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DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL TAKE BACK INITIATIVE
BORDER
71 pounds tossed
Carrizo bill passed, but lacks funds
Effort nets unwanted, expired prescription drugs By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
By JULIÁN AGUILAR
THE ZAPATA TIMES
TEXAS TRIBUNE
The Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office said this week it had a great turnout in collecting unwanted medication during the Drug Enforcement Administration National Take Back Initiative. The collection took place Saturday at the Zapata County Pavilion. “We had citizens bring in their unwanted and, or expired medication. Today we collected 71.3 pounds of it in three bags. The medications are now being transported by the DEA’s office to be properly disposed of,” according to a Sheriff ’s Office post on its Facebook page. In total, DEA collected 2,004 pounds of unwanted medication from 12 collection points throughout Laredo, La Salle County and Zapata, said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge James Reed. Local law enforcement from each city, school districts and Serving Children and Adults in Need assisted in the collection. “We thank our partners for assisting us in this effort … We also thank the community. If the community didn’t support this type of program, we would’ve not gotten the results we did,” Reed said, adding he’s looking forward for next year. Reed said authorities did not want expired or unwanted medication out there. Not only is there a serious
Courtesy photo
The Zapata County Sheriff’s Office said deputies collected 71.3 pounds of expired or unwanted medication during the Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.
In total, DEA collected 2,004 pounds of unwanted medication from 12 collection points throughout Laredo, La Salle County and Zapata. problem with abuse of prescribed medication, it also leads to heroin use since some prescription drugs are opiates in nature, he said. “It’s a vicious cycle when you go from the prescription drugs to the heroin,” Reed
said. The DEA wanted the unwanted and expired medication out of the medicine cabinets at home. “We don’t want kids in there and getting their hands on them. It’s for the
overall safety of the community, plus it’s an environmental issue,” Reed said, adding the DEA properly disposes of the medication. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
2013 ABORTION LAW
Ruling permits operations El Paso abortion clinic reopens amid Texas court battles By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — An El Paso clinic shuttered by Texas’ tough 2013 abortion law reopened Tuesday, the first in the state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked enforcement of some key restrictions three months ago. The Reproductive Services clinic, so close to the TexasMexico border that its windows offer views of Ciudad Juarez across the Rio Grande, is taking appointments and expects to begin performing abortions next week. The reopening brings to 20
the number of abortion clinics licensed in America’s second most-populous state, according to a list provided by health officials — though one
ry block that will hold until the high court decides whether to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling refusing to suspend the Texas restric-
The clinic hopes to see up to 2,000 patients annually, and provide other services such as contraception. of those facilities says it has stopped performing the procedure. That’s down from 41 such clinics in 2012 — and the Reproductive Services facility could close again soon. A June 29 Supreme Court order created only a tempora-
tions. It’s not clear when that decision will come, but if the Supreme Court hears the full appeal it could be the biggest abortion case in decades. “We’re so excited about the reopening, but the discouraging part is we could be closed
down at any time,” said Marilyn Eldridge, president of Nova Health Systems, which operates Reproductive Services. She and her late husband, a Christian minister, first opened the clinic in 1977. “This is more difficult than it has ever been,” Eldridge added in a phone interview. “I think it’s because there is so much discussion about something that should be a very personal matter.” Texas in 2013 approved some of the nation’s tightest abortion rules, prompting thousands of demonstrators on both sides of the issue to pack the state Capitol in Aus-
See CLINIC
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An invasive plant growing along the banks of the Rio Grande, Carrizo cane is the bane of border law enforcement, providing natural cover for smugglers and drug mules. There have been efforts to wipe it out since at least 2008, when the U.S. Border Patrol tried a pilot program in southern Webb County that was suspended after environmental groups objected to the herbicides being used. And despite a bill passed last session requiring its eradication, it doesn’t appear Texas will raze cane anytime soon. Senate Bill 1734 by state Sen. Carlos Uresti, DSan Antonio, mandated that the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board establish a plan to eradicate Carrizo cane. The project was included on Gov. Greg Abbott’s list of border security priorities, and his proposed budget included $9.8 million for it. But even though Uresti’s bill went into effect when Abbott signed it in June, the state conservation agency hasn’t moved beyond preliminary planning stages. When lawmakers allocated a record $800 million for border security, it seems, they left out the money needed to fund the eradication program. “We’re doing whatever we can do without any funding,” said John Foster, the conservation agency’s statewide programs officer. “The thing that changed with the bill is it added ‘border security’ to our sweep of responsibilities.” Asked about the lack of funding, Abbott’s office said only that it would continue to monitor the eradication effort. "Securing the border is inherently a federal responsibility and we will continue to work with our federal and local partners to address this issue," spokesperson John Wittman said. According to a review of emails obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s office concluded that state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, decided against funding the program. (Nelson and state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, were the two votes against SB 1734, according to the Senate journal.) Asked about the bill, Nelson said “this issue simply didn’t have the support to be funded." Foster said he isn’t surprised the program wasn’t funded given the somewhat haphazard process required to get the legislation passed. He was approached late in the session, he said, and the costs associated with the project were never fully explored. “We were going basically just on some rough numbers that had been around for a few years since this first started being talked about since ’07 or ’08,” he said. “That ($9.8 million) number was based on something like $200 an acre for one particular method and then the length of the river, essentially. Obviously there’s not Carrizo cane everywhere on the river. There was never a formal request by the agency. We obviously would take anything we could to get the program started.” In a statement, Uresti said he expected the agency to move forward if funds for the program are identified. Until then, he said, it’s up to locals to get the job done. “Next session, I will once again work with my colleagues on Senate Finance to see that this program is funded,” he said. “For now, the eradication responsibilities are being borne by landowners and local authorities, but the scope of the problem makes state assistance important." Foster said there has been some progress made despite the lack of funding. He met earlier this month with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which identified “priority” areas where cane is the most problematic. He said he would meet again soon with Abbott’s office to discuss possible sources.
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Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Wednesday, September 30
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Laredo A&M Mothers’ Club monthly meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Los Patios, 4653 Casa Blanca Rd. Mothers who have children at Texas A&M in College Station are invited to attend. High school students are invited to attend a free youth conference on domestic violence on at 5:30 p.m. at UT Health Science Center Regional Campus Laredo, 1937 E. Bustamante St. Space is limited. Call 956-712-0037 to register. Sponsored by the Webb County Domestic Violence Coalition.
Thursday, October 1 19th annual Domestic Violence Conference from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. at Texas A&M International University, Student Center Ballroom. Registration is required. Continuing education credits available for law enforcement personnel, attorneys, social workers, counselors and nurses. Space is limited. Call 956-712-0037 to register. Sponsored by the Webb County Domestic Violence Coalition. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 7 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326DOME (3663).
Saturday, October 3 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 3 p.m.: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 4 p.m.: Star Signs; 5 p.m.: Black Holes. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Matinee Shows are $1 less. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). The Laredo Northside Market Association will hold a market day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the parking lot of North Central Park on International Boulevard. Free games/activities for children and free reusable bags for adults.
Sunday, October 4 6th Annual “Blessing of All Animals” from 4 to 5 p.m. at St. Peter’s Plaza. Animals should be on a leash, harness or in a cage. St. Francis of Assisi medals and T-shirts will be available for a donation. Donations will go toward projects to protect community cats including a Trap, Neuter, and Return Program for Laredo. Call Birdie at 286-7866. America the Beautiful concert at TAMIU Recital Hall, 501 International Blvd., from 3–5 p.m. This will be the professional premier of “1945” by local composer Donald Hale, a United High School graduate now studying composition at the University of Texas. This concert opens with Hales’ short work about the end of WWII, is followed by the Trumpet Concerto of American composer Lowell Liebermann performed by Mary Elizabeth Bowden, and finishes with the “New World Symphony” by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.
Monday, October 5 Chess Club meets at the LBV–Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 7952400, x2521.
Associated Press
Sen. Ted Cruz returned to the U.S. Capitol Monday to escalate his attacks against his party’s leadership for not fighting hard enough against President Obama.
Cruz blasts colleagues By ABBY LIVINGSTON TEXAS TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — Fresh off the campaign trail in Iowa, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz returned to the U.S. Capitol Monday to escalate his attacks against his party’s leadership for not fighting hard enough against President Obama. In an hour-long speech on a nearly empty Senate floor that ended when he could not gain permission to continue, the state’s junior senator and presidential hopeful expanded his usual criticisms of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to include outgoing House Speaker John Boehner. Cruz also lambasted fellow Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, spoke of the recent lunar eclipse and boasted of a puzzling personal role in law enforcement. “Speaker Boehner faced a conundrum,”
Cruz said of Boehner’s abrupt decision to step down. “If he does what he and McConnell promised, which is funding all of Barack Obama’s priorities, he would have lost his job.” “And so what did he do?” Cruz asked. “He announced he’s resigning as speaker and resigning as a member of Congress.” He also took aim at his colleague from Texas, Majority Whip Cornyn. Dozens of times, he questioned the integrity of “Republican leadership,” a reference that includes Cornyn in his capacity as the second-ranking Senate Republican. He specifically called out Cornyn, along with a handful of other senior Republican senators, for voting down a Cruz amendment targeting funding for Planned Parenthood and the Iran nuclear weapons deal via voice vote.
State wins conditional ’No Child Left Behind’ reprieve
Psychiatrist faces up to 10 years for fraud
Skydiving school pilot killed in crash
AUSTIN — The U.S. Department of Education has granted Texas a conditional waiver to avoid academic accountability standards under the No Child Left Behind law. The Texas Education Agency announced Tuesday that securing waivers beyond the current school year will require statewide use of teacher and principal evaluations used to make personnel decisions
AMARILLO— A West Texas psychiatrist faces up to 10 years in federal prison for health care fraud related to medical services never provided. Dr. Robert Hadley Gross of San Angelo could also be required to repay more than $1.8 million. Prosecutors in Amarillo on Tuesday announced Gross pleaded guilty to health care fraud.
