The Zapata Times 9/30/2017

TEXAS WINS BIG 12 OPENER

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

FREE

LONGHORNS SHUT DOWN IOWA STATE, A9

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY

TO 4,000 HOMES

A HEARST PUBLICATION

WHITE HOUSE

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS

Immigrants line up to renew work permits Many rush to complete renewal before Oct. 5 Doug Mills / NYT

This Thursday photo shows Tom Price, the health and human services secretary, at a forum on opioid abuse at the White House in Washington.

Trump’s health secretary resigns

By Amy Taxin and Astrid Galvan ASSOCIATED PRE SS

LOS ANGELES — The line stretches down the block before the sun rises in Los Angeles, made up of immigrants seeking help to renew their work permits under a program that has shielded them from deportation but is now nearing its end.

Ivan Vizueta, a 25-year-old from Long Beach, California, brought a folding chair and music to pass the time while waiting to renew his papers

Price served less than eight months

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Jonathan Lemire

and get a new two-year permit that lets him work for a plumbing company and earn nearly double the amount he made at his old job. The lines have been a regular occurrence in recent days, with some people camping out as early as 3 a.m.

“I have to do this so I have another two years of safety,” said Vizueta, who was brought to the country nearly two decades ago from Mexico and hopes to run his own plumbing business someday.

For immigrants like Vizueta, Permits continues on A10

Amy Taxin / AP

This Sept. 28 photo people wait in line at CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles) for help with immigration paperwork, including renewing work permits for expiring Obama-era program for immigrants brought to the country as children.

HURRICANE MARIA

AID FLOWS TO PUERTO RICO

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s health secretary resigned Friday, after his costly travel triggered investigations that overshadowed the administration’s agenda and angered his boss. Tom Price’s regrets and partial repayment couldn’t save his job.

The Health and Human Services secretary became the first member of the president’s Cabinet to be pushed out in a turbulent young administration that has seen several high-ranking White House aides ousted. A former GOP congressman from the Atlanta suburbs, Price served less than eight months.

Publicly, Trump had said he was “not happy” with Price for repeatedly using private charter aircraft for official trips on the taxpayer’s dime, when cheaper commercial flights would have done in many cases.

Privately, Trump has been telling associates in recent days that his health chief had become a distraction. Trump felt that Price was overshadowing his tax overhaul agenda and undermining his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” of corruption, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Friday the president called Price a “very fine person,” but added, “I certainly don’t like the optics.” Price said in his resignation letter that he regretted that “recent events have created a distraction.”

The flap prompted scrutiny Price continues on A10

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Sergeant Angel Cotton and other members of the Puerto Rico National Guard deliver food and water via helicopter to hurricane survivors as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Friday in Lares, Puerto Rico.

Many survivors remain without food and water

By Ben Fox and Danica Coto ASSOCIATED PRE SS

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Thousands of Puerto Ricans were finally getting water and food rations Friday as an aid bottleneck began to ease, but many remained cut off from the

basic necessities of life and were desperate for power, communications and other trappings of normality in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

There were many people across the island, especially outside the capital, who were unable to get water, gas or generator fuel. That was despite

the fact that military trucks laden with water bottles and other supplies began to reach various parts of Puerto Rico and U.S. federal officials pointed to progress in the recovery effort, insisting that more gains would come soon.

In some cases, aid that was being distributed by the Feder-

al Emergency Management Agency was simply not enough to meet demand on an island of 3.4 million people where nearly everyone was still without power, half were without running water in their homes and the economy was still crippled from the effects of the storm Maria continues on A10

Zin brief A2 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE WORLD

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, SEPT. 30

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Texas A&M International University. On-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the walkway between the Student Center and the TAMIU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. after a brief opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Those who wish to register online and establish a fundraising team with family, friends, or co-workers can go to alz.org/walk and follow prompts to the Laredo walk.

Today is Saturday, Sept. 30, the 273rd day of 2017. There are 92 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On September 30, 1947, the World Series was broadcast on television for the first time; the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-3 in game 1 (the Yankees went on to win the Series four games to three).

SUNDAY, OCT. 1 Life Chain. 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sidewalks from Hillside Road and McPherson Road. This event hosted by Diocese of Laredo Family Life Office.

“Join us to prayerfully witness that every human life matters and is sacred from conception to natural death.” All faiths are welcome to attend.

8th Annual Blessing of All Animals.

In celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. 4 to 5 p.m. St. Peter's Plaza (Matamoros Street and Main Avenue). Pets should be taken on a leash, harness or cage. All donations received will go toward financially helping cat community caretakers to neuter and spay their cats.

TUESDAY, OCT. 3 23rd Dia del Rio Proclamation. 9 a.m. Tres Laredos Park (under bridge I). Join the Rio Grande International Study Center for its annual binational ceremony and blessing of the Rio Grande. Free event. Light refreshments served.

17th Annual Red Mass. 6 p.m. San Agustin Cathedral. The public is invited to attend this Mass, which is held to invoke God’s blessing on the new judicial year. Sandee Bryan Marion, Fourth Court of Appeals chief justice, will be the keynote speaker.

For more information, contact Joe Maldonado at 956-718-2134.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited.

Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, OCT. 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

Dia del Rio River Painting & Art4Environment Workshop. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join the Rio Grande International Study Center at Falcon International Bank, 7718 McPherson Road, 3rd floor. $40. Includes all painting supplies, refreshments and mimosas. Led by artist Paty Orduña.

Register at www.rgisc.org.

Laredo Northside Farmers Market.

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. North Central Park.

The market is located at the playground behind the trailhead facility at the park. Visitors are reminded that tickets will be given out for the market’s anniversary drawing in November. The market will award one $150 gift card and other prizes at the November market. Tickets will be given out in October and November for the drawing.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited.

Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series presentation featuring Ali Noorani, author and Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. Translation services (English to Spanish) will be available. The author will be available for book signing following the lecture.

SATURDAY, OCT. 14 Dia del Rio Laredo Paddling Trail Excursion. 8:30 a.m. registration at Outlet Shoppes parking lot 2 (corner of Santa Maria/Pedregal). Join the Rio Grande International Study Center for a 3-mile paddle from Laredo Water Museum to Bridge I. $20 with boats on first-come, first-serve basis.

Private pachanga immediately after, at the Outlet Shoppes. Register at www.rgisc.org.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited.

Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

The 32nd Distinguished Business Awards banquet. 6 p.m. Laredo Country Club. The Laredo Chamber of Commerce announced the selection of Ermilo Richer Jr. and Ermilo Richer III as Laredo 2017 Businesspersons of the Year. For ticket and sponsorship information, call 956722-9895 or email miriam@laredochamber.com.

Carlisle Jno Baptiste / AP

In this Sept. 23 photo, homes lay scattered after the passing of Hurricane Maria in Roseau, the capital of the island of Dominica.

U.N. APPEALS FOR $31M FOR DOMINICA UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. humanitarian office is launching a $31 million emergency appeal for the hurricanebattered Caribbean island of Dominica which was hit by a category 5 storm on Sept. 18.

The U.N. said Friday the appeal aims to provide emergency aid to 65,000 people from September to December 2017. It said $3 million was expected to be released later Friday from the U.N.’s Central Emergency Response Fund for Dominica.

Last Saturday, the island’s leader, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, told the U.N.

Philippines slams 39 countries calling for end to killings MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has denounced 39 mostly Western nations, including the United States, which have urged it to end thousands of killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown and allow investigations in cooperation with the international community. The Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday that its

General Assembly that “the desolation is beyond imagination.”

The storm tore off roofs, destroyed houses and buildings, inundated many areas with water and affected the entire population. This week, the confirmed death toll rose to 27 and authorities said 27 others are still missing The United Nations said this was the fifth time on record that Dominica had taken a direct hit from a hurricane, but it said the island had never “faced a storm of such ferocity and strength.”

— Compiled from AP reports

diplomats told the countries, “to respect Manila’s domestic processes.”

The government, through its diplomatic mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said it takes “grave exception to the sweeping and politicized statement” delivered by Iceland on behalf of 38 other countries during a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, the department said. In their statement, the countries said they “remain concerned about the thousands of killings and climate of impunity associ-

ated with the war on drugs,” and cited Philippine commitments to investigate these crimes and observe due process.

“We urge the government of the Philippines to take all necessary measures to bring these killings to an end and cooperate with the international community to pursue appropriate investigations,” the countries said, citing the need for Manila to adhere to “universal principles of democratic accountability and the rule of law.”

