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying, 'The trouble with this country is...'" — Sinclair Lewis, American author (1885-1951).
CONTACT US AROUND TEXAS Couple's $1M gift to Texas governor follows trend AUSTIN — A west Texas cattle rancher and his wife have donated $1 million to Gov. Greg Abbott, following a trend of seven-figure political donations across the U.S. Mike and Mary Porter made the donation in June, the Houston Chronicle reported.
"We don't expect anything out of this. . nothing in return," Mike Porter said. "We believe Governor Abbott has put forward a vision to keep Texas exceptional, and we wanted to do our part in supporting what he's doing. That's all there was to it." Politicians are becoming accustomed to asking for and receiving million-dollar contributions, said Michael Malbin, executive director of the Wash-
ington-based Campaign Finance Institute. "If more candidates are asking for these larger contributions, it becomes part of an atmosphere where there will be more," Malbin said. The National Institute on Money in State Politics analyzed the 2016 election cycle's campaign finance records. It found there were nearly 50 contributions of $1 million in eight states. Illinois had the
most with $32 million donated in multiple seven-figure chunks. Texas is among more than 10 states that don't limit campaign donations from individuals. Some political scientists and campaign consultants have said the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision to allow donors to give candidates millions of dollars through super PACs may be contributing to the trend. — Compiled from AP reports
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 |
A3
STATE
3 dead, 3 critically injured after rollover crash in South Bexar County By Fares Sabawi SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
Three people, including a child, are dead after the SUV they were traveling in crashed and rolled over on Interstate 37 in South Bexar County, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. The vehicle was occupied by four adults and two children, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. The other child and two adults were airlifted to the hospital in critical condition. Investigators believe one of the SUV's tires blew out around 1 p.m., causing the driver to overcorrect and roll over, Salazar said. The family appeared to be visiting from out of town and the SUV had a Mexican license plate. The wreck shut down all southbound lanes of
Caleb Downs / San Antonio Express-News
Police respond to a fire at Bright Kids Daycare Center in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Fares Sabawi / San Antonio Express-News
The southbound lanes of Intestate 37 were shut down while crews cleared a wreck on Tuesday. Several items were ejected from the car during the roll over, including a car seat.
I-37 near Mathis Road and authorities expect the closure to continue for several hours as investigators remain at the
scene. Several items, including a car seat, appeared to have been thrown from the car.
Austin woman sentenced for sham marriage to get United States citizenship A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN — An Austin woman has been sentenced to a year in prison for marrying a man for the sole purpose of gaining U.S. citizenship. The Austin AmericanStatesman reports that 39-year-old British citizen and city employee Nancy Chan was sentenced Thursday for
conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and mail fraud. Federal officials say 37-year-old Luis Morales and 46-year-old Isabel Metzler helped Chan devise a plan to marry a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in 2011. Chan and her spouse submitted documentation for her to seek naturalization in 2014.
Department of Justice officials say a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services officer interviewed the couple separately and found inconsistencies that revealed the marriage was a sham. Morales and Metzler pleaded guilty to related charges. They're scheduled for sentencing in October.
Children safe after fire engulfs San Antonio day care By Caleb Downs SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
Children and staff are all safe after a fire engulfed a San Antonio day care Tuesday morning. The blaze at Bright Kids Daycare Center, in the 3900 block of Thousand Oaks, was reported around 10:30 a.m. and almost two dozen units quickly responded. Sgt. Walter Smith said all the children at the day care are safe and accounted for. None were injured in the fire. San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Joe Arrington said the department coordinated with VIA Transportation to have the children taken to Bright Kid's sister location in the 4200 block of Clear Springs Drive. About 40 people were already evacuated from the building when firefighters arrived, he said.
Denise Abrego had two grandchildren at the day care, a 2-year-old and 4-month-old. Tuesday was their second day there. She said she heard about the fire from a friend. "I hopped in the truck, didn't clock out and split," she said. Lisa Dodd, a 33-yearold FedEx employee, said she had dropped off her 6-year-old twins about an hour before the fire. She came home, checked Facebook and saw Bright Kids up in flames. "I thought, 'Holy s--t!'" she said. "And they're twins so there's always this fear factor of what if one of them is OK and one isn't." She said her twins have attended the day care for two years and Bright Kids is the best she's sent them to. "They work with you and they work with the
kids," she said. "This is a loss for everybody right now, actually." Stephanie Lares, 32, was at the scene to offer support to other worried mothers. Her own kids would have been at the day care Tuesday morning but they were running late and had a busy day so she opted to keep them at home. Many of her friends' children attend Bright Kids. "Thank God," she said. "This could've been much worse." The fire was largely extinguished by about noon. Arrington said it's still "way too early" to determine the cause of the blaze. Once the building cools down investigators will begin digging through the debris. Thousand Oaks is closed and police are diverting traffic away from the scene.
Zopinion
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A4 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COMMENT
OTHER VIEWS
White House chaos has only just begun By Timothy L. O’Brien B L OOM BE RG
That was fun. Just 240 or so hours ago, Anthony Scaramucci, absent relevant experience and credentials, became the White House communications director. It was a palace coup that also forced the departures of press secretary Sean Spicer and chief of staff Reince Priebus from the administration of President Donald Trump, and appeared to leave Steve Bannon’s future in doubt as the presidency’s Dark Lord. On Monday, Trump and his new chief of staff, John Kelly, showed Scaramucci the door, just days after Mooch phoned the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza and offered him a raunchy, self-aggrandizing assessment of his White House goals and disdain for anyone who might stand in his way. Scaramucci, a communications director who was bad at communications, deployed the same foul, brawny language that his boss has been specializing in for decades. But Moochismo made POTUS -already suffering through the bungling of Obamacare repeal and other setbacks -- look bad. So out went Scaramucci. This is sad. Judging from his tweets from Air Force One, Mooch clearly liked his new job. While Scaramucci’s tenure only lasted an eye-blink, he certainly won’t be the last member of Team Trump who loses access to Air Force One. Trump’s presidency, like his business career, has been marked by unpredictability, lax management, wasted time and energy, backroom skullduggery, and a cult of personality so radioactive that it burns most of whatever’s exposed to it. The Trump soap opera isn’t episodic, either. Chaos and uncertainty are what Trump thrives on and what he relishes. So the latest round of White House crazy shouldn’t raise questions like “Is this as bad as it gets?” or “Will the Trump presidency finally turn a corner?” This past week, like the weeks before it and the weeks to come, is what it will always be like. All of this poses a challenge to Trump supporters and critics, not to mention the rest of us, because the permanent chaos makes it so easy to forget that the presidency isn’t supposed to be a parade of carnival sideshows. A similar mental hurdle exists around the myriad financial and business conflicts that engulf the White House. Those conflicts are so
wide-ranging, flagrant and unchecked that it would be easy for Trumpwatchers to succumb to scandal fatigue as a psychological survival strategy. When it comes to the internecine warfare at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, each changing of the White House guard makes it tempting to latch on to the idea that the adults have, at last, taken charge. Scaramucci gave a generally lauded first press conference 10 days ago, air kisses to reporters and all, but then, boom! And Kelly comes into his new role as Trump’s chief of staff as a well-regarded former general with the disciplinary skills seemingly needed to lasso the whirlwind. But as Bloomberg View columnist Albert R. Hunt has noted, “It’s doubtful that all the warring White House factions, working for a president with few core beliefs, lend themselves to a chain-of-command structure.” Chaos and collapse can also play out over long stretches in Trumplandia. Trump ran a promising and lucrative casino business into the ground over a numbingly long period of about 25 years, extracting piles of money and perks for himself. Along the way, he left investors, vendors, employees -- and Atlantic City, New Jersey -- in the lurch. Trump also cycled through a long line of casino executives, managers and partners, none of whom altered his modus operandi: extraction. So the Anthony Scaramuccis, Roger Stones, Marc Kasowitzes, Kellyanne Conways, Sean Spicers, Reince Preibuses, Corey Lewandowskis, Paul Manaforts and Stephen Millers of the world will come and go, taking turns sharing the stage with the White House’s only star, and doing their best to support his guerrilla sensibility. But they, like all Trump advisers, are interchangeable, apt to be jettisoned if they forget to put the boss first -- or to kid themselves that his presidency is about anything other than extraction. A rotating cast of advisers means that Trump will always set the tone, pace and agenda of his administration. So buckle up, America, because the president is just getting started. O’Brien is the executive editor of Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View. He has been an editor and writer for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, HuffPost and Talk magazine.
