The Zapata Times 2/22/2017

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TEXAS

Trump directs Border Patrol, Industry pays ICE to expand deportations $9.4 billion in taxes

Immigrants with or without criminal record

By Julián Aguilar TH E TEXAS T RI BUNE

The Trump administration on Tuesday moved one step closer to implementing the president’s plans to aggressively rid the country of undocumented immigrants and expand local police-based enforcement of border security operations.

In a fact sheet outlining the efforts, the Department of Homeland Security said that though their top priority is

Trump

finding and removing undocumented immigrants with criminal histories, millions more may also be subject to immediate re-

moval.

“With extremely limited exceptions, DHS will not exempt classes or categories of removal aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in Deportations continues on A11

Oil and gas stabilizing SPECIAL TO THE TIME S

Steven Senne / AP

Wilfredo Mendoza and Christina Villafranca display placards during a rally called "We Will Persist" on Tuesday in Boston.

BORDER AREA

BISHOPS DENOUNCE ‘SANTA MUERTE’

According to just-released data from the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA), the Texas oil and natural gas industry paid $9.4 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties in fiscal year 2016, the equivalent of $26 million a day to state and local revenue. As oil and natural gas prices stabilize, the Texas oil and natural gas industry added jobs every month between September and December 2016, with a total of 4,700 new jobs.

“We can’t take for granted all that is possible because Texas is the nation’s #1 state for oil and natural gas production, pipeline miles and refining capacity.

Those accolades translate into Oil continues on A11

SUPREME COURT

Boy’s death near border splits court

By Mark Sherman ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Russell Contreras / Associated Press

In this Feb. 13, 2013, file photo, statues of La Santa Muerte are displayed at the Masks y Mas art store in Albuquerque, N.M. Bishops in the United States are finally denouncing the skeleton folk saint known as La Santa Muerte, a figure often connected to the illicit drug trade in Mexico.

Mexican, U.S. Catholic leaders denounce folk saint often linked to drug cartels

By Russell Contreras A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

A

LBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bishops in the United States are denouncing the skeleton folk saint known as La Santa Muerte — a figure Roman Catholic leaders in Mexico routinely have attacked for the deity’s connection to violence and the illicit drug trade.

Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, and San Angelo Bishop Michael Sis in Texas joined their counterparts in Mexico last week in urging Catholics to avoid honoring the folk saint and called her “antithetical” to the teachings of Jesus.

“She’s not a saint. There is

Felipe Courzo | Reuters

A Mexican man holds a statue of La Santa Muerte as he prays during the Day of the Dead celebrations in the district of Tepito in Mexico City, November 2, 2005.

nothing good that can come out of praying to her,” Wester said.

“We have a lot of saints who

represent the teaching of Jesus Christ. This is an aberration.”

The denouncement comes

after Ciudad Juarez Bishop Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos attacked La Santa Muerte, which means Holy Death, in a recent newspaper interview and urged parishioners not to join this “cult.” A number of Catholic officials in Mexico have condemned the folk saint, but bishops in the U.S. have largely been silent on the skeleton image.

Popular in Mexico, and sometimes linked to some drug cartels, La Santa Muerte in recent years has found a robust and diverse following north of the border: immigrant small business owners, artists, gay activists and the poor, among others — many of them nonLatinos and not all involved Muerte continues on A11

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appears to be evenly divided about the right of Mexican parents to use American courts to sue a U.S. Border Patrol agent who fired across the U.S.-Mexican border and killed their teenage son.

Justice Anthony Kennedy and other conservative justices suggested during argument Tuesday that the boy’s death on the Mexican side of the border was enough to keep the matter out of U.S. courts.

The four liberal justices indicated they would support the parents’ lawsuit because the shooting happened close to the border in an area in which the two nations share responsibility for upkeep.

A 4-4 tie could cause the court to hold onto the case and schedule a new round of argument if Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed as the ninth justice.

The case arose from an incident that took place in June 2010 in the cement culvert that separates El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The circumstances of exactly what occurred are in dispute, but what is clear is that the agent was on the U.S. side of the border when he fired his gun, striking Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca on the Mexican side.

Lower courts dismissed the Court continues on A11

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Book Room open. 10

a.m. to 12 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2017. There are 312 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series. 7:30 p.m.

On Feb. 22, 1732 (New Style date), the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.

TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. The presentation is called Economic Crisis: The Hit Men Strike Home ... What Wrecked our Economy and How to Fix It, by John Perkins, New York Times bestselling author. Free and open to the public.

On this date:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society. 3-5 p.m. Joe A.

Guerra Public Library, second floor. Meeting and speaker: Ricardo Palacios “The Green Street Kid.” Members free; guests: $5. For more information call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library. For more information call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27

Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels.

Chess books and training materials are available.

Chess Club.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28

6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee, but freewill donations accepted.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

SATURDAY, MARCH 4 Improve Health, Delay Aging event.

8 a.m.-12 p.m. Laredo Regional Campus of UT Health San Antonio, 1937 Bustamante St. Free community event. This is part of the Stay Healthier Longer Conference Series. The keynote speaker will be Fernando Sanchez, MD, a neurologist at the Laredo Medical Center. To register, call 523-7400 or email laredocampus@uthscsa.edu Book sale. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.

MONDAY, MARCH 6

Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels.

Chess books and training materials are available.

Chess Club.

Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting.

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

MONDAY, MARCH 13

Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels.

Chess books and training materials are available.

Chess Club.

MONDAY, MARCH 20

Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels.

Chess books and training materials are available.

Chess Club.

Grant Hindsley / AP

Demonstrators gathered to counter a defund Planned Parenthood protest outside a Planned Parenthood in Kent, Wash., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. Anti-abortion activists emboldened by the new administration of President Donald Trump staged rallies around the country Saturday calling for the federal government to cut off payments to Planned Parenthood, but in some cities counter-protests dwarfed the demonstrations. (Grant Hindsley/seattlepi.com via AP)

JUDGE BLOCKS TEXAS CUTTING MEDICAID TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD

By Paul J. Weber A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Texas can't cut off Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood over secretly recorded videos taken by anti-abortion activists in 2015 that launched Republican efforts across the U.S. to defund the nation's largest abortion provider.

An injunction issued by U.S. District Sam Sparks of Austin comes after he de-

Americans killed in Australian plane crash A group of American men were pursuing a devout interest in golf during a weeks long trip to Australia when they were killed Tuesday after a light plane carrying them on an offshore excursion crashed into a suburban Melbourne shopping mall and burst into flames, said Australian officials. The twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air crashed

layed making decision in January and essentially bought Planned Parenthood an extra month in the state's Medicaid program.

Texas is now at least the sixth state where federal courts have kept Planned Parenthood eligible for Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services, although a bigger question remains over whether President Donald Trump will federally defund the organization.

about 45 minutes before the Direct Factory Outlet mall in Essendon was due to open, Police Minister Lisa Neville said.

The U.S. Embassy in Canberra confirmed that the four victims were U.S. citizens. Three lived in Texas and it’s believed the fourth passenger on the plane did as well. Three of the passengers were identified as Greg Reynolds De Haven, Russell Munsch and Glenn Garland, who all lived in the Austin, Texas, area.

De Haven’s sister, Denelle

Wicht of Alexandria, Minnesota, said her brother survived dangerous work in the FBI and while serving in the U.S. Army during Vietnam only to die while enjoying retirement. “He managed to get through all of that, to die this way,” Wicht said.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said at a briefing Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.”

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD Bodies of 74 migrants found ashore in Libya CAIRO — At least 74 bodies of African migrants have washed ashore in western Libya, the Libyan Red Crescent said Tuesday, the latest tragedy at sea along a perilous but increasingly popular trafficking route to Europe.

The bodies were found near the western Libyan city of Zawiya on Monday, Red Crescent spokesman Mohammed alMisrati told The Associated Press. He said a torn rubber boat, the kind that usually carry up to 120 people, was found nearby. The Red Crescent's branch in Zawiya said there are bodies still floating out at sea but it has no means to retrieve them.

The International Organiza-

4-7

p.m. Convent Avenue.

MONDAY, MARCH 27

Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels.

Chess books and training materials are available.

Ten years ago: Britain’s Ministry of Defense announced that Prince Harry, a second lieutenant in the British army, would be deployed to Iraq (officials later reversed the decision because of insurgent threats; Harry later served two tours of duty in Afghanistan). The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Iran had ignored a Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment, and instead expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges.

Five years ago: Mitt Romney and

Rick Santorum swapped accusations about health care, spending earmarks and federal bailouts in the 20th debate of the rollercoaster race for the Republican presidential nomination, held in Mesa, Arizona. Two Marine Corps helicopters collided over a remote section of the California desert during a nighttime exercise, killing seven Marines.