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION White nationalist threatens lawsuit against Ohio colleges CLEVELAND — White nationalist Richard Spencer has threatened to sue two Ohio universities if they refuse to rent campus spaces for him to speak.

Spencer’s associates contacted the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University this month asking to rent theaters and auditoriums for Spencer to speak. An attorney representing Spencer’s event organizers said Friday that he’ll challenge the schools in court if they don’t approve the requests.

“Either they host them, or they get sued,” said Kyle Bristow, the founder of a law firm dedicated to legal advocacy on behalf of the so-called “altright.”

Cameron Padgett, a Georgia State University student, contacted the University of Cincinnati on Tuesday asking to rent an auditorium that could ac-

David J. Phillip / AP

In this 2016 photo, white nationalist Richard Spencer poses between interviews in College Station, Texas.

commodate 800 people for Spencer to speak there in late October. University spokesman Greg Vehr said Friday the school is reviewing the request and “assessing various safety and logistical considerations.”

The school’s Republican club issued a statement saying it has “zero interest” in hosting Spencer and do not condone his “hateful rhetoric.”

Padgett asked Ohio State University to host Spencer earlier this month after a previous request was denied. A university spokesman said the school is considering whether Spencer can be “accommodated without substantial risk to the safety of our students, faculty, staff and guests.”

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Appeals court panel overturns verdict against guardrail firm DALLAS — Three appeals court judges have overturned a $663 million fraud verdict against a company that makes guardrails found along many U.S. roads and highways. The panel of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Friday threw

On this date: 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 1917, legendary jazz drummer and bandleader Bernard "Buddy" Rich was born in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1927, Babe Ruth of the Yankees hit his 60th homer of the season to break his own major-league record during a 4-2 victory over the Washington Senators.

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 1955, actor James Dean, 24, was killed in a two-car collision near Cholame, California.

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.

In 1972, Roberto Clemente hit a double against Jon Matlack of the New York Mets during Pittsburgh's 5-0 victory at Three Rivers Stadium; the hit was the 3,000th and last for the Pirates star.

Ten years ago: Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan hanged a teenager found to have U.S. money in his pocket as a warning to others not to use dollars. The United States won the Presidents Cup in Montreal, 19 1/2-14 1/2, giving them a victory on foreign soil in cup competition for the first time since 1993. Germany defeated Brazil 2-0 in the final of the Women's World Cup held in Shanghai, China.

Five years ago: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, writing in The Wall Street Journal, said President Barack Obama had "misunderstood" American values in his policies toward other countries. Looking to lower expectations in advance of his first debate against Romney, Obama described himself as just an "OK" debater. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season as the Angels defeated the Texas Rangers 5-4. Europe won the Ryder Cup with an historic comeback from a 4-point deficit to beat the United States, 14 1/2 points to 13 1/2 points.

One year ago: Alabama's Court of the Judiciary permanently suspended state Chief Justice Roy Moore for defying federal court rulings on gay marriage, saying he had violated judicial ethics. Scottish boxer Mike Towell, 25, died after suffering severe bleeding and swelling to his brain during a televised fight against Dale Evans in Glasgow.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Angie Dickinson is 86. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 74. Pop singer Sylvia Peterson (The Chiffons) is 71. Actor Vondie CurtisHall is 67. Actress Victoria Tennant is 67. Actor John Finn is 65. Rock musician John Lombardo is 65. Singer Deborah Allen is 64. Actor Calvin Levels is 63. Actor Barry Williams is 63. Singer Patrice Rushen is 63. Actress Fran Drescher is 60. Country singer Marty Stuart is 59. Actor Eric Stoltz is 56. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 55. Country singer Eddie Montgomery (Montgomery-Gentry) is 54.

Rock singer Trey Anastasio is 53.

Actress Monica Bellucci is 53. Rock musician Robby Takac (Goo Goo Dolls) is 53. Actress Lisa Thornhill is 51. Actress Andrea Roth is 50. Actress Amy Landecker is 48. Actor Silas Weir Mitchell is 48. Actor Tony Hale is 47.

Actress Jenna Elfman is 46. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 43. Actress Marion Cotillard is 42. Actor Mike Damus is 38. Tennis player Martina Hingis is 37.

Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu is 36. Actress Lacey Chabert is 35. Actor Kieran Culkin is 35. Singer-rapper T-Pain is 33.

Thought for Today: "We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too." — Helen Hayes, American actress

CONTACT US out a 2014 jury verdict against Trinity Industries. Trinity was accused of fraud for failing to tell regulators about changes it made to guardrails, which critics said made them more dangerous when hit by cars at certain angles.

But the appeals court judges noted that the government continued reimbursing states at the same rate for the new guardrails, suggesting it didn’t consider the change fraudulent.

Federal highway officials

later said the design met safety standards in crash tests. The man who sued Trinity on behalf of the Federal Highway Administration, Joshua Harman, had once been a competitor with his own guardrail company. A spokesman for the highway agency said he had not seen the court ruling by late Friday and declined to comment.

Dallas-based Trinity said it was pleased with Friday’s decision.

— Compiled from AP reports

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

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

The Zapata Times is free.

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

The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

A3

STATE

Man indicted Abbott gives Houston $50M for killing for Harvey following clash bald eagles

By Paul J. Weber ASSOCIATED PRE SS

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

DALLAS — A Texas man has been indicted on two counts of killing bald eagles.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced Friday that 82-year-old Jackie Brister, of Bend, Texas, had been indicted by a Lampasas County grand jury on the counts related to a January incident.

Brister faces additional charges on allegations that he captured and killed other protected

non-game birds including several types of vultures.

The charges stem from an investigation launched by game wardens in January when a bald eagle wounded by a rifle shot was reported near Bend. The eagle eventually died.

The misdemeanor citations for taking of non-game birds are punishable by fines between $25 and $500 each. Brister could also face civil restitution of more than $10,000 for each bird.

Teen dies after being shot as group played with gun A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

GARLAND, Texas — A Dallas-area teenager has died two days after being shot in the head by another teen as they played with a handgun.

Garland police say the 15-year-old boy died Thursday.

Authorities say 17-yearold Andy Erives is charged with manslaughter in the death. Police have not released the name of the boy who died.

Erives, the shooting

victim and another teen were playing with the gun at a home on Tuesday. Police say Erives pointed the weapon at the 15-year-old and fired.

Authorities haven’t said if he intended to shoot or if it was accidental.

Erives fled the home but was later captured and taken to the Garland Detention Center. The victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

It’s not clear if Erives has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday gave $50 million in state funds to the city of Houston for Hurricane Harvey cleanup following criticism over his assertions that the Democratic mayor already had “all the money he needs.”

Abbott, a Republican whose political career began in Houston, handed a check to Mayor Sylvester Turner with hopes of easing tensions between them over the storm that left Houston underwater more than a month ago and could result in the costliest disaster cleanup in U.S. history.

The money amounted to something of a reversal for Abbott, who just days earlier accused Turner of sitting on hundreds of millions of local dollars and holding the state “hostage” by pushing a tax hike to pay for Harvey’s mounting expenses.

Houston officials said

Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle

Governor Greg Abbott, right, presents a $50 million check from the state to Mayor Sylvester Turner to assist Houston with Hurricane Harvey relief during a joint press conference at Houston City Hall on Friday in Houston.

Abbott misunderstood city finances, and on Thursday, the Houston Chronicle blistered Abbott in an editorial for refusing to start spending from Texas’ $10 billion emergency savings fund. Wrote the editorial board: “Here’s what he’s essentially saying to Houston: DROP DEAD.” Sitting beside Turner at a news conference in Houston on Friday, Abbott said they were on the same team.

“Mayor, I don’t come empty-handed today,” said Abbott, who said he still is not tapping the state’s rainy day fund but is instead using other sources in the state budget to provide the money.

Turner said with the money he will stop pushing for a one-time Houston property tax increase of 3.6 percent.

“We are most effective and most impactful when we are working together,” Turner said.

“Quite naturally the only thing people want from us is to work together.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars will pay for most of Harvey’s cleanup.

President Donald Trump earlier this month signed a $15.3 billion Harvey relief package and congressional leaders have said they will pursue more recovery spending.

But cities and counties in Texas cover anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the costs, and on Tuesday, Turner sent Abbott a letter saying Houston is accruing bills “at a scale beyond our savings.”

Turner said the city was without flood insurance since Harvey maxed out its $100 million coverage limit, and that a new policy would cost $10 million.

