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Crash reported on city outskirts Patient airlifted to area hospital for treatment By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S
A single-vehicle crash was reported Friday outside of San Ygnacio, according to first responders. Zapata County Fire Department crews said they extricated the patient with the help of many others. “If it (wasn’t) for the team-
work, we wouldn't have gotten him out on time,” the department said on Facebook. The patient was airlifted to an area hospital for treatment. The Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office, Pct. 2 Constable’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers assisted in the case. Fire officials said they Crash continues on A8
Lighting up the night Event set for Oct. 7 at county plaza By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Zapata County Fire Department / Courtesy photo
This is the vehicle involved in a crash Friday outside of San Ygnacio. First responders said the male driver was airlifted to an area hospital.
NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
THIRD ROUND OF TALKS SET FOR WEEKEND
County authorities are inviting the community to a night of fun and glow. On Oct. 7, the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office and Zapata Crime Stoppers will host the Zapata National Night Out Against Crime. Officials are asking the community to arrive dressed in bright-colored and glow-in-thedark apparel for a Glow Block Parade and Block Party. Authorities said the event will have a “Glow in the Dark” Night continues on A8
5TH U.S. CIRCUIT
Texas asks court to allow ‘sanctuary cities’ ban By Kevin Mcgill ASSOCIATED PRE SS
aimed at ensuring that North American workers receive most of NAFTA’s benefits. The rules for automobiles, for example, require 62.5 percent of the value of a car must be manufactured in Canada, Mexico or the United States for the automobile to move between the countries, duty-free. That means a car could source up to 37.5 percent of its value from a country like China and still be eligi-
NEW ORLEANS — With immigrants and their advocates chanting and beating drums outside, a federal appeals court heard arguments Friday on whether it should allow a Texas law aimed at combatting “sanctuary cities” to immediately take effect. Under the law, Texas police chiefs could face removal from office and criminal charges for not complying with federal immigration officials’ requests to detain people jailed on nonimmigration offenses. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia blocked much of the law on Aug. 31, a day before it was to take effect. The state appealed to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Arguments on Garcia’s injunction against parts of the law are scheduled for the week of Nov. 6. However, state officials, joined by the U.S. Justice Department, sought an emergency stay allowing enforcement to begin. That request was before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit on Friday morning. Court officials said the panel
NAFTA continues on A8
Court continues on A8
Christopher Katsarov / Associated Press
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland leads the NAFTA council in discussion on the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, in Toronto.
Trump team readies for fight over making goods in America By Ana Swanson N EW YORK T I ME S NEWS S ERVICE
WASHINGTON — As negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States head to Ottawa, Ontario, this weekend for a third round of North American Free Trade Agreement talks, the Trump administration is releasing data it says proves the playing field is tilted against U.S. manufacturers.
A Commerce Department report released Friday contains data showing the United States is playing a diminished role in manufacturing products that are bought and sold around the continent. Meanwhile, countries outside of North America — like China — are capitalizing on NAFTA’s weak rules and benefiting from the trade agreement, the report said. The administration’s report is expected to dominate NAFTA
discussions over “rules of origin.” Those rules govern how much of a good must be produced in North America to qualify for NAFTA’s zero tariffs on many products. The U.S. is expected to push for raising those limits. Negotiators also appear poised to argue for a new requirement on how much of those goods need to be made in the United States. Current thresholds vary for different products, but are
Zin brief A2 | Saturday, September 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, SEPT. 23
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Joe A. Guerra Public Library and Villa Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society sponsor speaker Renee Laperriere; The Gutierrez Family of Ocampo, Tamaulipas. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Multipurpose room, Joe A Guerra Public Library off Calton. Open to the public. For more info, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810. Monte Mucho Audubon Society Open House. 2-4 p.m. Laredo Public Library, 1st floor multipurpose room. Learn about our local colorful birds, how to set up feeding stations, and using binoculars. Free event; public is invited. Target audience: adults.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 24 United Methodist Men Spaghetti Luncheon. Noon-1:30 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. All you can eat spaghetti, bread, salad, drink, and dessert. Public is invited. Free will donations accepted. Proceeds are used to support the church’s mission projects.
Tom Brenner / The New York Times
President Donald Trump descends from Air Force One with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), at Huntsville International Airport in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday.
MONDAY, SEPT. 25 Laredo Parkinson's Disease Support Group monthly meeting. 6:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st floor, Tower B in the Community Center. Meetings are held the last Monday of each month at the same time. 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 2370666.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 28 Spanish Book Club. 6 - 8 p.m. Joe A Guerra Public Library off Calton Road. For more info, call Sylvia Reash a 763-1810.