One year ago: President Barack

Obama sent lawmakers an official $1.9 billion request to combat the spread of the Zika virus in Latin America and the U.S. (Congress passed a $1.1 billion package in Sept. 2016.) The City Council of Charlotte, North Carolina, voted 7-4 to pass a new law allowing transgender people to choose public bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Paul

Mohannad Karima / AP

This Monday, Feb. 20, 2017 photo by The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), shows Libyan Red Crescent workers recovering bodies of people that washed ashore, near Zawiya, Libya.

tion of Migration said the traffickers took the engine and left the boat to drift. Another 12 migrants remain missing and are "presumed drowned," and

a sole survivor was transferred to a hospital in a coma, the U.N. migration agency said.

— Compiled from AP reports

Dooley is 89. Actor James Hong is 88. Movie director Jonathan Demme is 73. Actor John Ashton is 69. Actress Julie Walters is 67.

Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving is 67. Former Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is 65. World Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 54. Actor Paul Lieberstein is 50. Actress Jeri Ryan is 49. Actor Thomas Jane is 48. TV host Clinton Kelly is 48.

Actress Tamara Mello is 47. Actress-singer Lea Salonga is 46.

Actor Jose Solano is 46. Rock musician Scott Phillips is 44.

Singer James Blunt is 43. Actress Drew Barrymore is 42. Actress Liza Huber is 42. Rock singer Tom Higgenson (Plain White T’s) is 38. Actor Zach Roerig is 32. Actor Daniel E. Smith is 27.

Thought for Today: “It is infinitely

better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.” — President George Washington (1732-1799).

CONTACT US AROUND TEXAS

SATURDAY, MARCH 25 Rally at the Border Laredo.

In 1892, “Lady Windermere’s Fan” by Oscar Wilde was first performed at London’s St. James’ Theater.

In 1909, the Great White Fleet, a naval task force sent on a roundthe-world voyage by President Theodore Roosevelt, returned after more than a year at sea.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.

In 1935, it became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.

In 1940, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was enthroned at age four in Lhasa, Tibet.

In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held; although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.

In 1974, Pakistan officially recognized Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).

In 1980, the “Miracle on Ice” took place in Lake Placid, New York, as the United States Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)

In 1987, pop artist Andy Warhol died at a New York City hospital at age 58; talk-show host David Susskind was found dead in his Manhattan hotel suite; he was 66.

In 1997, scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named “Dolly.”

(Dolly, however, was later put down after a short life marred by premature aging and disease.)

Texas A&M institute gets $20 million endowment

Chess Club.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A Texas A&M University institute that brings prominent scholars to the school to collaborate with faculty and students on research has been given a $20 million endowment.

The Texas A&M Foundation announced Monday that longtime donor and alumnus Jon L. Hagler will endow the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study, which will be renamed the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study.

Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel tells the Bryan-College Station Eagle that the gift establishes the

institute "in permanency."

Eighty-year-old Hagler, who lives in Dover, Massachusetts, said he looks at his contribution to the institute as a way to repay the university, which he believes helped him become the man he is today. Hagler graduated from the university in 1958.

His career has included founding two investment firms.

— Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 |

A3

MEXICO

As Mexico awaits US visit, some question point of talks

By Mark Stevenson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials are hoping for a bit more calm, less vitriol and more constructive talk with the U.S. this week when the secretaries of state and homeland security arrive after months in which U.S. President Donald Trump has hammered Mexico.

Rex Tillerson and John Kelly are widely seen as less combative than their boss. But many Mexicans are starting to question the point of even talking to a U.S. government that has promised repeatedly to hit Mexico with tariffs, border walls and deportations.

Kelly is starting his visit Tuesday in neighboring Guatemala, which also has a large immigrant population in the United Sates, also serves as a conduit for northbound drugs and also depends on the U.S. for anti-crime assistance.

Kelly will offer Guatemala little reassurance on deportations: He will visit a repatriation center where deported migrants are processed when they return on flights from the United States.

But it is Mexico that has to most to hope for — or lose— from the talks.

Mexico is entering a phase in which, at Trump’s insistence, it will have to re-negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. That could imperil the export manufacturing sector that has become crucial to Mexico’s economy since NAFTA took effect in 1994. But it also could let Mexicans discuss restrictions on billions of dollars in American farm exports, as well as measures to ensure to U.S. oil and gas, a topic that was kept out of the original trade pact when Mexico jealously guarded its oil.

Mexico now imports huge

Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

A Border Patrol agent shuts a gate in the border fence on the U.S.-Mexico border in Del Rio on February 21, 2017.

amounts of gas and gasoline and officials now hope they can get the energy sector written into NAFTA. Tillerson, as the former head of ExxonMobil, may be just the person to do it.

“Tillerson, in his favor, would welcome what the Mexicans have been arguing have been arguing for, which is modernization or updating of the treaty including the energy sector,” said Federico Estevez, a political science professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. “Given his Exxon past, that would make sense that he would see the virtue in that.”

Tillerson, who arrives Thursday, made friendly noises during his confirmation hearings, saying “Mexico is a longstanding neighbor and friend of this country.”

Kelly, too, has sounded cooperative. After meeting with Mexican officials recently, Kelly he said his department is committed to work with Mexico on

“common economic and security opportunities and challenges, such as border security, migration management, repatriation and cross-border trade.”

Still, there are reports that the Trump administration might help finance a border wall by stripping away funds it gives Mexico under the Merida Initiative, a pact signed with then-President George W. Bush aimed at attacking drug trafficking and other security threats within Mexico. But that money — about $2.5 billion overall since 2008 — would pay for a small fraction of any wall and could hurt America’s own security.

“This is really stupid on the US part,” Estevez said. “My understanding is that most of the money effectively went to securing our southern border against Central Americans at US request.”

Since 2014, Mexico has stepped up enforcement on its

southern border to stem the flood of Central American migrants who have streamed through Mexico to get to the United States even as Mexican migration northward has stalled.

A policy memo published Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security indicated U.S. authorities now want to send some of those Central Americans back to Mexico instead of their home countries even while they wait for their asylum or deportation proceedings to finish in the U.S. Many Mexicans question how much their President Enrique Pena Nieto can hope for from any talks with the Trump administration, which has campaigned to remove jobs from Mexico, kick out Mexican migrants and build an inhospitable wall between the two countries.

“Instead of welcoming Tillerson and Kelly next week as if nothing had happened, the

Pena administration should say that there is no basis to negotiate on any topic at all, until the executive order to build this absurd and offensive wall is withdrawn, and our countrymen are no longer criminalized or prosecuted,” columnist Carmen Aristegui wrote in the newspaper Reforma.

“This isn’t about breaking off relations or anything like that, with a country with who we share so much interdependence, but rather with setting out new rules with intelligence, imagination and dignity,” she added Even former president Ernesto Zedillo thinks “the time has come to admit that the actions of the new administration have closed off, at least for the foreseeable future, the possibility of any agreement being achieved through dialogue and negotiation that could satisfy the interests of both parties.”

“The effort to accommodate President Trump’s capricious wishes has proven worthless and should not be continued,” Zedillo wrote in an editorial in The Washington Post. “It is not useful for Mexico or the United States.”

Rather, Zedillo wrote, Mexico should explore other trade relations with other countries — a longstanding but frustrated dream of Mexican policymakers whose economy is now based on proximity to the United States.

Many Mexicans are calling for a more confrontational attitude.

“The Mexican side has let too many gestures of hostility go by without, to this point, presenting a diplomatic note of protest, without suspending bilateral contacts or without having taking complaints to international tribunals,” the leftist newspaper La Jornada wrote in an editorial.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

A better remedy for climate change CH ICAGO T RIBUNE

The baking of planet Earth is proceeding without interruption. Last year was the hottest year on record, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - edging out 2015, which had taken the crown from 2014. Of the world’s 17 warmest documented years, 16 have come in this century.

The obvious explanation is well-known: a steady buildup of heattrapping gases in the atmosphere, produced by fossil fuels. Skeptics dispute how rapidly world temperatures will rise and how damaging the effects will be, but complete certainty isn’t needed to formulate prudent policy.

There’s only a small chance your home will burn down, but it still makes sense to buy fire insurance.

The conflict over climate policy is driven partly by the fear, particularly among Republicans, that curbing greenhouse emissions requires costly, intrusive regulations. Those could hobble economic growth, destroy jobs, inflate electricity rates and deprive Americans of SUVs and other modern conveniences.

The Obama administration confirmed many of these suspicions. It took action to force carmakers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles, curb the burning of coal through the Clean Power Plan and subsidize alternative energy sources, from electric cars to wind turbines.