Harvey killed more 70 people and damaged or destroyed more than 200,000 homes in Texas.

Abbott has said the cost of the cleanup could exceed more than $150 billion.

Lawsuit: Refinery, chemical plant worsened Harvey flooding ASSOCIATED PRE SS

SWEENY, Texas — Homeowners southwest of Houston claim in a lawsuit that temporary dams erected by Phillips 66 and Phillips Chevron to protect two facilities from Harvey floodwaters

caused their own land to flood.

The lawsuit filed last week in Brazoria County alleges that inflatable barricades were placed along two bayous near Sweeny in August to protect a refinery and a chemical plant from flooding.

More than 270 plaintiffs say the barricades caused floodwaters to be redirected and overrun their own land.

They say they were trapped in their homes without access to food or drinking water.

Phillips 66 says in a

statement that its refinery saw flood damage and that its actions prevented material from being washed into the community.

The company says the area was already flooded and that its actions did not worsen it.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Puerto Rico has stumped Donald Trump

By Timothy L. O’Brien B L OOM BE RG

Donald Trump will always tell you that he is a “great builder.”

“You can go ahead and speak to the guys who have 400-pound wives at home who are jealous of me,” he told me several years ago.

“But the guys who know me know I’m a great builder.”

A month before he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, Trump smacked around the people he knew would become his opponents as folks who “can’t build.” He brought it up again when he announced his presidential bid on June 16, 2015: “I will build a great wall -- and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me.”

The master builder was also a central character in his books.

“I’m a great builder,” Trump wrote in “Great Again,” his 2016 treatise about what ails America and how he would fix it.

“I’ve built buildings all over the world. I’ve had tremendous success.”

Getting skyscrapers, hotels and golf courses built requires myriad planning and management skills. Developers create and monitor supply chains so that building materials can get to construction sites. They assemble capable work crews and deploy them against deadlines and budgets. They come up with architectural plans, often from scratch, and have the foresight and imagination to balance beauty and practicality.

They deal constantly with hurdles, surprises and complexities.

These are precisely the business and administrative skills that could be of great use today in Puerto Rico, which has been flattened by a pair of hurricanes and is mired in a humanitarian crisis.

Yet President Trump waited days to even acknowledge there was a problem in Puerto Rico. When he finally addressed the crisis on Monday, he did so via a series of Twitter freefor-alls that emphasized the island’s debt quagmire rather than specifics about how his administration would relieve the hardships of 3.4 million people who are without electricity, have limited phone service, and are struggling to secure scanty supplies of water, food and gas.

To be sure, the U.S. military and the Federal Emergency Management Association have now sent thousands of federal personnel to deliver food and supplies.

But the White House set this response in motion more than a week after Hurricane Maria ripped across the island, on the heels of Hurricane Irma. Trump, who has waxed poetic about engineering a vast overhaul of U.S. infrastructure, seems stymied by the challenge of resuscitating tiny Puerto Rico’s roads, bridges and power grid. Thousands of cargo containers stocked with relief supplies are piling up on docks in San Juan because there is no way to transport them to the

island’s interior.

“We’re literally starting from scratch,” Trump complained Friday in response to widespread criticism, including from members of his own party, about his lackadaisical management of the Puerto Rico crisis. “Nobody has ever seen anything like it.”

A guy who campaigned on the notion that he is a singularly great businessman, dealmaker and builder shouldn’t be hamstrung by a crisis like this one.

Rather than throw up his hands and complain, he should be strutting his stuff, finding innovative ways to build new supply chains, and distribute goods and services. He should be rallying people to the cause.

Unless, of course, he’s not really who he says he is.

Campaign speeches, shot through with promises and partisan appeals, differ from the mundane but crucial work of managing essential services.

Good governance -whether the left or right is in charge -- may be shaped by values, but it is defined by process.

Trump isn’t, shall we say, a “process person,” as his history shows.

New York’s real estate community has never considered him to be a premier developer. The Trump Organization is a mom-and-pop operation.

Trump drove the biggest business he ever ran, his casino company, into the ground.

He loves recounting how he developed the Wollman Rink in New York’s Central Park, bragging that his business savvy led to the completion of a project that had stumped City Hall. But note, the Wollman Rink is an ice-skating rink. I repeat, a skating rink. It is not a landmark project.

Getting an ice-skating rink up and running isn’t as complicated as, say, helping to rescue Puerto Rico.

It’s not only Trump’s skill set that’s wanting.

His priorities are off, too.

He cares about self-promotion more than problem-solving, or delivering on campaign promises.

The nuts-and-bolts of health-care policy eluded the president, and Puerto Rico’s struggles appear not to interest him either.

His observations on the territory’s problems are preschoolish. Puerto Rico, he said on Friday, “is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water.

Ocean water.”

Trump has been much more animated about positioning himself amid the racially-charged debate he ignited over how professional athletes voice their opinions on issues of social justice.

Perhaps the president tilts this way because he’s more interested in marketing than building, and more interested in campaigning than governing.

He’s sensitive to these distinctions, of course, and whenever they surface always tries to spin them in his favor.

There’s still time to embrace your inner builder, Mr. President.

Puerto Rico needs a builder, not a marketer.

Timothy L. O’Brien is the executive editor of Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View.

COMMENTARY

Writer: I met Klansmen to ask why they hated me

By Daryl Davis WASHINGTON P O ST

One night in 1983, I found myself playing in a country band at a truck stop lounge. I was the only black person in the joint. Taking a break after the first set of music, I was headed to sit at a table with my bandmates when a white gentleman approached from behind and put his arm around my shoulders. “I really enjoy y’all’s music,” he said. I shook his hand and thanked him.

“This is the first time I ever heard a black man play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis,” he continued.

I told him that Lewis was a friend of mine and that he had learned his style from watching and listening to black blues and boogie-woogie pianists. My new fan didn’t buy it, but he did want to buy me a drink. While we sipped, he clinked my glass and said, “This is the first time I ever sat down and had a drink with a black man.”

Why? “I’m a member of the Ku Klux Klan,” he said. I burst out laughing. Then he handed me his KKK membership card, and I recognized the Klan’s symbols. In that moment, I was overcome by a question: How could anybody hate me when they didn’t even know me?

I was no stranger to racism. Having grown up a black person in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I knew that prejudice was common.

But I had never understood why. Sitting in that lounge with my new friend, I decided to figure it out in the only way that made sense: By getting to know those who felt hostility toward black people without ever having known any.

Several years later, I recruited that man, whose name was Frank James, to put me in contact with the grand dragon of the Maryland Klan.

He tried to deter me, warning that the leader would kill me. But eventually, after I promised not to reveal how I’d gotten the grand dragon’s contact information, James gave it to me.

By then I had decided to travel around the country and interview KKK leaders and members from various chapters and factions to get the answer to my question: How can you hate someone you’ve never met? I was planning to write a book detailing my interviews, experiences and encounters with these Ku Klux Klan members.

I had my white secretary, who typically booked my band and assisted me with my music business, set up a meeting with the Maryland grand dragon, explaining that her boss was writing a book on the Klan and would like his input. Per my instructions, she did not reveal the color of my skin.

The grand dragon agreed to participate, and we secured a room at a Frederick, Md., motel, where my secretary filled an ice bucket with cans of soda so I could offer my guest a drink. Regardless of how and what he felt about me, if he entered my room after seeing the color of my skin, I was going to treat him with hospitality.

Punctual to the minute, there was a knock on the door. The grand nighthawk (the grand dragon’s bodyguard) entered first, and then the dragon himself. “Hello,” I began, “I’m Daryl Davis.” I offered my palm, and the dragon shook my hand as he and the nighthawk introduced themselves. The dragon sat in the chair I had set out, and the nighthawk stood at attention beside him.

We were both apprehensive of the other, and the interview started haltingly. We discussed what he had hoped to achieve by joining the Klan; what his thoughts were on blacks, Asians, Jews and Hispanics; and whether he thought it would ever be possible for different races to get along. A little while later, we heard an inexplicable crackling noise and we both tensed. The dragon and I stared each other in the eye, silently ask-

ing, “What did you just do?” The nighthawk reached for his gun. Nobody spoke. I barely breathed.

Seated atop the dresser, my secretary realized what had happened: The ice in the bucket had started to melt, causing the soda cans to shift. It happened again, and we all began laughing. From there, the interview went on without a hitch.

It was a perfect illustration that ignorance breeds fear and possibly violence. An unknown noise in an ice bucket could’ve led to gunfire, had we not taken a moment to understand what we were encountering.