LEXINGTON — Investigators are trying to determine what caused a skydiving school plane to stall and crash in Central Texas, killing the pilot. The Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday identified the victim as 32-year-old Christopher Colly Lyons, of Lexington. DPS says the accident happened Sunday night near an airfield in Lexington, about 45 miles east of Austin.
Police chief defends ’In God We Trust’ decals DALLAS — A police chief has sent a terse letter telling a watchdog group to “go fly a kite” after the group sent a letter of complaint when the chief placed “In God We Trust” decals on patrol vehicles. Childress police Chief Adrian Garcia says he sent the letter last week to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Police: nobody else sought in woman’s death LA MARQUE — Police believe a 14-year-old Houston-area boy accused in the death of his pregnant mother acted alone. La Marque police Chief Kirk Jackson said Tuesday there’s no indication that anyone else was involved in the death. The boy was being held on a juvenile murder charge. The teen was located Sunday in Houston.
Red tide algae bloom at South Padre Island beach SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Experts say the algae bloom known as red tide has showed up in high concentrations on the beach at South Padre Island. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department says water samples show lesser concentrations near the South Padre Island convention center. — Compiled from AP reports
Tuesday, October 6 Community conversation on teen and young adult mental health from 6–8 p.m. at the UT Health Science Center auditorium, 1937 E. Bustamante St. Learn how to recognize the warning signs of mental health issues, what actions to take, and what resources are available. Registration is free and open to all. Presented by Area Health Education Center, Border Region Behavioral Health Center, Texas Department of State Services Office of Border Health. Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 7952400, x2520. The Alzheimer’s support group will meet at 7 p.m. in meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. The group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. Call 956-6939991. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 6 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 7 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326DOME (3663).
AROUND THE NATION Road off Strip renamed Sammy Davis Jr. Drive LAS VEGAS — Frank, Sammy and Dean are together again. Officials have renamed a street near the Las Vegas Strip for Sammy Davis Jr. Naturally, a dedication ceremony Tuesday was held at the three-way intersection where Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, Frank Sinatra Drive and Dean Martin Drive meet. Davis family members including his son, Manny Davis, joined Clark County commission members and local entertainers for the event on what used to be called Industrial Road, just west of the Strip.
2 constables convicted in woman’s arrest PITTSBURGH — A judge has ruled two Pittsburgh constables “abused their power” when they handcuffed a woman and
Today is Wednesday, September 30, the 273rd day of 2015. There are 92 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On September 30, 1955, actor James Dean, 24, was killed in a two-car collision near Cholame, California. On this date: In 1399, England’s King Richard II was deposed by Parliament; he was succeeded by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who was crowned as King Henry IV. In 1777, the Continental Congress — forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces — moved to York, Pennsylvania. In 1846, Boston dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time as he extracted an ulcerated tooth from merchant Eben Frost. In 1915, the D.H. Lawrence novel “The Rainbow” was published in London by Methuen & Co. In 1938, after co-signing the Munich Agreement allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, “I believe it is peace for our time.” In 1939, the first college football game to be televised was shown on experimental station W2XBS in New York as Fordham University defeated Waynesburg College, 34-7. In 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end. In 1954, the first nuclearpowered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy. In 1962, James Meredith, a black student, was escorted by federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he enrolled for classes the next day; Meredith’s presence sparked rioting that claimed two lives. The National Farm Workers Association, founded by Cesar Chavez and a forerunner of the United Farm Workers, held its first meeting in Fresno, California. In 1997, France’s Roman Catholic Church apologized for its silence during the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews by the proNazi Vichy regime. Today’s Birthdays: Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel is 87. Actress Angie Dickinson is 84. Singer Cissy Houston is 82. Singer Johnny Mathis is 80. Actor Len Cariou is 76. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 72. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is 70. Pop singer Sylvia Peterson (The Chiffons) is 69. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall is 65. Actress Victoria Tennant is 65. Actor John Finn is 63. Rock musician John Lombardo is 63. Singer Deborah Allen is 62. Actor Calvin Levels is 61. Actor Barry Williams is 61. Singer Patrice Rushen is 61. Actress Fran Drescher is 58. Country singer Marty Stuart is 57. Actress Debrah Farentino is 56. Rock musician Bill Rieflin (R.E.M.) is 55. Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is 55. Actress Crystal Bernard is 54. Actor Eric Stoltz is 54. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 53. Country singer Eddie Montgomery (MontgomeryGentry) is 52. Rock singer Trey Anastasio is 51. Actress Monica Bellucci is 51. Rock musician Robby Takac (Goo Goo Dolls) is 51. Actress Lisa Thornhill is 49. Thought for Today: “The idea is to die young as late as possible.” — Ashley Montagu, Anglo-American anthropologist (1905-1999).
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The Test of Faith exhibit is shown during a tour of the Mormon Church History Museum, Tuesday, in Salt Lake City. The church’s renovated museum features a small display about a part of the faith’s history: polygamy. dragged her by her legs out of her home over an unpaid parking ticket. Allegheny County Judge Beth Lazzara on Tuesday convicted Christian Constantini and Michael Lowman of simple assault, reckless endangerment, official
oppression and conspiracy. Both remain free on bond pending their December sentencing. The judge cited inconsistencies between Constantini’s testimony and a report he wrote on the night of the October incident. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, 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. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local & State
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Disciplinary record Officer who pinned teenager had been disciplined three times By EMILY SCHMALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Texas Tribune
Commissioner Michael Williams said the state was not changing its position on allowing local school districts to make decisions on using evaluation systems of their choosing.
Federal waiver for schools gets nod By MORGAN SMITH TEXAS TRIBUNE
Texas public schools will get a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements — as long as the state can ensure its schools are using teacher and principal evaluation systems that meet federal standards by January. After two years of negotiations, the U.S. Department of Education notified the Texas Education Agency Tuesday that it had granted conditional approval of the state’s waiver request Tuesday. But it remains unclear whether the ongoing standoff between the state and the federal government over educator evaluations has come to an end. As the education agency announced the decision, Commissioner Michael Williams said the state was not changing its position on allowing local school districts to make decisions on using evaluation systems of their choosing. “Throughout the waiver application process, I have made it clear to federal officials that I do not have, nor will I ever seek, the authority to compel local school districts to use one uniform teacher and principal evaluation system statewide,” Williams said in a statement. “Our state believes strongly in local control of our schools. As a result, we will continue discussing this specific point with the U.S. Department of Education, but they should not expect any
shift in Texas’ position.” Without the federal waiver, nearly all of the state’s school districts could be subject to sanctions, including forced restructuring, for failing to meet the law’s requirement that 100 percent of students pass reading and math exams. The state could also risk losing billions in federal funding for low-income students. In late January, federal education officials rejected a new educator evaluation system currently being piloted by the state in part because it did not require all school districts to use student achievement on standardized tests to measure teacher performance. Williams noted Wednesday that while most Texas school districts — 86 percent — use the statewide evaluation system, they do so voluntarily. In remarks earlier this year, Williams suggested Texas might “go the way of California” when it came to the waiver. California is among the handful of states that have lost or been denied waivers because they’ve declined to make changes demanded by the federal government. A new evaluation system consistent with federal guidelines was a condition that federal officials set in place in September 2013 when it granted Texas its initial waiver from the law. Congress is currently in the process of rewriting the 2001 law, and it is unclear how the final version will handle teacher evaluations.
FORT WORTH — A white suburban Dallas police officer who resigned after video showed him forcing a bikiniclad black 15-year-old girl to the ground in June was disciplined three previous times during his 10-year career with the department, police records provided to The Associated Press show. The June 5 incident involving McKinney police Officer Eric Casebolt, who also pulled a gun on other black teens outside a pool party, sparked criticism, protests and eventually Casebolt’s resignation. Casebolt’s attorney, Jane Bishkin, said Tuesday that she had not seen Casebolt’s personnel file, which was released to AP late Friday, but called
his disciplinary record a “nonissue.” “If he were that bad, he would have been fired a long time ago,” she said. The file shows Casebolt was suspended without pay for one day in June 2010 after going in his police car and in uniform to bail out his girlfriend from jail. He received a written reprimand in 2014 for boasting on Facebook about his response to a suicidal teenager. “Guess who just checked the box for ‘commandeer a golf cart and tased a suicidal knife wielding maniac offhanded and still rolling without spilling the golfer’s miller lite’?!” Casebolt wrote on Facebook. He was also reprimanded for conduct in a May 2011 incident involving an ex-girl-
friend and her ex-husband. The woman’s former husband had called police to complain that Casebolt was circling the woman’s apartment, according to police records. The man also accused Casebolt of leaving a loaded gun unsecured around children at the woman’s apartment. He was suspended without pay for three days. The personnel file also shows Casebolt was praised at times — for being orderly, having a good working relationship with others, dependability, making good decisions and for his ability to adapt to stressful situations and control his emotions. He was named officer of the year in 2008. The Collin County district attorney’s office has said it will present Casebolt’s case to a grand jury.
Courtesy photo
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Zapata Border Patrol Station seized 696 pounds of marijuana Sept. 18.