To conservatives, climate change looks like a blank check written to "Big Government." Scott Pruitt, the new head the Environmental Protection Agency, is one of those conservatives. He made it his business as Oklahoma attorney general to "combat unwarranted regulation and systematic overreach by federal agencies, boards and offices," particularly the EPA. But Americans don’t have to choose between a free, thriving economy and a healthy planet. A new plan comes from the Climate Leadership Council, which includes George Shultz and James Baker, who respectively served as secretary of state under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as well as Martin Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw, who headed the president’s Council of Economic Advisers under Reagan and George W. Bush. It’s an ingenious effort to satisfy Democrats and

Republicans, free-market stalwarts as well as devoted environmentalists.

The centerpiece is a tax on carbon dioxide emissions that would start low and rise over time. At $40 a ton, the initial rate, it would raise gasoline prices by about 36 cents a gallon - a modest increase, but big enough to affect business and consumer decisions.

Making fossil fuels more expensive would stimulate conservation, speed the shift of power plants from coal to natural gas and make renewable fuels more price-competitive. The result would be a steady reduction in carbon emissions, which in turn would put a brake on global warming.

Here’s the real attraction for conservatives: This approach would remove the justification for a lot of federal micromanagement. "Much of the EPA’s regulatory authority over carbon dioxide emissions would be phased out, including an outright repeal of the Clean Power Plan," says the council.

The need for federal aid to promote alternative energy would also vanish.

No more federal loan guarantees, like the $535 million funneled to the solar equipment maker Solyndra, which eventually went bankrupt.

The council has a big sweetener for anyone unwilling to pay higher energy costs: rebating the revenue to taxpayers, which would mean that each year, a family of four would get a check for $2,000 from the federal government - an amount that would rise as the tax rate does. The idea is to keep the money from being grabbed by politicians to pay for existing or new federal outlays. It would also appease congressional Republicans who oppose any increase in tax burdens.

We share their concern, but a carbon tax could also be indispensable in closing the federal deficit, which is likely to swell in the coming decade. Unless Congress and the president can agree on real budgetary reforms, Washington shouldn’t be handing out money, even in the form of "carbon dividends."

But the authors deserve a full hearing and a hearty thanks for trying to break the deadlock on the future of the planet. "Less government, less pollution," is how they summarize the plan. As insurance policies go, this one looks like a bargain.

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COLUMN

This is what it’s like working in the Trump administration Carter Eskew WASHINGTON P O ST

To get a sense of how insular and disrespectful, even to its own, the Trump administration has become just 30 days in, consider the case of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Tillerson is less empowered on foreign policy matters than the president’s son-in-law, who oversees the Middle East; his personal lawyer, who, reports say, was involved in writing a “peace plan” for Russia and Ukraine; and political adviser Stephen Bannon, who has an unprecedented seat on the National Security Council and deep influence on the president’s views on a host of foreign and domestic policies.

Meanwhile, Tillerson,

one of the most powerful former chief executives in the world, is reduced to reorganizing the State Department bureaucracy, a worthwhile and substantive initiative, but perhaps better left to a deputy, if he could only hire one without prior White House approval.

Speculation has already begun on how long before Tillerson tells President Donald Trump that he didn’t sign up to be neutered and irrelevant, and he moves on.

While Tillerson may not stand for the humiliation and waste of his time, Vice President Mike Pence probably will.

Pence has been treated with great disregard and disrespect, too.

He mattered so little to the president and those closest to him that they

allowed him to look like a fool when he denied that former NSC chair Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia.

And just this weekend, Pence was sent to a NATO meeting with the promise that Russia will be held “accountable” for its actions in Ukraine, which makes the reports of a private back-channel communication seeking accommodation with Russia over Ukraine another example of Pence’s cluelessness.

But, unlike Tillerson, Pence has reasons to stick around and bear the slights. First, he has an independent base of power through his former colleagues in Congress and with Republican governors. They rely on Pence as the steady gobetween with an inexpe-

rienced and erratic administration. Ultimately, if Trump succeeds in his first term, it will be because Pence was able to work with Congress to pass some version of tax reform, repeal and replace of Obamacare, and infrastructure investment legislation, all wrapped up in a budget that enacts the Republican dream of lower taxes and massive cuts in entitlements.

Working for Trump must cause people to consider daily whether they have made the right decision for themselves, their families, their country. The Clash lyric “should I stay or should I go” would seem to be the right soundtrack for those who work in the Trump administration.

My guess is Tillerson goes, but Pence stays.

COLUMN

Blessed are the winners. Big time.

Garrison Keillor WASHINGTON P O ST

The Lord is my shepherd. OK? Totally. Big league. He is a tremendous shepherd. The best.

No comparison. I know more than most people about herding sheep.

And that’s why I won the election in a landslide and it’s why my company is doing very very well.

Because He said, “I’m with you, Donald. You will never want.”

So we were on this green pasture by the still waters and He said, “Lie down.” I said, “Lie down?” He said, “Lie down.” And He made me lie down. Right there in the pasture. So I lie down. People are so surprised that I lie down -- “Oh, he’s lying down.”

But He’s my shepherd.

Great shepherd. Not just good. Great. It was right there that I thought, “This is going to be a tremendous golf course.

Terrific greens. Plenty of water. And it is. Everybody who plays it comes away saying, “That is the greatest course in the entire world.” Everybody.

So He was saying to me, Blessed are the dealmakers for theirs is the kingdom. Big time.

Blessed are they who

scorn: for they shall be comfortable. Blessed is machismo for it wins again and again. Blessed are they who are persecuted by the dishonest press for they shall continue down the paths of righteousness and that’s what is going on here.

We are bringing righteousness to Washington for the first time and making incredible progress. I’ve done more in the past month than most presidents do in a year. Washington was without form and void and I issued an executive order, “Let there be light” and did I get credit for it?

No, the dishonest press said, “It hurts our eyes.”

So I divided the light from the darkness. Day and night. Night and day.

I did all this in two nights and a day. Under deadline, under budget.

Next week we’re going to do the firmament, the waters, the dry land, start naming beasts, all the rest of it.

I tell you, I have been walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The shadow of death. I have to say that.

Terrible. Because of the dishonest Midianites, or, as I call them, the media, including a lot of you here in this room, writing stories about chaos.

Where’s the chaos?

We’ve got light and darkness, day and night.

There is no chaos. I know what’s true and the level of dishonesty is unbelievable. The story about the rich man in hell and the beggar Lazarus in heaven -- fake news. Totally fake. Rich man wouldn’t give him the crumbs off his table?

Not true. Never happened. “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” He never said it. Same with “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.” Garbage. Total garbage. I am not a bad person. You don’t get to 306 electoral votes by being a bad person. So I wish you could write something nice but maybe you can’t and that’s OK, too. I can live with that because I fear no evil: for the Lord is with me; and my staff has been a great comfort to me. Tremendous people.

Because I know good from bad. OK? I inherited a mess, the instability, divisiveness, darkness, iniquity, leprosy, madmen, but nonetheless the Lord has prepared a tremendous table before me in the pres-

ence of my enemies.

Beautiful table. Steaks, seafood, tremendous wines, anything I want, and here I am with goodness and mercy following me every single day of my life, not just mercy but goodness too, and we’re making tremendous progress, great numbers getting bigger every day, multitudes gathering everywhere I go, touching the hem of my garment, but the media is still bitter about Hillary losing in a landslide and the Lord anointing my head with oil which people make fun of and that’s OK, let them laugh at my hair, I got 306 Electoral College votes. They said there’s no way to get 222. No way, Jose. I got 306.

That’s what I call the cup running over. Filled the cup and then it ran over.

The overflow was tremendous. Huge overflow.

Biggest overflow ever.

Fantastic. Through the ceiling. Stock market up.

Good jobs. You name it.

So it looks like I am going to be dwelling in the house of the Lord forever and I’m having a good time. I love this. I am having fun.

Garrison Keillor is an author and radio personality.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 |

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Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE 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. DÍA DE ADULTO MAYOR 1 Habrá presentaciones del Centro de Huesos y Articulaciones de Laredo Medical Center y Centro de Diálisis Davita, así como entretenimiento por parte de Terry Porter Roewe y Jeanette Silva. Será llevado a cabo el jueves 23 de febrero de 12 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Centro Comunitario de Zapata ubicado en 605 N. US Hwy 83.

TRÁMITES CONSULARES 1 El Consulado de México estará en la Ciudad de Roma, el sábado 4 de marzo, donde los residentes podrán realizar los trámites de expedición de matrícula consular y pasaporte, en el Centro Mundial de las Aves, Plaza Histórica frente a la Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora del Refugio, esquina de Portscheller y avenida Convento. Mayores informes en el Consulado de México en McAllen al teléfono 956-686-0243.

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411.