Even though the grand dragon, who now prefers not to be named, had told me he knew that white people were superior to blacks, our dialogue continued over the years.

He would visit me in my home, and I would eventually be a guest in his.

We would share many meals together, even though he thought I was inferior. Within a couple of years, he rose to the rank of imperial wizard, the top national leadership position in the Klan.

Over the past 30 years, I have come to know hundreds of white supremacists, from KKK members, neo-Nazis and white nationalists to those who call themselves alt-right. Some were good people with wrong beliefs, and others were bad people hellbent on violence and the destruction of those who were non-Aryan.

There was Bob White, a grand dragon for Maryland who served four years in prison for conspiring to bomb a synagogue in Baltimore, where he had been a police officer. When he got out, he returned to the Klan and later went back to prison for three more years for assaulting two black men with a shotgun, evidently intent on murder. But after I reached out to him with a letter while he was in prison for the second time, Bob became a very good friend, renounced the Klan and attended my wedding.

Three weeks after this summer’s violent clash in Charlottesville, Virginia, I was invited by the leaders of the Tennessee and Kentucky chapters of Ancona’s branch of the Klan to speak at their national Konvocation. I accepted, spoke and took audience questions after the lecture. Whether or not anyone there immediately changed their minds, we talked as people - and we all benefited from that.

I am not so naive as to think everyone will change. There are certainly those who will go to their graves as hateful, violent racists. I never set out certain that I would convert anyone. I just wanted to have a conversation and ask, “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” What I’ve learned is that whether or not I’ve changed minds, talking can still relieve tensions. I’ve seen firsthand that when two enemies are talking, they are not fighting. They may be yelling and beating their fists on the table, but at least they are talking. Violence happens only when talking has stopped.

And sometimes, people do change. One day in 1999, after having been in the Ku Klux Klan for about 20 years, the Klan leader from the motel interview, whom I watched go from grand dragon to imperial wizard, called me, said he was leaving the Klan and apologized for having been a member. He told me he could no longer hate people. I had not turned out to be what he had always thought of black people. He went on to become one of my best friends, and today I own his robe and hood — one set of many in my collection of garments donated to me by apostate Klansmen and Klanswomen, which is always growing.

Daryl Davis, author of “Klan-Destine Relationships” and the subject of the documentary “Accidental Courtesy,” is an award-winning musician, actor, lecturer and race relations expert.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

A5

Zfrontera A6 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE MISS ROMA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita al evento Miss Roma Pageant 2017-2018 el domingo en el auditorio del distrito escolar Roma Independent School District Performing Arts Centerm desde las 6 p.m. Evento gratuito y para todo público.

EXPO FIESTA 1 La Ciudad de Miguel Alemán, invita a su Expo Fiesta 2017 que presenta artesanía, gastronomía, juegos mecánicos, presentaciones artísticas y muchas atracciones más. Del 6 al 15 de octubre en el Teatro del Pueblo.

ROMA ISD

Alertan sobre engaño en redes sociales Policía aplica cierre parcial en escuelas del distrito TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Una publicación en la página de Facebook del distrito escolar Roma Independent School District, alertaba de una mensaje engañoso que circulaba en las redes sociales, en el que se indicaba de un tiroteo en la preparatoria Roma High School, el miércoles “Este es un problema serio que llamó la atención del Departamento de Policía del distrito

escolar Roma ISD. El departamento ha contactado a los estudiantes involucrados en el engaño, se investigó la situación y se confirmó que no hay causa para una inquietud pública y que no es más que un engaño”, se lee en la página de Facebook del distrito.

En el mensaje se confirma que era completamente seguro asistir a la preparatoria o a cualquiera de las instalaciones del distrito Roma ISD.

El Departamento de Policía del distrito aseguró a los padres de familia que estarían atentos junto con el magisterio y personal administrativo de cualquier situación que comprometiera la seguridad de los estudiantes.

“Estamos haciendo todo lo que podemos para asegurar que nuestros estudiantes están seguros y que nuestras instalaciones continúen siendo lugares seguros en nuestra comunidad”, se lee en el mensaje.

El distrito escolar estableció un cierre parcial de las instalaciones para el resto de la semana.

“La escuela ha sido puesta en un cierre parcial de bajo nivel para el resto de la semana a fin de proporcionar a los estudiantes y a los padres una sensación de seguridad y bienestar después del incidente por el mensaje falso”, se lee en una publicación de actualización en la página de Facebook del distrito.

BRILLO EN LA NOCHE 1 La Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata y la organización Crime Stoppers invitan al evento Glow in the Dark que consiste en la carrera Glow Fun Run y la fiesta Glow Block Party, en la Plaza del Condado de Zapata, desde las 7 p.m. el sábado 7 de octubre.

SISMOS

CBP

LLEGA AYUDA A DAMNIFICADOS

E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE LAREDO

ROMA FEST 2017 1 Festival Roma Fest 2017 “Decades”, el domingo 8 de octubre desde las 5 p.m. Desfile inicia en el Citizens State Bank.

FESTIVAL NUEVO SANTANDER 1 La Sociedad Genealógica Nueva Santander del Condado de Zapata invita al Festival Nuevo Santander el 13 y 14 de octubre de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata.

CAMINATA CONTRA CÁNCER 1 Walk All Over Cancer! en su cuarta caminata anual.

Inscripciones en el Ayuntamiento llamando al 956-8491411 x 9241 o en el 956-844-1428.

Caminata iniciará en Citizens State Bank o en el Centro Comuniario de Roma el sábado 21 de octubre.

PAGO DE IMPUESTOS 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St.

LLENADO DE APLICACIONES 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 956-246-7177.

GRUPOS DE APOYO 1 El grupo Cancer Friend se reúne a las 6 p.m. el primer lunes del mes en el Centro Comunitario de Doctors Hospital.

Decomisan millones en drogas

Foto de cortesía / Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Soldados de la Base Aérea Militar en Oaxaca, México, descargan los productos enviados por los pobladores del estado de Tamaulipas para beneficiar a las comunidades afectadas por los sismos.

Tamaulipecos envían víveres a zonas afectadas E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O ZAPATA

Oaxaca, México— Las primeras toneladas de víveres donadas por los tamaulipecos para apoyar a las familias damnificadas por sismo en los estados de Oaxaca y Chiapas, arribaron el martes a los centros de distribución de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional y Sistemas DIF locales para iniciar su entrega en las zonas de desastre.

El primer envío, cargado con 25 toneladas de alimentos no perecederos, productos de limpieza y artículos de higiene personal, llegó a la Base Aérea Militar N° 15 en Oaxaca, de donde serán reenviados a las instalaciones militares de la ciudad de Ixtepec, en el istmo de Tehuantepec, para entregarlos a familias de 41 municipios afecta-

dos.

El segundo cargamento con 60 toneladas de ayuda humanitaria procedente de Tamaulipas, arribó a los almacenes del Sistema DIF Chiapas en Tuxtla Gutiérrez, donde se coordina con las Fuerzas Armadas el reparto de agua embotellada, alimentos enlatados, ropa, cobijas, limpiadores, entre otros materiales.

Las labores de acopio, distribución y entrega de víveres procedentes de todas las regiones del país a esta zona, es supervisada y coordinada exclusivamente por la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, a través del Plan DNIII- E, para evitar su mal uso, así como actos de rapiña o robo contra los cargamentos, centros de acopio y de distribución.

Oficiales de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de EU (CBP por sus siglas en inglés), decomisaron más de 3.200.000 dólares en supuesta metanfetamina cristal durante dos acciones separadas.

“Estos importantes decomisos de narcóticos son ejemplo del destacado trabajo de seguridad en la frontera que nuestros agentes de CBP llevan a cabo en sus labores diarias”, dijo el director del puerto Gregory Alvarez, del Puerto de Entrada de Laredo. “Nuestros oficiales permanecen vigilantes y continúan teniendo éxito en mantener estos narcóticos fuera de las calles y fuera del alcance de nuestra juventud”.

El primer decomiso ocurrió el lunes, 25 de septiembre, en el Puente Internacional Juárez Lincoln cuando un oficial de CBP refirió a un auto Nissan Altima 2005 conducido por un hombre mexicano de 40 años de edad, de Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, México para una segunda inspección. Después de una inspección física y canina del vehículo, los oficiales de CBP descubrieron dos paquetes conteniendo 36 libras de supuestas metanfetaminas cristal.