OP-ED
Americans microchipped in the land of the free By John Kass CHICAGO TRIBUNE (TNS)
Just a short time ago, some of us born in the land of the free and the home of the brave were horrified by a sci-fi nightmare that we were told would never, ever happen: That someday, Americans would eagerly allow their wise corporate masters - and eventually their government overlords - to install computer microchips in their bodies to "help" them. That future is now at a vending machine development company in Wisconsin. The company, Three Square Market, will soon hold a "chipping party" for loyal employees who volunteer to have a chip inserted into their hands. Most great ideas begin with a party. I’m hoping the chip party in Wisconsin features cheese. Many mammals like cheese, including humans. "Eventually, this technology will become standardized, allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.," chief executive Todd Westby said in a statement. Please don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not upset about this. I’m not at all upset at all. In fact, I’m overjoyed. Yes, I admit that I was once sickened by the notion of Americans wanting to be chipped, just as many Americans were once sickened by slavery. But chipping isn’t exactly slavery, per se, is it? It’s voluntary. My former opposition to human cyborgs linked to computer networks was most likely the residue of old, now thoroughly discredited ideas.
Ideas like "the primacy of the individual" and "freedom" and "liberty" and other socially awkward concepts generated in a now mostly forgotten place once broadly called the "West." But those idiotic notions will soon be gone. Pundits and broadcast news executives - and Hollywood movies and TV shows - take great liberties with the lash, whipping away those subversive ideas born long ago. America is changing. We’re quickly abandoning old fuddy-duddy notions, and becoming New Americans who don’t mind being herded into doing what’s best for us and our countrypersons. So I’m on board. I’m pro-chip. Why? For one thing, I don’t want to be shamed as a "science denier" and be mocked by liberals who once thought me "different." Now that I’ve bent the knee, and am publicly pro-chip, will I be invited to lunch? The benefits of chipping Americans are simply endless. What corporate or political leader wouldn’t want a happy, chipped workforce and happily chipped citizens, so proletariats might be more productive in their daily lives? If Americans are all implanted with chips, we could control immigration, we could vote more easily, even in the primaries, and our wise masters would know how we voted. If Americans became chippers, we’d pay our taxes more efficiently. We might even receive much social praise and tax credits too, for allowing independent experts to check our bio-rhythms
against what we read online to measure our reactions to subversive ideas. Chipping will eventually become the standard, with Republicans and Democrats joining to offer tax incentives to businesses to chip their employers. And, as workers clamor to be chipped to save their jobs, the federal government will expand the service, and soon we’ll all be joined, together, in harmony, with help from the U.S. Department of Chipping. According to the Wisconsin company, the chips inserted in their workers will help them open security doors, store personal medical information, log into their computers and more easily purchase snacks. Who doesn’t want to easily purchase a snack of tasty vending machine cheese? What’s even nicer, it’s been promised that employers would never use the chips to track workers. Cynics might infer that once the federal government gets involved - first with passport chips to protect against terrorism that some politicos might use the technology to nefarious advantage. But who’d ever dare do that? "I wouldn’t mind if I were chipped," said a lawyer I know. "I’ve already got a phone. And I’ve got nothing to hide." That nothing-to-hide business is certainly a powerful argument indeed, especially in this modern age where our federal agencies can read our thoughts as we type them, and Americans nervously self-censor troublesome concepts. The Fourth Amend-
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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.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
ment? What’s that in comparison to being a part of a team? Not that I’d ever complain about the wise masters chipping me. I too, have nothing to hide. Please don’t hurt me. By carrying medical information, chips could ultimately read genetic maps on a chipee’s intellectual potential and other talents. The wise masters of government might even consider mandating small tattoos on our faces; say, on the left cheekbone just under the eye, with icons to mark us by our occupations and skills. But only as a backup, in case the chips suffer technical issues. A few Wisconsin workers are skeptical about health issues (i.e., foreign objects inserted into their bodies to help them become more efficient) and other nebulous concerns. But this too shall pass. Naturally, not all will follow eagerly. Some might cling to the old ways. First, the resisters will find themselves unemployed. Then they’ll be ridiculed as deplorable. Finally, our wise masters will order entertainment and media leaders to poke gentle fun at stubborn Americans who insist on remaining chipless, like so many wild beasts. Such themes will be magnified on social media. We know there’s nothing quite like mockery and public ridicule to convince stubborn people to conform. And the rest of us will titter at those primitive, chipless fools. God Bless America. Is there anything we can’t do? John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 |
A5
STATE BLOTTER TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
1 Cesar Garcia, 60, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on July 13. 1 Tiburcio Quintanilla Jr., 69, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, second, on July 13. TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE
1 Jesus Otoniel Ramirez, 44, was arrested served with an arrest warrant out of Webb County on July 16. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance. ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
1 Roberto Salinas Jr., 19, was arrested and charged with assault on July 10. 1 Jesus Cruz, 26, was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia on July 10. 1 Jorge Raymundo Covarrubias-Munoz, 42, was arrested and charged with assault, family violence and resisting arrest on July 11. 1 Martin Salinas Jr., 21, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11. 1 Diana Landa, 18, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on July 12. 1 Natalie Rayne Mendoza, 18, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on July 12. 1 Rogelio Gervacio Rodriguez, 21, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on July 12. 1 Cynthia Gomez, 48, was served with an arrest warrant out of Guadalupe County on July 13. She was charged with possession of marijuana. 1 Mario Medina Jr., 30, was arrested and charged with public intoxication on July 13. 1 Johnny Ray Scarberry, 31, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, resisting arrest and theft on July 14. 1 Martin Gavilanes, 39, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on July 14. 1 Jorge Isidro CamposDiaz, was arrested and charged with possess of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana on July 14. 1 Luis Alberto Rivas, 21, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and burglary of building on July 15. 1 Almicar Vargas Jr., 26, was arrested and charged with assault on July 17. 1 Osiel Alaniz, 25, was arrested and charged with assault by contact on July 17. 1 Mario Torres III, 20, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief on July 18. 1 Carlos Valadez, 25, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief on July 18. 1 Samantha Charo, 18, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on July 18. 1 Antonio Daniel Perez, 17, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on July 18.