CAMINATA AMISTOSA 1 El Servicio de Extensión Texas A&M Agrilife invita a la segunda caminata Walk Across Texas que iniciará desde el 1 de febrero y hasta el 24 de marzo. Una competencia amistosa para ver quién acumula más millas haciendo cualquier actividad física como correr, caminar andar en bicicleta, , baile, etc. Mayores informes en Texas A&M Agrilife Service Extension al (956) 487-2306.

LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall.

NACIONAL

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO

Anuncian planes para deportar inmigrantes

Reciben exámen de vista

Aplicación de leyes será más estricta una amenaza a la seguridad nacional o que habían cruzado la frontera recientemente.

De acuerdo con directrices del gobierno de Obama, se dejaba en paz a los inmigrantes que en su historial solo tenían haber cruzado la frontera. Aquellos inmigrantes caen en dos categorías: los que cruzaron la frontera sin permiso y lo que llegaron con visa y se quedaron cuando ésta venció.

Cruzar la frontera ilegalmente es un delito grave, y los nuevos memorandos ponen en claro que aquellos que ha cometido este delito serán agregados a la lista de prioridades de agencias migratorias del orden.

Quedarse en el país después de que una visa vence es un delito civil, no grave.

Quienes llegaron con visa y se quedaron no están incluidos específicamente en la lista de prioridades Las nuevas directrices son el último esfuerzo de Trump para cumplir con sus promesas de campaña, para aplicar las leyes de inmigración de manera estricta.

Los memorandos de Kelly también describen planes para aplicar una antigua pero desconocida cláusula de la Ley sobre Inmigración y Nacionalidad en Estados

Por Alicia A. Caldwell ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — Millones de personas que viven sin autorización en Estados Unidos podrían ser deportadas, incluyendo personas que simplemente fueron arrestados por violaciones de tránsito, de acuerdo con una redefinición radical de las prioridades en la aplicación de las leyes migratorias, anunciadas el martes por el gobierno del presidente Donald Trump.

Cualquier inmigrante que vive en el país de manera ilegal y está acusado o ha sido hallado culpable de cualquier delito, incluso gente que no pasó de ser sospechosa, ahora será una prioridad de las autoridades migratorias del orden, de acuerdo con memorandos del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional firmados por el secretario John Kelly. Eso podría incluir personas que han sido arrestados por robos menores.

Los memorandos eliminan directrices mucho más limitadas establecidas por el gobierno de Barack Obama y que se enfocaban estrictamente en inmigrantes hallados culpables de delitos graves, que representaban

Unidos, que permite al gobierno deportar a México a inmigrantes detenidos cruzando la frontera independientemente de su nacionalidad. Uno de los documentos dice que los inmigrantes deportados a México tendrían que esperar a que el proceso de deportación se cierre.

Lo más probable es que esta cláusula sea cuestionada por defensores de los derechos civiles y funcionarios en México, y no está claro si es que Estados Unidos tiene la autoridad para obligar a México a aceptar extranjeros. Pero el morando también pide a Seguridad Nacional que rinda un informe sobre la ayuda estadounidense a México, posible señal de que Trump planea usar esos fondos para que México acepte extranjeros.

Históricamente, el gobierno ha podido repatriar rápidamente a mexicanos detenidos en la frontera pero ha detenido a inmigrantes de otros países mientras sus casos de deportación sigan pendientes.

Los memorandos no cambian las leyes estadounidenses de inmigración, pero hacen más estricta su aplicación.

E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO, México— La Dirección de Arte y Cultura presentó este lunes 20 de febrero el libro ‘Los Lentes de Sofía’ de la autora Mayté Loera, ante 200 alumnos de bajos recursos económicos.

Al término de la narrativa, los niños fueron sometidos a un examen de la vista sin costo alguno, posteriormente les hicieron entrega de lentes en coordinación con el Sistema DIF Municipal.

La presentación de este libro que se realizó en Estación Palabra a las 11 a.m., tuvo como principal objetivo introducir a los pequeños a la lectura y la loable labor de detectar problemas en su visión.

Felipe Flores, director de Arte y Cultura explicó que el gobierno municipal tiene interés en mejorar la condición de vida de la niñez mediante acciones saludables como es la detección oportuna de problemas en la vista.

‘Los lentes de Sofía’ es un cuento sobre una niña que tenía que memorizar la tarea porque se le cruzaban las líneas en el pizarrón, hasta que un compañerito se percata de lo que ocurría, la pequeña tenía problemas de visión, este programa tiene una doble intención, fomentar la lectura y ayudar a mejorar problemas de visión”.

Luego de la presentación de este libro, se hizo una campaña en las escuelas de educación básica con la intención de que los niños externaran sus problemas físicos, como es la visión, ante optometristas que serán los encargados de valorarlos.

“Los padres de familia deben dar cuenta de lo que está pasando con su hijo, acercarse a los chiquitines, nosotros haremos lo propio porque una ciudad moderna debe tener una niñez sana y sin problemas para estudiar”, comentó finalmente el funcionario.

FRONTERA

DENUNCIAN CULTO A SANTA MUERTE Religiosos de EU se unen para condenar veneración Por Russell Contreras ASSOCIATED PRE SS

ALBUQUERQUE, Nuevo México— Los obispos de Estados Unidos y México denunciaron el culto a "La Santa Muerte", una figurilla en forma de esqueleto que es venerada por muchas personas vinculadas al narcotráfico, y llamaron a todos los católicos a desistir de rendirle tributo.

Los arzobispos de Santa Fe, John Wester; de El Paso, Mark Seitz; y de San Angelo, Michael Sis, ex Texas, se sumaron a sus pares en México la semana pasada. Wester dijo que ese culto es "la antítesis" de las enseñanzas de Cristo.

"Ella no es una santa. No hay nada bueno que pueda surgir de rezarle", dijo Wester. "Tenemos muchos santos que representan las enseñanzas de Jesucristo; ésta es una aberración".

Foto por Russell Contreras | Associated Press

Estatuas de La Santa Muerte son exhibidas en la tienda de arte Masks y Mas en Albuquerque, Nuevo México. Obispos de Estados Unidos finalmente se han pronunciado ante la figura conocida como Santa Muerte.

La denuncia surge después de que el obispo de Ciudad Juárez, José Guadalupe Torres Campos, fustigó la veneración a La Santa Muerte en una reciente entrevista con un diario e instó a los feligreses a no unirse a este "culto". Varios dirigentes de la Iglesia católica en México han condenado a la

folclórica santa, pero los obispos de Estados Unidos han permanecido mayormente callados respecto a la imagen esquelética.

Popular en México, y vinculada en ocasiones con cárteles de narcotráfico, la Santa Muerte ha tenido en años recientes un numeroso y diverso grupo desegui-

dores al norte de la frontera: inmigrantes, pequeños empresarios, activistas gay y gente pobre, entre otros; muchos de ellos no latinos y no todos involucrados con la religión organizada.

Vestida con una túnica de monja de color negra, la Santa Muerte es atrayente para personas que buscan todo tipo de ayuda supernatural: sea defensa contra la maldad o la realización de una venganza hasta evitar la traición de amantes o conseguir un mejor empleo.

Los devotos establecen santuarios en su honor. La "santa" es especialmente popular entre católicos mexicano-estadounidenses, y rivaliza con San Judas y con la Virgen de Guadalupe como figura favorita para solicitar milagros.

Su imagen ha sido utilizada en tarjetas de oración encontradas en ocasiones en sitios donde han ocurrido masacres y en cargamentos de drogas.

Pero Sis calificó a la Santa Muerte como "espiritualmente peligrosa" y agregó que no existe vinculación con el catolicismo.

"Debería ser evitada totalmente.

Es una perversión de devoción a los santos", añadió.

Museo en Zapata 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m.

Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores.

GRUPOS DE APOYO 1 El grupo de apoyo para personas con Alzheimer se reunirá en su junta mensual, a las 7 p.m., en el Laredo Medical Center.

GUERRERO AYER Y HOY

Pintando un marco histórico Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal.

Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Las tierras del estado de Tamaulipas fueron habitadas en tiempos remotos por los huastecos, de cuya cultura hay vestigios al sur del estado. Los indígenas del norte de estos territorios

eran nómadas y por ello no hay restos notables de su cultura.

Cuando los primeros españoles llegaron a estas tierras, en la segunda mitad del siglo XVI, el territorio recibió el nombre de Costa del Seno Mexicano, atentiendo a la amplia y rica zona costera del Golfo de México.

Los primeros intentos de colonización para integrar estas tierras a la Nueva España se hicieron con fines de conquista espiritual, y encontraron gran resistencia por parte de los indígenas.