Otro decomiso ocurrió el sábado, 23 de septiembre,en el Puente Internacional JuárezLincoln, cuando un oficial de CBP refirió a una camioenta 2009 GMC Sierra, conducida por un ciudadano estadounidense de Irving, Texas, de 29 años de edad, para una inspección secundaria. Después de una inspección no intrusiva y canina del vehículo por oficiales de CBP, se descubrió un total de 32 paquetes conteniendo 122 libras de supuesta metanfetaminas cristal.

Ambos decomisos combinados tienen un valor estimado en las calles de 3.247.816 dólares.

Los oficiales de CBP decomisaron los narcóticos y los vehículos. Ambos conductores fueron arrestados y los casos entregados a agentes especiales de Seguridad NacionalControl de Aduanas e Inmigración, para una investigación más a fondo.

COLUMNA

Saga de antiguos desastres Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Intensa actividad pluvial registra la parte media del siglo XIX. Con este motivo, pérdidas severas padecen distintas localidades tamaulipecas. Detalle por demás curioso: les preceden siete años de sequía.

Publica el órgano informativo de Tamaulipas: “Un viento norte suave” refrescaba Ciudad Victoria, asiento de los poderes locales, “desde las cuatro de la mañana del día 7” de septiembre de 1842.

“Fue aumentándose (empero) hasta la madrugada del (jueves) 8, (en) que … se convirtió en un huracán tan fuerte … que no hubo una sola persona que no temiera por su existencia”. El “horrible fenómeno” –añade—“rara vez se observa en zonas templadas” de tierra adentro.

Luego de sacudir el mismo jueves Soto la Marina, frente al litoral, “la tempestad de viento y agua que descargaba sobre” el municipio capitalino “era tal que

ni los edificios más sólidos, ni los árboles más robustos y enraizados, pudieron resistir sus extraordinarios empujes”, pormenoriza el tabloide. “Todo cedía a su furia y era transportado en momentos de un lugar a otro”, prosigue.

Amplía la nota: “Once horas duró sobre nosotros esta impetuosa corriente y ellas bastaron para destruir las tres cuartas partes de la población, sepultando en sus ruinas los intereses que … encerraban … Una ciudad tomada por asalto por un enemigo cruel y que haga la guerra a muerte, no presentaría un aspecto más triste y desolado que la capital de Tamaulipas, a consecuencia de la tormenta que acaba de sufrir”.

Vayamos al río Bravo, donde con agradable brisa despunta el domingo 3 de agosto de 1844 en Matamoros. Cercana la medianoche, sin embargo, “se declaró un huracán, cuyo horroroso estruendo no puedo describir. Ocupado … en asegurar las persianas, puertas y ventanas” de mi residencia, oía “los ladrillos de la

azotea que se levantaban sin la más ligera dificultad”, comunica anónimo cronista en texto reproducido por “El Gején”, periódico tampiqueño.

A temprana hora del lunes 4 –explica–, “bajé al zaguán … y entonces conocí” los tremendos daños en progreso. “El poder irresistible del viento … llevaba como si fueran plumas … cuerpos de mucha gravedad y de configuración opuesta a surcar el elemento que los arrancaba”.

Describe el testigo: “En las puertas de la vivienda” contigua pude ver fragmentos de techos “clavados tan profunda y firmemente que parece no caber en lo posible que” recibieran “la velocidad indispensable para adquirir la fuerza con que penetraron”. “El pararrayos de la casa de Logero voló hasta la … de Girón”. “Muchas casas vinieron al suelo”, incluso “las de mejor construcción han sufrido averías”, lamenta.

Del lado sureste, el miércoles 25 de julio de 1855 destaca “El Co-

mercio de Santa Anna de Tamaulipas” que súbita avenida desborda el río Pánuco. En la ribera meridional de la bocana, “el establecimiento de prácticos … se ha desplomado” ante “la fuerza de la corriente, que minó sus cimientos”.

Numerosas familias de Tampico entretanto “se han visto precisadas a” buscar “la parte alta” del puerto. “Aquellos que no lo hacían por falta de recursos”, dizque la prefectura “les ha proporcionado habitaciones y medios de traslado, con lo que se ha remediado en mucha parte sus desgracias”, afirma el reportaje.

Según recuerdos del editor, “las fuertes y abundantes lluvias que hubo el mes de junio próximo pasado y parte del presente [julio], han hecho crecer tanto el río Pánuco que” nunca como hoy “se había visto que sus aguas inundasen toda la parte baja de esta ciudad, hasta el grado de tener que navegarse por las calles en canoas”, a semejanza de Venecia, Italia.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

A7

NATIONAL

Man accused of killing son to be with teen lover gets prison ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Michael Sears / AP

Morgan Geyser, one of two Wisconsin girls charged with stabbing a classmate to impress the fictitious horror character Slender Man, enters a Waukesha County Court for a status hearing Friday in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Girl reaches plea deal in Slender Man case

By Ivan Moreno A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The second of two Wisconsin girls charged with repeatedly stabbing a classmate to impress horror character Slender Man will plead guilty in a deal that will send her to a state mental hospital and bring an end a case that shocked people in part because the attackers were only 12.

The deal, announced in court Friday, means both girls will avoid prison time for the attack on Payton Leutner, who was also 12. Morgan Geyser, now 15, will be treated indefinitely at a mental hospital. Her co-defendant, Anissa Weier, faces at least three years in a mental hospital.

“It’s been a tragic experience for everyone,” Geyser’s attorney, Donna Kuchler, said after a brief court hearing Friday. “Our hearts go out to the victim and her family. And we’re very grateful that the district attorney’s office gave this case the considering it deserves.”

Weier and Geyser lured Payton Leutner, who was

also 12, into the woods at a park in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators.

Leutner survived after she crawled out of the woods to a path where a passing bicyclist found her.

Both Weier and Geyser told detectives they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man’s “proxies,” or servants, and protect their families from him.

Geyser had been scheduled to go on trial Oct. 16.

The plea deal comes after a jury this month determined that Weier was mentally ill at the time of the attack on Leutner.

Geyser was at Friday’s hearing but didn’t speak.

Afterward, the judge allowed her to spend three hours with her family before returning her to a mental hospital where she has been receiving treatment.

The Leutner family issued a statement saying they had no comment about Friday’s hearing but will issue a statement at a plea hearing Thursday when Geyser’s deal will be formalized.

CAMDEN, N.J. — A man accused of killing his 3-year-old son because the boy was getting in the way of his relationship with a teenage girlfriend was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

David Creato Jr. showed little emotion during the court hearing in Camden, staring straight ahead as a prosecutor recounted how he first reported son Brendan missing and stood by as emergency personnel searched for the boy.

“He lied to the police, he lied to his parents.

Worst of all, he lied to Brendan’s mother, who certainly had a right to know exactly what happened to their son,” assistant prosecutor Christine Shah said after playing a 14-minute video that showed a collage of photographs from Brendan’s short life.

David Swanson / AP

David Creato stands with his lawyer Richard J. Fuschino Jr. as he is sentenced to a 10-year prison term for killing his 3-year-old son, in Camden County Superior Court on Friday in Camden, New Jersey.

Creato declined to make a statement before the sentence was issued, but his father later told reporters that his son is innocent.

The 23-year-old Creato pleaded guilty in August to aggravated manslaughter after a previous murder trial ended in a mistrial. He said at

the time that he “recklessly caused his son’s death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life by depriving Brendan of oxygen.”

Prosecutors have said Creato killed his son because he was worried his then-17-year-old girl-

friend was going to leave him while she was away at college. She also made it clear that she didn’t want to be around his child and wanted him to give up custody. She was never charged, and the couple has since broken up.

After the hearing, Creato’s father told reporters that he believes his son is innocent and that he is reaching out to private investigators to catch the real killer.

“The wrong person is sitting in jail,” David Creato Sr. said.

Creato, known as D.J., initially said his son wandered away from his Haddon Township home in October 2015. The boy’s pajama-clad body was found hours later in a wooded area about a mile from his home, but his neon green socks were clean. Prosecutors said that would have been impossible if Brendan had walked there.

Mayor fires back after librarian calls Dr. Seuss book ‘cliché’ ASSOCIATED PRE SS

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

— The mayor of Dr. Seuss’ hometown fired back at a school librarian on Thursday who called the children’s author’s books “racist” and “cliché” in rejecting a donation of them from Melania Trump.

The comments of Cambridge Public Schools librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro were “political correctness at its worst,” Springfield, Massachusetts, Mayor Domenic Sarno said in a statement.