Inmate allegedly attempts to escape confinement SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
Misdemeanor charges have been filed against La Salle County Jail detainee Rodolfo Ismael Garcia, who reportedly attempted breaking out of confinement on Thursday and caused injury to other inmates. Garcia, 31, has been held behind bars since early July in connection to the robbery of a convenience store in downtown Cotulla.
The detainee allegedly made an escape attempt from his Garcia cell at the county jail in Cotulla on Thursday afternoon, broke a door frame and a window, causing laceration injuries to an inmate in an adjoining cell, and struck an inmate in the abdomen and another in the shoul-
der with a piece of metal. Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the county jail to subdue Garcia, who was subsequently restrained and placed in an isolation cell. Medics of the La Salle County Fire Rescue & EMS were then dispatched to transport an inmate to Frio Regional Hospital in Pearsall for treatment of an eye injury. Garcia had originally been arrested Saturday night, July 1, after he returned to a store on Main
Street that he had allegedly robbed five days previously. The suspect is accused of telling a cashier that he was armed and then leaving with more than $460 worth of goods from the store on Monday morning, June 26. The same cashier recognized Garcia in the store on the night of Cotulla’s Independence Day festival and called the sheriff’s office. Garcia was apprehended a short distance from the store and has remained in
custody since. The sheriff’s office has indicated that Thursday’s incident at the jail was sparked by an ongoing feud between Garcia and other inmates. Garcia has been charged with three counts of assault causing bodily injury and one count of criminal mischief in the wake of Thursday’s incident and may face additional charges pending an investigation by the sheriff’s office.
Woman allegedly steals Man wanted in gold bracelet from home Zapata arrested By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Authorities are asking the community to provide information on the whereabouts of a woman who allegedly stole a gold bracelet. The Zapata County Sheriff’s Office and Zapata Crime Stoppers said on July 26 that Martha Joanna Rivera has a warrant out for her arrest for theft of property, a misdemeanor. The case unfolded at about 8:30 a.m. on July 12. Authorities said Rivera
Rivera
allegedly took a gold bracelet with the lettering “GARCIA” on the front and “08-05-85” on the back.
Rivera allegedly took the item from a home she had visited. “Rivera walked into the bedroom and went through the owner’s jewelry box and took the bracelet. Rivera hid the bracelet in her sleeve and walked out,” authorities said in a Facebook post. Zapata Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of Rivera. To provide information, call the Sheriff’s Office at 956-765-9960 or Zapata Crime Stoppers at 765TIPS (8477).
By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
A man wanted out of the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Monday, authorities said. Rene Roberto Zepeda, 25, was arrested Monday and served with a warrant charging him with criminal mischief. He was released on bond Tuesday. The Sheriff’s Office and Zapata Crime Stoppers had put out a lookout for Zepeda last week. Authorities said
the criminal mischief Zepeda allegedly committed was equal to or greater than $2,500 and less than $30,000. Details Zepeda on the allegations were not available. Zapata Crime Stoppers encourages the community to provide information on cases. That number is 765-TIPS (8477). People can also call the Sheriff’s Office at 765-9960.
Authorites seize 600 pounds of marijuana By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Tamaulipas authorities said Tuesday they seized more than 600 pounds of marijuana in Ciudad Camargo, a small town located across the border
from Rio Grande City. The Tamaulipas public safety department said the confiscation occurred Monday in Colonia Las Flores. Authorities allegedly observed something out of place in the brush
while patrolling the area. An inspection yielded 89 bundles of marijuana weighing 661 pounds. The contraband had an estimated street value of $528,800. Federal authorities took over the case.
Courtesy photo / Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de Tamaulipas
Tamulipas authorities said they seized 89 bundles of marijuana during routine patrol in Ciudad Camargo.
Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE REGRESO A CLASES 1 El distrito escolar Zapata County Independent District invita a los padres de familia a inscribir a sus hijos para el ciclo escolar 2017-2018 del 1 al 3 de agosto de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. y de 2 p.m. a 4 p.m. Las inscripciones se realizarán en cada campus; evento de arranque del año escolar , el 10 de agosto y el primer día de clases se realizará el 28 de agosto. FERIA DE SALUD COMUNITARIA 1 El Condado de Zapata junto con organismos y entidades públicas invita a la Primera Feria Anual de Salud Comunitaria, el 16 de agosto, de 5 p.m. a 7 p.m.; Club Boys & Girls, 302 6th Avenue. Habrá regalos para los primeros 500 niños.
DEPARTAMENTO DE POLICÍA DE LAREDO
Detienen a sospechoso Habría participado en homicidio Por Julia Wallace TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
La policía de Laredo divulgó nueva información sobre el caso de homicidio de la semana pasada en una conferencia de prensa el lunes, incluyendo el nombre de la víctima de 16 años de edad: Lesley Sánchez. Durante el fin de semana LPD detuvo al sospechoso Mario Ángel González con un cargo de homicidio por su supuesta participación en la muerte de la menor. Él permanece detenido en la Cárcel del Condado de Webb. La policía aún no puede decir la forma en la que Sánchez falleció. Sin embargo, no hay índices de que haya recibido un
disparo o que hubiera sido agredida sexualmente, aunque aún González no pueden verificar eso sin un reporte de autopsia completo. El Investigador Joe E. Baeza, portavoz de LPD, dijo que Sánchez sufrió una variación de agresiones violentas. Las fuerzas del orden aún no han recuperado ningún arma. “Este es un caso raro”, dijo Baeza el lunes. La mayoría de los homicidios que vemos son domésticos, o por lo menos la víctima y el sospechoso se conocen, él dijo. Eso no es el caso en este
homicidio. Hasta ahora LPD no cree que González y Sánchez se conocieran. González había estado viviendo en San Antonio, dijo Baeza, y tenía una orden de arresto por agresión allá. Él se estaba quedando con familiares en el sur de Laredo donde fue detenido el sábado, de acuerdo con LPD. En videos de vigilancia que las fuerzas del orden recuperaron, González es visto conduciendo el auto de Sánchez después de que el homicidio se llevará a cabo el miércoles por la noche. Él se detuvo en una tienda de conveniencia y después estacionó el auto en la subdivisión Cheyenne donde más tarde fue encontrado por LPD, dijo Baeza.
El cuerpo de Lesley Sánchez fue encontrado el jueves pasado cerca del Centro Recreativo Haynes.
NOCHE MEXICANA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a la Noche Mexicana que se celebrará el 14 de septiembre de 7 p.m. a 11 p.m. Disfrute de bailes folclóricos y antojitos mexicanos en la Plaza Guadalupe de la Ciudad de Roma.
ESCARAMUZA ‘LA RIBEREÑA’
CIUDAD MIER, TAMAULIPAS
PARTICIPAN EN CAMPEONATO NACIONAL
Celebran bodas colectivas
CAMINATA CONTRA CÁNCER
TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
1 Walk All Over Cancer! en su cuarta caminata anual. Inscripciones en el Ayuntamiento llamando al 956-8491411 x 9241 o en el 956-844-1428. Caminata iniciará en Citizens State Bank o en el Centro Comuniario de Roma, el 21 de octubre. ANIVERSARIO DE CIUDAD DE ROMA 1 La ciudad de Roma invita al 250 aniversario de su fundación el sábado 14 de noviembre de 2015, de 8 a.m. a 11:30 p.m. PAGO DE IMPUESTOS 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St. PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día. LLENADO DE APLICACIONES 1 Ciudad de Roma ofrece llenado de aplicaciones. Informes 956-246-7177. GRUPOS DE APOYO 1 Grupo de apoyo para personas con Alzheimer se reúne el primer martes del mes a las 7 p.m., en el Laredo Medical Center, primer piso, Torre B en el Centro Comunitario. 1 Grupo Cancer Friend se reúne a las 6 p.m. el primer lunes del mes en el Centro Comunitario de Doctors Hospital. 1 Grupo de Apoyo para Ansiedad y Depresión Rayo de Luz se reúne de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. en Centro de Educación del Área de Salud, ubicado en 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430, cada primer lunes de mes.
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El grupo de Escaramuza Infantil “La Ribereña” representó a Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas el pasado fin de semana en Apodaca, Nuevo León.
Acceden a competencia después de triunfar en etapa estatal TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
L
as menores integrantes de la Escaramuza Infantil “La Ribereña”, el equipo de charrería de Miguel Alemán participaron en el XXV Campeonato Nacional Charro Infantil, Juvenil y de Escaramuzas, que se lleva a cabo en Apodaca, Nuevo León
desde el 18 de julio y hasta el 6 de agosto. La Alcaldesa de Miguel Alemán Rosa Icela Corro Acosta reiteró que la presencia del grupo representativo de la ciudad fronteriza y del estado llena de orgullo a los tamaulipecos, tal como se los expresó el Gobernador de Tamaulipas Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, de
acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa. En una apretada agenda de trabajo, Corro Acosta hizo un viaje relámpago el lunes al municipio de Apodaca, Nuevo León, sede del XXV Campeonato Nacional Charro, en el que las niñas de Miguel Alemán tuvieron la oportunidad de participar luego de su triunfo en la etapa estatal.
Para aquellas parejas que buscan formalizar su relación, el mes de agosto tendrán la oportunidad de hacerlo en un gran evento. Autoridades municipales en Ciudad Mier estarán realizando una ceremonia de matrimonios colectivos para todas las parejas que deseen contraer matrimonio. EL DIF Tamaulipas, el DIF Mier, la Presidencia Municipal y el Registro Civil estarán celebrando las nupcias de todos los que cumplan con los requisitos el próximo viernes 18 de agosto. Entre los requisitos necesarios para participar en la ceremonia se encuentran: 1 Que ambos sean mayores de 18 años y originarios de Mier, 1 Llevar acta de nacimiento original de los dos interesados, 1 Identificación oficial con fotografía, 1 Comprobante de domicilio que no pase de tres meses, 1 Exámenes médicos prenupciales, 1 Dos testigos con copia de identificación oficial con fotografía o INE, 1 CURP de los contrayentes. La fecha límite para entregar todos los documentos es el día del evento el 18 de agosto en las oficinas del DIF Mier. Para mayores informes llame al 897- 973-0464 ó 897973-0070.
GUERRERO AYER Y HOY
Celebran bicentenario de fundación de Revilla Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal. Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
En el mes de octubre de 1950 se organizaron las magnas fiestas del bicentenario de la fundación de Revilla. Bajo la Presidencia de Lorenzo González Vela se eligió un Comité Organizador de los festejos que trabajó acertadamente contando con la colaboración de todos los vecinos y de guerrerenses que vivían en otras ciudades, así como de muchos amigos de Zapata,
Texas, que participaron activamente y dieron apoyo económico a la elección de Reina de las Fiestas: María Ernestina I, quien presidió las mismas haciendo gala de sus atributos juveniles y su don de gentes, acompañada de majestuosa corte y con embajadoras que representaban a los municipios vecinos. Artistas de moda en aquella época fueron invitados para actuar especialmente en ciudad Guerrero, donde se congregaron miles de personas para presenciar el derroche de luz y alegría en el amplio estrado al frente del Palacio Municipal. Oradores de renombre hicieron uso de la palabra; recordamos el emotivo mensaje de Melquíades García, entre otros.
Foto de cortesía
Inician cursos de verano en Ciudad Mier Las clases de verano en la Casa de la Cultura de Mier, Tamaulipas dieron inicio el lunes. Entre las clases se incluyen talleres de danza, música, coro, pintura, manualidades y educación física. Para inscripciones y mayores informes llame al número en Mier 897-973-1599.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 |
A7
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
As friends retire and move on, Witten’s drive hasn’t changed Dallas’ veteran tight end is gearing up for his 15th NFL season By Drew Davison FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM
OXNARD, Calif. —Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten hasn’t changed his approach in 15 years. His drive to be among the best remains as strong as ever. Witten has been going through the repetitive and mundane drills of a training camp practice for years, but an outsider couldn’t tell. There is no lax mode when it comes to Witten. He jogs onto the practice field every day when others might walk. He goes through every drill with intensity. He continues to be the veteran coaches tell the younger players to follow. There’s no worry that his drive is waning as he enters the final stages of what many consider a Hall of Fame career. "I don’t think it’s dwindled at all," coach Jason Garrett said. "In fact, I think his drive is greater than it’s ever been." Witten, 35, is given "veteran" treatment by the coaching
Gus Ruelas / Associated Press
Dallas tight end Jason Witten holds numerous franchise records including most career receptions (1,089), most consecutive games with a reception (130), most games started (213) and most consecutive games played (219).
staff with a day off once a week. He’s among six veterans who didn’t practice Monday. But that has been earned throughout his career. Witten already owns a handful of franchise records. He has the most career receptions (1,089), most consecutive
games with a reception (130), most games started (213) and most consecutive games played (219). The list continues to grow. He should add a couple of more early in the regularseason. He’ll pass Michael Irvin for most receiving yards
in franchise history - he is only 16 yards shy of tying Irvin’s record 11,904 - and is one game away from tying Ed Jones’ record of 224 games played. Those numbers are why Witten already has Hall of Fame credentials. But Witten is more concerned about winning a Super Bowl, which has always been the underlying reason for his daily drive. He’s not ready to walk away from the game quite yet, even though he’s seen friends DeMarcus Ware, Tony Romo and Doug Free do so just this past offseason. "As I was reflecting, I was overwhelmed with joy knowing that this game provided relationships like that," Witten said. "In saying that, I’m also excited about the new bonds I’ve been able to form and grow with that. It’s an interesting relationship that I find myself in with these guys. It’s a lot of fun. It really is. "I think the common ground is that we love football and the drive that we have to chase something special together is what I’ve enjoyed so much
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
with this group." A coveted Super Bowl remains the priority. Witten, however, admitted the idea of being enshrined in Canton might creep in later this week when the Cowboys open their preseason Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game, with owner Jerry Jones being inducted into the Hall on Saturday. "I’d be lying to say that’s not one of the things you hope as a player, you come in, that just to be mentioned with those guys is such an honor," Witten said. "I think I’ll have plenty of time to reflect on it, being there. That’s the highest honor, individually. "Obviously we don’t play for that. But, individually, that’s what you hope you can be a part of. They don’t let anybody slip through the cracks." Said Garrett: "I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that he’s a Hall of Fame tight end. He’s one of the best tight ends to ever play this game, and certainly the best of his generation in my view, and such a complete player."
NFL: HOUSTON TEXANS
AFTER YU: RANGERS CAUGHT IN MIDDLE, NOW GOING ON WITHOUT ACE
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
Houston wide receiver Braxton Miller and the entire Texans’ offense only scored 23 touchdowns last season.
John Sleezer / TNS file
Texas traded starting pitcher Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three minor league players.
Darvish was never part of a winning playoff series in Texas By Stephen Hawkins A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
ARLINGTON — When Yu Darvish arrived in Texas from Japan in 2012, the Texas Rangers were coming off consecutive World Series appearances. As was expected with his celebrated entrance then, Darvish is now pitching for a World Series contender. Except it’s out on the West Coast for the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and not in Texas, where the ace never won a postseason game and wasn’t even part of winning a playoff series. With a third straight AL West title long out of reach, and the push for one of the American League’s two wild-card spots becoming ever more
difficult with each loss, the Rangers got three minor league players for the pitcher they spent more than two years scouting and more than $107 million to acquire. After completing a trade with the Dodgers only minutes before Monday’s non-waiver deadline, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was asked if he felt Darvish was worth it — the time, $56 million in salary and more than $51 million they had to pay his team in Japan. “I do, on a variety of levels. But ultimately he was outstanding when he was on the field for us. Pitched at a level very, very few pitchers do,” Daniels said. “He got hurt and that’s the nature of the game. ... But he produced an extremely high
level when he was here.” Darvish was 52-39 with a 3.42 ERA in 122 starts for Texas. Coming off Tommy John surgery, he was 6-9 with a 4.01 ERA in 22 starts this year, including 0-5 in his last eight outings. The Rangers got no immediate help after dealing Darvish, who this year was an All-Star for the fourth time in the five seasons he played. Darvish had elbow surgery and missed all of 2015, when Texas made a late push to an AL West title in manager Jeff Banister’s first season after the midseason addition of lefty Cole Hamels. When the Rangers lost Hamels’ debut exactly two years ago Tuesday, they were eight games back in the AL West. They were
four games back in the wild-card chase, with four teams between them and the second spot. Hours after the Darvish trade Monday, with its remaining ace Hamels on the mound, Texas led 4-0 after two innings against Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. But the Rangers had four errors, two balks and 13 strikeouts in what became a sloppy 6-4 loss that put them 19 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West. They were 5 1/2 games out of the second wild card with five teams, including division foes Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels, between them. “The mindset is still the same. We know where we’re at, we know what we’re up against,” Banister said
Texans focused on improving their offense By John McClain HOUSTON CHRONICLE
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – No matter what kind of drill they are running game in training camp, the Texans' offense has one goal to accomplish. "Ultimately, we want to score touchdowns," quarterback Tom Savage said after Tuesday's 2 ½-hour practice. "The one thing we really want to improve on in training camp, is just touchdowns. No offense to (the kickers), but we want to be out there scoring (more) points." Which starts with the quarterback. The Texans' offense
scored only 23 touchdowns last season. That's 1.4 per game. In 2015, the Texans scored 36 offensive touchdowns. They scored 35 in 2014. They have to improve at scoring touchdowns in the red zone. "Everything's tight down there," Savage said. "Especially in this league, they're good at disguising. All the safeties, they can do whatever they want back there because they know they don't have much to cover. "I think a lot of it's just film study and seeing different looks that they give you and different ideas and just go from there."
A8 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
NATIONAL
Republicans shows signs of reaching out to Democrats on health care By Alan Fram A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Republicans showed signs Tuesday of reaching out to Democrats for a joint if modest effort to buttress health insurance markets, four days after the GOP effort to unilaterally uproot and reshape the Obama health care law crumpled in the Senate. The Republican chairman of the Senate health committee, Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, proposed bipartisan legislation extending for one year federal payments to insurers that help millions of low- and moderate-income Americans
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. leads fellow Democratic Senators to meet supporters outside the Capitol in Washington on July 25 after the Senate voted to start debating Republican legislation to tear down much of the Obama health care law.
afford coverage. President Donald Trump has threatened to halt those subsidies, but the Senate's top Democrat on Tuesday called his moves "childish." The No. 2 Senate Republican also suggested that the two parties seek common health care ground. Citing the Senate's "fragile majorities," Texas Sen. John Cornyn said on the Senate floor, "We are forced to work together to try to solve these problems, and I think frankly bipartisan solutions tend to be more durable." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rebuffed Trump's demands that the Senate change its
rules so it can pass a health overhaul with a simple majority vote. McConnell, R-Ky., said the Senate lacks the votes to end filibusters of legislation like Trump wants, and noted that getting the 60 votes needed to end filibusters wasn't why Republicans lost. "It's pretty obvious that our problem with health care was not the Democrats. We didn't have 50 Republicans," McConnell said. The prospects for passing any bipartisan health care legislation remain uncertain, with divisions between conservatives and moderate Republicans persisting on sev-
eral issues. In particular, Trump, McConnell and some other Republicans have mocked the payments Alexander wants to renew as a bailout for insurers. The day's comments collectively underscored the distance Senate Republicans are keeping from White House demands that they continue voting on repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul. Uprooting that law has been a top priority for Trump and most GOP congressional candidates, and failing to do it as they control the White House and Congress has angered many in the party.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 |
A9
BUSINESS
Apple’s next big leap might be into augmented reality By Michael Liedtke
Sabre cutting 900 jobs, reports 2Q loss
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS ASSOCIATED PRE SS
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple's iPhone may be ready for its next big act — as a springboard into "augmented reality," a technology that projects life-like images into realworld settings viewed through a screen. If you've heard about AR at all, it's most likely because you've encountered "Pokemon Go," in which players wander around neighborhoods trying to capture monsters only they can see on their phones. AR is also making its way into education and some industrial applications, such as product assembly and warehouse inventory management. Now Apple is hoping to transform the technology from a geeky sideshow into a mass-market phenomenon. It's embedding AR-ready technology into its iPhones later this year, potentially setting the stage for a rush of new apps that blur the line between reality and digital representation in new and imaginative ways. CEO Tim Cook hailed AR as a "profound" technology in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in June. "I am so excited about it, I just want to yell out and scream," Cook said. Many analysts agree. "This is the most important platform that Apple has created since the app store in 2008," said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. There's just one catch: No one can yet point to a killer app for AR, at least beyond the year-old (and fading) fad of "Pokemon Go." Instead, analysts argue more generally that AR creates enormous potential for new games, home-remodeling apps that let you visualize new furnishings and decor in an existing room, education, health care and more. We just don't yet know what they'll actually do or look like. AUGMENTING THE IPHONE At Apple, the introduction of AR gets underway in September with the release of iOS 11, the next version of the operating system that powers hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads around the world Tucked away in that
SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Sabre Corp. on Tuesday said it is cutting 9 percent of its global workforce to lower costs. It also reported a secondquarter loss of $6.5 million, compared with a profit the year before. Sabre, a provider of technology services to the travel industry, had 10,000 employees at the end of 2016, so the cuts amount to about 900 jobs. The job cuts are part of a cost-trimming and reorganization program that the company said will save $110 million a year. Southlake, Texas-based Sabre said it had a loss of 2 cents per share in the quarter that ended June 30. Adjusted for one-time
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
In this Monday, June 5 file photo, a person takes a photo of an Apple logo before an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. Apple is getting ready to use iPhone cameras as an entryway into the strange world of augmented reality, taking the trend-setting company down an avenue that could usher in a new era in technology.
release is an AR toolkit intended to help software developers create new AR apps. Those apps, however, won't work on just any Apple device — only the iPhone 6S and later models, including the hotly anticipated next-generation iPhone that Apple will release this fall. The 2017 iPad and iPad Pro will run AR apps as well. Apple isn't the only company betting big on AR. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg talked up the technology at a company presentation in May, calling it a "really important technology that changes how we use our phones." Apple rivals such as Google and Microsoft are also starting to deploy AR systems. WAITING FOR APPLE'S NEXT BIG THING Apple has been looking for something to lessen its dependence on the iPhone since the 2011 death of its co-founder CEO Steve Jobs, the driving force behind the company's innovation factory. Cook thought he had come up with a revolutionary product when Apple began selling its smartwatch in 2015, but the Apple Watch remains a niche product.