Solamente de la fundación de Tamaholipa, en el sur del estado, tuvo éxito y dio lugar a penetraciones colonizadoras dentro del territorio, en inicios del siglo XVII. Ya mediado el siglo XVII las Autoridades Virreinales decidieron pacificar la región, y a partir de entonces la Costa del Seno Mexicano pasó a ser la Provincia del Nuevo Santander y se llevó a cabo la incorporación de estas tierras a la Nueva España, quedando bajo una organización política y militar que se basaba en Ayunta-

mientos elegidos por los vecinos.

En los pequeños poblados que fueron la base de la colonización la Autoridad dependía de los capitanes nombrados por el colonizador autorizado, que en estas tierras fue don José de Escandón y Helguera.

El nombre de Tamaulipas procede de la palabra índigena Tamaholipa que fue unas de las primeras fundaciones en territorio tamaulipeco. Se le atribuyeron varios significados: Lugar de Montes Altos, Lugar donde ser reza mucho.

Los indígenas de estos lugares fueron rebeldes a la admisión de colonizadores, y por esto se les combatió, dando lugar a que las tribus se desintegraran o perdieran su importancia como grupos étnicos.

Por este hecho podemos concluir que si bien la colonización constituyó un éxito político y militar, por otra parte fracasó en el intento de integrar a los indígenas nativos, que durante mucho tiempo continuaron en rebeldía con frecuentes ataques a los poblados de los colonizadores.

Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 |

MLB

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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: HOUSTON ASTROS

MLB may make unilateral rule changes Gurriel for 2018 enters as

Lingering question for Astros: Who’s on 1st? top starter

By Janie Mccauley A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

PHOENIX — Major League Baseball intends to give the players’ association the required one-year advance notice that would allow management to unilaterally change the strike zone, install pitch clocks and limit trips to the pitcher’s mound starting in 2018.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Tuesday after union head Tony Clark said last weekend he did not foresee players agreeing to the proposed changes for 2017. Under baseball’s labor Manfred contract, management can alter playing rules only with agreement from the union — unless it gives one year notice. With the one year of notice, management can make changes on its own.

Manfred said he will send a letter to the union in the coming days and plans to continue dialogue with Clark and others in hopes of reaching agreement.

Manfred said while he prefers an agreement, “I’m also not willing to walk away.”

“I have great respect for the labor relations process, and I have a pretty good track record for getting things done with the MLBPA,” he said. “I have to admit, however, that I am disappointed that we could not even get the MLBPA to agree to modest rule changes like limits on trips to the mound that have little effect on the competitive character of the game.”

MLB has studied whether to restore the lower edge of the strike zone from just beneath the kneecap to its pre-1996 level — at the top of the kneecap. Management would like to install 20-second pitch clocks in an attempt to speed the pace of play — they have been used at Triple-A and Double-A for the past two seasons.

By Kristie Rieken ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Houston Astros haven’t been set at first base since Lance Berkman was traded in 2010.

With eyes on a pennant, they know they’ll have to do something about that. The problem: There’s no clear answer.

“This is my third year here and we’ve never really felt like we’ve been very stable at first,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

The best candidate this season is Yulieski Gurriel , whom the Astros signed to a $47.5 million, five-year deal in July after he spent 15 years playing in Cuba. Primarily a third baseman, the 32-yearold Gurriel never played first before appearing there in five of his 36 games for Houston last season.

“The crash course on first base started last year in September,” Hinch said. “He’ll adapt. He’s got to learn some of the positioning, some of the responsibilities. It will be a challenge for him just because it’s all brand new for him, but he’s good enough to do it.”

The Astros want Gurriel’s bat in the lineup and have Alex Bregman, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, at third base. Gurriel was one

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

Houston’s Yulieski Gurriel is among the top candidates for the Astros’ first-base job in 2017.

of the best hitters in Cuba in his 15 seasons there, hitting .335 with 250 homers and 1,018 RBIs. In his last season in Cuba in 2015, he hit .500 with 15 homers and 51 RBIs in just 49 games.

He cooled off while adjusting to the majors last season, but still hit .262 with three homers and 15 RBIs. The Astros have penciled in Gurriel to open the season at first. But Hinch says several players could be used at first depending on what they do this spring.

“We may have a revolving door from a platoon stand-

point at first now, so if that’s my only problem so to speak then I can certainly adapt to that,” Hinch said. “But it would be nice to have somebody step up and take the job.”

Utility player Marwin Gonzalez will certainly see time at first after starting 92 games there last season. A.J. Reed, Tyler White, Colin Moran and nonroster invitee Jon Singleton will also get a look this spring.

Reed failed to produce as a rookie last season. The Astros expected big things after he hit .291 with 15 homers and

50 RBIs in 70 games with Triple-A Fresno. He was called up June 25, but once in the majors hit just .164 in 45 games.

Moran also struggled in his time in Houston last season, though he got far less of a look than Reed. Moran, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, hit just .130 in nine games with the Astros.

White got off to a strong start last season, hitting .250 with five homers and 14 RBIs in the first month. Things began to taper off in May and

by June he wasn’t starting.

When he did get an opportunity, he struggled and hit .115 in eight games that month.

He rebounded late in the season, but didn’t show enough to enter camp as a front-runner for the job after hitting .217 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 86 games.

The last player in the mix at first base is Singleton.

Once thought to be Houston’s future at first base, the 25year-old was taken off the 40-man roster and outrighted to Fresno this offseason. The left-hander signed a five-year, $10 million contract in 2014 before making his Astros debut. He has never played a full season in the majors.

Singleton hit .168 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs as a rookie in 2014 and .191 in 19 games the following season.

He didn’t play in the majors last year and had the worst average of his minor league career, hitting .202 at Fresno.

“Just being productive on a daily basis no matter what I do,” he said. “I just think that’s the biggest thing.”

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

MAGIC IS IN CHARGE AFTER LAKERS’ KUPCHAK FIRED Lakers shake up staff during another disappointing season

By Greg Beacham A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS

M

agic Johnson is leading the Los Angeles Lakers again after a major shake-up of the struggling franchise’s front office.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss fired general manager Mitch Kupchak on Tuesday and put Johnson in charge of basketball operations. Jeanie Buss also removed her brother, Jim, from his job as the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations.

Jim Buss retains his ownership stake in the team, but Jeanie Buss has final say under the structure set up by their late father, Jerry Buss. She used it to chart a new course for the Lakers, who are mired in the worst four-year stretch in the 16-time NBA champion franchise’s glorious history.

Just 19 days after Johnson returned to the Lakers in an executive role, Jeanie Buss promoted the Hall of Fame point guard to have the final say on basketball decisions. Johnson is the Lakers’ new president of basketball operations, reporting directly to Jeanie Buss, although the team also plans to hire a new general manager.

“I took these actions today to achieve one goal: Everyone associated with the Lakers will now be pulling in the same direction, the direction established by Earvin and myself,” Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “We are determined to get back to competing to win NBA championships again.”

Jeanie Buss made the extraordinary

moves two days before the trade deadline. The Lakers have the NBA’s thirdworst record at 19-39 this season, plummeting out of contention after an encouraging 10-10 start under new coach Luke Walton, who got a strong vote of confidence.

Jeanie Buss said she “took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect. Our search for a new general manager to work with Earvin and coach Luke Walton is well underway, and we hope to announce a new general manager in short order.

Together, Earvin, Luke and our new general manager will establish the foundation for the next generation of Los Angeles Lakers greatness.”

Kupchak had been the Lakers’ GM since 2000, studying under Jerry West and eventually succeeding him. Kupchak had been in the Lakers’ front office for 30 years, including the last 17 as general manager — the longest current stretch running a front office in the NBA. Jim Buss had been in the Lakers’ front office for 19 years, including 12 in charge of basketball operations alongside Kupchak. The former horse trainer had final say on basketball decisions in recent years.

But the Lakers have steadily declined from the heights of back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. They are mired in the worst four-year stretch in franchise history, missing the playoffs in three consecutive years with their three worst records ever.

Mike Powell / Getty Images file

Former Laker great Magic Johnson is in charge of basketball operations after Los Angeles fired GM Mitch Kupchak.

A8 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATION Trump denounces ‘horrible’ threats against Jewish centers

By Jill Colvin A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced recent threats against Jewish community centers as “horrible ... painful” and said more must be done “to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”

Trump’s remarks, made at the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture, marked the first time he directly addressed recent incidents of antiSemitism. In recent days, the president has faced growing criticism for not speaking out directly against anti-Jewish threats.

The president cited a tour of the museum as “a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms.”

On Monday, 11 Jewish community centers across the country received phoned-in bomb threats, according to the JCC Association of North America. Like three waves of similar calls in January, Monday’s threats proved to be hoaxes, the association said in a statement. In addition, as many as 200 headstones were damaged or tipped over at a Jewish cemetery in suburban St. Louis late Sunday or early Monday.