“One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, I think her comments stink and are ridiculous toward our beloved Dr. Seuss,” he said.

Dr. Seuss, whose real name is Theodor Geisel, was born and raised in Springfield. He wrote and illustrated dozens of rhyming children’s books including “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham.” A Dr. Seuss museum opened in the city earlier this year and the Democratic mayor notes that attendance has been “through the roof.”

He said if Cambridge doesn’t want the books, Springfield will take them.

Sarno also praised the first lady and invited her and Republican President Donald Trump to visit the Springfield museum.

The first lady sent Dr. Seuss books to schools across the country earlier this month to celebrate National Read a Book Day on Sept. 6.

A spokeswoman for Melania Trump said the Cambridge librarian’s response was “unfortunate” and the first lady

remains committed to children’s causes.

Soeiro could not immediately be reached for comment. But in a blog post the librarian called Dr. Seuss a “tired and worn ambassador for children’s literature” and said his illustrations are “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.”

The Cambridge school system distanced itself from Soeiro’s opinions, saying her comments were “not a formal acceptance or rejection of donated books.”

A8 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT

‘The Gifted’ offers different look at Marvel Universe

By Rick Bentley TR IBUNE NEWS SE RV ICE

LOS ANGELES — Raising teenagers can be a difficult task in the best of situations. Now, imagine what that would be like if those teenagers possessed mutant powers so incredible they have become the target of a government that wants to imprison them - or worse. You now have the plot for the new Fox drama "The Gifted," the latest television series in the ever-expanding Marvel Comics Universe.

"The Gifted" executive producer and writer Matt Nix ("Burn Notice") explains these mutant teenagers are not alone, because there is a group of others with extraordinary powers who have organized a system to get the new mutants to safety. The series opens Oct. 2 with the Strucker family seeking shelter when it’s accidentally revealed their teens are mutants.

"Everybody’s trying to find the Strucker family. And so as we go forward, we’re dealing with a number of things," Nix says. "One is how do we protect this network that is really the thing that’s standing between a lot of mutants and disaster. And the other is how do the Struckers stay together in the face of all of what’s going on in their lives.

"It’s about these two families coming together and working together. And ultimately, that relationship evolves and becomes part of a larger commitment. There are big developments that happen over the course of the season and very large problems that they have to deal with that can only be dealt with together."

Most adaptations of Marvel Comics to the big or small screen have been based on specific comic book storylines, but "The Gifted" is a mixture with the only definitive connection being that it takes place in the world where "The X-Men" exist. "The Gifted" will be more about what it is like to live in a

Eliza Morse/Fox / TNS

This photo shows, from left, guest star Elaine Satine, Percy Hynes White and Blair Redford on the Fox series, “The Gifted.”

world where a person is persecuted for being different rather than what it is like to save the universe while wearing a spiffy costume.

A big difference from a movie featuring mutants is that a TV series can go on for years.

There won’t be a rush to get the mutants up to fighting form in only a two-hour span. Nix points to the character of Blink - played by Jamie Chung - who in the early episode will seem to struggle with using her powers.

"That is, in our minds, an earlier point in the development of her powers. And that’s something that’s going to evolve as she goes forward," Nix says. "Another thing is if you look at the comics, powers

are constantly evolving, and there’s a profound relationship between the characters and the expression of their powers.

And that’s another thing that we really want to explore.

"So when you talk about, ’Are these earlier versions?’

Absolutely. And seeing the evolution of the characters as people and their emotional lives and how that affects their powers and the expression of their powers is part of what we want to explore."

The executive producers are coy as to how much the show will bump into the world of "The X-Men" that’s become so familiar through the feature films. All of the trials of the mutants are unfolding in the same Marvel universe but no

one is saying if these two worlds will one day collide.

Actor Stephen Moyer says that all of the actors were given access to the massive Marvel library so that they could get familiar with all of the various comic book lines that dealt with mutants. There’s no direct connection to any of those stories but Moyer found it helpful to have a general knowledge of this complex world.

One thing that he picked up from the comics and the series is how "The Gifted" deals with large social issues. As a father, Moyer can relate to what it is like to watch as your children grow into their own distinct worlds and all he can do as a parent is to be there to protect

and guide them.

"What I love about this particular show and what we’re doing is that it’s more set in the ordinary than it is in a sort of a super world. These people are just sort of trying to get by.

They’re just trying to sort of live in the world, in our world," Moyer says. "In case it didn’t come across or whether you didn’t know, it’s totally legal to be a mutant as long as you don’t use your powers in public.

"And that’s one thing that I think I’m really excited about, is that we’re sort of showing this parallel, a galaxy, but it’s not that far away. It’s a very, very close parallel to our own world. And I think people will really relate to that."

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

A9

NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS

Texas opens Big 12 play with win over ISU Longhorns have their way with Iowa State in Thursday night battle

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

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State's entrance was certainly befitting of a program to be reckoned with.

Dazzling new helmets featured a cardinal-colored tornado. Matching pyrotechnics launched from the upper rim of Jack Trice Stadium. Flames sprouted from a row of pillars and a "severe weather warning" was issued for Texas and its fans.

They looked the part through and through.

But the Cyclones' entrance — which would have fit right in at, say, WrestleMania — turned out to be the highlight of their night.

ISU's typically raucous crowd was silenced throughout Texas' (2-2, 1-0 Big 12) 17-7 win.

The first conference victory of the Tom Herman era was sparked by another strong defensive performance.

The Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) entered the game averaging 460 yards and 41.3 points per game;

they finished with 256 and were blanked for nearly 43 minutes. Jacob Park, one of the nation's top-rated quarterbacks, struggled in adapting to coordinator Todd Orlando's intricate schemes.

Park was sacked twice in the first quarter and threw three interceptions, two directly into DeShon Elliott's hands. Kris Boyd nabbed the other.

Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele reclaimed his starting spot from freshman Sam Ehlinger and was solid, if unspectacular. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

UT made good on its promise to reinvest in the run game, handing off to Chris Warren five times on its first drive. He rumbled for 24 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown, outdoing his four-carry, 15-yard performance against USC in the game's first seven minutes.

Freshman running back Toneil Carter was responsible for UT's other first-half score.

He beat linebacker (and former

David Purdy / Getty Images

The Texas Longhorns celebrate their 17-7 win at Iowa State on Thursday night in the Big 12 opener.

quarterback) Joel Lanning up the gut on a 22-yard touchdown reception, pushing the lead to 14-0.

It took a quick three-and-out and a horribly — unusually — shanked 17-yard punt by Michael Dickson to finally rouse the Cyclones' offense.

Park hit Allen Lazard for 17 yards then, eluding a horde of Longhorns pass rushers, connected with Matthew Eaton for an 11-yard touchdown. ISU nearly recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but officials ruled Armanti Foreman's knee was down, sparing UT from a potentially humiliating collapse.

But ISU's inability to maintain drives — it converted just 3 of 12 third-down tries — and UT's constant pressure prevent the Cyclones from truly threatening again.

Kicker Josh Rowland gave UT all the cushion it needed when it struck a 49-yard line drive through the uprights with 13:25 remaining in the contest.

Herman said there would be "no taking of this football team lightly," given the Longhorns' recent history in Ames. They were shut out in 2015 and escaped with 31-30 victory in 2013.

"With so few precious op-

portunities guaranteed to you to play this great game, we understand that the last three games - the Big 12 doesn't count any of those," Herman said.

"We have an opportunity to go 1 and 0 in the Big 12 and get back on the right side of the ledger.

It's irrelevant who we are playing and where we are playing them. It's about us and the bunker mentality that we have within our locker room."

Earlier this week, the firstyear coach was asked if this team was slowly, steadily understanding what it takes to be a winning program.

"Yeah I think so," Herman said. "I think anytime you're dealing with a history, a recent history, that we're dealing with, winning consistently is a learned trait and is something that is habit-forming. I think Vince Lombardi said it: winning is a habit and so is losing.

So we've got to create those winning habits and we've got to finish ballgames in ways that winning teams finish games."

For at least one week, the Longhorns closed like one of the programs they aspire to be.

Now, with the conference's heavy hitters coming up, it's time to see if they're truly ready to become just that.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: SAN ANTONIO SPURS MLB: HOUSTON ASTROS

ALDRIDGE BELIEVES HE CAN BE AN ALL-STAR AGAIN David J. Phillip / Associated Press file

Houston outfielder Carlos Beltran has already raised $1.3 million for his homeland of Puerto Rico for relief efforts stemming from hurricane damage.