For now, the iPhone remains Apple's dominant product, accounting for 55 percent of Apple's $45.4 billion in revenue during the three months ended in June. The total revenue represented a 7 percent increase from the same time last year. Apple earned $8.7 billion, up 12 percent from last year. AN AR EXPLOSION ... MAYBE Tim Merel, managing director of technology consulting firm DigiCapital, believes Apple's entry into AR will catalyze the field. His firm expects AR to mushroom into an $83 billion market by 2021, up from $1.2 billion last year. That estimate assumes that Apple and its rivals will expand beyond AR software to high-tech glasses and other devices, such as Microsoft's HoloLens headset. For now, though, nothing appears better suited for interacting with AR than the smartphone. Google already makes AR software called Tango that debuted on one Lenovo smartphone last year and will be part of another high-end device from Asus this month. But it will be years before Tango phones are as widely used as
iPhones, or for that matter, iPads. Most of those devices are expected to become AR-ready when the free iOS 11 update hits next month. Nearly 90 percent of Apple devices powered by iOS typically install the new software version when it comes out. Assuming that pattern holds true this fall, that will bring AR to about 300 million Apple devices that are already in people's hands. BEYOND THE IPHONE If the new software wins over more AR fans as Apple hopes, analysts figure that Apple will begin building AR-specific devices, too. One obvious possibility might be some kind of AR glasses tethered to the iPhone, which would allow people to observe digital reality without having to look "through" a phone. Once technology allows, a standalone headset could render the iPhone unnecessary, at least for many applications. Such a device could ultimately supplant the iPhone, although that isn't likely to happen for five to 10 years, even by the most optimistic estimates.
gains and costs, results came to earnings of 35 cents per share, topping the average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research by 1 cent. Sabre said its revenue rose 6.6 percent to $900.7 million in the period. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $894 million. It expects full-year earnings in the range of $1.31 to $1.45 per share, with revenue in the range of $3.54 billion to $3.62 billion. Sabre's stock added 2 percent to $20.20 in afterhours trading. The shares closed down $2.32, or 10.5 percent, to $19.81 Tuesday and have dropped 21 percent since the beginning of the year.
July worst month of year for auto sales By Dee-Ann Durbin ASSOCIATED PRE SS
DETROIT — July saw the biggest year-over-year decline in U.S. vehicle sales so far this year, leaving automakers to hope that consumers are just waiting to pounce on Labor Day deals. U.S. sales of new cars and trucks fell 7 percent to 1.4 million in July, according to Autodata Corp. It was the seventh straight month of lower sales, and the biggest percentage drop so far this year. July is often a slower month as buyers vacation and wait for dealers to offer model year clearance events in August and September. This year, big cuts in sales to rental car fleets and commercial customers were also a factor. Hyundai, for example, cut its fleet sales by 77 percent in July. General Motors said its sales fell 15 percent in July, while Hyundai's dropped 28 percent. Ford's sales were down 7.5 percent. Fiat Chrysler's sales declined 10 percent. Volkswagen's sales fell 5.8 percent, while Nissan's sales fell 3 percent. Honda's sales were down 1.2 percent. Two major automakers bucked the trend. Toyota's sales rose 3.6 percent while Subaru's were up 7 percent.
Analysts have been predicting lower U.S. sales this year as demand levels out after an unprecedented seven straight years of growth. U.S. new vehicle sales hit a record 17.55 million last year. July's pace would put annual sales at 16.7 million. That was lower than expected for Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst with the car shopping site Kelley Blue Book. Still, he's maintaining his full-year forecast of 17.1 million sales. Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales chief, said automakers have been preparing for lower U.S. sales this year. He doesn't see July as an acceleration of the downward trend. He said GM's decision to cut sales to low-profit rental car fleets by 81 percent — or 11,200 vehicles — was a big factor. Ford also cut fleet sales by 26 percent, and had to stop sales of its Transit commercial van for a few weeks while it performed a recall. "We're still operating at a very high level," LaNeve said. But car sales are plummeting, hurt by low gas prices and changing tastes. Gutierrez said buyers can expect incentives to creep up by $200 or so per car in August and September.
A10 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Lawsuit: Fox coordinated with White House on false story Scott Kowalchyk / AP
This July 18, 2017 image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Reality reigns in ratings A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — "Big Brother" was a big winner for CBS last week. The peek-a-boo reality series claimed Top 10 slots for its trio of editions last week, according to Nielsen, ranking fifth, seventh and eighth. NBC's "America's Got Talent" continued to demonstrate a talent for drawing viewers as the week's most-watched show. But among the week's dozen highest-rated shows, eight were in the reality/competition genre, also including "World Of Dance" (No. 3), "The Bachelorette" (4), "Little Big Shots" (11) and "American Ninja Warrior" (12). Invading the broadcastTV roster from the world of premium cable again last week: HBO's "Game of Thrones," seizing the runner-up spot with an impressive 9.25 million. Overall in prime time for the week, NBC averaged 4.7 million viewers in prime time. CBS was second with 4.3 million, ABC had 3.1 million, Fox had 1.7 million, Univision had 1.44 million, Telemundo had 1.39 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, and the CW had 910,000.
By David Bauder and Jill Colvin ASSOCIATED PRE SS
NEW YORK — A lawsuit filed Tuesday lays out an explosive tale of Trump allies, the White House and Fox News Channel conspiring to push a false story about Democratic leaks and an unsolved killing in order to distract attention from the Russia investigation that has been swirling around the president The lawsuit was filed against Fox by an investigator who had been looking into the killing of Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee staff member killed in 2016 in what police say was a botched robbery. The investigator alleges that Fox quoted him as saying things he never said and was willing to show President Donald Trump its story before it was posted online. It's the second time in two days that Trump has been accused of being actively involved in pushing a public narrative to lower the heat of the Russia story. The Washington Post reported that the president had written a misleading statement for his son to give to The New York Times about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting last summer with a Russian who promised dirt on Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Rich's death has become fodder for conspiracy theorists, deeply angering the 27-year-old's family. In May, the story was thrust into the headlines again when Fox posted a story on its website in which investigator Rod Wheeler said there had
Richard Drew / AP
News headlines scroll above the Fox News studios in the News Corporation headquarters building in New York on Tuesday. Fox contributor Rod Wheeler, who worked on the Seth Rich case, claims Fox News fabricated quotes implicating the murdered Democratic National Committee staffer in the Wikileaks scandal and that President Donald Trump pressured Fox to publish the story. He sued Fox for defamation on Tuesday.
been contact between Rich and WikiLeaks, the organization that posted a trove of DNC emails last year. The story was heavily promoted by Fox News host Sean Hannity, who has informally advised the president. In the lawsuit, Wheeler now says that he never made that statement. He also contends he was told his false comments were put in the story because Trump wanted it that way. Fox says it's "completely erroneous" to suggest it pushed the story to distract from the Russia investigation. Wheeler has made contradictory statements regarding the case and is simultaneously filing a racial discrimination lawsuit against the network, represented by a lawyer who has other lawsuits against Fox. White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had no knowledge of the false story before it was posted and that it was "completely untrue" that the White House had any role in shaping it. Wheeler, a Fox contributor on law enforcement issues, said he was brought into the Rich case by donor and Trump supporter Ed Butowsky. He says Butowsky, who has also made occasional guest appearances on Fox News, was intent on establishing a link between Rich and WikiLeaks. Two days before the Fox article was published, Wheeler said he got a text message from Butowsky: "Not to add any more pressure but the president just read the article. He
wants the article out immediately. It's now all up to you. But don't feel the pressure." Butowsky said in a phone interview Tuesday he has never met Trump and his text message to Wheeler about the president reading the article was "tongue-in-cheek." Fox removed the story from its website a week after it was published, saying "it was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all of our reporting." Hannity ultimately backed away, saying he was acting out of respect for Rich's family. Wheeler also said that he and Butowsky had met with outgoing White House press secretary
Sean Spicer and showed Spicer notes on Wheeler's investigation. Spicer asked to be kept informed, the lawsuit said. Spicer plays down the importance of that meeting. "Ed is a longtime supporter of the president's agenda who often appears in the media," Spicer said Tuesday. "He asked for a 10-minute meeting, with no specified topic, to catch up and said he would be bringing along a contributor to Fox News. As Ed himself has noted, he has never met the president and the White House had nothing to do with his story." On the day the Fox story was posted, Spicer was asked about the report that Rich had emailed WikiLeaks. He said, "I'm not aware of that" and did not mention that he had met with Butowsky and Wheeler a month earlier. One of Trump's attorneys, Jay Sekulow, also devoted attention to the Rich story during several Hannity appearances in May, before his hiring by Trump was announced. "There's a lot more to this, I would suspect," Sekulow said on the May 18 show, which Hannity devoted almost entirely to a discussion about Rich. "You can't ignore the fact that it was a DNC staffer. You can't ignore the fact that there was nothing taken from the individual's body." He said that while he hadn't seen "the files" on Rich, the incident "undercuts" the argument that Russians interfered in the election.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 |
A11
FROM THE COVER
Black police concerned by Trump quips on handling suspects Lisa Marie Pane and Kate Brumback A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
ATLANTA — The Trump administration's tough talk on crime and the treatment of suspects has left black police officers worried that efforts to repair the fraught relationship between police and minority communities could be derailed. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday addressed a major black law enforcement group, just days after President Donald Trump said police shouldn't be "nice" to suspects by shielding their heads as they are lowered, handcuffed, into police cars. The comment, now described by the White House as a joke, angered some cops who said it only served to dial back progress they'd made with the people they serve. In addition, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said Saturday in an email to employees that Trump's comments "condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement." DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg said he thought it important to emphasize the drug agency's operating principles, which include rule of law, respect and compassion and integrity. Sessions did not directly address the president's comments in his remarks Tuesday, but said police officers need the support of the community as they do a dangerous job. "You deserve the support and respect of every American, and I'm here today on behalf of
John Amis / AP
Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives during a conference on Tuesday in Atlanta, just days after President Donald Trump said police shouldn't be "nice" to suspects by shielding their heads as they are lowered, handcuffed, into police cars. The comment, now described by the White House as a joke, angered some cops who said it only served to dial back progress they'd made with the people they serve.
President Trump and the Department of Justice to say, 'Thank you.' I am proud to stand with you. The Department of Justice is proud to stand with you," Sessions said, drawing applause from the crowd. "We have your back. We are in this together." Seattle Assistant Police Chief Perry Tarrant, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, told reporters Sessions also spoke privately with the organization's leadership. Sessions didn't apologize for the presi-
dent's comment and said he believes it was made in jest, but said he understands the effect such comments can have and underscored the Department of Justice's commitment to protecting everyone's civil rights, Tarrant said. When asked if he believes Trump was joking, Tarrant said, "Whether intentional or unintentional, it was heard around the country by the folks, by the very communities that we're trying to build relationships with and I believe it had an impact."
Other conference attendees approached by The Associated Press declined to discuss Trump's comments or Sessions' address. Black police officers talk of straddling two worlds: the communities where they live, and the police departments where they work. They take seriously their oath to uphold the law and to go after criminals, but they also worry about their own friends, relatives and neighbors who fear the police. "We live in some of the same communities that are affected by this disparate treatment. We go to church in those neighborhoods. We go to the barbershops. Certain things people don't realize: It's really hard being black and being a police officer when these things happen," said Clarence E. Cox III, former chief of Clayton County Schools in Georgia and incoming president of NOBLE. Sessions has questioned the federal civil rights investigations that marked the Obama administration's efforts to overhaul troubled police departments, often after high-profile deadly police encounters with black men inflamed tensions and reignited debates over police-community relations. "We cannot let the politicians — and sometimes they do — run down the police in communities that are suffering only to see crimes spike in those communities," Sessions said. "In the very neighborhoods that need proactive, communitybased policing the most, we don't need to be telling police not to do their job in those communities."
FIGHT From page A1
Courtesy photo / Zapata County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities said this surveillance footage allegedly shows Juan Carlos Garcia making a transaction with an EBT card he allegedly stole from a person with special needs.
CARD From page A1 purchase items typical for a (barbecue) cookout,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Garcia walked up to his next-door neighbor and pretended to have a conversation with him, according to authorities.
COST From page A1 Bureau of Economic Analysis and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The group also analyzed economic fallout in Arizona after lawmakers there passed a similar law in 2010, Cadena said. San Antonio business leaders blasted Senate Bill 4 as “racist” and “discriminatory” and potentially harmful to the state’s ability to recruit talent. State lawmakers including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick risk damaging the state’s economy by pursuing legislation like the sanctuary cities bill, said Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “They are running a race to the bottom, not to
Garcia allegedly asked him, “What is that?” “The victim innocently turned away, at which point GARCIA takes the victim’s wallet, which was laying on a stool and proceeded to pull out the state provided EBT card, which had the pin written on the card,” the Sheriff’s Office said. Garcia then threw the
wallet on the ground and walked away. An investigation revealed that Garcia used the EBT card to purchase items at a couple of local stores. Surveillance footage from one store allegedly shows Garcia using the card to buy sausage, leg quarters, tortillas and fajita, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
the top,” Cavazos said. Convention organizers have already shown a willingness to pull their events from Texas because of Senate Bill 4. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia is weighing whether to block the law from taking effect after hearing oral arguments in a lawsuit in June. Two groups — the American Hispanic Lawyers Association and the National Women’s Studies Association — yanked their conventions from the Dallas area after Abbott signed the bill in May. And, the Association of American Law Schools relocated its four-day 2018 conference to Chicago because of Senate Bill 4 as well as debate over potential bathroom legislation designed to prevent transgender men and women from using rest-
rooms that correspond with their gender identity. In a statement, Abbott spokesman John Wittman said, “Gov. Abbott’s top priority is keeping the citizens of Texas safe, and that is exactly what this law achieves by keeping dangerous criminals off of our streets.” “This law is about the safety and security of Texans, and criticisms to the contrary are not based in the reality of what is written in the bill,” Wittman said. “Texans of all walks of life want the same thing — safety and security in their communities — and that’s what this law provides. If critics had a genuine interest in assuaging concerns, they would resist the urge to resort to fear-mongering about a law that keep dangerous criminals off the streets.”