TRUMP STUMPS FOR RUNOFF CANDIDATE MONTGOMERY, Ala. — President Donald Trump is plunging into a Republican runoff election in Alabama that may prove an early test of how much sway he has over his base. The president arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, Friday to stump for an establishment-backed incumbent over an upstart favored by many of his supporters, including former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Trump is headlining a rally for Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed in February to temporarily fill the seat that
opened up when Jeff Sessions became attorney general. Strange greeted Trump on the tarmac at Huntsville International Airport and traveled with him to the rally. Trump tweeted Friday morning: “Luther Strange has gained mightily since my endorsement, but will be very close. He loves Alabama, and so do I!” Despite Trump’s endorsement and heavy spending by a super political action committee tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Strange is locked in a tight race against former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. — Compiled from AP reports
SATURDAY, SEPT. 30 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Texas A&M International University. On-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the walkway between the Student Center and the TAMIU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. after a brief opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Those who wish to register online and establish a fundraising team with family, friends, or co-workers can go to alz.org/walk and follow prompts to the Laredo walk.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
Federal government notifies 21 states of election hacking The federal government on Friday told election officials in 21 states that hackers targeted their systems before last year’s presidential election. The notification came roughly a year after U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials first said states were targeted by hacking efforts possibly connected to Russia. The states that told AP they
had been targeted included some key political battlegrounds, such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The AP contacted every state election office to determine which ones had been informed that their election systems had been targeted. While not all responded immediately, the others confirming they had been targets were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon
and Washington. It does not mean that sensitive voter data was manipulated or results were changed. Hackers targeting a system without getting inside is similar to a burglar circling a house checking for unlocked doors and windows. Even so, the widespread nature of the attempts and the yearlong lag time in notification raised concerns among some election officials and lawmakers. For many states, the Friday calls were the first official confirmation. — Compiled from AP reports
SATURDAY, OCT. 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
AROUND TEXAS
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11
DALLAS — A statue of Robert E. Lee is gone from Lee Park, and now his name is on the way out, too. The Dallas Park Board on Friday unanimously voted to temporarily revert the 14.1 acres of green space back to its original name: Oak Lawn Park. The Mayor’s Task Force on Confederate Monuments also recommended that the city change the name of Lee Parkway - as well as remove the city’s other Confederate monument near City Hall. The moves were the latest steps the city has taken while grappling with political tension over its long-standing symbols and monuments to the Confederacy. Before the Park Board vote, board President Bobby Abtahi said the city’s public parks should be places "where everyone feels welcome, where
First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions. There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series presentation featuring Ali Noorani, author and Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. Translation services (English to Spanish) will be available. The author will be available for book signing following the lecture.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions. The 32nd Distinguished Business Awards banquet. 6 p.m. Laredo Country Club. The Laredo Chamber of Commerce announced the selection of Ermilo Richer Jr. and Ermilo Richer III as Laredo 2017 Businesspersons of the Year. For ticket and sponsorship information, call 956-722-9895.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave.
Dallas’ Robert E. Lee Park officially renamed
Laura Buckman / AFP/Getty Images
Workers remove a statue of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas, Texas.
everyone feels safe and where everyone feels included." He said the city is already divided into haves and have-nots by its neighborhoods, airlines, sporting events and toll roads and managed lanes. The renaming comes a little more than a week after a crane lifted the statue of Lee and a young soldier on horseback out
of the park. The removal, which the City Council supported nearly unanimously, became a lengthy spectacle after the removal was initially thwarted by a temporary restraining order and then a tragic accident that killed a truck driver and damaged an en-route crane. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD Families of missing in Mexico quake still hold out hope MEXICO CITY — Hope mixed with fear Friday on a 60-foot stretch of a bike lane in downtown Mexico City, where families huddled under tarps and donated blankets, awaiting word of their loved ones trapped in the four-story-high pile of rubble behind them. On Day 4 of the search for survivors of the 7.1-magnitude
earthquake that brought down the seven-floor office building and many others, killing at least 293 people, hope rose and fell on the small things. A change in the weather, word that Japanese rescuers — strangers from half a world away — had joined the recovery effort, officials’ assurances that people remained alive inside, a call from a familiar number. For Patricia Fernandez Romero, who spent the morning on a yellow folding stool under a handwritten list with the
Today is Saturday, Sept. 23, the 266th day of 2017. There are 99 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On September 23, 1952, Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-Calif., salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing on television from Los Angeles to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising in what became known as the "Checkers" speech. On this date: In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle off Yorkshire, England; however, the seriously damaged Bon Homme Richard sank two days later. In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the British. In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest. In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. In 1926, Gene Tunney scored a ten-round decision over Jack Dempsey to win the world heavyweight boxing title in Philadelphia. In 1939, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, died in London at age 83. In 1957, nine black students who'd entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside. In 1962, New York's Philharmonic Hall formally opened as the first unit of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. "The Jetsons" premiered as the ABC television network's first program in color. In 1977, the Randy Newman album "Little Criminals" was released by Warner Bros. records. In 1987, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record. In 1996, space shuttle Atlantis left Russia's orbiting Mir station with astronaut Shannon Lucid, who ended her six-month visit with tender goodbyes to her Russian colleagues. Ten years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran for New York to address the United Nations; state media quoted him as saying the American people were eager for different opinions about the world, and that he was looking forward to providing them with "correct and clear information." Cuba published a photo of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as the 81-year-old communist leader met with Angola's president. Five years ago: The Libyan militia suspected in the September 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans said it had disbanded on orders of the country's president. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told reporters while traveling from Los Angeles to Denver that he would spend less time raising money and more time with voters. "Homeland" won the Emmy Award for best drama series, and its stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis each won leading actor awards; "Modern Family" received four awards, including a three-peat as best comedy series. One year ago: Sen. Ted Cruz announced on Facebook he would vote for Donald Trump, a dramatic aboutface months after the fiery Texas conservative called the Republican nominee a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral." President Barack Obama vetoed a bill to allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, arguing it undermined national security (both the House and Senate voted to override the veto). Today's Birthdays: Singer Julio Iglesias is 74. Actor Paul Petersen is 72. Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 70. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 68. Director/playwright George C. Wolfe is 63. Rock musician Leon Taylor is 62. Actress Rosalind Chao is 60. Golfer Larry Mize is 59. Actor Jason Alexander is 58. Actor Chi McBride is 56. Country musician Don Herron is 55. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 53. Actress LisaRaye is 51. Singer Ani DiFranco is 47. Rock singer Sarah Bettens is 45. Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 45. Actor Kip Pardue is 41. Actor Anthony Mackie is 39. Pop singer ErikMichael Estrada is 38. Actress Aubrey Dollar is 37. Pop singer Diana Ortiz is 32. Tennis player Melanie Oudin is 26. Thought for Today : "The only interesting answers are those which destroy the questions." — Susan Sontag, author (1933-2004).