Agents seized marijuana SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Zapata Border Patrol Station seized 696 pounds of marijuana during a drug-smuggling attempt Sept. 18, at about 9:20 p.m. Agents observed a suspicious vehicle near Highway 83 make an abrupt exit. They encountered the vehi-
cle abandoned as they drove closer. A search of the area was conducted and agents recovered 30 bundles of contraband inside the vehicle. The total weight of the 30 bundles was 696.03 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $566,800. The Laredo Border Patrol Sector is part of the Joint
Task Force-West South Texas Corridor, which uses federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations. To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
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OTHER VIEWS
EDITORIAL
Hikes are a hard pill to swallow CHICAGO TRIBUNE
If the price of your morning Starbucks fix jumped from $3.45 to $142, you’d probably take your business to Dunkin’ Donuts or swear off caffeine altogether. But patients who rely on a drug called Daraprim don’t have the option of discontinuing their meds or switching to another brand. And last month, the price of Daraprim jumped from $13.50 a pill to $750. That’s an increase of more than 5,000 percent. There’s nothing new-and-improved about Daraprim, which has been on the market for 62 years. What’s changed is the company that owns the marketing rights to the drug. Daraprim is the standard treatment for toxoplasmosis, a potentially life-threatening parasitic infection. The drug’s patent expired long ago, but there’s no generic version in the U.S. because the market isn’t big enough to support a competitor. Only about 2,000 U.S. patients were treated with Daraprim last year. When Turing Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to Daraprim in August, it essentially had its hands on a monopoly. So it jacked up the price as high as it dared. Doctors, patient advocacy groups and politicians howled. In a letter to Turing, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said treating a patient with Daraprim would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year — a price it called “unjustifiable” and “unsustainable for the health care system.” Biotech stocks had a very bad week as investors worried about rumbles of government interference in drug pricing. Turing CEO Martin Shkreli eventually said the company would roll back the price, but he hasn’t said how far. Why is that $750 pill so hard to swallow? The high cost of many prescription drugs is a reflection of the lengthy, expensive and risky process of bringing a new medicine to market. That’s not the case with Daraprim. The business model adopted by Turing and others is to identify drugs that are “undervalued,” buy them and raise the prices. Often they are older or generic drugs that can command a higher price because consumers have few or no alternatives. As recently as 2010, Daraprim was priced at $1 a pill. That was three owners ago. In a story about the trend in April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International had purchased two lifesaving heart drugs and raised the prices by 212 percent and 525 percent the same day. Last month, another company bought the tuberculosis-fighting drug cycloserine and raised the price of 30 capsules from $500 to $10,800 — to the dismay of the previous owner, a nonprofit research foundation affiliated with Purdue University. When the nonprofit objected, Rodelis Therapeutics agreed to return the rights. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent running for president, and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sent a letter last week to Turing, calling its deal “the latest in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications.” Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton capitalized on the controversy by hawking her plan to lower prescription drug costs. It includes capping costs for patients, requiring drug companies to invest more of their profits in research and development instead of marketing, and reducing the time during which companies can produce their new drugs exclusively. If you want to stifle medical innovation, that’s the way to do it. But hiking the price of a drug by 5,000 percent just because you can invites that sort of government meddling, which is why the pharmaceutical industry isn’t happy with Turing. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group, made that clear on Twitter: “TuringPharma does not represent the values of PhRMA member companies.” How can such opportunistic pricing be curbed? Instead of over-regulating the drug companies, the government could promote competition by allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs from other countries if they’re manufactured in an environment that meets U.S. standards. Generic versions of Daraprim are available in Europe for as little as $1 a pill. Public pressure (and Internet shaming) proved effective against Turing. After two days of pushing back hard against the criticism — including calling the editor of a biotech newsletter a “moron” on Twitter — Shkreli said the company would lower its price “in response to the anger that was felt by people.” Before he backed down, he’d insisted the hike would net the company “a reasonable profit, not excessive at all,” and said the company planned to use those earnings to develop better treatments for toxoplasmosis. The medical community replied that Daraprim works just fine, thank you. Patients already have an effective treatment. What they need is one they can afford.
COLUMN
Railroads, music are a good mix My hometown of Teague was a railroad town for more than a century. Many families I knew, including some relatives, derived their livelihood from the Fort Worth & Denver-Burlington Rock Island Railroad. It’s since been absorbed by a conglomerate. One of my summers, between my college freshman and sophomore years, was spent as a grateful employee of the FWD-BRI at a whopping $1.875 per hour. I wish I could tell you it was one of those “romantic” jobs involving moving the trains up and down the tracks from city to city, because I just knew the wimmin-folk loved that. But it wasn’t. It was a down-and-dirty (and less financially rewarding) construction job on the FWDBRI bridge gang. But, it helped me finance a year of college. The moving-the-train jobs went to guys who were
likely to make a career of the railroad. From my limited perspective at a small-town rail “turnabout,” the only more difficult railroad work than the bridge gang was laboring in the rail yards. The “yards” were built back in the early part of the 1900s and involved a series of rail spurs, off the main line, to a collection of repair shops. There was also a turnabout, a huge section of track set up to hold one of the big steam locomotives and its fuel car (wood in the early years, coal in later times). Unlike the current diesel-engine locomotives, the old steamers couldn’t go two directions, so they were driven onto the turntable, “spun” around and headed the opposite direction. FWD-BRI’s turnabout was also used to maneuver the engines into position for maintenance and repair. There’s nothing “light” about a train locomotive, today’s diesel or yesterday’s steam-driven. Naturally, some of the repair involved dismantling of parts. If you’ve never seen a turnabout up close, there’s a
series of wheels that holds the locomotive on the track and, driven by the steam-powered engine, rolls it along the tracks. The largest set of wheels is the back pair (one on each side) right under the engineer-fireman cab. These were made of steel and reportedly weighed 600 pounds each. I was never in the shops, so I can’t tell you how they were equipped, but one would think they’d have a device that could lift and move those wheels. Perhaps they did, but once I saw them moved in another manner. Working in the shops was a giant of a man, an AfricanAmerican known as Big Jesse. It was said he was sixfeet, six-inches tall and weighed more than 400 pounds. I believe it because I saw him up close more than once and this little 5-11, 145pound, spider-reared boy was AWED and just a little intimidated. I saw Big Jesse pick up one of the biggest locomotive wheels and move it. He would’ve been a hit and unrivaled as a strong man in a circus or carnival.
Growing up rural Texas, with parents whose roots were solidly farming and ranching, country music and a healthy dose of Southern Gospel were the dominant sounds. I was, and still am, a fan of each. Railroads and country music just seem to be made for each other. And, some railroad ballads were among my favorites in the C&W genre. My top railroad song picks, in ascending order: 5. Night Train to Memphis by Roy Acuff 4. Orange Blossom Special by Johnny Cash; 3. City of New Orleans by my main man Willie Nelson; 2. Long Black Train by Josh Turner; and, ta-da, #1. Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. Since I spent considerable time around the railroad and actually worked on it one summer, you think my route to fame and fortune might be to write a railroad song? Maybe Willie will still be around to record it. Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.
EDITORIAL
Gun laws miss the mark with some THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Here’s a shocker: Criminals get their guns from friends, family or fellow gang members, not traditional legal channels like licensed dealers, according to a new survey of criminals incarcerated at Chicago’s Cook County Jail con-
ducted by researchers from the University of Chicago and Duke University. The survey consisted of interviews with 99 inmates, current or former gang members, who had illegally possessed a firearm within six months prior to their arrests. While the source of their firearms was unclear in about
one-third of the cases, 49 percent of respondents acknowledged receiving guns from a family member, gang member or someone else they knew personally. An additional 16 percent got them from a mutual acquaintance or from someone they did not know on the black market. Just 1.5 percent said they had stolen their
guns. The research provides further evidence that calls for “universal background checks” and laws to close gun show “loopholes” will not lead to improvements in public safety, but don’t expect such facts to deter gun-grabbers from their crusade to disarm honest citizens.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA BASKETBALL: SMU MUSTANGS
NCAA punishes Brown, SMU Mustangs banned from postseason play By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — The NCAA banned the SMU men’s basketball team from postseason play Tuesday and suspended veteran coach Larry Brown for nine games after concluding that he lied to its investigators and simply turned his back on a case of academic fraud involving one of his players. In a scathing report, the NCAA noted that Brown, who previously coached at Kansas and UCLA, made “choices against his better judgment when it came to compliance issues” at SMU. “These choices included not reporting possible violations in his program, initially lying to the enforcement staff during the investigation and providing no specific guidance to his staff on rules compliance,” the NCAA said in punishing SMU for its nation-leading 10th major infractions case. The school said it was studying the report and would decide within the next two weeks whether to appeal. “Our compliance program is among the best in the nation, but we acknowledge that even the strongest compliance programs can fall short when individuals act in an unethical manner,”
SMU President Gerald Turner said in a statement issued before a news conference. The basketball team will lose nine scholarships over the next three seasons and could have some if not all of its 2013-14 season vacated, a season in which it went 27-10 and lost in the NIT championship game. The 75-yearold Brown, the only coach to win both NCAA and NBA titles, is also subject to a show-cause order over the next two years. “I am saddened and disappointed that the Committee on Infractions believes that I did not fully fulfill my duties and I will consider my options to challenge that assertion in the coming days,” said Brown, who is 69-34 in three seasons at SMU. “Still, there was a violation in our program and I take responsibility for that and offer my sincere apologies to the university community.” The NCAA said Brown acknowledged “his failed judgment” during a hearing on the case. “But I realize, you know, in hindsight that was a terrible mistake on my part,” Brown said, according to the NCAA report. “I wish I could have changed all that. But we had that interview with the NCAA, I don’t know why I lied. You know, dealing with people that I really care
about, and I used terrible judgment, and I tried to acknowledge that as quickly as I could, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I realize that.” SMU is still the only school ever given the NCAA’s so-called death penalty in football for multiple violations and the program was shut down for two seasons, 1987 and 1988. The latest case included violations in the compliance office, men’s golf and the revived Mustangs basketball program run by Brown. Brown led Kansas to the 1988 national championship with Danny Manning leading the way before returning to the NBA as San Antonio’s coach. But the Jayhawks were banned from postseason play the next season and placed on probation for recruiting violations during Brown’s tenure. UCLA was 42-17 in Brown’s two seasons, but the Bruins’ runner-up finish in the 1980 NCAA Tournament was later vacated by the NCAA after two players were determined to be ineligible. Michael Adams, the Pepperdine chancellor who was the chief hearing officer, said SMU’s past transgressions were taken into account this time. He said Brown’s past, and leaving Kansas and UCLA before sanctions hit those programs, were not factors.
Photo by Fred Beckham | AP
SMU head coach Larry Brown will be suspended nine games as the Mustangs basketball program has been banned from the postseason and could see much of its run to second place in the NIT championship in 2014 vacated following an academic fraud punishment by the NCAA.
National
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
McCarthy tries to lock up Boehner’s old job By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Stunned and divided, House Republicans sought a way forward Tuesday as Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy pledged to bring them together after Speaker John Boehner’s sudden resignation. The five-term California Republican moved aggressively to lock up support to move into Congress’ top job, second in line to the presidency. He faced little serious competition, though the same hardline conservatives who forced Boehner out command enough votes to complicate McCarthy’s ascent, even without fielding a candidate of their own. “I know what’s going on across the country, and I’m concerned about what we hear,” McCarthy told reporters. “We want to make sure that we’re closer to the people, that they feel this is their government, they’re in charge and we serve them. “Now, that’s not easy, and it won’t change overnight. But that’s our mission.” McCarthy spoke as the contest to replace him as majority leader turned volatile, with some Republicans announcing they wanted to draft Rep. Trey Gowdy, RS.C., the chairman of the special panel investigating the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attacks, and Hillary Clinton. Gowdy took himself out of the running late in the day, stressing that he doesn’t want to give up his responsibility as Benghazi committee chairman. “I’ve never run for any leadership job,” he said. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia already are competing fiercely for the No. 2 job. Amid the jockeying, House Republicans met behind closed doors Tuesday evening for an unusual members-only meeting. Lawmakers said it was a wide-ranging discussion on how they move forward from Boehner’s stunning announcement Friday that he will step down at the end of October, rather than face a tea party-driven floor vote to depose him. Lawmakers aired frustration at their inability to satisfy fed-up voters who want aggressive action against President Barack Obama and the Democrats, and who blame GOP leaders when Senate Democrats and the president himself foil GOP plans. Many are embittered after years where Congress
Photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times | AP
Rep. Mark Meadow (R-N.C.) speaks during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, on Tuesday. Photo by Carolyn Kaster | AP
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. gestures toward outgoing House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio during a new conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday. has lurched from crisis to crisis, often driven by a small group of tea party lawmakers, shutting down the government in a failed attempt to end Obama’s health law and repeatedly getting the bare minimum done at the last possible minute. The GOP enjoys the biggest House majority in decades and control of the Senate, yet lawmakers feel they have little to point to. And there’s no unanimity on a solution — if a solution exists — though the GOP’s White House hopes may depend on one. More chances for gridlock and shutdowns loom later this year. “There needs to be a major therapy session and a lot of dialogue and a lot of putting down our knives and just having a really great heart-to-heart and coming to grips with some very, very, tough things,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., one of the rebels. Like other lawmakers, he complained of feeling excluded and unable to represent the voters who elected him. Other, establishmentaligned lawmakers complained Republicans have fed voter frustration by making unrealistic promises about what can be accomplished under divided government, even with Senate control. They called for a more honest dialogue with voters. “Are we going to keep lying? Are we going to tell the American people, or try to fool them, into believing that we can unilaterally repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, bring down the president’s executive orders?” asked Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla. “Or are we going to be serious, are we going to lead, are we going to be honest? This is the question here.” McCarthy and the candidates for lower-rung jobs have been addressing such questions head-on in a lead-
ership race that’s featured unusually public soulsearching about the state of House Republicans. In a statement seeking his colleagues’ support as majority leader, Scalise wrote: “It’s time to unite behind a strategy that lets us make the case for our conservative governing vision and empowers you to drive the public-policy narrative in your own district.” Price, Scalise’s leading opponent, released a letter saying: “The hurdles that inevitably lay ahead will require effective and capable leaders. It will require new thinking and a change from the status quo. And it must advance the cause of a smaller, more limited, more accountable government by allowing everyone’s voice to be included.” Some hardline conservatives questioned whether McCarthy, who’s been endorsed by Boehner, would offer real change. Asked how he would be different, McCarthy joked Tuesday that “I won’t be as tanned” as the famously orangehued Boehner. But he also moved to ingratiate himself to conservatives, declaring on CNN that Sen. Ted Cruz is “healthy for this party.” Boehner has called Cruz a “jackass.” Texas’ Cruz is a presidential candidate and tea party favorite. Boehner’s decision to step down averted immediate crisis, as stopgap legislation to keep the government running is expected to clear Congress ahead of the Wednesday midnight deadline. Despite conservatives’ demands, the bill will not cut off money for Planned Parenthood following the release of videos focused on the group’s practice of providing fetal tissues for research. The bill merely extends the government funding deadline until Dec. 11, when another shutdown showdown will loom.
Budget talks pending President, Republican lawmakers eye possible shutdown By ANDREW TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Having dodged the immediate threat of a government shutdown, congressional Republican leaders are looking ahead to talks with President Barack Obama on a long-term budget pact. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RKy., said Tuesday that he and House Speaker John Boehner spoke with Obama recently and that he expects talks to get underway soon. McConnell spoke as the Senate wraps up a debate he engineered on a temporary spending bill that would keep the government open while the negotiations stretch through the fall. The measure, expected to clear the House and Senate just hours before a midnight Wednesday deadline, would keep the government running through Dec. 11. “The president and Speaker Boehner and I spoke about getting started on the discussions last week, and I would expect them to start very soon,” McConnell told reporters. At issue are efforts to increase the operating budgets for both the Pentagon and domestic agencies still under automatic spending curbs that would effectively freeze their budgets at current levels. Republicans are leading the drive to boost defense while Obama is demanding equal relief for domestic programs. The conversation between McConnell, Boehner and Obama took place earlier this month — before Boehner announced he was stepping down under pressure from tea
Negotiators agree on policy bill House, Senate agree on $612 billion pact that challenges administration By DEB RIECHMANN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a $612 billion defense policy bill that restricts transferring terror suspects out of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and challenges the administration on the budget, drawing a veto threat from President Barack Obama. The bill gives Obama the increase in funding he requested, but he’s unhappy with the way lawmakers did it. The legislation authorizes an increase in defense spending by padding a warfighting account with an extra $38.3 billion — money that’s not subject to limits Congress has imposed on military and domestic spending. The measure would retain and, in some cases, increase current restrictions on transferring detainees out of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It continues to ban the transfer of detainees to the United States or construction to house them on U.S. soil. It also calls on the White House to send Congress a plan on how it plans to close the facility and handle future detainees. Moreover, it bans detainees from being transferred to Yemen, Libya, Somalia or Syria, although congressional staff members said it didn’t appear the administration had any intention of transferring any to these volatile nations. Closing the prison is one of Obama’s top goals, yet he has not yet sent Congress a plan on how to shut it down.
“There is still no plan on what to do and how to do it with the detainees at Guantanamo Bay,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “If the administration complains about the provisions concerning Guantanamo, then it’s their fault because they never came forward with a plan.” Among other things, the massive bill: provides a 1.3 percent pay increase to service members calls for government matching funds to new 401(k)-type plans, replacing a system that doesn’t leave retiring troops with anything unless they serve 20 years. authorizes lethal assistance to Ukraine forces fighting Russianbacked rebels. continues support for Afghanistan’s security forces and requires the president to report on the risks associated with his plan to drawdown U.S. troops there. Obama announced in March that he would slow the troop withdrawal and maintain 9,800 through the end of this year in Afghanistan where the Taliban this week captured a strategic northern city. increases from 4,000 to 7,000 the number of special immigrant visas for Afghans who assisted U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and now are facing threats. authorizes the president’s request of $715 million to help Iraqi forces fight Islamic State militants. It requires the Pentagon to report on
whether the Iraqi government becomes inclusive of the country’s ethnic groups and states that based on that report, the president can decide to directly arm Sunnis or Kurds. authorizes $600 million for the beleaguered U.S.-led program to train and equip moderate elements of the Syrian opposition force, but requires the defense secretary to get congressional approval each time he wants to use money for the program. restores funding for the A-10 close air support plane and prohibits its retirement. directs the defense secretary to issue a policy to empower individual post commanders to decide whether members of the armed forces can carry government-issued or personal fire arms at military installations, reserve centers and recruiting centers. This provision follows shootings in Little Rock, Arkansas; Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Fort Hood, Texas. extends the ban on torture to the CIA, a provision that pleased McCain, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. “I’m glad the United States of America will never again to be able to do things that they did before, which was such a terrible stain on our national honor,” McCain said. McCain and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, acknowledged the legislation does not solve the spending problems. But McCain insisted is a budget fight that should not be fought on his legislation.
party conservatives. Many of those same lawmakers want to preserve stringent “caps” on the spending bills Congress passes every year, and Senate Republicans are generally more eager to revisit the 2011 budget deal that put them in place. Boehner’s surprise resignation announcement on Friday followed unrest by arch conservatives in his conference who wanted to use the pending stopgap spending bill to try to force Democrats and Obama to take federal funding away from Planned Parenthood. Instead, Boehner and McConnell opted for a bipartisan measure that steers clear of the furor over Planned Parenthood and avoids the risk of a partial government shutdown — over the opposition of the most hardline conservative Republicans. Wednesday’s scheduled vote comes after a 77-19 tally on Monday easily beat a token filibuster threat. The House also is expected to approve the bill — stripped of a tea party-backed measure to take taxpayer funding away from Planned Parenthood — before Wednesday’s midnight deadline. McConnell is under fire from tea party conservatives who demand that he fight harder against Planned Parenthood, even at the risk of a government shutdown. But McConnell is focused on protecting his 2016 reelection class. One of the Republicans’ presidential aspirants, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, on Tuesday endorsed a shutdown as a way to gain leverage over Obama.
“Why don’t we start out with the negotiating position that we defund everything that’s objectionable, all the wasteful spending, all the duplicative spending, let’s defund it all and if there has to be negotiation, let’s start from defunding it all and see where we get,” Paul said in a Senate speech. “But it would take courage, because you have to let spending expire,” he said. “If you’re not willing to let the spending expire and start anew, you have no leverage.” Last week, Democrats led a filibuster of a Senate stopgap measure that would have blocked money to Planned Parenthood. Eight Republicans did not support that measure, leaving it short of a simple majority, much less the 60 votes required to overcome the filibuster. “This bill hardly represents my preferred method for funding the government, but it’s now the most viable way forward after Democrats’ extreme actions forced our country into this situation,” McConnell said Tuesday of the stopgap. Republicans have targeted Planned Parenthood for years, but secretly recorded videos that raised questions about the organization’s handling of fetal tissue provided to scientific researchers have outraged antiabortion Republicans and put them on the offensive against the group. The group says it is doing nothing wrong. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who hopes to be his party’s presidential nominee, took to the Senate floor after the vote Monday to denounce the Republican leadership.
National
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Groups seek end to all Arctic Ocean drilling By DAN JOLING ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to end its quest for oil in the Arctic waters off Alaska sparked jubilation among environmental activists, who said Tuesday that they will seize the opportunity to seek an end to all drilling to in the region. But while Shell’s move is a definite setback for oil companies, it does not mean offshore drilling is dead or that the Arctic Ocean has any greater protection now than it had last week. Shell’s decision gives advocates on both sides a chance to pause and consider whether Arctic drilling should continue, said Mike LeVine of the ocean-advocacy group in Juneau known as Oceana. “Meaningful action to address climate change is almost certainly going to mean we can’t keep looking for oil in remote and expensive places,” LeVine said. “Rather than investing in programs like this, we need to figure out how to transition away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy.” Shell announced Monday that it would abandon exploration in U.S. Arctic waters “for the foreseeable future” after a well drilled this summer in the Chukchi Sea off the Alaskan coast failed to find natural gas and oil in sufficient quantities. Royal Dutch Shell PLC spent more than $7 billion on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas and was dogged at every regulatory level by environmental groups, which feared that a spill in the harsh climate would be difficult to clean up and
Photo by Don Ryan/file | AP
Royal Dutch Shell PLC icebreaker Fennica heads up the Willamette River under protesters hanging from the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Ore., on July 30. Royal Dutch Shell has announced it will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast. devastating to polar bears, walruses, seals and other wildlife. The next step for many environmental advocates is to establish “some sort of binding policy so that these decisions are not up to oil companies,” said Cassady Sharp, spokeswoman for Greenpeace USA in Washington, D.C. Over the summer, Greenpeace protested drilling by boarding a Shell vessel as it crossed the Pacific. The group helped organize onthe-water demonstrations in Seattle by “kayaktivists” in kayaks. Protesters with climbing gear hung suspended from a bridge in Portland, Oregon, to briefly delay a Shell support vessel from de-
parting for the Chukchi Sea. “I think the activism played a huge role and probably a bigger one than Shell is going to admit,” Sharp said. Greenpeace remains opposed to Arctic offshore oil development and will turn its attention to other Alaska leases and potential drilling in other countries, she said. “We don’t want to get too confident and assume no company is going to move forward,” she said. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that American Arctic waters hold 26 billion barrels of conventionally recoverable oil. That’s considerably more than the 17 billion barrels of crude that moved
Landowner suits out Keystone XL developer drops landowner lawsuits in Neb. By GRANT SCHULTE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline is shifting course in Nebraska and will withdraw lawsuits seeking to gain access to the property of landowners who oppose the project, the company announced Tuesday. TransCanada Inc. said it will abandon its current efforts to invoke eminent domain through the courts, and will reapply for state approval despite having received the go-ahead from former Republican Gov. Dave Heineman in 2013. Heineman approved the project under a now-contested pipeline-siting law that granted him the final say over the project’s route through Nebraska. TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said the company will instead seek a review from the Nebraska Public Service Commission — a small, elected group that regulates most pipeline projects — as many opponents have wanted. Cooper said the company intends to seek approval for the same route that was approved by the governor, but reapplying through state Public Service Commission provides “the clearest path to achieving route certainty,” given the lawsuits that
sought to overturn Nebraska’s 3-year-old pipeline-siting law. “It ultimately saves time, reduces conflict with those who oppose the project and sets clear rules for approval of the route,” Cooper said. Opponents argued in court that the law was invalid because it allowed TransCanada to circumvent the commission and receive approval from Heineman, who supported the pipeline. Under Nebraska’s constitution, the commission has the authority to regulate “common carriers” such as pipelines and railroads. The company and its supporters argued that the law is valid, and noted that the project was reviewed once by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and five times by the U.S. State Department. Pipeline opponents celebrated the announcement as a major victory, but still called on President Barack Obama to reject a presidential permit for the project. Federal approval is required because the project crosses the U.S.-Canadian border. “TransCanada is a desperate company in an everlosing situation in Nebraska,” said Jane Kleeb, executive director of the group Bold Nebraska. “Farmers and ranchers continue to stand up this reckless for-
eign corporation and we continue to win.” The pipeline would travel from Canada through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. In January, the Nebraska Supreme Court allowed the pipeline-siting law to stand by default. Four judges on the seven-member court ruled in favor of landowners who challenged the law, but a super-majority of five was needed. The remaining three judges refused to rule on the law, arguing that they couldn’t because the plaintiffs in the lawsuit didn’t have legal standing. Opponents responded by filing a nearly identical lawsuit with landowners who were directly affected. Cooper said 91 percent of Nebraska landowners along the pipeline route have agreed to easements so the company can build the pipeline. Cooper said TransCanada could apply to the Public Service Commission as early as Friday. Reviews by the commission generally take seven months to a year to complete, and its decisions can be appealed in the state’s district court system.
through the trans-Alaska pipeline from 1977 through 2014. Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Shell’s experience and public pressure may serve as a warning message to other companies. However, Arctic offshore drilling is by no means over. The Department of Interior continues to evaluate Arctic-specific exploratory drilling regulations. The leases that allow oil companies to explore for crude run through 2017 in the Beaufort Sea and through 2020 in the Chukchi Sea, and corporations have sought extensions. Arctic waters continue to be
part of President Barack Obama’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, which embraces a wide range of sources, from oil and natural gas to renewables such as wind and solar power. Depending on interest by petroleum companies, the Interior Department could hold lease sales in Arctic waters in 2016 and 2017. Both the Chukchi and the Beaufort seas could be included in the federal government’s next fiveyear plan for offshore leases, which covers leasing through 2022. Environmental groups are also lining up to oppose a proposed Beaufort Sea project 19 miles east of Prudhoe Bay. HilCorp Alaska LLC has applied to build a 9-acre artificial island in 20 feet of water about 6 miles off shore to tap into 150 million barrels of crude oil. Shell’s decision ended hope that within a decade or so Arctic offshore oil could help replenish the trans-Alaska pipeline. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, a Republican-turnedindependent, said the state must find ways to address Alaska’s multi-billion dollar budget gap between income and spending. “If it’s not going to come offshore, let’s safely develop it from onshore,” he said. He will lobby Obama to not only extend offshore leases but to open reserves on land now closed, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he said. Congress in the 1990s voted to open part of the refuge. President Bill Clinton vetoed the measure. “So I’m going to start with the person with the veto authority and start with that,” Walker said. “I’m going to work from the top down.”
Feds pay more than $50M for non-rides By AMY GOLDSTEIN THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Medicare paid more than $50 million in potentially improper bills from ambulance companies for rides for older Americans, government investigators said Tuesday. The payments included $30 million worth of ambulance rides over a sixmonth period despite an absence of evidence, based on Medicare records, that the patients received any care where they were taken, according to a report by the inspector general for the Health and Human Services department. The report also identified another $24 million in payments for rides to and from doctors’ offices and other destinations for which Medicare does not cover ambulance services. Together, investigators found, those and other suspect reimbursements accounted for one in five of the nearly 16,000 ambulance services nationwide that transported Medicare patients during the first half of 2012. Questions of wasteful and fraudulent spending have long dogged the federal entitlement program, which insures about 50 million elderly and disabled
Americans. Republicans often cite Medicare as part of their drumbeat of criticism of improper federal expenditures. And in recent years, spending on ambulance bills has appeared to be a problem spot. Previously, government investigators found that Medicare’s spending on ambulance services doubled to $5.8 billion between 2003 and 2012. The new findings are based on an analysis of Medicare’s billing records for 7.3 million ambulance rides in 2012. The findings suggest that “inappropriate and questionable billing for ambulance transports continues to pose vulnerabilities” to Medicare’s financial integrity, the report concludes. Under Medicare’s Part B rules, which cover outpatient care, ambulance rides are allowed when other kinds of transportation would endanger a patient’s health and when a patient is traveling to or from a hospital, nursing home or several other kinds of medical facilities. The inspector general’s inquiry found that bad billing by ambulance companies remains concentrated in certain parts of the country, with slightly more than half of the questionable bills coming from Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New
York and Houston. And for companies with an especially large share of problematic bills, the average distance billed for ambulance transport in urban areas was 34 miles - more than three times the average trip for Medicare patients in urban areas. In the case of rides for which Medicare had no accompanying bills for medical services, the report concludes that “the transports may not have occurred” or that patients received services that the program does not cover - and that therefore did not justify an ambulance transport paid for by the program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency within HHS, “is pursuing a comprehensive strategy comprising of several initiatives to combat ambulance transport fraud and abuse,” said spokesman Aaron Albright. In the past two years in Houston and Philadelphia, he said, the agency has blocked new ambulance services from participating in Medicare. And under an experiment to try to control fraud, the agency now requires advance permission in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South Carolina for repetitive ambulance rides in cases that are not emergencies.
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Nefertiti’s tomb Search for Egyptian queen gains momentum
Obama says ISIS fight will take some time By ZEINA KARAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MARAM MAZEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUXOR, Egypt — The search for ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti in an alleged hidden chamber in King Tut’s tomb gained new momentum as Egypt’s Antiquities Minister said Tuesday he is now more convinced a queen’s tomb may lay hidden behind King Tutankhamun’s final resting place. While touring the burial sites of Tutankhamun and other pharaohs in Luxor’s famed Valley of the Kings with British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said he now thinks King Tut’s 3,300 year-old pharaonic mausoleum probably contains at least one hidden chamber. Reeves theorized that Tutankhamun, popularly known as King Tut, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti’s tomb. “I agree with him that there’s probably something behind the walls,” el-Damaty said. But he said if anyone is buried there it is likely Kia, believed by some Egyptologists to be King Tut’s mother. High-resolution images of King Tut’s tomb “revealed several very interesting features which look not at all natural, features like very, very straight lines which are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb,” Reeves said during the visit. These features would have been difficult to capture with the naked eye, he said. Reeves said the walls could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
Photo by Nariman El-Mofty | AP
A policeman takes a selfie at the Amenhotep II tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, on Tuesday. Egypt’s antiquities minister says King Tut’s tomb may contain hidden chambers, lending support to a British Egyptologist’s theory that a queen may be buried in the walls of the 3,300 year-old pharaonic mausoleum. which perhaps leads to Nefertiti’s tomb. He also argues that the design of the tomb suggests it was built for a queen, rather than a king. El-Damaty said he will seek final approval for a radar inspection of the tomb. Nefertiti, famed for her beauty and who was the subject of a famous 3,300year-old bust, was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who tried and failed to switch Egypt to an early form of monotheism. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to as Smenkhare and then Tut, who is widely believed to have been Akhenaten’s son. Reeves believes that Smenkhare is actually Nefertiti. “Nefertiti disappears ... according to the latest inscriptions just being found,” said Reeves. “I think that Nefertiti didn’t disappear, she simply changed her name.” After Nefertiti died, Tut buried her, and then when he died someone decided to extend the tomb, Reeves suggested. “Since Nefertiti had been buried a decade before, they remembered that tomb was there and they thought, well, perhaps we can extend it,” he said.
The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb filled with artifacts, including the famed golden funeral mask, made him known the world over, and boosted interest in that era, called the Amarna period. While inscriptions in tombs provide some information, they are not always helpful in clarifying a pharaoh’s lineage. “In the case of royal tombs they’re not dealing with mortal life. They’re dealing with the beyond,” said Reeves, adding that writing things such as the family tree “is just irrelevant.” Instead, these inscriptions include things such as “spells to enable the deceased to reach the lands of the gods,” said Reeves. This means Egyptologists use a number of factors to develop theories, leading to divisions among experts about the period. “Every Egyptologist has got a different view on the Amarna period, because we have a lot of evidence to discuss but not just quite enough to make a final decision,” said Reeves. “If we find something extra, even one small new inscription would be a great bonus, it could change everything,” said Reeves.
UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged all possible tools — military, intelligence and economic — to defeat the Islamic State group, but acknowledged the extremist group has taken root in Syria and Iraq, is resilient and continues to expand. Obama hosted a U.N. gathering of world leaders working to expand the battle against terrorism, a day after he and the leaders of Russia, China and Iran addressed the General Assembly during its 70th anniversary. The fight against terrorism, particularly in Syria, has seized the attention of top officials, but there has been no overall agreement on how to end the conflict there. “I have repeatedly said that our approach will take time. This is not an easy task,” Obama cautioned, while adding that he was “ultimately optimistic” the brutal organization would be defeated because it has nothing to offer but suffering and death. “This is a long-term campaign — not only against this particular network, but against its ideology,” he said. The meeting also heard from the Iraqi leader, who sought more help against IS in his country, and learned from Obama that three more countries — Nigeria, Tunisia and Malaysia — were added to the coalition fighting the group. In other events at the annual gathering of world leaders: Obama held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro, the second time the leaders of the once-estranged nations have met this year. The European Union’s top diplomat emerged from a high-level meeting on Sy-
KI-MOON
ria’s humanitarian crisis to tell reporters that she sees possible “political space for new initiatives in the coming weeks,” with no details. Ukraine’s president condemned Russia’s aggression against his country, and urged the international community to restrain Moscow’s veto power in the Security Council. Guyana’s president, David Granger, accused Venezuela of being a bully as the two countries brought their long-running border dispute to the world body. Japan said it is providing $1.5 billion for assistance of refugees and stabilization of communities facing upheaval in the Middle East and Africa. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon scolded South Sudan’s president,
warning “not betray and disappoint us” in implementing a new peace deal. The fight against terrorism has been complicated by a Russian military buildup in Syria in support of President Bashar Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Monday that Russia could launch airstrikes against the militants in Syria, if sanctioned by the United Nations or requested by Damascus. Obama and Putin are at odds over Russian involvement because Washington has said Assad must be removed from power. Obama and Putin laid out competing visions for Syria during speeches Monday. Reflecting the divide, an official with the Russian delegation said Moscow was taking part in the Obama-led event with a lowerlevel official, deputy ambassador Evgeny Zagaynov. Russia on Wednesday will chair its own meeting on countering extremism as this month’s U.N. Security Council president. One by one, speakers at Tuesday’s meeting spoke of the need to confront the extremism which Jordan’s King Abdullah II described as the “greatest collective threat of our time.”
MIÉRCOLES 30 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2015
Agenda en Breve FIT 2015 NUEVO GUERRERO — “Baúl Teatro” se presenta el 1 de octubre a las 7 p.m. en Plaza Ruíz Cortinez; “Colectivo Trueque” se presenta el 2 de octubre a la 1 p.m. en Secundaria # 61; “Juan Rogelio y Familia Ruiz” se presentan el 4 de octubre a las 7 p.m. en Teatro del Pueblo. Eventos gratuitos. CAMARGO — “Baúl Teatro” se presenta el 2 de octubre a las 11 a.m. en Escuela Antonia López Ochoa Zona Centro. Eventos gratuitos. CIUDAD MIER — “Artefactum Caravana Cultural” se presenta el 1 de octubre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez; “Ran Rataplán Teatro” se presenta el 4 de octubre a las 8 p.m. en Plaza Juárez. Eventos gratuitos. MIGUEL ALEMÁN — “Manuel Alaffita” se presenta el 2 de octubre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal; y, “En Blanco y Negro” se presenta el 3 de octubre a las 5 p.m. en Plaza Principal.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 9A
ESTACIÓN DE ZAPATA
Confiscan narcóticos Patrulla fronteriza localizó treinta paquetes que contenían casi 700 libras de marihuana TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza asignados a la Estación Zapata, decomisaron casi 700 libras de marihuana durante un intento de contrabando de drogas, de acuerdo a un comunicado de prensa. El 18 de septiembre, alrededor de las 9:20 p.m., oficiales observaron a un vehículo sospechoso realizando una salida abrupta cerca de la Carretera 83. Conforme los agentes se acercaron, descubrieron que el vehículo había sido abandonado, de acuerdo al reporte. Al buscar en el área,
ARRESTO PADILLA — José Guadalupe Rodríguez Berrones, de 23 años, y José Luis Hernández Moreno, de 25, fueron acusados de pertenecer a un grupo delincuencial que secuestró y privó de su libertad a dos pescadores. Ambos fueron detenidos el sábado cuando se presentaron a reclamar dos vehículos que exigieron como rescate por las víctimas, indica un reporte del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas. Además tenían en su poder una pistola automática calibre 9 milímetros. Durante un interrogatorio, Rodríguez Berrones y Hernández Moreno confesaron haber dado muerte a los dos pescadores, siguiendo órdenes de sus jefes inmediatos, de acuerdo con el informe de las autoridades. Los dos quedaron detenidos por los delitos de secuestro, asociación delictiva, homicidio calificado y portación de arma de uso exclusivo de las Fuerzas Armadas.
agentes descubrieron 30 paquetes de contrabando dentro de la unidad, con un peso de 696.03 libras de marihuana, la cual tiene un valor estimado en la calle de 566.800 dólares, agrega el comunicado. La acción que detuvo el contrabando de droga fue una colaboración dentro del Joint Task Force -West South Texas Corridor, mediante el cual se destinan recursos federales, estatales y locales para combatir a organizaciones criminales. Si desea reportar actividad sospechosa, sea relacionada al contrabando de drogas o seres humanos, llame al 1-800-343-1994.
Foto de cortesía
La imagen muestra los paquetes localizados dentro de un vehículo por parte de agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza, en la estación Zapata, el 18 de septiembre por la noche.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO
PROCURADURÍA
CARRETERA NACIONAL
Investigan a tres por prácticas engañosas TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
FESTIVAL DE BANDAS LAREDO — El Distrito Escolar de United ISD será el anfitrión del Festival Anual de Bandas de Marchas, el sábado 3 de octubre en el Student Activity Complex Stadium, 5208 Santa Claudia Lane. Participarán, de 4 p.m. a 7:15 p.m., representantes de las escuelas preparatorias La Joya High School, Donna High School, Cigarroa High School, Martin High School, Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Alexander High School, United South High School, y United High School. El costo de entrada es de 7 dólares por persona. Niños de 5 años de edad y menores entran gratis. Los boletos pueden ser adquiridos el día del evento, en la puerta de entrada. La ceremonia de premiación está programada para las 7:30 p.m.
Foto de cortesía/archivo
Oficiales electos de Tamaulipas trabajan para reconstruir alrededor de 50 kilómetros de la Carretera Nacional, entre Nuevo Laredo y Monterrey, que se encuentran en mal estado.
Oficiales solicitan se atienda tramo vial TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
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l tema de la reconstrucción de la Carretera Nacional Nuevo Laredo – Monterrey ha sido tomado por oficiales electos de Nuevo Laredo, México. Usuarios de la ruta aseguran que se tratan de alrededor 50 kilómetros, previos a la frontera, cuyo mal estado ha provocado innumerable cantidad de accidentes viales. El lunes, en gira de trabajo por organismos en Nuevo Laredo, México, la Diputada Federal por el Distrito I de Tamaulipas, Yahleel Abdala Carmona y el coordinador de la Fracción Tamau-
lipeca Priísta en la Cámara de Diputados, Edgar Melhem Salinas, visitaron el Consejo de Instituciones, la Central de Servicios de Carga de Nuevo Laredo y la Asociación de Agentes Aduanales. Las reuniones tuvieron como fin tener lluvia de idea por parte de los especialistas en caminos que permita el enriquecimiento del proyecto que lleve a la mejora de la carretera nacional, expuso Abdala a través de su cuenta en Facebook. “Poco a poco vamos a sacar todos los proyectos adelante”, escribió ella. “Vamos a trabajar muy duro para que se haga realidad lo más pronto posible”.
Por su parte, el Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, México, Carlos Canturosas Villarreal, recientemente expuso que la autoridad federal y estatal deben enviar los recursos necesarios para mejorar la ruta. “Somos la aduana que más recauda, la ciudad más importante en materia de comercio exterior en el país y en ese aspecto debe ser prioridad para todos”, dijo Canturosas en conferencia de prensa. En la tragedia más reciente reportada sobre la carretera nacional, tres personas perdieron la vida al volcar la camioneta en la que viajaban. Los tres eran residentes en Texas.
CIERRE CONSULADOS El viernes 9 de octubre, debido a una actualización de los sistemas consulares, las operaciones consulares de la embajada de EU en la Ciudad de México y los nueve consulados en toda la República Mexicana, permanecerán cerrados al público. Ciudadanos estadounidenses deben llamar al 867-7140512 extensión 3128 de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m.
ACTIVIDADES EN PUERTO ISABEL 5a Pachanga Anual en el Parque se realizará el sábado 3 de octubre, de 5 p.m. a 1 p.m., en Washington Park, 156 W. Madison St.
MÉXICO
Rescatan a 150 inmigrantes ASSOCIATED PRESS
MÉXICO— Autoridades mexicanas rescataron a 150 migrantes de distintas nacionalidades que llevaban 14 horas en el contenedor de un camión, hacinados y sin agua suficiente. Según indicó el lunes el Instituto Nacional de Migración en un comunicado, los migrantes eran transportados por cuatro presuntos traficantes que les habían cobrado entre 30.000 y 50.000 pesos (entre 1.750 y 3.000 dólares) para llevarlos hasta la frontera con Estados
Unidos. El camión había salido de Puebla, en el centro-sur del país, con destino Monterrey, en el norte, y fue localizado por las autoridades en una revisión en el estado de Zacatecas. En el camión había 110 guatemaltecos, 27 salvadoreños, 10 hondureños, dos dominicanos y un ecuatoriano, muchos de los cuales tenían síntomas de deshidratación por las condiciones en las que viajaban. Entre ellos había 25 menores, todos acompañados de un adulto. Los extranjeros dijeron que
nunca se le proporcionó ningún alimento ni tampoco agua y que algunos de ellos estaban a punto de perder el conocimiento. Los presuntos traficantes quedaron detenidos. Los migrantes, en su mayoría centroamericanos, tuvieron que encontrar nuevas rutas para llegar a Estados Unidos después de que agentes mexicanos comenzaran a hacer redadas en los trenes de carga a los que antes se subían, conocidos como “La Bestia”, para alcanzar la frontera.
Tres personas, entre ellas dos abogados, resultaron involucradas en un caso por prácticas engañosas y fraudulentas, al realizar malas representaciones de inmigración, sostuvo la Oficina del Procurador General de Texas. El martes fue anunciada la acción legal en contra del abogado de inmigración, Paul A. Esquivel, las agencias Paul A. Esquivel, PLLC; Paul Esquivel, PC; JCP Law Firm and Associates PLLC; JCP Law Office, PC, su propietaria Olvia Martínez, y el abogado Juan Carlos Peñaflor. Los demandados enfrentan cargos por violar la Ley de Texas Contra Prácticas Empresariales Engañosas (DTPA) y el Código de Organizaciones Empresariales de Texas, establece el escrito legal del Estado presentado ante la Corte de Distrito del Condado Bexar, el 21 de septiembre. Recientemente, Esquivel quedó inhabilitado para practicar abogacía en Texas. De acuerdo con la acusación, Esquivel y sus empleados engañaron a sus clientes para hacerles creer que estaban calificados para solicitar asilo, recibiendo de ellos miles de dólares. En realidad, los consumidores no calificaban bajo las leyes de asilo de EU. El abogado no explicó ni divulgó los riesgos asociados con la solicitud de asilo, causando perjuicios irreparables a los casos de inmigración de los consumidores; y, sin el conocimiento de los consumidores, Esquivel presentó solicitudes de inmigración ante el gobierno de EU que contenían información falsa, señalan documentos de acuerdo con la oficina del procurador. En una instancia, un hombre casado con una ciudadana de EU contrató a Esquivel para tramitar su estancia legal en base al estado de su esposa, sin embargo, lo hizo pensar que su única opción era solicitar el asilo, añaden documentos. La presentación de información falsa en una solicitud de asilo puede causar sanciones civiles y penales. Mientras que presentar una solicitud incorrecta dejará al solicitante permanentemente inelegible para la ciudadanía. De acuerdo con la investigación, Esquivel vendió sus bufetes de abogado a su administradora Olivia Martínez, quien no es abogada. Ella, por su parte cambió los nombres de las firmas a JCP Law Firm and Associates, PLLC y JCP Law Office, PC. Pero, bajo el Código de Organizaciones Empresariales de Texas, se prohíbe a una persona sin licencia profesional ser propietaria de un organismo con licencia profesional. Peñaflor, quien supuestamente trabajó para Esquivel antes de la venta de las agencias, afirmó ser el propietario de las nuevas agencias. Peñaflor fue acusado de representación inadecuada a consumidores, lo que está en violación a las leyes estatales de protección al consumidor. La acción legal de la Procuraduría General busca obtener una orden judicial temporal y permanente en contra de los demandados, además de sanciones civiles por hasta 20.000 dólares por cada violación de la ley.
Entertainment
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
Collection has Morrison intro Primo Levi’s anthology runs some 3,000 pages and costs about $100 By HILLEL ITALIE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision | AP/file
Christina Aguilera was on a humanitarian trip in Ecuador last week filming a new PSA for Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief effort that raises awareness, volunteerism and funds for WFP.
Aguilera goes back to roots By MESFIN FEKADU ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Christina Aguilera has visited Haiti, Rwanda and Guatemala on relief effort trips, but last week in Ecuador she not only offered support to struggling and hungry children — she also connected with her roots. Aguilera’s father is from Ecuador. The trip marked the first time the 34-yearold singer, who was born in New York, had visited the country. “This particular trip was sort of extra-special for me because it is my blood and heritage. My father was born in Ecuador and my grandfather was born in Quito, which is the city I stayed in. And we would drive out in the fields which were hours away by car and into the farmland and sort of refugee areas where people are struggling,” Aguilera said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “This was a really interesting and raw way to go about it. It wasn’t like I vacationed there in one of the more beautiful spots such as Galapagos Islands or things like that. I went into the fields and got to meet the women and children there who are really trying to survive,” she said. Aguilera has been a volunteer global spokesperson for Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief since 2009. She has visited Rwanda, Haiti and Guatemala. She chose to visit Ecuador this year from a list provided to her, Aguilera said. “I definitely had always wanted to go visit where my dad comes from, the culture, you know, not having sort of a consistent relationship at all in my life with him and not really knowing him as I’ve gotten older through the years as well. You know, there’s a history there. But, you know, it is a part of my blood and a part of my heritage and a part of my people,” she said. “And I would look at the faces and I would sort of ... sometimes feel like I saw a resemblance. I think it’s important and I think it’s good to know where you come
from and sort of get to know your roots.” Aguilera said “it felt that much better to me that I was in a place that I felt so connected to and was able to give back to.” She’s filmed a public service announcement to raise hunger awareness that will be released next month. Yum! Brands Inc., the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, said its eight-year-old World Hunger Relief initiative has raised $600 million in cash and food for the United Nations’ World Food Programme and other organizations. Her trip included visiting schools and providing lunch for children who have to travel far to get to school. “It takes these kids 45 minutes walking by themselves, alone, up a hill,” she said. “It’s really hard for these kids and I couldn’t wait to come back and tell my own kids these stories to ... better appreciate what they have,” the mother of two said. “These kids, they just were the most well-mannered, sweet-natured, little kids.”
NEW YORK — The fall’s most ambitious literary release took 17 years to complete, runs more than 3000 pages, draws upon the talents of more than a dozen translators and has a list price of $100. It also features an introduction from Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. “The Complete Works of Primo Levi” is a 3-volume set of writings by the late Italian author and Auschwitz survivor whose memoir “If This is a Man” remains a standard work of Holocaust literature. The anthology was conceived in 1998 by W.W. Norton & Company executive editor Robert Weil, who had had surprising success with a two-volume compilation of Russian author Isaac Babel and thought Levi a worthy follow-up. “But if the publisher had known back in 1998 how long this would take I would never have gotten it approved,” Weil said during a recent interview. Levi was world famous at the time of his death (widely believed a suicide), in 1987, but his work in the U.S. suffered from the random treatment given to so many foreign-language authors. At least seven publishers had rights to various editions and the quality of translations was erratic enough that new translations were commissioned for virtually all of the books. Many stories and poems had never been collected in English before. Literary works in general depend on critics’ support and strong reviews are especially vital for “The Complete Works of Primo Levi,” which like a 4-hour movie needs to be regarded as something extraordinary, as an event. So far, reviewers have duly applauded. The Washington Post’s Mi-
Associated Press
“The Complete Works of Primo Levi” is a 3-volume set of writings by the late Italian author and Auschwitz survivor whose memoir “If This is a Man” remains a standard work of Holocaust literature. chael Dirda praised it as “old-school publishing on a grand scale,” while James Wood of The New Yorker called it a “monumental and noble endeavor.” Estimating that he has devoted more than 6,000 emails to the Levi project, Weil brought in a wide range of collaborators. To oversee the new translations and work on some of the books, he recruited New Yorker editor Ann Goldstein, already known to many readers for her English-language editions of the novels of Elena Ferrante. Other contributors include authors Simon Rich and Jenny McPhee, and, for Levi’s poetry, Jonathan Galassi, the president and publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux and a leading translator of Italian verse. Morrison’s participation wasn’t planned when Weil thought of the Levi anthology and came about through a conversation in early 2014 with Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, which presents the National Book Awards.
Augenbraum recommended that Weil contact the author of “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye” and other novels, citing her singular gift for capturing “the human cost of holocaust,” he told The Associated Press in a recent email. According to Weil, Morrison initially turned him down because she had other writing commitments. Weil responded by sending Morrison a package of Levi books, plus an essay he had written about him. Within three weeks, Morrison changed her mind. “She was hugely enthused about his writings,” Weil said. Levi, born in 1919, was a promising young chemist and member of an anti-Fascist organization when arrested late in 1943 and the following February stuffed by the Nazis with hundreds of others on a train to Auschwitz. “At Auschwitz I became a Jew,” he would recall. “The consciousness of feeling different was forced upon me.” Russian troops liberated Auschwitz early in 1945 and after months in a Soviet
transit camp Levi returned to Turin, where he soon began writing “If This is a Man.” The book was published in Italy in 1947, but took more than a decade to find an international audience, only reaching the United States in 1959. Over the last quarter century of his life, Levi was acclaimed for the force and clarity of his prose, for the welding of lyricism, wisdom, imagination and logic. He proved gifted not just at nonfiction, but poetry, short fiction and with such novels as “The Wrench” and “If Not Now, When?” In “The Periodic Table,” he told the story of his life through chapters dedicated to gold, silver and other elements. In her introduction to the complete works, Morrison notes that “The triumph of human identity and worth over the pathology of human destruction glows virtually everywhere in Levi’s writing.” “Primo Levi understands evil as not only banal but unworthy of our insight — even of our intelligence, for it reveals nothing interesting or compelling about itself,” Morrison writes. “It has merely size to solicit our attention and an alien stench to repel or impress us. For this articulate survivor, individual identity is supreme; efforts to drown identity inevitably become futile.”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Health care stocks S&P gets boost, its first gain in six days By SEAN ROTHWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Chris Carlson | AP
Zandy Hartig poses for a picture in her 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen diesel in Studio City, Calif. Following disclosures that Volkswagen developed software for its 2-liter diesel engine that could better control pollutants during testing, there there’s a lot up in the air for owners of some VWs and Audi vehicles.
VW faces challenges By TOM KRISHER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Volkswagen faces daunting challenges in fixing software that enables cheating on diesel engine emissions tests, a task that’s becoming more urgent because of growing anger from customers. The company has set aside $7.3 billion to pay for the scandal. But experts say it’s likely to cost much more as VW tries to comply with U.S. clean air regulations while appeasing diesel owners who paid extra for the cars, thinking they could help the environment without sacrificing performance. “We understand that owners of the cars affected by the emissions compliance issues are upset,” VW said on a consumer website launched Sunday. The company asked for patience and said it would address the issue as fast as it can. A spokeswoman wouldn’t comment further. But experts said VW will have to strike a careful balance to appease government regulators, make customers happy and avoid emptying the company cash box. A cheap remedy of software fixes likely would hurt performance and gas mileage, further antagonizing customers. A more expensive fix that adds a treatment system wouldn’t hurt performance, but it would cost thousands per car and by one analyst’s estimate, could total more
than $20 billion including vehicles in the U.S. and Europe. That’s in addition to a potential $18 billion fine in the U.S. and the cost of numerous class-action lawsuits alleging that VW’s cheating reduced the value of its customers’ cars. The scandal broke on Sept. 18, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board accused VW of installing secret software on 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines that turned on pollution controls for lab tests and shut them off during realworld driving. As a result, 482,000 Jettas, Beetles, Golfs and Passats from the 2009 to 2015 model years belched out 10 to 40 times as much ozonecausing nitrogen oxide as U.S. law allows. A few days later, VW admitted the same “defeat device” that switched the pollution controls on and off was on 11 million cars worldwide. Germany says 2.8 million cars there are affected. Software in the main engine control computer figured out when the cars were being tested on a treadmilllike device called a dynamometer that the EPA used for verification and turned the controls on. With the pollution controls on, the cars are less efficient and won’t accelerate as fast, the two main reasons why people bought the VW diesels, said Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor and a diesel expert for Kelley Blue Book.
VW could change the software and leave the controls on to satisfy the EPA and California regulators. But that would anger customers and likely would force VW to compensate them for the reduced mileage, just as Hyundai did when it got caught with inflated fuel economy estimates, DeLorenzo said. “If it’s really sluggish and doesn’t get out of its own way, that’s a bigger issue (to customers) than fuel economy,” DeLorenzo said. “People notice that big of a change in performance.” The other option is to add a diesel exhaust treatment system that’s used by other manufacturers and even by VW on larger diesel engines. The treatment involves adding a tank of a chemical called urea, which enables the cars to separate nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen and oxygen. That would cost $2,000 or more per car, DeLorenzo said. Engineers would have to find room for a tank to store the blue urea fluid, which has to be refilled about every 7,500 miles, DeLorenzo said. And VW probably would have to compensate customers for years of urea cost, about $13 for 2.5 gallons. VW probably tried to avoid urea systems in the beginning because their cost would have driven Jetta and Golf prices above competitors, especially gas-electric hybrids, DeLorenzo said. Now, adding it after the fact will cost even more, he said.
CLINIC tin. Then-Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis temporary blocked the law with a 12-plus-hour filibuster, but the GOP-controlled Legislature approved it easily in a subsequent special session. The law mandates that clinics meet hospital-like surgical standards and that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Opponents sued, arguing the regulations would force nearly all Texas abortion clinics to close. Eldridge’s clinic doesn’t meet
surgical standards or have a doctor with hospital admitting privileges. Its reopening during the court-ordered stay makes it the second facility of its kind to do so in El Paso. Hill Top Women’s Reproductive Clinic closed briefly, but opened anew in November, a month after a separate U.S. Supreme Court ruling blocked key restrictions. Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, said it’s “a terrible injustice to women seeking abortions because they
NEW YORK — A rebound in the health care sector helped steady stocks on Tuesday, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to its first gain in six days. Drugmakers including Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic were among the biggest gainers as the industry group rebounded from a sharp slump the day before. The gains for the overall market were small. Stocks flitted between modest gains and losses for most of the day before closing slightly higher. The market remains close to its lows for the year and is set to close out September with its worst quarterly performance in four years. Concerns that China’s economy is slowing more rapidly than previously thought have hurt the market. Investors are also preoccupied with the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Federal Reserve policymakers have said they will likely raise interest rates before the end of the year. Some investors see a rate increase as a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy. Others think it would be a mistake to raise borrowing costs just as the global economy is showing signs of flagging. “The Fed is still, as it has been for over a year now, the number one thing that’s overriding the market,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. “There’s just so much skittishness, people just don’t have confidence.” The S&P 500 rose 2.32 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,884.09. The index slumped 50 points the day before and is down 8.7 percent for the third quarter. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 47.24 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,049.13 The Nasdaq composite dropped 26.65 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,517.32. Biotechnology stocks have been a weak spot for the stock market recently. The sector has slumped on concern that lawmakers will seek to implement new regulations to curb price hikes in the industry. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index edged down 0.6 percent, its eighth straight day of losses. The index has slumped 27 percent from its peak in July, putting it in a bear market, Wall Street terminology for a drop of 20 percent or more. Brad Sorensen, a director at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, said he wasn’t surprised by the sell-off in biotech stocks given how sharply valuations have climbed in recent years.
Photo by Eugene Hoshiko | AP
A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, on Tuesday. Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday. “The biotech industry was concerning to us,” Sorensen said. “It clearly had bubble-like characteristics with a lot of speculative money moving into it and a lot of IPOs.” Yahoo was among the stronger stocks on Tuesday. The stock rose 66 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $28.26 after the company said that it still planned to spin off its stake in China’s Alibaba Group. Yahoo is moving ahead with the plan even though the IRS has yet to rule on the tax payments that the company could face from the gains on its initial investment. Investors also got some good news on the economy from a report showing that American consumers were feeling more confident this month. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103 in September after surging in August to 101.3. The September reading was the highest since January. The price of oil rose on expectations that the Energy Department will report a slowdown in U.S. crude production when it releases its monthly petroleum supply report Wednesday. U.S. crude rose 80 cents to close at $45.23 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 89 cents to close at $48.23 a barrel in London. Bond prices rose slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.05 percent from 2.09 percent a day earlier. The euro edged up to $1.1250 and the dollar slipped to 119.72 yen. In Europe, Germany’s DAX edged down 0.3 percent and the CAC-40 in France was down by the same amount. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares lost 0.8 percent. Gold fell $4.90 to $1,126.80 an ounce. Silver dropped 3.5 cents to $14.57 an ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.25 per pound In other futures trading on the NYMEX: Wholesale gasoline rose 1.4 cents to close at $1.363 a gallon. Heating oil rose 2 cents to close at $1.498 a gallon. Natural gas fell 8.4 cents to close at $2.586 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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should not be subjected to those lower safety standards” offered by Eldridge’s clinic. The border city has been a flashpoint for abortion lawsuits. Advocacy groups say closing clinics there would force women to travel about 550 miles to San Antonio, even though abortions are performed at much closer facilities in New Mexico. Eldridge’s clinic began looking to reopen last October, but had to find a new location and apply for a new license. State authorities,
however, didn’t issue the new license while they awaited court guidance. The license was issued after U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in August ordered Texas not to delay licensing the clinic. Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Carrie Williams said no other requests for new licenses are pending. Pojman, with Texas Alliance for Life, said he’s not worried other abortion clinics will follow the lead of Eldridge’s facility. “We believe this is an isolated
case,” he said. Eldridge said the clinic will have about six staffers, some of whom helped pull furniture out of storage. The clinic hopes to see up to 2,000 patients annually, and provide other services such as contraception and health exams. She said with the ongoing lawsuits, some would-be patients might not realize her clinic has reopened right away. “We feel like it will take a little while,” Eldridge said, “but people will find us.”
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015