sures that take aim at local taxes and regulation. No meeting has been scheduled at this point with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner or Austin Mayor Steve Adler. Nirenberg was at the Capitol Tuesday, working on legislative issues. While officials were making strategic decisions, leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths spoke against the proposal, which as passed by the Senate would require that multi-occupancy restrooms, showers and changing facilities of political subdivisions including schools be designated for use by people based on what’s on their birth certificates. It wouldn’t direct business policies, but it would bar local ordinances and school policies that ensure transgender people’s access to the facilities aligned with their gender identity. Backers in the Republican-dominated Legislature call it a matter of privacy and safety for
Sessions has said aggressive federal intervention in local law enforcement can malign entire agencies and make officers less effective on the streets, but he has promised to prosecute individual officers who break the law. Sessions has been traveling the country touting his toughon-crime agenda. He believes rising violence and the nation's opioid epidemic require a return to tougher tactics, vowing to make fighting ordinary street crime a top priority for a Justice Department. Tarrant has also expressed concern about Sessions' pledge to dial back civil rights investigations. While some effective interim steps can help address bad departments, he said, "at the end of the day if you have systemic issues in any organization, the Department of Justice has an obligation to intervene." Trump's remarks came last Friday before law enforcement officers in Suffolk County, New York, during a visit to highlight his administration's efforts to crack down on a street gang known as MS-13. He spoke dismissively of the practice of shielding the heads of handcuffed suspects as they are placed in patrol cars. "Don't be too nice," Trump said. "I said, 'You could take the hand away, OK,'" he said. His remarks were later denounced by the Suffolk County Police Department, which issued a statement saying it has strict rules and procedures about how prisoners should be handled and "we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners."
women. Opponents — including House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio — say there have been no restroom issues caused by transgender people. They say the measure, widely viewed as discriminatory, would harm transgender people and could mean a big potential economic fallout due to boycotts. The religious leaders, whose event was organized by the interfaith social justice network Texas Impact, focused on the human factor. “There is one teaching of Jesus which is primary, clear and unequivocal, and that is that followers of Jesus are to do everything in obedience to the great commandment to love God with all that we have and all that we are, and to love our neighbor as ourselves,” said General Presbyter Sallie Sampsell Watson Mission Presbytery in San Antonio. “Jesus put no restriction on the definition of neighbor. “I urge our Christian lawmakers, especially my fellow Presbyterians, to vote and act in obedience to the one who called everyone neighbor,” she said. Retired United Meth-
odist Bishop Joel Martinez of San Antonio said, “When the church, including my own United Methodist tradition, has practiced what we preach, we have stood with the pushed down, pushed out and pushed around. “Today, then, we must join together … in standing with the transgender community,” Martinez said. “Jesus is clear — in pushing down, pushing out or pushing around anyone, you are doing it to the Lord.” Rabbi Mara Nathan of Temple Beth-El in San Antonio said the bathroom bill signifies hatred. “We are witnessing a moment when leaders in our communities feel comfortable being horrible to other people, when our fellow citizens seem to lack compassion for their neighbors and their neighbors’ children. Bathroom bills at their core are a manifestation of senseless hatred.” Religious leaders who favor the bathroom bill also are taking action. The Texas Pastor Council is planning an event at the Capitol on Thursday to support the measure and demand a House vote on it.
A12 | Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Study: Films exclude women, Hispanics By Lindsey Bahr A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — In 2016 "Moonlight" won best picture and "Hidden Figures" was the 14th highest grossing film of the year, but popular Hollywood films remained as white and male-dominated as ever. A new report from the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, provided first to The Associated Press, finds that the representation of women, minorities, LGBT people, disabled characters in films remains largely unchanged from the previous year, despite the heightened and attention to diversity in Hollywood. At the bottom of the rung and most egregiously disproportionate to their
U.S. demographics are women, Hispanics and disabled characters. Exclusion, the report says, is the norm in Hollywood, not the exception. For nine years since 2007, USC has analyzed the demographic makeup of every speaking or named character from each year's 100 highestgrossing films at the domestic box office (with the exception of 2011), as well as behind-the-camera employment for those films including directors, producers and composers. "Every year we're hopeful that we will actually see change," Stacy L. Smith, a USC professor and the study's lead author, told The Associated Press. "Unfortunately that hope has not quite been realized." Women remain vastly underrepresented when it comes to both speaking roles and lead or co-
leading parts in films. Of the 4,583 speaking characters analyzed from the top 100 films of 2016, 31.4 percent were female, a number that is basically unchanged since 2007. Also, only 34 of the films depicted a female lead or co-lead — and only three of those were from underrepresented groups. "We see a real stalling out," Smith said. In terms of race and ethnicity, the landscape remains largely white, with Hispanics grossly underrepresented compared to the breakdown of the U.S. population. Of the speaking characters surveyed: 70.8 percent were white; 13.6 percent black; 5.7 percent Asian; 3.1 percent Hispanic; and less than 1 percent American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian. According to the latest U.S. Census, the nation is 61.3 percent white, 17.8 percent Hispanic, 5.7
percent Asian, 13.3 percent black, 1.3 percent American Indian and Alaska Native and 0.2 percent Native Hawaiian. More striking still is the film by film "invisibility" breakdown, which finds that 25 of the 100 films did not feature a single black character in a speaking role; 54 films had no Hispanic characters (14 higher than in 2015); 44 had no Asian characters (a rare improvement from 2015 which tallied 49 films with zero Asians). For women of color, it's a bleaker story. "We can't just talk about females in film anymore. What our data shows most powerfully this year over any other year is the real epidemic of intersectional invis-
ibility in film," Smith said. "If you cross gender with race and ethnicity, you see that the bottom really drops out for females of color on screen." The data speaks volumes: 47 films featured no black females; 66 had no Asian females; and 72 had no Hispanic females. Also largely invisible are LGBT females, who were excluded from 91 of the top 100 films of 2016. There was a notable increase in films with gay speaking characters in 2016 — 36 up from 19, but zero transgender characters. Most of those — 79.1 percent — were white and 76 of the 100 films had no LGBT characters. Only one, "Mooonlight," featured a gay protagonist.
The study also examined characters with disabilities — its second year doing so — and found that despite nearly 18.7 percent of the U.S. population identifying as disabled only 2.7 percent of all speaking characters were depicted as disabled. Every year there are indicators of change, however, including this year with the successes of "Wonder Woman," ''Get Out" and "Girls Trip" among others, and more on the horizon. "Diversity is not just something that just happens," said Katherine Pieper, a research scientist on the report. "It's something you have to think about and aim for as an objective and achieve."