CONTACT US names of the 46 missing, it was remembering how badly her 27-year-old son, Ivan Colin Fernandez, sang and realizing how much she wanted to hear him again. The families have been camped out since the quake hit Tuesday. More than half of the dead —155 — perished in the capital, while another 73 died in the state of Morelos, 45 in Puebla, 13 in Mexico State, six in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca. — Compiled from AP reports
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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 | Saturday, September 23, 2017 |
A3
STATE
Quarantine for Zapata county ends
TZT BLOTTER TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
Jade Diane Lofton, 27, was arrested and charged with theft, evading arrest and resisting arrest on Sept. 15. Roel Valadez, 56, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on Sept. 17. ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Lee Roy Gonzalez, 19, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on Sept. 11. Guadalupe Gonzalez
Jr., 37, was arrested and charged with public intoxication on Sept. 12. Juan Luis Esquivel, 52, was arrested and charged with a liquor violation on Sept. 15. Daisy Herrera, 33, was arrested and charged with a liquor violation on Sept. 16. Juan Eloy Ubalde Jr., 29, was arrested and charged with a liquor violation on Sept. 17. Roel Ramon Guzman, 34, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on Sept. 18.
SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a letter that the Mexican Fruit Fly quarantine has ended in Zapata County. Eradication of the Mexican Fruit Fly has been declared and as of midnight Sept. 20, all quarantine regulations have been lifted and are no longer being enforced. The USDA letter served to cancel all compliance agreements, hold notices and cooperative agreements concerning
The USDA letter served to cancel all compliance agreements, hold notices and cooperative agreements concerning specifically the Mexican Fruit Fly Program, effective Sept. 21. specifically the Mexican Fruit Fly Program, effective Sept. 21. The detection, quarantine and eradication efforts have been a cooperative program between the United States Department of Agriculture, the Texas Department of Agricul-
ture and the Texas Citrus Pest and Disease Management Corporation. “We sincerely appreciate the cooperation you have shown our agriculture officers, technicians, and inspectors, as they worked to prevent the spread of this potentially
devastating agricultural pest,” the USDA letter states. “As preventative measures against the Mexican Fruit Fly, we will continue with the two application methods: sterile insect technology and preventative treatments according to life cycle based recommendations. Areas targeted will include historical detection's sites in residential properties and commercial groves.” For more information, call the USDA office at 956-726-2225.
Official: Dam, other designs must consider climate change By David Warren A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
DALLAS — Climate change means engineers must fundamentally change how they design dams and other failsafe structures to withstand ferocious storms that are increasing in frequency, according to the Texas state climatologist. Past storms are no longer a reliable measure by which future projects are designed to withstand, Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. He told a conference of civil engineers Friday in San Marcos that climate change means that powerful storms are unleashing significantly more rain than they did decades ago. An increase in sea surface temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius can result in a roughly 10 percent increase in the amount of rain a storm produces. That 10 percent increase therefore needs to be considered when dams, nuclear facilities and other structures are designed, he said. “Not thinking about climate change means you’re already making an implicit assumption about the future that’s probably incorrect,” Nielsen-Gam-
Smiley N. Pool / TNS
Jeff Liu pauses while retrieving his belongings from his west Houston apartment, which was still flooded with about a foot of water from Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
mon later told The Associated Press. Texas has about 4,000 stateregulated dams, with more than 1,200 considered high risk because their failure would result in the deaths of people
nearby, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Nielsen-Gammon said the size of a dam isn’t so much of a concern as the amount of wa-
ter that’s coming over the dam or surging around it, potentially comprising its integrity. A primary concern as Harvey savaged Southeast Texas last month, and dropped more than 50 inches of rain across
the region, was two reservoirs in west Houston that drew concern from public safety officials who moved to release water from them to lessen pressure on their banks. The relationship between climate change and hurricanes remains uncertain, as the Chronicle noted in its Friday report, but there’s a consensus among scientists that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is raising global temperatures and warming the oceans. This in turn brings about greater evaporation and moisture that leads to more extreme rains. So how was Nielsen-Gammon’s warning received by a roomful of civil engineers being asked to rethink risk models and other assumptions? “I wasn’t thrown out of the room and there wasn’t a standing ovation,” he said. It’s difficult to welcome a message that asks for years of training and certitude to be fundamentally reconsidered, he said. “I do not envy the challenges that engineers face in actually having to tackle that responsibility,” Nielsen-Gammon said.
Zopinion
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
A4 | Saturday, September 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
A question of life and death By Mary Sanchez TH E KA NSAS CI T Y STAR
A young mother of five, a survivor of recent cancer surgery, develops a new tumor — and discovers she is pregnant. The cancer is aggressive; to survive she needs chemotherapy, but that would buy only a few years more of life, if that. And it will kill the baby she is carrying. What should she do? What Carrie DeKlyen and her husband, a Michigan couple who faced this dilemma, decided has been the topic of much public commentary, most of it empathetic but some of it shallow and cruel. Carrie DeKlyen chose not to undergo chemo, and she is now dead. Her child, named Life Lynn DeKlyen, was born just shy of 25 weeks after conception and died two weeks after her mother on September 20. A baby is considered full term around 39 weeks. Despite exemplary efforts by doctors, and being tagged as a "miracle baby" by media nationwide, Life didn’t have very good odds. She weighed only 1 pound, 4 ounces at birth. In early September, Baby Life was delivered by C-section as her mother lay unconscious from a stroke brought on by her inoperable brain tumor. Carrie, 37 years old, left five other children, ranging in age from 2 to 18 years old. Social media couldn’t hold back. What launched was almost a parlor game of "What would you do?" Was Life’s mother selfish to deny her other five children their mother? Or was she a saint for giving her baby a chance at life? How about she was a mother facing a horrible decision that you wouldn’t wish upon anyone? That’s fair. Today, social media and internet discussion threads allow everybody to be a moral philosopher, although many don’t feel the obligation to be fair or empathetic or particularly rigorous. The DeKlyens made their difficult choice in a manner consistent with their view that life starts at conception. Abortion was never an option. This view was obviously informed by the couple’s faith, and even their choice of name — "Life" — suggests perhaps a statement of principle, a political stand. After the baby’s death, some remarked that the story would no longer resonate as a shining example of the pro-life ethos. The cringeworthy rationale was that the family no longer had the child to hold up as an emblem of the cause. Wrong. Carrie DeKlyen is still a great example of a woman choosing life for her child.