Beltran has raised $1.3M for Puerto Rico

By Kyle Hightower ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle file

Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge is confident he can become an All-Star again this season.

Spurs forward still feels he’s a top 10-15 player in the NBA

By Melissa Rohlin SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS

LaMarcus Aldridge said “of course” he still wants to be an All-Star this season, and he thinks there’s no reason why he couldn’t be one again.

Aldridge, a five-time All-Star, didn’t make the team last season for the first time since 2012.

“I feel like I’m still able to play at that level,” Aldridge said at Spurs’ practice Friday. “I don’t feel like I’ve declined, to not be in the top 10, top 15 guys in the league.”

Aldridge’s name was constantly mentioned in trade rumors over the

summer, and he acknowledged that he was frustrated at times with the Spurs last season because he wasn’t fitting into the system as well as he thought he could.

Aldridge says that this season, he wants all of that to change. The 32year-old wants to be dominant again.

“Back to his old self for sure,” he said. “Playing confident, being dominant down low. Taking 3s and making 3s. Kind of like my last year in Portland.

Being confident down there, not second-guessing myself. I’ve always worked hard during the offseason. I don’t want to

waste these years.”

Aldridge said he specifically worked on his 3point shot over the summer, hoping to be able to better spread the court for the Spurs.

“That was one thing Pop told me,” Aldridge said. “When you go home this summer, make sure you shoot that because I want you get back comfortable doing that. Our system fits it and I’m going to be spreading out a little bit more this year. I definitely tried to focus on that.”

Aldridge averaged his fewest points (17.3) and rebounds (7.3) last season since his rookie debut.

Then in the playoffs, when the Spurs desperately needed him to take over their offense after Kawhi Leonard retweaked an already sprained left ankle in Game 1 against Golden State, Aldridge had a bit of a disappearing act, averaging 11.3 points on a woeful 38 percent shooting.

Aldridge said he talked to Spurs’ general manager R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich over the summer, and that things are going to be different this time around.

“We are going to make some tweaks,” he said. “I should be better this year for sure.”

BOSTON — A crowdfunding campaign started

by Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Beltran has already raised nearly $1.3 million to help with hurricane relief in his native Puerto Rico.

Beltran and his family donated $1 million to initiate the fund earlier this week. He said Friday that with the assistance of Astros owner Jim Crane, he also helped secure two planes in Houston that were expected to land on the island later in the day, carrying 300,000 pounds of supplies.

“I talked to my brother like four days ago. Today I was able to talk to him again. He was trying to get gas. He’s been in the line for almost 27 hours,” Beltran said. “He just called me to talk to me a little bit and inform me about the situation over there. It’s not good, man.

It’s been nine days and people are not really getting anything.”

The Astros clinched the AL West earlier this month and sit one game behind Cleveland for the league’s best record. Beltran was slated to play Friday in the second game of their final regularseason series against Boston.

Beltran said he’s trying to keep his mind on baseball as much as he can to help distract him from what his loved ones are going through.

“Of course, my body’s

here. My mind and my soul is with my people in Puerto Rico,” he said. “It’s going to be like that until I see that things are starting to get better.”

Beltran’s mother, father and sisters are also still in Puerto Rico.

“They’re going through the same thing,” he said.

“It’s hard to see your family and people basically going through necessities like that the way they are and suffering the way they are because it’s an adjustment for all the Puerto Ricans.”

Much of Beltran’s downtime has been spent on helping to mobilize support. He wants to charter more supply planes, but said they come at a price of $135,000 each.

Beltran said the National Association of Christian Churches in Houston is helping with fundraising efforts to secure more planes.

He said he was inspired by the way the government helped with hurricane victims in Texas and Florida recently, and he’s pleading that Puerto Rico gets the same attention.

“The people that are not getting the support.

The hospitals are running out of power, out of diesel,” he said. “So the situation is critical. ... We need help. This isn’t going to be short-term help. It’s going to be short-term, longterm. So right now, I do believe that it is important that the message gets out there and hopefully they take action.”

A10 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER PRICE From page A1 of other Cabinet members’ travel, as the House Oversight and Government Reform committee launched a governmentwide investigation of top political appointees. Other department heads have been scrambling to explain their own travel.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke faced scrutiny over three charter flights while in office, including a $12,375 late-night trip from Las Vegas to his home state of Montana in June.

On Friday, he dismissed the controversy over charter flights as “a little BS over travel,” but he said taxpayers do have the right to know official travel costs.

Price’s repayment of $51,887.31 for his own travel costs did not placate the White House.

The total travel cost, including the secretary’s entourage, was unclear. It could amount to several hundred thousand dollars.

An orthopedic surgeon turned politician, Price rose to Budget Committee chairman in the House, where he was known as a fiscal conservative. When Price joined the administration, Trump touted him as a conservative policy expert who could write a new health care bill to replace the Obamaera Affordable Care Act. But Price became more

MARIA From page A1 that swept across the U.S. territory as a fierce Category 4 hurricane on Sept.

20.

“I haven’t seen any help and we’re running out of water,” said Pedro Gonzalez, who was clearing debris to earn some money in the northern coast town of Rio Grande.

Increasingly desperate and with a daughter with Down syndrome to support, he had already decided to move to Louisiana to stay with relatives.

“We’re getting out of here.”

FEMA sent Rio Grande officials shipments of food and water for the past three days and arrived Thursday to help distribute meal packets, water and snacks in one community. But people in neighboring communities said no one came door-todoor to help them.

“This has been a complete disaster,” said 64year-old retiree Jenny Cordero as she filled plastic trash cans with water at the home of a neighbor who was among the lucky ones to have service restored.

Those who made it, however, were grateful.

“This will help somewhat, so we don’t starve,” said Anthony Jerena, a 33-year-old father of two teenagers who had man-

PERMITS From page A1

of a supporting player in the GOP’s futile health care campaign, while Vice President Mike Pence took the lead, particularly with the Senate. The perception of Price jetting around while GOP lawmakers labored to repeal “Obamacare” —including a three-nation trip in May to Africa and Europe— raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill. Price flew on military aircraft overseas.

Although much of Trump’s ire over the health care failure has been aimed at the Republican-controlled Congress, associates of the president said he also assigns some blame to Price, who he believes did not do a good job of selling the GOP plan.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Friday that Price had worked hard to help that chamber pass its plan before the GOP effort reached an impasse in the Senate. “I will always be grateful for Tom’s service to this country,” he said.

Democrats were glad to see Price go. Some urged Trump to appoint an HHS secretary who would reach out to them.

“I hope President Trump learns from this mistake, and looks to appoint someone who can work in a bipartisan way to strengthen health care for all Americans,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, DN.J. A Pence protege, Seema Verma, has been men-

tioned as a possible successor to Price. Verma already leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs health insurance programs that cover more than 130 million Americans.

Another possible HHS candidate: FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who won some bipartisan support in his confirmation and is well known in policy, government and industry circles.

Trump named Don J. Wright, a deputy assistant secretary of health, to serve as acting secretary.

Price, 62, was seen in Congress as a foe of wasteful spending. As HHS secretary, he led a $1 trillion department whose future is the key to managing mounting federal budgetary deficits. As secretary, Price criticized the Medicaid health program for low-income people, saying it doesn’t deliver results commensurate with the hundreds of billions of dollars taxpayers spend on it. As a congressman, he favored Medicare privatization.

But Price’s image as a budget hawk took a hit when reports of his official travel started bubbling up. Price used private charter flights on 10 trips with multiple segments, when in many cases cheaper commercial flights were available. His charter travel was first reported by the news site Politico.

aged to get two boxes of water, each containing 24 bottles and, three packages of meals-ready-to-eat.

Yolanda Lebron, spokeswoman for the Rio Grande mayor, said they used a car with a loudspeaker to announce that FEMA would be registering people for aid, but did not mention there would be food and water given out. “We didn’t dare,” she said. “We didn’t know if we were going to have enough.”

Gov. Ricard Rossello and other officials said they were aware of people’s deepening frustrating and of the difficulty, and danger, of living on a sweltering tropical island with no air conditioning and little to no water. He blamed some of the delay on the logistical challenge of getting aid shipments out of the seaports and airports, all of which were knocked out of commission in the storm, and then distributing the supplies on debris-strewn streets.