“The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil,” Trump said. He did not outline what that might include.

Trump’s comments Tuesday followed a general White House denouncement of “hatred and hate-motivated violence” earlier in the day.

That statement did not mention the community center incidents or Jews.

Trump “has made it abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable,” that statement said.

At a news conference last week, Trump tangled with a reporter from an Orthodox Jewish publication, cutting him off as he asked about a rise in bomb threats against Jewish community centers. Trump, who seemed to interpret the query as an attack on him personally, said it was “not a fair question” and went on to say he was the “least antiSemitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.”

Rise in premiums lays bare two Americas on health care

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — Michael Schwarz is a self-employed business owner who buys his own health insurance. The subsidized coverage “Obamacare” offers protection from life’s unpredictable changes and freedom to pursue his vocation, he says.

Brett Dorsch is also self-employed and buys his own health insurance.

But he gets no financial break from the Affordable Care Act. “To me, it’s just been a big lie,” Dorsch says, forcing him to pay more for less coverage.

Schwarz and Dorsch represent two Americas, pulling farther apart over former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Known as the ACA, the law rewrote the rules for

Chris O'Meara / Associated Press

Mike Schwarz, sole proprietor of Mike Schwarz Photography, poses for a photo in Tampa, Fla.

people buying their own health insurance, creating winners and losers.

Those with financial subsidies now fear being harmed by President Donald Trump and Republicans intent on repealing and replacing the

ACA. But other consumers who also buy their own insurance and don’t qualify for financial help feel short-changed by Obama’s law. They’re hoping repeal will mean relief from rising premiums.

The ACA sought to create one big new market for individual health insurance in each state. It required insurers to accept all customers, regardless of medical problems.

And it provided subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people afford premiums.

These newly vested ACA customers joined consumers already in the market, to make a new insurance pool. Policies offered to all had to be upgraded to meet new federal standards for comprehensive benefits, raising premiums. And many of the new customers turned out to be sicker than insurers expected, pushing rates even higher.

Consumers who didn’t qualify for government financial help wound up bearing the full cost of premiums. They also

faced the law’s new requirement to carry health insurance or risk fines.

“One (group) is angry and one is incredibly grateful,” said Robert Blendon of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. If Trump and congressional Republicans aren’t careful, their actions could stoke fresh grievances without solving longstanding problems of access and cost.

Consider what happened to Schwarz and Dorsch this year, as premiums for a standard plan through HealthCare.gov jumped an average of 25 percent.

Schwarz and his wife are in their mid-20s and live in Tampa, Florida. He has his own commercial photography business and she’s pursuing a graduate degree in speech-language pathology.

Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men’s memories

By Lindsey Tanner ASSOCIATED PRE SS

CHICAGO — Testosterone treatment did not improve older men’s memory or mental function in the latest results from landmark government research that challenges the anti-aging claims of popular supplements.

While testosterone use for one year appeared to strengthen bones and reduce anemia, it also showed signs of worsening artery disease and questions remain about other potential risks. The

researchers said more studies are needed to determine long-term effects — the kind of research the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already asked supplement makers to conduct. ‘’I don’t think anybody would interpret these results as saying, ‘Wow, this is a fountain of youth, this is a magical anti-aging potion,”’ said study co-author Susan Ellenberg, a University of Pennsylvania researcher.

The results are from the final four studies in a seven-part project mostly funded by the National

Institute on Aging, involving nearly 800 U.S. men aged 65 and older with low testosterone levels. The goal was to see if rubbing testosterone gel on the skin daily for a year could treat problems linked with low levels of the male hormone, which declines with age. Half the men in each group used the real thing and half used fake gel.

Results published a year ago from the same research linked testosterone with mostly modest improvement in sexual performance, walking

strength and mood.

The key new findings: 1 Testosterone had no effect on memory or mental function, based on tests given before, halfway and at the end of treatment to nearly 500 men with age-related memory decline.

1 Among almost 140 men who underwent heart artery imaging tests to see if the hormone slowed progression of plaque, those who used testosterone had more plaque buildup and narrower arteries after a year than the fake gel group.

Those changes could

signal increased chances for heart attacks although none occurred in the study. Men in this substudy were already more vulnerable for heart problems because of conditions including artery disease, obesity and high blood pressure.

1 Among about 200 men given bone imaging tests before and at the end of treatment, those on testosterone showed increases in bone density and strength, especially in the spine, while minimal changes were found in the group that used fake gel.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 |

A9

Small business optimism surging, surveys show

By Joyce M. Rosenberg A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Small business owners’ view of the economy is surging and giving them an incentive to hire.

That’s the finding of surveys released last week by two advocacy groups, the National Small Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Business.

The number of owners who believe the economy is doing better than it was six months ago has virtually doubled from a survey released during the summer, according to the NSBA survey. Forty-three percent of the 1,426 owners questioned had a more upbeat assessment, compared to 22 percent in the summer.

The survey is in line with others showing owners more upbeat after the election and at the start of 2017.

Looking ahead, 54 percent expect the economy to grow during the next year,

up from 29 percent.

The more upbeat view is a reason for owners to add jobs, a shift from the recession and its aftermath, when owners said hiring was too much of a risk.

Forty-three percent of the owners surveyed by the NSBA said they expect to hire in the next 12 months, up from 33 percent.

Owners didn’t show the same surge in optimism but still felt good about their own companies.

Eighty percent said they were very or somewhat confident about the future of their businesses, up from 72 percent. Twothirds forecast their revenue will increase in the next year, up from 57 percent. The fact that there wasn’t a more significant gain from the previous survey isn’t surprising — business owners have stayed more confident about their own companies than the larger economy.

The survey was conducted from mid-January

through early February.

The NFIB also saw an increase in optimism during January, extending a trend that began in October. Its Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.1 point to 105.9, the highest level since December 2004. Since the start of October, the index is up 11.8 points. The index was compiled from a survey of 1,874 NFIB members.

The index rose although the number of owners who expect their sales to increase fell 2 percentage points to 29 percent. However, the number of owners who plan to hire rose 2 points to 18 percent, and the number that believe this is a good time to expand rose 2 points to 25 percent.

The NFIB survey was conducted throughout January.

An American Express survey released last week also found owners to be upbeat. Fifty-four percent of small and mid-sized businesses said they were

optimistic about how well the global economy will fare over the next 12 months, and 59 percent were optimistic about their local economies.

Nearly 70 percent said they expect their revenue to grow by at least 4 percent over the same period, and 42 percent expect revenue to rise by at least 8 percent.

The survey questioned 300 owners and executives at small and mid-sized companies.

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American unveils prices, routes for new cheapest fare

By David Koenig A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

DALLAS — American Airlines has begun selling cheaper “basic economy” fares as it battles discount airlines for the most budgetconscious travelers.

American announced Tuesday that it began selling the new fares for flights starting March 1 on 10 different routes from its hub airports in Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia and Charlotte, North Carolina.

With a basic-economy fare on American you can’t pick your seat when you buy the ticket, you’re in the last group to board the plane, and you can only carry a small item that fits under the seat. You’ll pay extra to check a wheeled bag.

The savings over a regular economy ticket appear to range from about $24 to $40 for a round-trip ticket. For example, on two random early-March itineraries between Dallas and Baltimore, economy tickets were listed on American’s website at $249 and $309.

Those same trips were priced at $209 and $269 on basic economy.

Even on the routes where American is selling the new fares, they are usually available only on a small number of flights — sometimes one or two a day — and on some days, none at all.

Bargain hunters will see more basic-economy options when searching one-way flights, rather than round trips, because American will not allow flyers to buy a round trip that combines the new cheaper fare on one leg with a

Alan Diaz / AP

In this Friday, June 3, 2016 file photo, an American Airlines passenger jet takes off from Miami International Airport in Miami.

regular economy fare on the other.

On one-way flights, the price break can be as little as $12.

American, the world’s biggest airline, said it will eventually add basic-economy fares on other routes.

Basic economy fares were introduced by Delta Air Lines several years ago in response to growing competition from discounter Spirit Airlines. Spirit and Frontier Airlines offer bargain-basement

fares but add on more fees than the bigger airlines, including charging for use of overhead bins.

They have gained ground among travelers looking for the cheapest price.

Delta now offers basic economy on about 40 percent of its U.S. routes and plans to cover its entire domestic network by mid-year.

United Airlines says it will start testing the concept in Minneapolis by the end of March.

Bebeto Matthews / AP

In this Nov. 27, 2015, file photo, shoppers carry bags near Macy's in New York.

Macy’s profit falls nearly 13 percent as sales drop as well

By Anne D’Innocenzio ASSOCIATED PRE SS

NEW YORK — Macy’s, the nation’s largest department store chain, says its earnings for the quarter that includes the holiday period dropped nearly 13 percent as results were dragged down by lower sales, store closures and other costs.

The profit results beat Wall Street expectations, but Macy’s said it would post another year of sales declines for a key revenue measure. Like many department stores, Macy’s has faced sluggish sales as customers buy more online and less at the malls where they are often an anchor. Macy’s has been shuttering stores as it tries to regroup.

Macy’s has also been under pressure from shareholders to get more value out of its real estate holdings, valued by activist investor Starboard at nearly $21 billion. The chain has reportedly been in preliminary talks with Hudson’s Bay about a takeover or a real estate deal. However, Macy’s declined to talk about the topic to investors on a call Tuesday, saying it doesn’t comment on rumors. It did say it will be looking to further monetize its locations and that it made $673 million in the latest year in asset sales.

For the three months ended Jan. 28, Macy’s earned $475 million, or $1.54 per share. That compares with $544 million, or $1.73 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share came

to $2.02. Analysts had expected $1.95 per share for the quarter, according to FactSet. Revenue fell 4 percent to $8.52 billion, while analysts had expected $8.61 billion.

“While 2016 was not the year we expected, we made significant progress on key initiatives that are starting to bear fruit,” Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said in a statement.

He will be stepping down March 23 and will be succeeded by president Jeff Gennette.

Lundgren has been credited for nearly doubling sales during his 13-year tenure at the top.

And Macy’s had been a stellar performer after the recession, but has seen sales slow as it and other traditional department store chains face competition from online leader Amazon and off-price rivals. They’re also wrestling with shoppers’ shift away from buying clothing in favor of experiences.

The Macy’s brand still has around 700 stores, though it has been more aggressive about closings while also scrambling to offer more exclusive merchandise and expand online. It’s also tried launching its own offprice stores called Macy’s Backstage, highlighting consumer tech like smart watches and testing an artificial intelligence tool that would free up sales assistants to provide higher levels of customer service. Cincinnati-based Macy’s is the first major department store chain to report its fourth-quarter results.

A10 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

INTERNATIONAL

Sentencing of Israeli soldier in shooting deepens fissures

By Josef Federman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for killing a badly wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground, in a landmark decision that deepened fissures in Israeli society and drew Palestinian criticism for being too lenient.

Leading nationalist Israeli politicians called any jail time unfair and urged an immediate pardon, while Palestinians dismissed Israel’s justice system as a “joke.”

The sentencing of Sgt. Elor Azaria culminated a nearly yearlong saga that has bitterly divided the country. While Israel’s top generals pushed for the prosecution of a soldier they say violated the military’s code of ethics, large segments of the public, including politicians on Israel’s nationalist right, sided with Azaria. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave only lukewarm support to his military.

Although the sentence was lighter than expected, those divisions showed no signs of easing following Tuesday’s sentencing at a Tel Aviv military court.

Dozens of people demonstrated outside in support of Azaria, one of them holding a poster that said “Trump would do the same,” and hard-line politicians called for his release.

“Even if he erred, Elor should not sit in prison.

We will all pay the price,”

Christine Olsson / TT News Agency via AP

In this picture taken on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, a policeman investigates a burned out car in the suburb of Rinkeby outside Stockholm.

Jim Hollander / AP

Israeli soldier Elor Azaria is embraced by his mother at the start of his sentencing hearing in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

said Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the nationalist Jewish Home Party.

Azaria, an army medic, was recorded on a cellphone video last March as he fatally shot a badly wounded Palestinian who had stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, was lying on the ground unarmed when Azaria shot him in the head.

Azaria was convicted of manslaughter last month in a rare case of a military court ruling against a combat soldier for lethal action taken in the field.

The verdict marked a victory for commanders who said Azaria had violated army procedures.

But the soldier enjoyed wide public support. In Israel, military service is compulsory for most Jewish men, and soldiers enjoy widespread sympathy.

A Channel 2 TV poll taken after the conviction found that 67 percent of

respondents supported clemency. The poll questioned 666 people and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Asa Kasher, a philosopher who wrote the Israeli army’s code of ethics, said the case has unleashed dangerous trends in the country.

“One shot by one soldier took on the shape of a war between right and left,” he told Channel 2.

He said “extremists” initially took up Azaria’s cause, and hard-line politicians followed suit. “Anyone with right-wing sentiments enlisted, and everyone in the end rallied behind a soldier who harmed the values of the Israeli army,” he said.

Politicians’ support for the soldier fueled the resignation last year of then-Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff.

He was replaced by Avigdor Lieberman, a hard-line politician who had earlier visited Azaria in court during the trial.

Clashes in Stockholm suburb draw attention to Trump’s remarks

By Christina Anderson and Sewell Chan NEW YORK TIME S

STOCKHOLM — Residents in a northwestern suburb of Stockholm predominantly inhabited by immigrants have clashed with police officers, two days after President Donald Trump unleashed a vague but pointed critique of Sweden’s migration policies.

About 20 to 30 masked men threw stones and other objects at police officers in the suburb, Rinkeby, after the police arrested a man on suspicion of dealing drugs. A police officer fired a warning shot, but the disturbances continued for several more hours, stretching into early Tuesday morning. A photojournalist was injured in the clashes.

The episode drew scrutiny worldwide because of Trump’s assertions — based on a Fox News

segment — that Sweden had experienced a surge in crime and violence as a result of taking in large numbers of refugees.

Trump’s comments were greeted with anger in Sweden, the latest example of strong criticism by the U.S. president antagonizing friendly countries, including neighbors like Mexico and allies like Australia and the European Union.

Swedish officials criticized Trump’s statements about crime in the country as exaggerations.

Preliminary statistics do not show a major increase in crime from 2015, when the country processed a record 163,000 asylum applications, to 2016. Disturbances like the one in Rinkeby, officials said, are not unprecedented but are infrequent. In 2013, the police shooting of a man wielding a knife led to nights of violence in the suburbs of Stockholm, including

Rinkeby.

Interior Minister Anders Ygeman called the clashes on Monday “very serious.” But, he added: “There is work being done to make our suburbs and socially vulnerable areas safer.

Sometimes it can get a little messy, but the police are not backing down.”

Nonetheless, the disturbances in Rinkeby were seized upon by some people online as evidence of Trump’s claim. Rinkeby, an economically deprived area of about 16,000 people, is overwhelmingly populated by residents with immigrant backgrounds.

Right-wing news outlets in the United States and elsewhere have insisted that Sweden is covering up evidence of migrant-related crime — a claim officials in this prosperous Scandinavian nation, which has a long humanitarian tradition, have rejected.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 |

A11

FROM THE COVER MUERTE From page A1

OIL From page A1 jobs, tax revenue, financial security and personal well-being for all Texans,” said Todd Staples, president of TXOGA. “Even in a down market during fiscal year 2016, the Texas oil and natural gas industry contributed an average of $26 million a day to state and local revenue. The oil and natural gas industry has paid $108 billion in state and local property taxes and state royalties since 2007– a figure that would finance the current annual state budgets for the University of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M University, combined, for well over 100 years.”

Staples noted that the oil and natural gas industry has a significant impact on the Texas budget because the industry pays nearly 6 times more in state and local taxes and state royalties on a per employee basis than other business sectors.

“Tax revenue from the Texas oil and natural gas industry directly funds our schools, universities, roads and first responders every year. Not just during record-breaking years,” he said. “Beyond dollars and cents for the State, Texas oil and natural gas is keeping energy local and electricity affordable for Texas families.” In 2015, the average American

family enjoyed more than $1,300 in energy-related savings.

“Not everyone in America is enjoying inexpensive electricity because some people don’t have adequate access to pipeline infrastructure, the safest way to deliver oil and natural gas,” said Staples.

“Residents in New England, for example, pay the highest electricity rates in the continental U.S. due in large part to a lack of pipeline infrastructure. During the winters of 2014 and 2015, residents there paid about $7 billion more than neighboring regions for electricity.”

Staples also noted that 1.2 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity at all – the foundation of safety and wellbeing.

“Given energy’s central role in basic health and safety, it’s clear that those who advocate for restricted access to reliable power or energy infrastructure are not advocates for the people,” said Staples. “In fact, anti-oil and natural gas activists’ efforts put people at risk, threaten jobs and pinch family budgets.”

“Families’ aren’t alone in savings made possible by oil and natural gas.

The State’s Rainy Day Fund, funded almost exclusively by oil and natural gas severance taxes, has a current balance north of $10.1 billion,” said Staples. “Over the

DEPORTATIONS From page A1

parents’ lawsuit. The Supreme Court is considering whether noncitizens who are injured or killed outside the United States can have their day in American courts.

The legal issues are different, but the Supreme Court case resembles the court battle over President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven majority Muslim nations in at least one sense. Courts examining both issues are weighing the rights of foreigners.

Kennedy noted the court has been reluctant to allow civil rights lawsuits like the one the parents filed, especially when they may implicate international relations.

“This is a sensitive area of foreign affairs where the political branches ought to discuss with Mexico what the solutions ought to be,” Kennedy said.

U.S. officials chose not to prosecute Agent Jesus

Mesa Jr. in the killing of the Mexican teenager, and the Obama administration refused a request to extradite him so that he could face criminal charges in Mexico.

The Trump administration, like its predecessor, is arguing that the location of the teenager’s death, in Mexico, should be the end of the story.

Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler told the court that even if the victim had been American and all the other circumstances were the same, the lawsuit should be thrown out.

But Kneedler and Mesa’s lawyer both acknowledged that someone killed by an agent on the U.S. side of the culvert could sue.

“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? To distinguish these two victims?” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

Privacy experts also are watching the case because it could affect how courts treat global internet surveillance, particularly

when foreigners are involved.

Sergio’s shooting was not an isolated border incident. Parents of a teenager killed in Nogales, Mexico, from gunshots fired across the border by a U.S. agent have filed a civil rights lawsuit. It is being delayed until the Supreme Court rules.

The government’s response to that incident was notable because prosecutors are pursuing second-degree murder charges against Agent Lonnie Swartz in the death of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, 16.

A 2013 report commissioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and written by an outside group faulted the agency for not sufficiently investigating the 67 shootings that took place from 2010 to 2012 and questioned the use of force in some of those incidents.

The agency has said it has tightened its policies, particularly in response to rock-throwing incidents.

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mean for state-based immigration efforts in Texas. The Legislature is currently debating a bill to outlaw “sanctuary” jurisdictions in Texas, the term commonly assigned to local entities that don’t enforce immigration laws or hand over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. Since the November election, lawmakers have expressed hope that the Trump administration would make good on Trump's promises to secure the border but have continued plans to focus on the issue in Austin while Washington was fine-tuning its efforts.

Immigrant rights groups immediately blasted the news Tuesday as a mass-deportation campaign that goes against stated promises to only concentrate on criminal aliens.

“Now they are openly admitting that they ‘will not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement,’” said Lynn Tramonte, the deputy director of America’s Voice Education Fund, an immigrant rights group, in an statement. “These memos amount to an instruction manual for the coast-to-coast, fast-track deportation of everyone in the United States without papers, no matter how long they’ve been here, how strong their family ties, and how much they contribute.”

The memo also calls for immediately hiring 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents, asks Homeland Security to identify all sources of federal aid to Mexico over the last five years and calls for the agency to identify and allocate all sources of available funding for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of a border wall. Under the new guidelines, all undocumented people approved for deportation will be returned to the country from which they entered illegally instead of where they originally came from. That means Mexico will see an influx of immigrants from Central America and elsewhere who used the country as an entry point into the United States.

On Monday, ProPublica, citing former Mexican and American officials, reported on how that policy shift could create new security issues for the region "as authorities in each country push unwanted migrants back and forth."

COURT From page A1

.

violation of the immigration laws may be subject to enforcement proceedings, up to and including removal from the United States,” the fact sheet explains.

“The guidance makes clear, however, that ICE should prioritize several categories of removable aliens who have committed crimes, beginning with those convicted of a criminal offense.”

The memo did not include instructions to halt the 2012 executive action called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which has allowed about 750,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to live and work in the country legally.

The guidelines also state that the Department of Homeland Security has authority to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants who have been in the country illegally for at least two years, a departure from the Obama administration's approach of concentrating mainly on newly arriving immigrants.

“To date, expedited removal has been exercised only for aliens encountered within 100 air miles of the border and 14 days of entry, and aliens who arrived in the United States by sea other than at a port of entry,” the agency states.

The action also seeks to expand a police-based immigration enforcement program known as 287(g), which allows local and state officers to perform immigration duties if they undergo the requisite training. The program fell out of favor under the Obama administration after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in 2012 that it wouldn’t renew contracts that were in place at the time.

“Empowering state and local law enforcement agencies to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law is critical to an effective enforcement strategy, and CBP and ICE will work with interested and eligible jurisdictions," the memo reads.

Expansion of the 287(g) program will be concentrated on the “border regions,” according to the memo. It’s still unclear what the sweeping measures

past five years, the oil and natural gas industry has contributed more than $8.3 billion to the Rainy Day Fund, providing a level of financial security that most states do not enjoy.”

Staples noted that local entities benefit from oil and natural gas tax revenue as well. In fiscal year 2016, Texas school districts received $1.7 billion in property taxes from mineral properties producing oil and gas, pipelines and gas utilities.

Counties received $529.8 million in oil and natural gas mineral property taxes.

“What Texas needs now, as we ease out of this dramatic downturn, is for our lawmakers to look closely at what makes Texas a good place to do business,” said Staples.

“Specifically, we hope lawmakers maintain their commitment to sciencebased regulations, reauthorize the Railroad Commission of Texas, properly fund the Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, preserve a low tax environment and encourage the critical infrastructure development our growing state needs. All Texans benefit when our lawmakers embrace smart policy that allows the oil and natural gas industry to provide for Texas, securing our economy, our environment and our future.”

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Pictured above is a drilling rig in McMullen County.

in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the condemnation of La Santa Muerte echoes what both the Vatican and Mexican bishops have been saying for years now.

“Given the Church in Mexico has been condemning devotion to Santa Muerte on a weekly basis over the past five years, I’m actually surprised it’s taken so long for an American bishop to publicly denounce veneration of the Mexican folk saint,” Chesnut said.

He said Santa Muerte is now the fasting growing new religious movement in North America and throughout the Americas, with the US having the second-largest population of devotees after Mexico.

<5

John Davenport / San Antonio Express-news

with organized religion.

Clad in a black nun’s robe and holding a scythe in one hand, Santa Muerte appeals to people seeking all manner of otherworldly help: from fending off wrongdoing and carrying out vengeance to stopping lovers from cheating and landing better jobs. Others seek her protection for their drug shipments and to ward off law enforcement.

Devotees often use Catholic prayers and set up shrines in her honor.

The saint is especially popular among MexicanAmerican Catholics, rivaling that of St. Jude and

La Virgen de Guadalupe as a favorite for miracle requests, even as the Catholic Church in Mexico denounces Santa Muerte as satanic.

Her image has been used on prayer cards citing vengeance and protection, which are sometimes found at scenes of massacred bodies and on drug shipments.

But Sis called La Santa Muerte “spiritually dangerous,” adding that there is no link to Catholicism.

“It should be completely avoided. It is a perversion of devotion to the saints,” Sis said.

Andrew Chesnut, author of “Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint” and the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair

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A12 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

ENTERTAINMENT

Issa Rae feels ‘validated’ by Black Women in Hollywood

By Jonathan Landrum Jr. A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

When Issa Rae watched Oprah Winfrey being honored at Essence magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards last year, the actress hoped she would one day be recognized in the same fashion. But she didn’t think it would come this soon.

Rae, Janelle Monae, Aja Naomi King and Yara Shahidi will be honored Thursday in Los Angeles at the magazine’s 10th annual awards. Past honorees include Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis, Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer.

“I used to say, ‘It would be so cool to be up there,’ but I didn’t imagine it now,” Rae, creator and star of HBO’s “Insecure,” said in a phone interview.

“I was thinking maybe after a couple more films, a couple TV shows under my belt. ... That’s really what I thought. It’s just so encouraging to be awarded so early in my career. But that’s what Essence does. It gets behind and supports black women. Now I feel like I can be on that journey.”

This year’s awards recognize “Hollywood’s Next Generation.”

Singer-actress Monae starred in two films up for best picture at the Oscars, “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.” King is featured on television’s “How to Get Away With Murder” and Shahidi appears on the sitcom “black-ish.”

“These women are making their own waves,” said Vanessa K.

Chris Pizzello / Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

In this July 30, 2016 file photo, Issa Rae, star of the HBO series "Insecure," poses for a portrait.

De Luca, editor-in-chief at Essence. “We think about who’s had a stellar year. We think about who’s been working quietly behind the scenes forever and deserves recognition. We think about who are going to be the women to pick up the mantle. We think about who are new and next.

This year, we are taking a look at the new Hollywood.”

De Luca said the awards provide an opportunity for the actresses to

network with each other.

She said many carve out time in their schedules to make sure they attend the awards, an event Winfrey has called “a sacred place” for black women.

Rae is one of them. The actresses-writer-director calls the event a “bonding experience.”

And she feels validated by the recognition.

“It shows I’m on the right path,” she said.

“This is basically telling me, ‘Hey girl, You’re up next.”’