Others argued that the family’s faith was misplaced; God didn’t save the baby. Yes, the family made religiously guided decisions. The widowed father has been consistently quoted with the family’s view that God wanted them to choose the baby’s life over that of the mother. "We’re pro-life," Nick DeKlyen told the Detroit Free Press. "Under no circumstance do we believe you should take a child’s life. (Carrie) sacrificed her life for the child." After the baby’s birth, Nick DeKlyen also made the decision that his wife had suffered enough and asked that her feeding tube and breathing machine be disconnected. She died soon after. Others with a more stringent views about what constitutes life might have argued against that decision. The fact that the family sold sweatshirts to raise money and used an internet crowdfunding site led to some tut-tutting that the family was taking pecuniary advantage of their plight. However, despite the sanctimony of some internet commentators, most who contemplated the family’s tragedy were sympathetic. People saw the mother as someone of faith and related. Or they viewed her as a mother, or as half of a loving marriage, or as a cancer patient, and related. Wouldn’t it be grand if people were more compassionate in other instances as well? Yes, people questioned the decision to keep the baby. But what you didn’t hear was the sort of condemnation that befalls other women who, like her, have a lot of children, mounting hospital bills and a husband who isn’t able to provide. Nick DeKlyen is out of work. He’d reportedly quit work during all of this distress to be available to his family, also completely understandable. People read these kinds of stories with different needs and agendas. Some want miracles. Some want hope. And, in their lesser moments, some want to validate their beliefs on such matters as abortion, the proper place of faith in public policy and the right way to have a family. But if we read and hear these stories, putting aside our ego-driven need to be right, we recognize simply what they are: incredibly difficult decisions that families ultimately have to make alone, using their own understanding of what is right. And it’s not for any of us to pass judgment. Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star.
COLUMN
Texas AG Ken Paxton opines on Fannin County controversy By Ken Herman COX NEWSPAPERS
AUSTIN — From time to time, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has to officially opine. People covet opinions from attorneys general, which makes them different from columnists. Attorney general opinions matter, and they touch on all matters of life in Texas. From way up in Almost Oklahoma came a request for the attorney general’s opinion (certified mail, return receipt requested) from Fannin County District Attorney Richard Glaser on a matter of local controversy dating back to 1918 and involving freedom. We’re talking cattle — and hogs and sheep and goats and horses and mules and jacks and jennets. At this point, you city-dweller you, you’re asking yourself this: What’s a jennet? A jennet is a female donkey. Now you know why you pay for a newspaper. In 1918 the people of Fannin County held an election about whether cattle and hogs and sheep and goats and horses and mules and jacks and jennets could roam free. Actually, they held two elections: One concerned hogs and sheep and goats, and one concerned horses and mules and jacks and jennets and cattle. Fannin County voters, as Glaser told Paxton in the March opinion request, “prohibited the running at large of hogs, sheep and goats in one election, and horses, mules, jacks, jennets and cattle in the other.” Seems fair. What’s good for the hogs and the
sheep is good for the jacks and the jennets. Having made this decision way back in 1918, peace and harmony reigned in Fannin County. But then 1981 happened and the Legislature fiddled with (and “fiddled” is the correct legal term) Chapter 143 of the Agriculture Code in a way that left some Fanninites perplexed about whether (see above lists of animals) still were banned from roaming free. “In what has recently become an annual Fannin County tradition,” Glaser told Paxton, “this office has been repeatedly asked whether Fannin County is currently an open- or closed-range county.” It’s nice that counties have annual traditions. We here in Travis County have annual traditions such as the food and wine festival and motorcycle rally (separately, but wouldn’t it be fun to combine them?). Apparently the people in Fannin County enjoy an annual tradition of arguing about jennet freedom, a tradition the local DA decided must end. “Rather than continuing this ritual in perpetuity,” he told Paxton, “we now ask for an Attorney General’s opinion regarding the questions presented above in hopes of finally putting the matter to rest.” The bottom-line question is whether the 1918 decision made by voters (many of whom no longer are voters) still restricts the freedom of the county’s jacks and jennets, etc. I called Glaser and explained to him that as a nonattorney city boy this whole thing
confused me. He was kind, patient and helpful. “People are confused about what the rules are whether they can allow their cattle to roam at large,” he said. “The history of it is the cattle people don’t like fences up. They wanted their cattle to be able to roam and forage over the whole county.” Oh, kind of like teens do. On the other side of the controversy, according to the DA, are “local landowners who wanted to have their privacy, so they erected fences and then they would have votes” such as they did in 1918. “So it was just a matter of individual neighbors’ rights on whether they could have cattle not on their property, eating their garden stuff and cabbages and stuff like that.” It’s a situation, he said, that periodically comes up when somebody complains to Fannin County commissioners that “XYZ’s cattle got on to my property and he says he doesn’t owe me anything.” The attorney general issued his livestock freedom opinion on Sept. 12. “Hey,” wrote Paxton, awaiting trial on securities fraud charges that could impinge on his freedom, “I’ve got my own problems. You think I give a cow patty about cattle and hogs and sheep and goats and horses and mules and jacks and jennets in some county I never heard of ? And what’s a jennet?” Hang on. That’s wrong. That’s what I would have written. Thank you, Texas, for
LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer's first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the
letter. Laredo Morning Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. This space allows for public debate of the issues of the day. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Also, letters longer than 500 words will not be accepted. Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
electing people who are not me. “We begin with the principle that Texas is a free-range state,” Paxton opined, “meaning that it does not recognize a common-law duty requiring owners of livestock to fence in their livestock.” However, he noted the Texas Constitution allows lawmakers to regulate the fencing of livestock, in addition to allowing local option elections, like the ones in 1918 in Fannin County. Statewide, Paxton reports, lawmakers have made it illegal for “a person who has ‘responsibility for the control of a horse, mule, donkey, cow, bull, steer, hog, sheep or goat to knowingly permit the animal to traverse or roam at large, unattended, on the right-of-way of a highway.’” OK, that’s the deal on state highways. And now here’s the deal on every place else in Fannin County, according to Paxton: “Nothing in the 1981 recodification indicated a clear expression of legislative intent to repeal local option stock laws.” So the 1918 elections stand. “It’s a closed-range county,” said Glaser, whose opinion has been the same as Paxton’s. “We’d said it was closed, but we got push-back saying, ‘That’s not the way I read it. That’s just your opinion.’” And now it’s also the opinion of the Texas attorney general. The jennets of Fannin County have been duly warned. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 23, 2017 |
NCAA FOOTBALL: BAYLOR BEARS
A5
NFL: DALLAS COWBOYS
Ex-Baylor president: Some women ‘make themselves victims’ Dr. Garland offers up unsavory comments
Jae C. Hong / Associated Press file
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott is cleared to play for at least two more games starting with Arizona on Monday night.
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WACO — A court filing this week reveals that the former interim president of Baylor University referred to some women who said they had been sexually assaulted as willing victims, amid lingering allegations that the nation’s largest Baptist school repeatedly mishandled or stifled claims of sexual and physical abuse. The remark came in an email exchange last year between David Garland and a Baylor administrator. The email was obtained by lawyers for 10 women who are suing Baylor on claims the school ignored their allegations. Garland also said in the email that he had heard a radio interview with an author who chronicled her alcoholism at college, the Waco Tribune-Herald reports . He wrote in the email that the interview “added another perspective for me of what is going on in the heads of some women who may seem willingly to make themselves victims.” He then cited verses in the New Testament re-
Court sets Elliott hearing for Oct. 2 ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press file
Baylor Interim President Dr. David Garland referred to some women who had been sexually assaulted as willing "to make themselves victims."
ferring to God’s wrath on those who commit sexual sin. The plaintiffs in Wednesday’s federal court filing argue that it’s central to their case that Garland “would conclude that these young women made themselves willing victims of sexual assault” and “would then immediately find relevance in ‘God’s wrath’ upon them.” Garland didn’t return a request for comment from the newspaper. Waco attorney Jim Dunnam, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said Garland’s viewpoint is shared by other Baylor leaders. “Unfortunately, it reflects an attitude at the
top of the university, which, frankly, anyone who loves Baylor should be disgusted by,” he told the paper. In a statement released Thursday, the university said, “As stated previously, we will maintain our efforts to keep discovery focused on this specific case while protecting the privacy of our students and their records. This filing is one step in a long process, and out of respect for the legal proceedings in this case, the university will decline to comment further.” The university earlier this month settled a federal lawsuit filed by a former student who said
she was gang raped by two football players and alleged the school’s football program fostered a “culture of violence.” The settlement was one of several in recent weeks as Baylor moves to close out lawsuits filed following an investigation into how the school handled reports of sexual and physical assaults for years. The probe led to the firing of former football coach Art Briles and the departure of former school President Ken Starr. Garland is on sabbatical and scheduled to return to Baylor in August to teach. Linda Livingstone has been named the new Baylor president.
FRISCO, Texas — A federal appeals court has set oral arguments for Oct. 2 in the NFL’s bid to reinstate Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension over a domestic case in Ohio, meaning the star Dallas Cowboys running back will play at least two more games. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans posted the notice Friday, clearing the way for last year’s NFL rushing leader to play Monday night at Arizona
and at home Oct. 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. The court is seeking briefs from both sides by Wednesday on the issue of U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant’s jurisdiction. The Texas judge granted Elliott’s request for an injunction that blocked the NFL’s suspension. The NFL sought an emergency stay of Mazzant’s injunction, hoping to put the suspension back in place while Elliott’s case is in the courts.
A6 | Saturday, September 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
BUSINESS
Energy leads stocks to a mostly higher finish By Alex Veiga A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
A listless day on Wall Street finished with U.S. stocks eking out small gains Friday, as strength in energy, phone and industrial companies offset losses elsewhere. Some health insurers bounced back after Sen. John McCain said he wouldn’t support the latest Republican effort to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Real estate and utilities companies were among the biggest decliners. A new round of tensions between the U.S. and North Korea helped send bond yields lower, which weighed on banks and other financial stocks. The sector notched daily gains earlier in the week. “Geopolitical tensions coming out of North Korea caused a flight to quality, which kind of put the brakes on the momentum in financials,” said David Schiegoleit, managing director of investments at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. “Today equity markets are simply moving sideways and probably digesting that.” The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.62 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,502.22. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 9.64 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,349.59. The average was held back by a loss in Apple, which slid $1.50, or 1 percent, to $151.89. The Nasdaq composite added 4.23 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,426.92. Small-company stocks did better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 gained 6.60 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,450.78, a fraction of a point above its previous record high. The Russell 2000 also
Seth Wenig / AP
A man walks towards the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street on Friday as technology companies and banks decline.
notched the biggest weekly gain, 1.3 percent. The S&P 500 and Dow posted small gains, while the Nasdaq closed out the week with a modest loss. The stock indexes spent much of the day drifting between small gains and losses as investors weighed the latest developments in the political brinkmanship between the U.S. and North Korea. Tensions between the two nations ratcheted up after President Donald Trump authorized stiffer sanctions in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons advances, drawing a furious response from Pyongyang. Trump expanded the Treasury Department’s ability to target anyone conducting significant trade in goods, services or technology with North Korea, and to ban them from interacting with the U.S. financial system. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un retaliated by calling Trump “deranged” and saying he’ll “pay dearly” for his threats. The heightened tensions drove up bond prices, which sent yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.25 percent from 2.28 percent late Thursday.
That weighed on bank shares, including Fifth Third Bancorp, which declined 23 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $27.31. Lower bond yields mean banks have to charge lower interest rates on long-term loans like mortgages. Several health care companies recovered some of the ground they lost earlier as McCain said he wouldn’t support the latest Republican health care bill, dealing what could be a fatal blow to the last-gasp GOP measure in a Senate showdown expected next week. Centene, which administers Medicaid programs and sells health plans to ACA exchanges, rose $1.48, or 1.6 percent, to $92.22. Molina Healthcare gained $2.81, or 4.5 percent, to $65.32. Energy stocks rose as crude oil prices finished higher. Hess added 87 cents, or 2 percent, to $44.50. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $50.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 43 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $56.86 a barrel in London. Real estate investment
US rig count drops by one this week to 935 A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by one this week to 935. That’s still up from the 511 rigs that were active a year ago. Houston oilfield services company Baker
Hughes said Friday that 744 rigs sought oil and 190 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous. Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained three rigs. Alaska, New Mexico, and Texas each gained one rig. North Dakota
and Oklahoma lost three rigs each, and Colorado lost two rigs. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming were unchanged. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
trusts and utilities were among the biggest decliners. Ventas fell $1.48, or 2.2 percent, to $66.04. Duke Energy slid 91 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $84.25. Industrial stocks, including several airlines, were among the gainers. Alaska Air Group added $1.84, or 2.5 percent, to $74.75. American Airlines Group gained 77 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $47.06. Traders welcomed news of a possible combination between two major wireless carriers. Sprint climbed 6.1 percent after Reuters reported the company is close to signing a deal with rival T-Mobile. Shares in Sprint added 49 cents to $8.52. T-Mobile gained 67 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $64.06. Verizon also got a boost, rising 96 cents, or 2 percent, to $49.90. Among the big movers Friday was Compass Minerals, which slumped 13.5 percent after the mining company cut its annual profit forecast after a partial ceiling cave-in at a rock salt mine in Ontario that will slow operations for six weeks. The stock lost $9.40 to $60.10. CarMax jumped 7.8 percent after the used car retailer’s latest quarterly results beat analysts’ forecasts. The stock gained $5.35 to $74.19. In other energy futures trading, heating oil was little changed at $1.82 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline gained 3 cents to $1.67 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1 cent to $2.96 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gold rose $2.70 to $1,297.50 an ounce. Silver lost 3 cents to $16.98 an ounce. Copper added 1 cent to $2.95 a pound. The dollar weakened to 112.05 yen from 112.38 yen on Thursday. The euro climbed to $1.1941 from $1.1885.
Walmart wants to stock your fridge By Abha Bhattarai WASHINGTON P O ST
Delivery workers who drop off Walmart groceries may soon also bring them into your kitchen and unload them into your refrigerator, even if you’re not home. The world’s largest retailer announced Friday that it is testing a delivery program in Silicon Valley that would allow customers to use smart-home technology to remotely open the door for delivery workers and watch a live stream of the delivery by linking their phones with home security cameras. “As the homeowner, I’m in control of the experience the entire time,” he added. “I’m watching the entire process from start to finish from my home security cameras. As I watch the associate exit my front door, I even receive confirmation that my door has automatically been locked.” Walmart executives touted the program as a way to make grocery shopping even more convenient for customers who are becoming accustomed to ordering food online. After all, they said, the rise of ridesharing and home-sharing services means many people are already used to getting into strangers’ cars and sleeping in their bedrooms. But security and privacy experts said Walmart’s new service raised a number of unique questions for homeowners, insurance companies and others. “There are always unintended consequences that arise with these newfangled ideas,” said Albert Gidari, director of privacy at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. “It might be creepy and intrusive, but there are also a lot of security risks and liabili-
ty questions down the road: What happens if there’s a theft, or damage, or a dog bite? Will your homeowners’ policy cover that? How will insurance companies react to this?” The $600 billion grocery market has been a particular point of competition following Amazon’s $13.7 billion takeover of Whole Foods Market last month. Walmart, currently the country’s largest grocer, announced this week that it would become the first retailer to allow customers to use food stamps to pay for online grocery orders. The company also recently announced that it was teaming up with Google to allow shoppers to buy its products by speaking to Google Home devices. Walmart’s latest partnership, with smarttechnology company August Home and sameday delivery service Deliv, is still in the early stages, according to Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala. He added that it was not clear how long the current test would last or how the program might evolve. “We want to start small so we can test and learn,” Jariwala said. “This may not necessarily become the norm. And it may not be for everyone, certainly not right away, but we see a lot of potential here.” Gidardi, of Stanford, said the program was likely to appeal to urban dwellers who work long hours and are already accustomed to having cleaning crews, nannies and other service workers come into their homes while they’re away. “This is a group of people who are already used to a certain level of intrusiveness,” he said. “But God help the teenager playing hooky or the family dog who’s not expecting the delivery man.”
JC Penney looking to hire 40,000 for holidays ASSOCIATED PRE SS
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney says it plans to hire more than 40,000 people during the holiday season, the same number as last year. The Plano, Texas-based department store operator said Friday it is look-
ing for cashiers, workers to restock its stores and beauty consultants to work at in-store Sephora makeup shops. Retailers tend to start hiring in October to prepare for the busy holiday shopping season. Macy’s, which has about 830 stores, says it expects to
hire 80,000 people this year, down 4 percent from a year ago. And Target says it will boost hiring 40 percent to 100,000 this year for its more than 1,800 stores. J.C. Penney Co. says it will hold a nationwide job fair in its roughly 875 stores on Oct. 17.
Zfrontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 23, 2017 |
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE REINA DEL PUEBLO 1 La Ciudad de Miguel Alemán invita a mujeres de 17 a 25 años a participar en el concurso Reina del Pueblo 2017. Se requiere de documentación que compruebe edad, domicilio y constancia de estudios escolares. Se recibirán documentos del 20 al 26 de septiembre en la Secretaría de Educación y Casa de la Cultura y Casa del Arte de la ciudad. Informes al 972-7316 y 972-0369.
ROMA FEST 2017 1 Festival Roma Fest 2017 “Decades”, el domingo 8 de octubre desde las 5 p.m. Desfile inicia en el Citizens State Bank.
FESTIVAL NUEVO SANTANDER
SAN YGNACIO
Reportan accidente Una persona resulta lesionada Por César G. Rodríguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Un accidente en el que participó un solo automóvil fue reportado el viernes en el área de la periferia de San Ygnacio, de acuerdo a personal de emergencias. Personal del Departamento de Bomberos del Condado de Zapata dijo que tuvieron que extraer al paciente con la ayuda de otras personas. “Si no fuera por el
trabajo en equipo, no lo hubiéramos sacado a tiempo”, dijo el departamento a través de su página en Facebook. El paciente fue transportado a una área de hospital para recibir tratamiento médico. La Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata, la Oficina del Comisario del Precinto 2 y patrulleros del Departamento de Seguridad Pública ayudaron en el caso.
Funcionarios del Departamento de Bomberos dijeron que les gustaría sensibilizar a la comunidad acerca de conducir en forma segura. “Por favor asegúrense que han descansado antes de iniciar un largo viaje. Su vida y la de otros siempre estará en riesgo si conducen cansados. Envíamos nuestras oraciones para el paciente involucrado en el accidente”, dijo el departamento.
Foto de cortesía / Departametno de Bomberos del Condado de Zapata.
Este es el vehículo que participó en un accidente el viernes en las afueras de San Ygnacio. Personal de emergencia dijo que el conductor fue trasladado a un hospital del área.
BETHEL MISSION OUTREACH CENTER
AYUDAN A AFECTADOS
1 La Sociedad Genealógica Nueva Santander del Condado de Zapata invita al Festival Nuevo Santander el 13 y 14 de octubre de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata.
PAGO DE IMPUESTOS
LLENADO DE APLICACIONES 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 956-2467177.
LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411. MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el 956-765-8983.
Familias esperan más rescates ASSOCIATED PRE SS
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 sábado 21 de octubre.
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.
TERREMOTO
Por Gisela Salomón y María Verza
CAMINATA CONTRA CÁNCER
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.
A7
Foto de cortesía / Departamento de Bomberos de Roma
La organización Bethel Mission Outreach Center de Roma, consiguió un tráiler lleno de productos no perecederos para donar a los afectados por el temblor en México. El jefe de Bomberos de esta ciudad, Alfredo Garza, abrió las puertas del Departamento para guardar mercancía mientras llega un próximo camión.
COLUMNA
Crónicas de Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca habría sido de los primeros españoles vistos en la parte norte de México. Declinaba 1528 y desastrosa travesía lo deja a las puertas de Aridoamérica, desconocida e indómita. Los recuerdos del episodio hacen que Alvar escriba Naufragios, crónica nutrida de pasajes asombrosos incluso hoy. Para comprobarlo basta somero repaso. Compuesta por seis naves al mando de Pánfilo de Narváez, la flota expedicionaria iba hacia el río de las Palmas, en Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas. Siempre conforme a Naufragios, temporales e impericias desvían su curso. Bastante al norte, suben hasta la bahía de Tampa, Florida. Tras continuas vicisitudes, nuestro personaje desembarca quizás en Galveston, Texas. Disminuye mientras la comitiva. De varios cientos, suman apenas quince o veinte integrantes. Perdidos los buques, ninguna posibilidad tienen de navegar rumbo a Pánuco, Veracruz, bastión hispano en las fronteras de la recién someti-
Foto de cortesía
Alvar Núñez
da Mesoamérica. Deciden entonces aventurarse tierra adentro, cuyos escasos habitantes los reciben con el rostro universal de la desconfianza. Exhausto, a pie, hambriento, el diezmado grupo cae preso. Las penalidades van en aumento. Sin mayores trámites, de conquistadores pasan a sirvientes en quién sabe cuál tribu. Los aborígenes “de lejos parecen gigantes” y “fuesen grandes o no, nuestro miedo los hacía parecer gigantes”, dice la obra. Largo periodo duran cautivos. En 1534 huyen. Aparte de Alvar, sólo tres extranjeros quedan: Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza y un esclavo de este último, el africano Estebanico. Sobre la ruta luego del
escape hay diversas hipótesis. Se cree que cerca de Brownsville, Texas, atraviesan el río Bravo para recorrer las actuales márgenes tamaulipecas, dirigiéndose a Nuevo León, Coahuila y más al oeste. El supuesto derrotero incluye también Arizona y Nuevo México, ahora pertenecientes a Estados Unidos. Según el texto en cita, sucede algo que cambia la suerte de los cuatro. Todo a partir de acercárseles varios lugareños con la salud quebrantada. Pidiéndoles éstos sanarlos, oran por ellos y los enfermos “dijeron que … el mal se les había quitado”. De igual modo, Alvar cura a un nativo “con … señales de muerto”, enterándose a la postre que “se había levantado bueno”. Su fama corre rápido de boca a oreja. Los aldeanos les franquean el paso, brindándoles lo mejor que poseen, además de acompañarlos kilómetros y kilómetros por áridos territorios. En derredor suyo consiguen reunir cuatro mil almas. Caminan de oriente a poniente y se guardan las razones. Alega Cabeza de Vaca intuir “que yendo (en busca de) la puesta del sol habíamos de hallar lo que deseábamos”. En tan remotos con-
fines, afirma el narrador, “vi un hombre casado con otro”. Complementa enseguida: unos “andan … como mujeres y hacen oficio de mujeres”. Curioso descubrimiento en sujetos impuestos a perseguir venados durante horas “y de esta manera matan muchos,” por cansancio. Al principio, los aridoamericanos le resultan “tan crudos, a manera de brutos”. Pero en ocho años de convivencia termina reconsiderándolo: “Claramente se ve que estas gentes … han de ser llevadas con buen tratamiento, y … éste es camino muy cierto y otro no”. Cerca de Culiacán, Sinaloa, en 1536 ve por fin “cuatro cristianos … a caballo”, que “estuviéronme mirando mucho tiempo”. Conducidos los náufragos ante representantes del siniestro y cruel gobernador Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, “pasamos … grandes pendencias con ellos”, pues “querían (esclavizar a) los indios que traíamos”. Vaya ironía: aquellos coterráneos del cronista, que han “quemado pueblos” enteros y sacan familias “en cadenas”, enfrentan a Cabeza de Vaca con la brutalidad colonialista del mundo que tanto añoraba.
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Los equipos de rescate seguían por cuarto día en busca de sobrevivientes entre los escombros en Ciudad de México, mientras familiares permanecían frente a los edificios derruidos con la esperanza de que sus seres queridos sean ubicados. La policía federal reportó que había sacado a varias personas de entre los restos de dos edificios el jueves. Los rescatistas retiraron o rompieron losas hasta encontrar grietas que permitieron que varios trabajadores se introdujeran para llegar a las víctimas e izarlas hasta lugar seguro. En total fueron rescatadas 60 personas en la capital desde el temblor registrado el martes a mediodía, según el gobierno local. Las autoridades elevaron el viernes la cifra de muertos del terremoto a 293, más de la mitad de ellos en la capital. El coordinador nacional de Protección Civil, Luis Felipe Puente, señaló en su cuenta de Twitter que el número de muertos en la Ciudad de México ascendió a 155. También fallecieron 73 personas en Morelos; 45, en Puebla; 13, en el Estado de México; seis en Guerrero y una en Oaxaca. En el lugar donde un edificio de siete pisos se colapsó en la colonia Roma Norte, en la zona centro de la capital, las actividades de rescate fueron suspendidas durante la noche por las lluvias que desestabilizaron los escombros. José Gutiérrez, familiar de una persona que se cree está debajo de los escombros e ingeniero civil de profesión, trataba de dar un poco de esperanza a los demás que esperan a unos metros del lugar en un campamento improvisado. Al lugar llegaron rescatistas mexicanos y de otros países como Estados Unidos, Israel, Japón y Panamá. Al paso de las horas se acerca el momento de reemplazar a los rescatistas por excavadoras para despejar escombros, pero las autoridades sostienen que todavía se está en una operación de rescate.
A8 | Saturday, September 23, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
FROM THE COVER COURT From page A1 would begin discussing the case immediately after the hearing ended, but a decision was not expected Friday. Various local governments in Texas are fighting the law, which also allows police to inquire about people’s immigration status during routine interactions such as traffic
CRASH From page A1 would like to bring awareness to the com-
NIGHT From page A1 80s theme. It will take place at the Zapata County Plaza at 7 p.m. A 2-mile Glow Fun Run walk/run will take place during the event.
NAFTA From page A1
stops — a provision Garcia didn’t block. Municipal officials from Dallas, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio and Austin are among the opponents. The American Civil Liberties Union is fighting the law on behalf of the border city of El Cenizo. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund represents other localities. “Texas can tell its local-
ities, ‘You must cooperate,”’ Scott Keller of the Texas Attorney General’s Office said as he was questioned by Judge Stephen Higginson on issues including whether the state law illegally preempts federal responsibility for immigration control. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has praised the Texas law and the Department of Justice filed arguments in support of it.
munity about safe driving. “Please make sure to always have rest before a long drive. Your life and someone else's life will
always be at stake when you're driving tired. Prayers are being sent to the patient involved,” the department said.
Pre-registration for the walk/run is $15 and $20 at the site. Group prices are available. Authorities said there will be prizes for those best dressed. Goodie bags will be given to the first 100 people who register.
To register, visit http://www.active.com/zapa ta-tx/running/distance -running-races/zapatanational-night-out-againstcrime-glow-run-2017. For more information on the event, call the Sheriff's Office at 765-9960.
ble for preferential treatment under NAFTA. These requirements have become one of the biggest areas of conflict in the NAFTA debate, particularly for U.S. negotiators who are seeking to fulfill one of President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises: Remaking trade agreements to revive U.S. manufacturing. Since 1994, NAFTA has knit the North American economy together by lowering the barriers that companies face when they ship products across borders. While most studies suggest the deal has had a modest overall effect on the U.S. economy, it has encouraged companies to reorganize their supply chains by moving lowercost operations to Mexico. And it has become a huge source of controversy, with Trump describing it as the “worst trade deal ever made.” The president and his
advisers argue that the pact has created a “back door” for foreign products. They say that the deal allows raw materials or components to be shipped into North America from elsewhere and incorporated into manufactured goods, like cars or electronics, that can then be shipped among Canada, Mexico and the United States without paying import duties. In its report, the Commerce Department said that the share of U.S.produced content in manufactured goods imported by the United States from Mexico fell from 26 percent in 1995, shortly after NAFTA was signed into law, to 16 percent in 2011. The share of U.S. content in imports from Canada, meanwhile, fell from 21 percent in 1995 to 15 percent in 2011. Imports from Asia, and especially China, helped make up the difference. The same trend was visible in motor vehicles and, to a lesser extent, basic metals like steel and aluminum, the report
said. The report does not mention any economic factors outside of the United States. In the same time period, Chinese manufacturing and trade surged, as the country modernized and joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. “We cannot forget that the point of a free-trade agreement is to advantage those within the agreement — not to help outsiders,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote in an accompanying op-ed that was published Thursday by The Washington Post. “Instead, NAFTA has provided entry into a bigger market for outside countries, and the United States is paying the price.” On Saturday, negotiators from the three NAFTA countries will gather in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, to begin five days of talks. Rules of origin are expected to be discussed, and potentially also labor rights, government purchasing guidelines and methods of resolving trade disputes.