Rossello said Friday that the government would seize all food still sitting in containers at the port that private business owners had not yet claimed and would distribute it to people for free. He said the government would use FEMA funds to repay the owners.

He said operations were also ramping up at

the airport and that the government had requested drivers and other workers from various federal agencies to help distribute aid, which he expected to begin flowing within the next several days. “We know we have to do more,” he said.

“We’re still not getting at the optimal point. But it has been a limitation on logistics and as soon as we get those assets we are going to put them on the ground.”

The governor also said he would shorten the nightly curfew by three hours, requiring people to be off the streets by 9 p.m. instead of 6 p.m., and would end a ban on alcohol sales that was in place since before the storm.

He spoke after touring the island with Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, who drew criticism from the San Juan mayor and others for describing the recovery effort as a “goodnews story.” She sought to clarify the statement, saying she intended to praise the cooperation among the federal and local authorities in responding to a crisis.

“Clearly the situation here in Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane is not satisfactory, but together we are getting there and the progress today is very, very strong,” she said.

it’s a race against the clock as they rush to renew their permits ahead of a looming Oct. 5 deadline set by the Trump administration. After that date, no one else can renew under a program that has let nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to the United States as children work even though they lack legal papers.

The work permits have been a lifeline for many young immigrants who have been educated in American schools and know no other home than the United States. The program created by President Barack Obama in 2012 also protected these immigrants, many of them in their 20s, from being deported to countries they hardly remember. Critics call it an illegal amnesty program that is taking jobs from U.S. citizens.

When President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program this month, he gave Congress six months to draft a more lasting fix. Demo-

cratic leaders and Trump said they have reached a deal to protect the immigrants, but Congress has since turned its focus to overhauling the tax code. Democratic congressional leaders say they are waiting on the White House to craft a legislative proposal.

Meanwhile, immigrant advocates around the country have been urging the Trump administration to extend the Oct. 5 deadline and holding legal clinics and donating money to help immigrants cover the $500 renewal fee.

Jesus Perez of Phoenix says he’s not sure he would have been able to come up with the cash in time to renew were it not for the financial help of an advocacy group that is among several giving financial aid and helping people fill out their paperwork in time. The 30-year-old father of three, with one on the way, was just approved to buy a home but can’t complete the purchase until his renewal comes through.

“You’re in limbo,” said Perez, who works at a car

wash and hopes to open his own business soon.

In Las Vegas, fewer than 30 people have asked for a service provided by the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, causing alarm among organizers who are fearful immigrants are staying in the shadows or waiting too close to the deadline. The government must receive the renewal paperwork by Oct. 5, meaning it needs to be sent in most cases by this weekend.

“If you are not at the post office with an express mail envelope in your hand on the morning of Oct. 2, you are too late,” said Michael Kagan, director of the Las Vegas clinic.

Only immigrants whose permits are expiring before March 5, 2018, are eligible to apply for renewals. Those whose permits expire starting on March 6 will not be able to renew.

The government estimates there are about 154,000 recipients whose permits expire between Sept. 5, 2017, when the Trump administration announced the end of the program, and March 5.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

A11

BUSINESS

Volkswagen / AP

This photo shows the 2018 Volkswagen T-Roc unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show. The T-Roc is a size smaller than Volkswagen's Tiguan SUV that's currently sold in the U.S.

Volkswagen promises 2 new models every year Cole Wilson / NYT

This 2015 photo shows employees packing boxes and preparing them for shipping at a Jet.com warehouse in Swedesboro, New Jersey.

By Tom Krisher

Walmart armors up for food fight with Amazon

DEARBORN, Mich. — Volkswagen plans to offer two new U.S. models every year for the foreseeable future and double the length of its warranties as it tries to attract new customers and recover from a 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.

Hinrich Woebcken, the German automaker’s top U.S. executive, announced the main planks of VW’s comeback plan Friday at an event in a dealership in Dearborn, Michigan.

VW is still dealing with the emissions scandal, in which it used sophisticated software to activate pollution controls during government tests and turn them off while the cars were being driven on roads. The company has agreed to more than $20 billion in fines and civil settlements over the scandal.

Earlier Friday in Germany, VW said that it expects to take additional charges of about $2.9 billion in the third quarter to cover costs of buying back or retrofitting 2-liter diesel vehicles that were part of the civil settlements.

So far this year, the VW brand’s U.S. sales are up 6.4 percent while the U.S. market has shrunk by 2.7 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Woebcken attributes the increase the introduction of two new SUVs: the full-size Atlas and the compact Tiguan.

The company plans a new Jetta compact car and a new midsize luxury car for the 2019 model

By Anne D’innocenzio A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Walmart’s Jet.com will launch a higher-end grocery line targeting millennials, just over a year after Walmart spent more than $3 billion for the fast-growing online retailer amid more intense competition from Amazon.

Amazon.com Inc. last month closed on its acquisition of Whole Foods, as Walmart, Target, and other supermarkets fight to win a bigger slice of the grocery market. And pushing private brands

— when they work — offers high profit margins since stores have control of sourcing. Whole Foods has done well with its private label 365 By Whole Foods Market, which is being expanded to Amazon.com.

Jet.com said Friday that the new brand, called Uniquely J, will focus on younger customers in urban areas, offering them select coffee, olive oil, paper towels and other products.

Jet.com, which sells products including clothing, gadgets and home furnishings, will also be carrying some of the

niche brands like ModCloth and Bonobos that Walmart has acquired in recent months. ModCloth is now starting to be carried on Jet, while Bonobos will be some time next year, according to Walmart officials.

The moves are part of an overall strategy by Marc Lore — who founded Jet.com in 2015 and is now head of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce — to set the startup apart from the Walmart.com website and make it more upscale. Jet.com is built on a real-time pricing algorithm that determines which sellers are the

most efficient in value and shipping and adjusts prices based on what items are in the checkout cart, as well as how far the desired products are from the shopper’s home.

So as shoppers throw items in their cart, they’re encouraged to continue shopping and build a more efficient cart and buy items labeled “smart cart” for more savings.

Amazon cut prices almost immediately on a number of items at Whole Foods after it closed on the deal. Walmart has done the same over the past month.

Gas price average drops for second week A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

The statewide gas price average in Texas is $2.44 for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

That price is three cents less than last week and is 47 cents more per gallon compared to this day last year.

Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average per gallon at $2.49, while drivers in Amarillo are paying the least at $2.32 per gallon.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.57, which is three cents less than last week and 36 cents higher than the price per gallon at this same time last year.

One month after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, motorists are finally seeing consistent declines in gas prices.

According to the Department of Energy, Gulf Coast refinery operations are up nearly 10 percent.

Overall, 10 refineries are operating at reduced rates, while three remain shutdown. In addition,

the Colonial Pipeline remains on about a sevenday gasoline delivery delay, but they estimate that by the end of the month the pipeline will be returning to normal deliveries.

"Gas prices are getting cheaper by the day," said Daniel Armbruster, AAA Texas spokesperson.

"Pump prices may not be dropping as fast as motorists would like, but with the switchover to winterblend gasoline, consumer demand beginning to slow and Gulf Coast refineries getting closer to normal operations, consumers

can expect gas prices to continue to be less expensive through October."

Gas prices are cheaper on the week in all South and Southeast states. In the region, gas prices are 30 cents more expensive compared to one month ago.

However, continued positive refinery news is expected to drive down gas prices in the coming weeks, easing the higherthan-normal gas prices South and Southeast motorists have been paying since Hurricanes Harvey and Irma made landfall.

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

year. For a company VW’s size, two new models per year is ambitious.

VW also announced that all of its models but the electric Golf would have six-year, 72-month bumper-to-bumper warranties, which it says is the industry’s best. The transferrable warranty applies to all models but the electric Golf, which has a longer warranty on the battery.

“This country loves comeback stories,” Woebcken said. “They also love to give people a second chance,” he said.

But problems may still lie ahead. German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday that it could face further scrutiny because it failed to properly inform U.S. regulators about changes to emissions control software in nearly one-half million cars with gas engines.

Citing an internal VW investigation, Der Spiegel reported that the software was changed in about one in five gas cars registered from 2009 to 2017. The report notes that the software wasn’t used to illegally alter emission levels in tests.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Woebcken confirmed the inquiry, with Woebcken saying VW is cooperating with agencies involved. Asked if the software is another “defeat device” that could thwart emissions tests, Woebcken replied: “Not of my knowledge.”

The EPA said it couldn’t comment due to “ongoing investigation work” and said the seriousness and outcome is not yet known.

A12 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES