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A man was recently arrested for attempt-ing to steal a couple of rims from a home,

the Zapata County Sheriff ’sOffice said Monday.

On March 9, authorities re-ceived anonymous informa-tion indicating that a manriding a bike, wearing ma-roon shirt and a cap was try-ing to enter a residence in the200 block of Fourth Street.

The man allegedly reachedover the fence of the property to take tworims but dropped them when he was spot-ted, got on his bicycle and rode off into a

ZAPATA

Tip leadsto theftarrest

Sheriff’s Office busts man for attempting to steal rims

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

ALANIZ

See THEFT PAGE 11A

ZAPATA LIONS CLUB

VISION SCREENING FOR CHILDREN

The Zapata Lions Club proudly welcomes the Rio Grande City Lions Club in helping promote the Pediavision screening program at Zapata’s two HeadStart centers. Pictured from left to right are Zapata Lions Club members Sergio Ramirez, Jose Luis Morales, Humberto Gonzalez Jr., Aurelio Villarreal;Rio Grande City Pediavision Team members Ruben Saenz, Alberto Barrera, Rafaela Garza Rosa, Enrique Gonzalez and children at Lago Head Start Cen-ter. Pediavision is a program that helps screen eye abnormalities in children at an early age and encourages them to get help.

Courtesy photo

The Drug EnforcementAdministration NationalPrescription Drug Take-Back Day is set for April 30.

Authorities and the Zapa-ta County Community Coali-tion of Serving Children andAdults in Need encouragepeople to turn in unused orexpired medication for safedisposal from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. at the Zapata County

Courthouse, 200 E. SeventhStreet.

The DEA said the Take-Back Day provides a safe,convenient, and responsibleway of disposing of prescrip-tion drugs.

Additionally, authoritiesand local groups also lookforward to educating thecommunity about the poten-tial for abuse of medications,according to the DEA web-

ZAPATA COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Drug TakeBack DayDEA encourages localsto turn in old medicine

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

A DEA agent collects a bag of unused prescription medicine from a vehi-cle during the nationwide drug "take-back" day Oct. 26, 2013.

Photo by Victor Strife | Laredo Morning Times file

See DEA PAGE 11A

DALLAS — A man whowas slain at an upscale sub-urban Dallas shopping cen-ter is identified in federalcourt documents as the act-ing leader of a notoriousMexican cartel, a claim thatwould run counter to thelong-held belief that drugkingpins seldom try to hidein the United States.

Juan Jesus GuerreroChapa moved into a million-dollar home in Southlake in2011, two years before hewas fatally shot by threemen who prosecutors say

had been stalking him formonths.

According to a recentcourt filing submitted bythe lawyers for Jesus Gerar-do Ledezma-Cepeda — oneof three suspects slated tostand trial for Chapa’s kill-ing — Chapa became the in-terim head of the Gulf Car-tel — one of Mexico’s mostviolent drug-traffickingrings — following the arrestof predecessor Osiel Carde-nas-Guillen, who was extra-dited to the U.S. in 2007 andlater sentenced to 25 yearsin prison.

As head of the Gulf Car-tel, “Chapa ran a large

criminal enterprise whoseactivities included murders,narcotics trafficking, kid-napping, extortion, bribery,money laundering andtorture,” the court filingsays.

It appears Chapa in partwas seeking anonymitywith his family in movingto the Dallas metro region.Court records said he hadbeen living in fear because“he had been found by peo-ple who wanted to killhim.”

Federal officials say it’sunusual to find high-rank-

GULF CARTEL

Top cartel leadersfind haven in Dallas

A March 23 photo shows the home of Southlake attorney Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa, who was killedby a masked gunman in May 2013 in the parking area in Southlake, Texas.

Photo by Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News | AP

By DAVID WARRENASSOCIATED PRESS

See CARTEL PAGE 11A

A man was recently arrested for as-saulting his son, the Zapata County Sher-iff ’s Office said Monday.

The suspect, Eduardo Abel Leal, 26, wascharged with injury to a child, a third-de-

gree felony that carries apunishment of up to 10 yearsin prison.

In addition, an emergencyprotective order was issuedfor the mother and children,according to the Sheriff ’s Of-fice.

Leal posted bond March22.

Authorities said the case was reportedat 7:13 p.m. March 15.

That evening, deputies responded to anassault in the 1800 block of KennedyStreet. The caller stated to deputies thather husband, Leal, had assaulted their el-dest son, reports state.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Man facesinjury to a

child chargeBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZLAREDO MORNING TIMES

See CHILD PAGE 11A

LEAL

PAGE 2A Zin brief WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

Wednesday, April 13IBC Keynote Speaker Series. 7

p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom,5201 University Blvd. Open to the pub-lic and free of charge. “Still Midnightin Mexico? Mexico’s Challenges, Jour-nalism and the Borderlands, and theNew American Narrative” presented byAlfredo Corchado, Mexico bureau chieffor the Dallas Morning News.

Thursday, April 14TAMIU presents the Mariachi In-

ternational Recital. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU’sCenter for the Fine and PerformingArts Recital Hall. Admission requires aminimum $5 scholarship donation perperson. There is no charge for TAMIUstudents with ID and children under12. For more information, please con-tact Oswaldo Zapata at 956-326-3044or email oswaldoa.zapata@tamiu.edu.

Laredo Area Retired School Em-ployees Association meeting. 11 a.m.Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall, 2219Galveston. Guest speaker Tony Ramirezwill be speaking about alternative med-icine and herbs.

Preschool Read & Play. 11a.m.–12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Sali-nas Branch Library, 1920 Palo BlancoSt. Story time and crafts for preschool-ers. For more information, contact Pris-cilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.orgor 795-2400 x2403.

Family Story Time & Crafts. 4–5p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas BranchLibrary, 1920 Palo Blanco St. For moreinformation, contact Priscilla Garcia atpriscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400x2403.

Spanish Book Club. 6–8 p.m.City of Laredo Public Library, 1120 E.Calton Road. For more information callSylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Friday, April 15TAMIU Band Concert. 7:30 p.m.

Center for the Fine and PerformingArts Recital Hall at TAMIU. This con-cert is open to the public. Admissionrequires a $5 minimum scholarship do-nation per person. No charge for TA-MIU students with ID and children un-der 12. For more information, contactDr. James Moyer at 956-326-2640 oremail james.moyer@tamiu.edu.

TAMIU 2016 Spring Dance Con-cert. 8 p.m. Center for the Fine andPerforming Arts Theater. This eventpresents the work of students enrolledin dance courses. General admission is$5. Children under 10 and TAMIU stu-dents with a valid ID enter free. Formore information, please contact BedeLeyendecker at 956-326-2649 or emailbleyendecker@tamiu.edu.

Saturday, April 16El Centro de Laredo Farmers

Market. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Jarvis Plaza.This month’s market celebrates EarthDay with a theme of trees, rio and afocus on the monarch butterfly. Freeand open to the public.

Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetariumshows. 1–5 p.m. TAMIU. “The LittleStar that Could,” “Origins of Life,”“New Horizons” and “Black Holes.”This event is open to the TAMIU com-munity and public. General admissionis $4 for children, TAMIU students, fac-ulty and staff, and $5 for adults. Mati-nee shows are $1 less. For more infor-mation, contact Claudia Herrera at956-326-2463 or email claudia.herre-ra@tamiu.edu.

TAMIU 2016 Spring Dance Con-cert. 8 p.m. Center for the Fine andPerforming Arts Theater. This eventpresents the work of students enrolledin dance courses. General admission is$5. Children under 10 and TAMIU stu-dents with a valid ID enter free. Formore information, please contact BedeLeyendecker at 956-326-2649 or emailbleyendecker@tamiu.edu.

Monday, April 18Chess Club. Every Monday from

4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Li-brary. Free for all ages and skill levels.Basic instruction is offered. For moreinformation call John at 956-795-2400x2520.

TAMIU 2016 Percussion EnsembleConcert. 7:30 p.m. Center for the Fineand Performing Arts Recital Hall. Freeand open to the public. For more infor-mation, contact Dr. James Moyer at956-326-2640 or emailjames.moyer@tamiu.edu.

Tuesday, April 195th Annual Bowl-A-Thon. 5:30

p.m. Jett Bowl North. Funds raisedfrom the event will go toward Jaime J.Zapata Scholarships. Registration for afive-player team is $125 before April 12and $150 on the day of the event.Door prizes, best team T-shirt prize.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Wednesday, April13, the 104th day of 2016. Thereare 262 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13,four-fifths of the way to themoon, was crippled when atank containing liquid oxygenburst. (The astronauts man-aged to return safely.)

On this date:In 1613, Pocahontas, daugh-

ter of Chief Powhatan, wascaptured by English Capt. Sa-muel Argall in the VirginiaColony. (During a yearlongcaptivity, Pocahontas convert-ed to Christianity and ulti-mately opted to stay with theEnglish.)

In 1742, Handel’s “Messiah”had its first public perform-ance in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1743, the third presidentof the United States, ThomasJefferson, was born in Shad-well in the Virginia Colony.

In 1861, at the start of theCivil War, Fort Sumter inSouth Carolina fell to Confed-erate forces.

In 1912, the Royal FlyingCorps, a predecessor of Bri-tain’s Royal Air Force, wascreated.

In 1943, President FranklinD. Roosevelt dedicated the Jef-ferson Memorial in Washing-ton D.C., on the 200th anniver-sary of the third Americanpresident’s birth.

In 1958, Van Cliburn of theUnited States won the first In-ternational Tchaikovsky Com-petition for piano in Moscow;Russian Valery Klimov wonthe violin competition.

In 1964, Sidney Poitier be-came the first black performerin a leading role to win an A-cademy Award for his per-formance in “Lilies of theField.”

In 1965, 16-year-old Law-rence Wallace Bradford, Jr.was appointed by New YorkRepublican Jacob Javits to bethe first black page of the U.S.Senate.

In 1975, the President ofChad, Francois Tombalbaye(tahm-bahl-BAH’-yeh), waskilled in a military coup.

In 1986, Pope John Paul IIvisited the Great Synagogue ofRome in the first recorded pa-pal visit of its kind to a Jewishhouse of worship.

In 1992, the Great ChicagoFlood took place as the city’scentury-old tunnel system andadjacent basements filled withwater from the Chicago River.

Ten years ago: Confessedal-Qaida conspirator ZacariasMoussaoui expressed no re-morse for his role in the 9/11attacks as he took the standfor the second time in hisdeath-penalty trial in Alexan-dria, Virginia.

Five years ago: OustedEgyptian President Hosni Mu-barak and his two sons weredetained for investigation ofcorruption, abuse of powerand killings of protesters.

One year ago: RepublicanSen. Marco Rubio entered the2016 presidential race with arally in Miami.

Today’s Birthdays: Moviedirector Stanley Donen is 92.Actor Paul Sorvino is 77. Sing-er Al Green is 70. ComedianGary Kroeger is 59. ActressPage Hannah is 52. Reggaesinger Capleton is 49. SingerLou Bega is 41. Actor-producerGlenn Howerton is 40. Rap-per/singer Ty Dolla $ign is 34.Actress Allison Williams is 28.Actress Hannah Marks is 23.

Thought for Today: “Inthe landscape of extinction,precision is next to godliness.”— Samuel Beckett, Irish poetand playwright (born this datein 1906, died 1989).

TODAY IN HISTORY

AUSTIN — The Texas attorney generalhas been indicted for allegedly duping inves-tors in a tech startup, and the agriculturecommissioner reportedly used tax dollars totravel to obtain a so-called Jesus shot sup-posedly offering long-term relief from pain.

So far, fellow Republicans are all but ig-noring the troubles.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, who hasbeen charged with two felonies, and Agricul-ture Commissioner Sid Miller, who last yearunapologetically shared a Facebook post thatsuggested using a nuclear bomb on the Mus-lim population, coasted to election in 2014 aspart of a new slate of GOP leaders. Other Re-publicans who won that year included Gov.Greg Abbott and Land CommissionerGeorge P. Bush, son of Jeb Bush.

Democrats, who have called on Paxton toresign, lament what they call the pitfall of apolitically one-sided state. Republicans seemcontent to stay quiet.

“What we’ve seen is rather endorsementby silence,” said Manny Garcia, deputy exec-utive director of the state’s bedraggled Demo-cratic Party, which has not won a statewideelection since 1994. “It’s disappointing thatthe Republican Party isn’t willing to speakout when it sees bad behavior on behalf oftheir statewide officials.”

Abbott, who spent more than a decade inPaxton’s job before becoming governor, hasrepeatedly declined to comment on his suc-cessor beyond saying last summer that thelegal process needed to “work its course.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Com-mission is the latest to heap problems onPaxton, accusing him of investor fraud.

AROUND TEXAS

In this July 29, 2015 file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton looks during a hearing in Austin, Texas. Federal securitiesregulators have filed civil fraud charges against Paxton, Monday, April 11, 2016, over recruiting investors to a high-tech start-up before becoming the state’s top prosecutor.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Republicans stay silentBy PAUL J. WEBERASSOCIATED PRESS

Police seek suspect whostole ring from corpseODESSA — Police in West

Texas are trying to find a womanseen on surveillance video steal-ing a ring from a corpse at a fu-neral home.

The suspect would face felonytheft from a corpse charges forswiping the ring worth about$10. Security video shows thewoman reaching into an opencasket and fumbling to removesomething from the corpse.

District cancels schoolafter hail storm damageWYLIE — A Dallas-area dis-

trict has called off school a dayafter hail the size of baseballsbroke windows and caused otherbuilding damage. The Wylie In-dependent School District, whichhas more than 14,000 students,canceled classes Tuesday. A dis-trict statement says educatorswere not able to provide a safelearning environment due to“significant” damage.

Border officers in El Pasofind $1.6M in meth

EL PASO — Federal officers inWest Texas have seized morethan $1.6 million worth of meth-amphetamine hidden in the reartires of an SUV entering fromMexico. The bust occurred at thePaso Del Norte border crossingin El Paso. The driver from Dal-las was detained on drug smug-gling charges after officers foundmore than 50 pounds of meth inthe vehicle.

Police investigate assaultallegations at universityCANYON — Police are investi-

gating allegations that two wom-en were sexually assaulted at afraternity party at West TexasA&M University.

Authorities tell the AmarilloGlobe-News that the women areboth students at West TexasA&M who told officers they at-tended a fraternity party Satur-day and believed they may havebeen assaulted after drinking.

Teen kills mom, brotherbefore killing himself

DALLAS — Investigators aretrying to determine what led aTexas teenager to fatally stab hisbrother and his television-per-sonality mother before mortallywounding himself, police saidMonday. Police in the Dallas sub-urb of Plano said 19-year oldMcCann Utu Jr. attacked his 45-year-old mother, Stacy Fawcett,and his 17-year-old brother earlyFriday before stabbing himself.

2 women and their 2daughters dead in crashARGYLE — Two women and

their two young daughters werekilled when their vehicles collid-ed in a wrong-way crash inNorth Texas. Denton police sayAshley Morgan’s vehicle wastraveling near Argyle on Satur-day evening when it crossed intoa northbound lane, crashinghead-on into a vehicle being dri-ven by Emma Lourdes Shaffer.

— Compiled from AP reports

Navy secretary to discusswomen in combat

SAN DIEGO — Navy Secreta-ry Ray Mabus has squared offagainst Marine Corps leaderswho resisted recruiting womenfor all combat jobs. On Tuesday,he took his case to a broader au-dience at Camp Pendleton, Cali-fornia. Marine Corps leaders hadsought to keep certain infantryand combat jobs closed to wom-en, citing studies showing com-bined-gender units are not as ef-fective as male-only units. De-fense Secretary Ash Carteroverruled them in December, or-dering all positions open to wom-en. Since then, the military ser-vices have put together plansoutlining how they will integratewomen into male-only units

Company drops chemicalslinked to bee declinesDENVER — Amid ominous

warnings about threats to polli-

nators and the food crops theymake possible, garden-care giantOrtho said Tuesday it will stopusing a class of chemicals widelybelieved to harm the most im-portant pollinators of all: bees.

Bees are critical to the foodsupply because about one-third

of the human diet comes from in-sect-pollinated plants, and honey-bees are responsible for 80 per-cent of that pollination. Concernabout bee health is growing,with federal officials consideringwhether to protect bumblebees.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus speaks to Marines regarding women in combat duringa speech at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at CampPendleton, Calif. Anaheim, Calif.

Photo by Lenny Ignelzi | AP

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 State THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov.Greg Abbott named the

former headof the TexasRangers tolead thestate’s em-battled childwelfareagency Mon-day, callingthe status

quo “unacceptable” whilemaking the unusual moveof putting a career law en-forcement officer incharge of the foster caresystem.

Henry “Hank” Whit-man takes over as the Tex-as Department of Familyand Protective Servicescommissioner five monthsafter a federal judge ruledthat the state’s foster care

system is so flawed that itviolates the constitutionalrights of more than 30,000youngsters. Recent news-paper investigations havealso revealed deep failingswithin the agency.

“I’ve insisted on over-hauling a broken system,and I applaud the leader-ship changes that will pro-vide a new direction andfocus that puts protectingchildren first,” Abbottsaid in a statement.

Whitman had nearly 35years of law enforcementexperience before retiringfrom the Rangers in 2012.His appointment is a de-parture from a decade ofagency commissionerswho were either elevatedstate bureaucrats, judgesor those with back-grounds in juvenile ser-vices.

Welfare agencygets new leaders

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABBOTT

DALLAS — The small-town Texas jail where Sand-ra Bland died last summerneeds a new building, moreexpertise among its staff toidentify mental health is-sues, and body cameras andanger-management trainingfor its jailers, according to areport issued Tuesday by apanel convened afterBland’s death.

The sheriff ’s office inWaller County agreed tohave outside experts reviewthe county jail in Hemp-stead, about 50 miles north-west of Houston after Blanddied. Bland, who was black,was jailed after a statetrooper pulled her over inJuly for a minor traffic vio-lation. Dashcam video ofher arrest and the circum-stances of her death pro-voked national outrage anddrew the attention of theBlack Lives Matter move-ment.

Video of the stop nearHouston shows the trooper,Brian Encinia, yelling atBland, then pulling a stungun and saying, “I will lightyou up!” Encinia has plead-ed not guilty to a misde-meanor perjury chargestemming from the stop. He

has also been fired.Bland, who was in the

process of moving to Texasfrom the Chicago area, wasfound dead in the WallerCounty Jail three days afterher arrest. Authorities saidshe was hanging from a jailcell partition with a plasticgarbage bag around herneck. A medical examinerruled it a suicide and agrand jury declined to in-dict any sheriff ’s officials orjailers in her death.

Bland’s supporters havequestioned whether thejail’s conditions had any-thing to do with her death.

While the panelists whopresented their jail report ata news conference Tuesdayin Hempstead mostly stayedaway from specifics aboutBland’s death, their recom-mendations target mentalhealth screenings and theoverall treatment of in-mates.

One panelist, former U.S.Rep. Craig Washington, saidanyone entering the jail was“entitled to be treated withdignity and respect as a hu-man being.”

Ultimately, that will re-quire a new facility withmore space, he said.

“The jail is not adequate,in our judgment,” Washing-ton said.

The panel also called onthe sheriff ’s office to devel-op a policy for storing videofootage and to purchasebody cameras. It also saidthe jail should employ med-ical personnel who canscreen incoming inmatesfor mental health issues.

Jailers supervising in-mates should be separatedfrom the officers who ar-rested them, the panel said.And jailers should undergoanger-management coursesand routine evaluations.

Authorities have alreadysaid that Bland indicated onan intake questionnaire thatshe once tried to kill herselfand was taking medicationfor epilepsy. Following herdeath, the Texas Commis-sion on Jail Standards citedthe jail for not observing in-mates in person at leastonce every hour and notdocumenting that jailershad undergone training ondealing with potentially sui-cidal inmates.

Waller County SheriffGlenn Smith said he likedthe report and was alreadystarting to implement partsof it. He said jail staff wouldundergo “de-escalation”training in June, and thatthe county has already ap-plied for a state grant topurchase body cameras.

“I’m open, willing to lis-ten, and while we may notall agree on everything ...we’re going to move for-ward,” Smith said. “We’regoing to make a difference.”

But the news conferencewas contentious at times.One person questioned whymore attention wasn’t paidto the high fees many jailscharge inmates to makephone calls. Another ac-cused Washington of beingused by authorities to coverup their mistakes in Bland’scase, to which he angrily re-plied, “You’re absolutelywrong.”

If the sheriff ’s office im-plements the report, Wash-ington said, “I bet you sixmonths from now, a yearfrom now, we’ll turn aroundand say, ‘Wow, look at whatthey did in Waller County.”’

Bland’s family has suedthe county and the trooperwho arrested her.

“It shouldn’t take some-body dying to be self-reflec-tive,” said the family’s attor-ney, Cannon Lambert, whohad not seen the report.

“It may be a legacy thatSandy leaves that throughher death, advances aremade,” Lambert added. “Tothat end, obviously, wewould hope that problemsat the jail get rectified.”

In this undated file image made from video provided by the Waller County Sheriff’s Department, Sandra Bland stands before a desk atWaller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas. The small-town Texas jail where Sandra Bland died last summer needs to be replaced.

Photo by Waller County Sheriff’s Department | AP file

Problems with jail identifiedBy NOMAAN MERCHANT

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PAGE 4A Zopinion WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

In the middle of thisdepressing presidentialcampaign I sometimeswonder, How could wemake our politics better?

It’s possible to imaginean elite solution. Thenext president could gettogether with the leadersof both parties in Con-gress and say: “We’re go-ing to change the way wedo business in Washing-ton. We’re going to delib-erate and negotiate. We’lldisagree and wrangle,but we will not treat thisas good-versus-evil bloodsport.” That kind of lead-ership might trickledown.

But it’s increasinglyclear that the roots of po-litical dysfunction liedeep in society. If there’struly going to be im-provement, there has tobe improvement in thesocial context politics isembedded in.

In healthy societies,people live their liveswithin a galaxy of warmplaces. They are mem-bers of a family, neigh-borhood, school, civic or-ganization, hobby group,company, faith, regionalculture, nation, continentand world. Each layer oflife is nestled in the oth-ers to form a varied butcoherent whole.

But starting just afterWorld War II, America’scommunity/membershipmindset gave way to anindividualistic/autono-my mindset. The ideawas that individualsshould be liberated tolive as they chose, solong as they didn’t inter-fere with the rights ofothers.

By 1981, the pollsterDaniel Yankelovich no-ticed the effects:“Throughout most of thiscentury Americans be-lieved that self-denialmade sense, sacrificingmade sense, obeying therules made sense, subor-dinating oneself to theinstitution made sense.But now doubts have setin, and Americans nowbelieve that the old giv-ing/getting compactneedlessly restricts theindividual while advanc-ing the power of large in-stitutions ... who use thepower to enhance theirown interests at the ex-pense of the public.”

The individualist turnhad great effects but alsoaccumulating downsides.By 2005, 47 percent ofAmericans reported thatthey knew none or just afew of their neighbors byname. There’s been asharp rise in the numberof people who report thatthey have no closefriends to confide in.

Civic life has suffered.As Marc J. Dunkelmanwrites in his compellingbook “The VanishingNeighbor,” people aregood at tending their in-ner-ring relationships —their family and friends.They’re pretty good attending to outer-ring re-lationships — their hun-dreds of Facebook ac-quaintances, their fellowprogressives, or theirTED and Harley fans.

But Americans spendless time with middle-ring township relation-ships — the PTA, theneighborhood watch.

Middle-ring relation-ships, Dunkelman ar-gues, help people becomeskilled at deliberation.The guy sitting next toyou at the volunteer fire

company may have polit-ical opinions you find ab-horrent, but you stillhave to get stuff donewith him, week afterweek.

Middle-ring relation-ships also diversify thesources of identity. Youmight be an O’Rourke, anIrish Catholic and a pro-fessor, but you are also acitizen, importantly, ofthe Montrose neighbor-hood in Houston.

With middle-ringmemberships deteriorat-ing, Americans have be-come worse at public de-liberation. People find iteasier to ignore inconve-nient viewpoints andfacts. Partisanship be-comes a preconsciouslens through which peo-ple see the world.

They report being op-timistic or pessimisticdepending on whethertheir team is in power.They become unrealistic.Trump voters don’t seemto realize how unelecta-ble their man is becausethey hang out with peo-ple like themselves.

We’re good at bondingwith people like our-selves but worse at bridg-ing with people unlikeourselves. (Have you no-ticed that most peoplewho call themselves“connectors” are actuallyexcluders because theycreate groups restrictedto people with similarstatus levels?)

With fewer sources ofethnic and local identity,people ask politics to fillthe void. Being a Demo-crat or a Republican be-comes their ethnicity.People put politics at thecenter of their psycholog-ical, emotional and evenspiritual life.

This is asking toomuch of politics. Oncepolitics becomes yourethnic and moral identi-ty, it becomes impossibleto compromise, becausecompromise becomes dis-honor. If you put politicsat the center of identity,you end up asking thestate to eclipse every so-cial authority but itself.Presidential campaignsbecome these gargantuantwo-year national ritualsthat swallow everythingelse in national life.

If we’re going to sal-vage our politics, weprobably have to shrinkpolitics, and nurture thethick local membershipweb that politics restswithin. We probably haveto scale back the cultureof autonomy that was ap-propriate for the 1960sbut that has since gonetoo far.

If we make this cultur-al shift, we may even endup happier. For there is aparadox to longing. Ifeach of us fulfill all ofour discrete individualdesires, we end up with asociety that is not whatwe want at all.

The highest level ofMaslow’s hierarchy ofneeds, self-actualization,is actually connected tothe lowest level, groupsurvival. People experi-ence their highest joy inhelping their neighborsmake it through the day.

(David Brooks is aNew York Times column-ist.)

COLUMN

Roots ofpolitical

dysfunctionrun deep

“DAVID BROOKS

OTHER VIEWS

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Via e-mail, send lettersto editorial@lmton-line.com or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Laredo,TX 78041.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Most of us are or havebeen dreamers. As young-sters, we see or read aboutsuccessful, well-knownpeople. Everyone sayswonderful things aboutthem, so we start develop-ing our ideas about life’sjourney based on those at-titudes.

Many youngsters wantto be like one or both par-ents. I knew my motherwas a rock solid, honestand true to her faith, so Iwanted to have those qual-ities. Dad was a rancherwho had a formal educa-tion of 7th or 8th grade; itwas never quite clear tome which.

What was abundantlyclear was that, from amath standpoint, he had aPhD mind. I was blessedenough to inherit some ofthat math ability but nodesire to be a rancher or amathematician.

My high school buddiesall took a lot of mathcourses, especially mybest pal, Douglas Aycock.We didn’t do IQ tests inthose days, but I believeDoug would’ve been offthe charts. He became adoctor specializing in psy-chiatry.

I followed Doug and acouple of other friendsand took five math cours-es in high school: AlgebraI, Algebra II, Plane Geom-

etry, Solid Geometry andTrigonometry. I didn’t takea solitary math course incollege in attaining aBachelor of Science degreein journalism.

At age 14, the writingbug bit me. I wanted to bethe world’s greatest sports-writer and wrest thecrown from GrantlandRice, acknowledged asAmerica’s best in the firsthalf of the 20th Century.

Journalism-Englishteacher and school news-paper sponsor LouiseForke began to nudge metoward the writing field injunior high and, of course,I joined the paper staff inmy freshman year and re-mained through highschool.

As a senior, I received aone-year scholarship oftuition, books and feesfrom Dr. Ferol Robinson,head of the journalism de-partment at then-SamHouston State TeachersCollege. That and a job asan evening short ordercook in the Club Caféacross the street from thecampus paid for the firstsemester.

While the scholarshipcontinued for the second

term, I moved out of thekitchen and into the job ofsports publicity directorfor SHSTC for a whopping$45 a month and got totravel with the Bearkatfootball team and somewith the basketball team.I was told the job was parttime and I was still carry-ing a full course load. Iwas also required to runthe public address systemat home basketball andbaseball games.

Things cruised alongbusily through the rest ofthat freshman year andwell into my sophomoreyear before it becamepainfully apparent that Iwas running out of money.Forty-five dollars a monthand no scholarship didn’tenable me to pass Go.

So, Grantland Rice wasin no immediate danger,and I sought full time em-ployment in order to re-plenish the college fund.

My hometown newspa-per, The Teague Chroni-cle, was in an ownershiptransition and needed anewsman to handle allgeneral news except “so-ciety,” which the book-keeper-receptionist wouldhandle. And, shucks, theywere going to quadruplemy monthly salary asSHSTC’s sports publicitydirector. Plus I could liveat home with no room and

board bill. After a year in Teague, I

decided I needed to go toschool where there weremore job opportunitiesthan Huntsville offeredand off I went to the Uni-versity of Houston, whereI could get cheap room andboard with an aunt anduncle and attend a BIGschool.

With the help of Hunts-ville Item editor Don ReidJr., I garnered a $1,000scholarship ($500 each se-mester) to private schoolU. of H.

Three part-time jobs thefirst year and a full-timejob my senior year dictat-ed night school. The full-time slot was as generalmanager of a suburbanweekly paper completedthe erasure of the sportswriting hall of fame frommy dreams. I was inoculat-ed with the special brandof printer’s ink that flowsthrough a newspaper-man’s veins.

And, the magic of fullimmersion in a smalltown’s life dictated a halfcentury-plus as a countryeditor.

It was a blast. Willis Webb is a retired

community newspaper edi-tor-publisher of more than50 years experience. He canbe reached by email atwwebb1937@att.net.

COLUMN

Funny how life’s twists, turns shape attitudes, goals

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 Zentertainment PAGE 5A

PARIS — A 400-year-oldpicture that might havebeen painted by Italianmaster Caravaggio hasbeen found in an attic insouthern France.

Eric Turquin, theFrench expert who re-trieved the painting twoyears ago, says it is in anexceptional state of con-servation and estimatesits value at 120 million eu-ros (about $135 million).

The picture, whose au-thenticity hasn’t been es-tablished, had been leftfor more than 150 years ina property on the out-skirts of Toulouse.

Called “Judith Behead-ing Holofernes,” it depictsthe biblical heroine Judi-th beheading an Assyriangeneral. It is thought tohave been painted inRome around 1604-05.

Turquin told a newsconference on Tuesdaythat there “will never be aconsensus” about thename of the artist.

Two Caravaggio expertshe consulted with attri-buted the painting to

Louis Finson, a Flemishpainter and art dealerwho was familiar withCaravaggio, Turquin said.

Finson possessed anumber of works from theItalian master and madecopies of his pictures.

“But the third expert Imet told me that it wasnot only a Caravaggio, butalso a masterpiece,” Tur-quin said. “’Judith Be-heading Holofernes’ mustbe considered the mostimportant painting, byfar, to have emerged inthe last 20 years by one ofthe great masters.”

The picture has beenawarded “National Trea-sure” status by French au-thorities, meaning that itcan’t be exported for 30months, leaving the na-tional museums enoughtime for its acquisition.

While stating that theart work has yet to be au-thenticated, France’s Cul-ture Ministry justified itsdecision to ban the exportof the painting because it“deserves to be kept on(French) territory as a ve-ry important landmark ofCaravaggism.”

A 400-year-old painting that might have been executed by Italianmaster Caravaggio is presented in Paris, Tuesday.

Photo by Michel Euler | AP

Possible classicpainting found

By SAMUEL PETREQUINASSOCIATED PRESS

You can practically feelthe beating heart of thejungle in Jon Favreau’sstunning adaptation of“The Jungle Book,” whichis easily the most visuallydazzling movie to hit thea-ters this year. Like “Ava-tar” before it, this CG andlive action interpretationof Rudyard Kipling’s clas-sic tale of the boy raisedby wolves feels like a mo-mentous occasion in thetechnical advancements ofbig budget cinema.

From the thrill of a dis-tant waterfall to the terrorof a mudslide or stamped-ing buffalo, Favreau andhis visual effects maestroshave created artificial liv-ing things that truly lookand feel real.

Even the animals’ abili-ty to communicate in Eng-lish seems as natural astheir breathing and emot-ing. They have not beensanitized to be cute or lessthreatening either — eventhe tender mama wolfRaksha (Lupita Nyong’o).

They still look like wildanimals and, for the mostpart, act like wild animals,too. At first, this actuallymakes their close interac-tions with the human boyMowgli (newcomer NeelSethi) even more disarm-ing. Eventually your nerv-es calm and you submit tothe magic of this world.

The story follows thesame beats as Disney’sanimated feature from1967, but Favreau and histeam made sure to up theintensity a few notches —the hyperrealism of theanimals necessitates it.The tension created by thefact that they all haveclaws and teeth and in-stinct to contend with isalways there.

You’re already on edge

by the time the tiger ShereKhan (Idris Elba, in a tru-ly stunning vocal perform-ance that’s both terrifyingand relatable) enters thepicture. He adamantly be-lieves that humans shouldnot be living among themand is prepared to usewhatever intimidation tac-tics are necessary to ridtheir world of Mowgli.This sends the young boyon a journey to the humanvillage with the stoic pan-ther Bagheera (Ben King-sley). Anyone with the va-guest memory of “TheJungle Book” will remem-ber the characters the boyencounters on the way —the snake Kaa (Scarlett Jo-hansson), the bear Baloo(Bill Murray) and theorangutan King Louie(Christopher Walken).

Although it is some-what distracting to havesuch famous voices over-whelming every scene,each does a fine job — es-pecially Murray, whobrings a much-needed co-medic lightness to the sto-ry with his affably conniv-ing Baloo in the second

act. Sethi is energetic and

enthusiastic as Mowgli —an adventurous kid who’sas unfazed by a handful ofbee stings as he is a gar-gantuan snake. But for allthe attention to detail,there’s an unnatural mod-ernity to the dialogue he’sgiven that can be trying attimes. For the most parthe blends in as well as thesole human among wild

CG animals could possiblybe expected to.

On the subject of thingsseeming out of place, thereare also two songs fromthe 1967 film that are inte-grated into the story—"The Bear Necessities”and “I Wanna Be LikeYou.” ("Trust In Me” playsover the credits).

“The Jungle Book,” aWalt Disney Pictures re-lease, is rated PG.

‘The Jungle Book’ is dazzlingBy LINDSEY BAHRASSOCIATED PRESS

In this image released by Disney, Mowgli, portrayed by Neel Sethi, right, and Baloo the bear, voicedby Bill Murray, appear in a scene from, "The Jungle Book."

Photo courtesy of Disney | AP

ENTREGA DE BECAS 2016El evento Becas 2016,

un evento annual para recau-dación de fondos, para alum-nos de Zapata High School,se llevará a cabo el viernes22 de abril de 5 p.m. a 10p.m. en El Rincón de los Án-geles Restaurant. Agentes dela Patrulla Fronteriza fuerade servicio serán “meseros”y todas las “propinas” y “do-naciones” se destinarán alfondo de becas. Se realizarátambién el 3er. concursoanual de la “Big Burger”(gran hamburguesa). Pida in-formes en el 956-765-8900.

TORNEO DE PESCAEl sábado 23 de abril

se realizará el torneo de pes-ca Bass Champs FishingTournament, en ZapataCounty Public Boat Rampdesde las 8 a.m. hasta las 5p.m.

TORNEO DE SÓFTBOLUn torneo de sóftbol

tendrá lugar el 23 de abrilen Zapata. Lo recaudado se-rá a favor de Alejandro Cañe-do, para la adquisición deuna prótesis ya que perdióuna pierna en un accidente.Habrá equipos femeninos ymasculinos. Cuota 150 dóla-res. Informes en 956-251-3075.

ZAPATAN OF THE YEARZapata High School,

2009 SHW 16, informa queel sábado 23 de abril se ce-lebrará la ceremonia “2016Zapatan of the Year” honran-do a Roberto O. Hein. Elevento será en la misma pre-paratoria en horario de 3p.m. a 5 p.m.

REUNIÓN SOCIEDADGENEALÓGICA

La Sociedad Genealó-gica Nuevo Santander cele-brará su reunión el sábado21 de mayo a las 2 p.m. enel Zapata County Museum ofHistory. Los oradores invita-dos para esta ocasión sonDel & Marsha Shumway, asícomo Viqui Uribe, con el te-ma “Búsqueda Familiar” (Fa-mily Search).

RECOLECCIÓN DEMEDICAMENTOSLa Coalición Comuni-

taria del Condado de Zapatay la DEA realizarán el eventonacional Pill Take Back (reco-lección de medicamentos) el30 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 2p.m. en el Palacio de Justiciadel Condado de Zapata. Sebuscan medicamentos cadu-cos o que ya no se esténutilizando a fin de retirarlosde forma apropiada. Infor-mes en la oficina de SCANen el 765-3555.

CONCURSO DE DIBUJOEl Sistema DIF de Mi-

guel Alemán, México, invitaal Quinto concurso de dibujosobre trabajo infantil. Habrádos categorías (Categoría Apara niños y niñas de 6 a 12años de edad; y, CategoríaB, para niños y niñas de 13a 17 años de edad).

El dibujo se debe realizaren media cartulina blanca(35cm x 50cm), utilizar colo-res de madera, plumones,óleo, acuarela o colores decera, y anexar en un sobreuna descripción con una pro-puesta para eliminar las peo-res formas de trabajo infan-til. La propuesta debe ser dedos a cuatro párrafos en le-tra de molde legible.

Incluir al reverso del dibu-jo su título, nombre comple-to del participante (como in-dica el acta de nacimiento),edad, grado escolar, nombrede la escuela, teléfono, domi-cilio particular, y municipio.

La fecha límite para en-tregar el trabajo es el 13 demayo en las oficinas del DIF-Miguel Alemán, calle Puertode Chetumal # 130 en laColonia Jardines de San Ger-mán. Más información lla-mando al 972-0155.

Agendaen Breve

REYNOSA — Los residentes deesta ciudad industrial están pocodispuestos a discutir temas del cri-men organizado, pero como lascampañas por la gubernatura hancomenzado a principio de este mes,temas como el de seguridad en unestado que ha tenido algo de esto seha convertido en el centro de aten-ción.

Entre el 2010 y el 2012, Tamauli-pas experimentó cerca de 2.600 ho-micidios entre sus 3,5 millones dehabitantes. Aunque los homicidioshan declinado desde entonces, lossecuestros han tenido un alza de3.87 por cada 100.000 personas, casicinco veces más que la media na-cional de .78 por cada 100.000 habi-tantes.

El estado ha permitido el creci-

miento del Cártel delGolfo y el grupo ul-traviolento conocidocomo los Zetas. Peroconforme los jefesprincipales han caí-do, los cárteles sehan dividido en gru-pos más pequeñoscon cambios continuos de alianzas.

Meses de relativa calma termina-ron en marzo cuando balaceras en-tre grupos rivales aparecieron enlas calles, paralizando el área deReynosa, Matamoros y Ciudad Vic-toria. Para calmar la violencia, losmilitares desplegaron 900 soldadosen el estado.

“¿En qué momento nos acostum-bramos a tener que cruzar nuestroestado detras de un convoy de lapolicía federal?”, dijo el senadorFrancisco García Cabeza de Vaca,candidato a gobernador del conser-

vador Partido AcciónNacional. “¿En quémomento nos acos-tumbramos a no acu-dir a restaurantespor las noches?

La pregunta per-maneció en una ciu-dad que tiene tantos

anuncios de campaña para Cabezade Vaca y de Baltazar Manuel Hi-nojosa Ochoa, candidato a goberna-dor por parte del Partido Revolucio-nario Institucional, como anunciosque ofrecen recompensas por infor-mación de aquellos que han desa-parecido.

Hinojosa, ex presidente munici-pal de Matamoros, dijo a los repor-teros que sus planes para restaurarla seguridad incluirían una fuerzapolicíaca profesional municipal queresponda a los secuestros express,robos y que “mantenga la lealtad

hacia las familias de Reynosa”.A pesar de la captura de más de

una docena de altos miembros delos cárteles que han alimentado laesperanza de que los grupos crimi-nales se han debilitado permanen-temente, la seguridad permaneceen el aire.

El retiro de soldados en diciem-bre fue, en parte, relacionado con laformación de una fuerza policíacaestatal. Sin embargo, ante el resul-tado de una primavera violenta, losexpertos dicen que Tamaulipas noestá preparada para garantizar laseguridad ciudadana.

“La salida y entrada de fuerzasde seguridad federales en Tamauli-pas en los últimos años luce máscomo un guacamole que una estra-tegia a largo plazo”, dijo Christop-her Wilson, el director asistente delInstituto para México del CentroWilson.

TAMAULIPAS

Tema de campañaPOR AARON NELSEN

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

HINOJOSACABEZA DE VACA

PÁGINA 6A Zfrontera MIÉRCOLES 13 DE ABRIL DE 2016

La empresa paraestatalde hidrocarburos Petróle-os Mexicanos (Pemex) re-portó que el robo de com-bustible en la red de duc-tos había descendido enun 34 por ciento duranteenero.

En enero se registróuna sustracción de 414.000barriles, en comparacióncon los 628.000 barrilesque se reportaron en elmismo periodo el año an-terior.

Según el director de Pe-mex, Emilio Lozoya, sóloen el periodo de septiem-bre del 2013 a septiembredel 2014 Pemex detectómás de 2.700 tomas clan-destinas.

Las pérdidas llegan aascender a más de 7.5 mi-llones de barriles y uncosto equivalente a 15,300millones de pesos. Los ca-sos ocurren en Tamauli-pas y once estados más deMéxico, y esto incluye elpoliducto Cadereyta-Brownsville.

Se atribuyó un fortale-cimiento al marco jurídi-co en la materia, comofactor determinante paraeste cambio y uno de losaspectos esenciales de es-ta estrategia es proteger ala población y el medioambiente, de los daños co-laterales en la sustracciónilegal de combustibles.

“Con estos resultados ya través de las diversas ac-ciones emprendidas por laSubdirección de Salva-guardia Estratégica, se es-pera además reducir losvolúmenes de productospetrolíferos e insumos ro-bados”, afirmó Lozoya.

(Con información del si-tio de noticias eleconomis-ta.com.mx)

PEMEX

Hubomenosrobos

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Con las huestes de Her-nán Cortés llegan animalesdesconocidos en México, co-mo los perros mastines.

Cuando los embajadoresde Moctezuma regresan,aún impresionados le infor-man que las tropas europe-as traen lebreles (perros),“enormes, … de grandeslenguas colgantes;” sus

“ojos derraman fuego, estánechando chispas […] Sonmuy fuertes y robustos, noestán quietos, andan jadean-do, andan con la lengua col-gando”, recoge fray Bernar-dino de Sahagún.

De mandíbula recia yatronadores ladridos, aque-llos especímenes han sidoentrenados para el combatefiero. Enormes, ágiles, bra-vos, prestos a las órdenes deataque, se lanzan contra losejércitos adversarios, destro-zándolos batalla tras bata-lla. Resalta el Códice Flo-rentino: “Ponían gran te-mor en todos los que los

veían”.Suman por lo menos diez

las variedades propias.Una de ellas la describe

Francisco Javier Clavijero.“El xolotzcuintli … en algu-nos individuos” alcanza“cuatro pies de largo. Tienelas orejas derechas, el cuellogrueso y la cola larga. Lomás singular … es estar en-teramente privado de pelo… Sólo tiene sobre el hocicoalgunas cerdas largas y re-torcidas. Todo su cuerpo es-tá cubierto de una piel lisa,blanda, de color ceniza, …manchada en parte de ne-gro y leonado”. Agrega: Los

hay “de … aspecto melancó-lico” y por completo mudos.

Desde tiempos inmemo-riales también los domesti-can. Sirven de compañía enla vida hogareña. Nuestrospueblos originarios creíanque guiaban el alma de losdifuntos en su camino al in-framundo. Los sacrificabanen consecuencia, enterrán-dolos al lado del propietariofallecido.

Consumada la empresaconquistadora, los perroscambian de funciones. Algu-nos pasan al campo y cui-dan allá del ganado. Otrosse vuelven precursores de

jaurías callejeras en ciuda-des novohispanas.

Los perros nativos, por locontrario, resultan diezma-dos sin miramientos. Apun-ta Clavijero: “Los españoles… hacían la provisión parasus buques con carne de es-tos cuadrúpedos”.

De ahí proviene el topó-nimo prehispánico de Tam-pico. En la antigua lenguahuasteca, tam significa lu-gar y pico quiere decir pe-rro; entiéndase lugar de pe-rros.

(Con permiso del autor, se-gún se publicó en La Razón,el 25 de marzo)

COLUMNA

Relata arribo del xolotzcuintli a TamaulipasNota del editor: El xolot-

zcuintli es un perro nativo deAmérica que ahora alcanzagrandes precios

POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

EDUCACIÓN

SERÁN AGGIES

Los estudiantes del grado 12 en Zapata High School María A. Lerma, Kaitlyn Ramírez, Norma Ramírez, Rebecca Villarreal, Andrea RaiGarza, Christopher Garza, Rebecca Ramírez, junto con estudiantes de los distritos de United ISD y Laredo ISD asistieron al evento Ag-giebound Experience el cual se celebra para estudiantes quienes hayan sido admitidos a Texas A&M University College Station. Losalumnos asistieron a la ceremonia donde fueron homenajeados con un banquete, además de tener acceso a sesiones informativas.

Foto de cortesía | ZCISD

DALLAS — Un hombreque fue asesinado en 2013en un lujoso centro come-rcial de los suburbios enDallas fue identificado endocumentos judiciales co-mo el representante de unconocido cártel mexicano,una afirmación que iríaen contra de la creencia deque los capos de la drogarara vez tratan de ocul-tarse en Estados Unidos.

Juan Jesús GuerreroChapa se mudó a una casade un millón de dólares enSouthlake en 2011, dosaños antes de ser fatal-mente baleado por treshombres que según los fis-cales lo acecharon durantemeses.

Un documento presenta-

do a una corte para el juic-io de los tres sospechososde asesinato sostiene queGuerrero se volvió el líderprovisional del cártel delGolfo —uno de los gruposdel narcotráfico más vio-lentos de México— des-pués que el líder anterior,Osiel Cárdenas Guillén,fue detenido y luego ex-traditado a Estados Uni-dos en 2007 y más tardecondenado a 25 años deprisión.

Como jefe del cártel delGolfo, “Chapa encabezóuna gran empresa crimi-nal cuyas actividades in-cluyeron asesinatos, tráfi-co de drogas, secuestro,extorsión, soborno, blan-queo de dinero y tortura”,dice el documento judicial.

Parece que Guerrero enparte buscaba el anonima-

to junto con su familiacuando se mudó a la re-gión metropolitana de Dal-las. Documentos de lacorte señalan que él teníatemor de ser “encontradopor personas que queríanmatarlo”.

Jesús Gerardo LedezmaCepeda y los otros dos acu-sados afrontarán juicioantes de que termine elmes, según lo previsto, ba-jo los cargos de asociacióndelictuosa para perpetrarun homicidio por encargoy acechar a alguien a nivelinterestatal.

Wes Ball, uno de losabogados de Ledezma, dijoque Chapa encabezó elcártel del Golfo en calidadtransitoria o provisional.Las autoridades estadouni-denses han dicho que Cha-pa era abogado de Cárde-

nas Guillén y una impor-tante figura en elfuncionamiento del grupocriminal.

Ball agregó que el juiciocontra los tres hombresacusados de la muerte deChapa podría permitir unvistazo extraordinario alas operaciones del cártel.

“La mayoría de los jefesde los cárteles jamás sonenjuiciados, casi siemprese declaran culpables”, de-claró Ball. “Así que losjuicios públicos en los quese exponen los detallesesenciales son en verdadmuy raros”, agregó.

La muerte de Chapacerca de Dallas en 2013 tu-vo lugar el mismo mes enel que fue declarado culpa-ble en Austin el hermanode los dos principales jefesde un cártel rival.

TEXAS

Afirma víctima era líder de cartelPOR DAVID WARRENASSOCIATED PRESS

Laredo Community College

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Sports&OutdoorsWEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

OAKLAND — StephenCurry never figured theChicago Bulls’ 72-winmark could be matched oreclipsed.

Twenty years later, thereigning MVP and his de-fending champion GoldenState Warriors are on thebrink of doing just thatand making yet more his-tory this season.

“I knew what it was butyou never really thoughtabout it in perspective ofanybody chasing it. It waskind of that number thatwas out there that seemedinvincible,” Curry said af-ter practice Tuesday.“Even at the beginning ofthis year, even when westarted 24-0, it was kind of:’Well, maybe we can do it.We’re going to keep play-ing every night with theintention of winning asmany games as possible,’but it just sounded kind ofludicrous, 72-10, how muchgood play has to go into it.We’re there now, 72-9, andwe’ve got one more chanceto beat it.”

That comes Wednesday,when the Memphis Griz-zlies visit Oracle Arena asGolden State goes for winNo. 73 to best the 1995-96Bulls.

And to think of all thescrutiny the Warriors gotlast June when they cap-tured their first champion-ship in 40 years.

The Warriors were an-noyed for a moment, thenwent to work showing therest of the NBA they werefor real — and playingwith a bit of a chip ontheir shoulder, no doubt

about it. They wereknocked again along theway, with Curry’s pull-up-and-shoot-from-anywherestyle criticized by someHall of Famers and otherformer greats.

“It’s a big deal for sure,”Curry said. “It’s our lastregular-season game, ourlast tuneup before theplayoffs and nobody wantsto lose their last game go-ing into the playoffs if youcan avoid it, and obviously73. We want to get thatnumber. Why not?”

Curry and coach SteveKerr expected the War-riors to be better this sea-son, but this good? Noway. This many wins?Hardly. Not with every op-ponent bringing its bestevery night.

Triple-double machineDraymond Green can’t be-lieve Golden State’s posi-tion now, either.

“It would have beencool to take care of thegames we were supposedto take care of and have italready out of the way,”Green said. “The way thisthing has played out, to beat home with one shot atit, it’s pretty amazing. Youcan’t not talk about it atthis point. The wholeworld’s talking about itnow. It’s everywhere.There’s no way to hidefrom it now. Honestly, real-istically, I didn’t think itcould be done.”

Whatever happensWednesday, the Warriorsknow their ultimate taskremains bringing homeanother championship.

“It should be a fun 48minutes and hopefully anight we’ll remember for along time,” said Curry.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson and the Warriors are one winaway from setting the new NBA single-season wins record at 73games as they host Memphis in their regular-season finale.

File photo by David J. Phillip | AP

Warriors agame away

from historyBy JANIE MCCAULEYASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — KobeBryant is down to one lastshot, and everybodyknows he’s going to takeit.

After two decades spentdazzling the world, Bryantwill end his basketball ca-reer at home with the LosAngeles Lakers onWednesday night. He’llwalk off the court in frontof his devoted fans in thebuilding where he hungfive championship ban-ners.

He retires this week asthe third-leading scorer inleague history. Nobody ev-er got to spend 20 seasonswith one NBA team beforethe 37-year-old Bryant, andhe intends to thank LosAngeles with one last dis-play of his transcendenttalent.

"It means everything" tofinish at home, Bryantsaid.

"I grew up a die-hardLaker fan, so it’s like adream come true for a kidto grow up and play forhis favorite team, and playhere for 20 years, his en-tire career," he added. "I’ve

seen the city grow. I’veseen the city develop, andvice versa. There’s noplace I’d rather end my ca-reer."

Tickets are reselling forhefty sums, and merchan-dise commemorating theday is moving briskly.Fans without seats willgather downtown to showlove for Bryant, a globallyadmired athlete who bothfearlessly represented andstrongly resembled LA.

"I’ve grown up in frontof this crowd from the ageof 17," Bryant said. "A lotof faces that I saw in thecrowd in my very firstgame are still here. That’svery special. Kids that aresitting there now, thatwere kids when I firstcame in, now come to thegame with their kids. Youknow, that’s pretty cool tosee."

While Bryant’s fellowNike athletes around theglobe wear shoes honoringthe event they’ve dubbed"Mamba Day," the Lakerswill attempt to sendBryant out in style againstthe Utah Jazz, who couldbe eliminated from theplayoff race shortly beforetipoff.

Coach Byron Scott ex-pects Bryant to play morethan 37 minutes, andKobe’s teammates will befeeding the ball to him onpractically every posses-sion - admittedly not muchof a change from mostgames during this other-wise horrific season.

With two 30-point per-formances this month,Bryant has proven he’sstill capable. He’ll have ev-ery opportunity to run upthe score one last time.

"I think it’s going to becrazy," Scott said. "We gota chance to celebrate oneof the greatest to ever playthe game this season, andI think we did it the rightway."

Bryant said last weekthat every season is a fail-ure unless it ends with atitle. The 15th such failureof his career has beencomically bad, yet the in-eptitude of the worst teamin Lakers history (16-65)actually has made it easierto enjoy his farewell tour.

"We’re not playing for achampionship, and I’mpretty black-and-white onwhere I stand with thatsort of stuff," Bryant said."I’ve allowed myself to

take the blinders off andenjoy the fans, enjoy thecrowd. Laugh a little bitmore. Engage a little bitmore."

When Bryant was askedto name his greatest bas-ketball accomplishmentMonday, he didn’t cite hisrings. Instead, he chosehis ability to find the moti-vation to return fromthree consecutive season-ending injuries from 2013-15.

Bryant hasn’t had a ma-jor health setback this sea-son, although he sat out 16games, constantly iced hisjoints, rarely practicedand hardly ever attendedmorning shootarounds.

Bryant’s finale is theconclusion of a 20-yearcompetition with himself.

One last time, Kobe justwants to play.

"For me, it’s coming outin front of the fans andcompeting hard, and play-ing against Utah and themnot taking it easy at all,"Bryant said. "To me, thatis the greatest form ofcompetition. That’s thebest last game to have. Avery competitive one. Aphysical one. That’s theway basketball should be."

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

One final farewell

After two decades spent carving his name in the NBA record books, Bryant will end his basketball career at home with the Los AngelesLakers on Wednesday night.

File photo by Branimir Kvartuc | AP

Kobe Bryant ends 20-year career WednesdayBy GREG BEACHAMASSOCIATED PRESS

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES National WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

SEATTLE — A man dis-membered a nurse andmother of three in her sub-urban home then drove herhead and other remains toSeattle, where they werefound in garbage bags in arecycling bin, authoritiessaid Tuesday.

The disclosure came as aKing County judge orderedthe suspect in the case,John Robert Charlton, heldon $2 million bail and pros-ecutors said he could face asecond-degree murdercharge.

Charlton has a criminalhistory and his parents hadsought a restraining orderagainst him in 2006, sayinghe had taken the movie“Hannibal” — about a seri-al killer — from a shelf andtold his mother she shouldwatch it and “beware.”

Charlton, 37, was arrest-ed Monday after police saidremains believed to bethose of Ingrid Lyne ofRenton were found over theweekend in a homeowner’srecycling bin. A head, armwith a hand, lower leg andfoot were recovered, courtdocuments state.

Lyne, 40, was reported

missing on Saturday. Thecoroner’s office was work-ing to confirm the remainswere hers.

Lyne had planned to goon a date to a Marinersbaseball game Fridaynight, friends said. Aneighbor told detectivesshe had been dating a mannamed John.

Charlton told police hewent to the baseball gamewith Lyne and returned toher home that night butwas so intoxicated hecouldn’t recall what hap-pened. He said he had beendating Lyne for about amonth.

Seattle police detectivessearched Lyne’s suburbanhome Sunday and found a15-inch pruning saw nearthe bathtub, an empty boxof plastic garbage bagsidentical to the type con-taining the body parts, andcollected swabs of suspect-ed blood, according tocourt documents.

Jennifer Worley, a KingCounty prosecutor, said in-vestigators found bits ofhuman flesh and blood inthe bathtub near the saw.

Police said Charlton hadabrasions on his foreheadand hand, injuries to hislip and chin, and scratcheson his chest.

John Charlton appears in court at the King County Jail Courtroomin Seattle on Tuesday.

Photo by Grant Hindsley/seattlepi.com | AP

Womandismembered inhome, dumped

By WALKER ORENSTEIN AND LISA BAUMANN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH, N.C. — NorthCarolina Gov. Pat McCroryhas filed an executive orderthat extends further protec-tions to state employeesbased on sexual orientationand gender identity, butleaves intact the bulk of anew state law regardingrights for lesbian, gay andtransgender people.

McCrory said he wantsstate lawmakers to changepart of the law that preventspeople from suing overworkplace discrimination,but he would need the legis-lature to make that change.

He said that after hearingfeedback from the public, “Iam taking action to affirmand improve the state’scommitment to privacy andequality.”

Chris Brook, an ACLUlawyer who’s fighting thelaw in court, said even ifprovisions about suing instate court were changed,

the state law still excludessexual orientation and gen-der identity from classesprotected from discrimina-tion. And local governmentsare still precluded frompassing anti-discriminationlaws that go further.

Below is a look at signif-icant provisions of the exec-utive order, along with mea-sures in state law that re-main unchanged.

PROTECTIONS FOR STATE EM-PLOYEES

McCrory added protec-tion for gender identity and

sexual orientation to an an-tidiscrimination policy cov-ering state employees. He al-so affirmed the ability ofprivate businesses and localgovernments to create non-discrimination policies fortheir own employees.

Brook said that privatebusinesses have always beenable to create nondiscrimi-nation policies that go be-yond state law, and he notedthat the state law passed inMarch already appeared togive local governments theability to set policies fortheir own employees.

THE BATHROOM DEBATE McCrory isn’t asking the

legislature to change theprovision of the law regard-ing transgender people’s ac-cess to bathrooms.

Essentially, the law re-quires government agenciesto direct men and boys tomulti-stall restrooms andlocker rooms designated foruse by people born as male,and keep women and girlsin those designated for peo-ple born female.

A look at the LGBT law

In this Dec. 2, 2015, file photo,Gov. Pat McCrory kicks off hisre-election campaign.

Photo by Scott Hoffmann | AP

By JONATHAN DREW AND GARY D. ROBERTSON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO —Looking for new ways toengage with its audience,Facebook says people whouse its Messenger chat ser-vice will soon be able to or-der flowers, shop for shoesand talk with a variety ofbusinesses by sendingthem direct text messages.

And soon, if you haven’t“chatted” with those busi-nesses on Messenger in awhile, they’ll be able tosend you a paid messagethat offers a special deal orencourages you to buy aproduct you liked before.

CEO Mark Zuckerbergused Facebook’s annualsoftware conference Tues-day to describe its latestinitiatives at a time whensome reports indicate peo-ple may be sharing lesspersonal information onthe social network — ei-ther because of privacyconcerns or the growingappeal of competing apps.

Analysts say that under-scores the importance forFacebook of adding morefeatures to its growing chatservices: It needs to keeppeople engaged — and con-tinue to learn about theirinterests for advertisingpurposes.

But Zuckerberg also reit-erated Facebook’s goals forconnecting people aroundthe world, adding a jab thatseemed directed at thelikes of Republican presi-dential front-runner Do-nald Trump and otherswho have called for crack-ing down on immigrationand rebuffing refugees.

“As I look around theworld, I’m starting to seepeople and nations turninginward,” Zuckerberg saidat one point during a key-note speech that mostly fo-cused on new software ini-tiatives. “I hear fearfulvoices calling for buildingwalls and distancing peo-

ple they label as ‘others.’ Ihear them calling forblocking free expression,for slowing immigration,for reducing trade, and insome cases even for cuttingaccess to the Internet.”

Zuckerberg went on tosay he prefers optimismover fear and believes tech-nology should be used “tobuild bridges” instead ofwalls. The billionaire techmogul has previouslybacked efforts to ease U.S.immigration restrictionsand provide more Internetaccess in developing coun-tries.

Most of Zuckerberg’stalk, meanwhile, was fo-cused on new ways thatpeople can use chat servic-es, live video and even vir-tual reality technology tohelp people communicate.

With its new emphasison chatting with business-es, Facebook is joining sev-eral tech companies work-ing to promote the use ofintelligent software pro-grams known as “chat-bots,” which let businessesinteract with customers inconversational language.Microsoft recently an-nounced a similar effortwith its Skype service, butFacebook appears furtheralong.

Facebook already hasmore than 30 companiessigned up to deploy chat-bots on Messenger, includ-ing major corporations likeCNN, eBay, Burger Kingand Bank of America.Facebook is also releasingprogramming tools thatother companies can use tobuild their own chatbotsfor Messenger.

“We think you shouldjust be able to message abusiness the same way thatyou message a friend,”Zuckerberg said, notingmany people hate the expe-rience of calling businesseson the phone.

Facebook is also makingit easier for individuals tocontact businesses bysearching for their botswithin Messenger or click-ing on an ad in Facebook’sregular news stream. ButVice President David Mar-cus said the companywants to be careful not toannoy users by filling theMessenger app with unso-licited spam.

Facebook is testing aprogram that charges busi-nesses for the opportunityto send a “sponsored mess-age,” but they’ll only beable to contact people whoare existing customers orhave already messaged the

business, Marcus said. In-dividuals on Messengerwill be able to block futuremessages from a businessat any time.

That’s consistent withthe conservative approachFacebook has used to grad-ually introduce paid videoads on its main platformand commercials on its In-stagram photo-sharing ser-vice. The company doesn’twant to risk driving peopleaway with too many an-noying ads, Marcus said.

“It’s a very high-quality,personal environment,” hesaid in an interview. “Wewant to keep it that way.”

The effort comes asmore people are embracingthe Internet chat serviceand its competitors. Mess-enger now has 900 millionactive users worldwide,while WhatsApp, anotherchat service owned byFacebook, claims 1 billion.

“More and more of ourmobile time is spent with-in messaging,” said KenSena, an investment ana-lyst at Evercore ISI, whoexamined the apps in a re-cent report. He’s one ofseveral analysts who saythey believe consumerswould prefer talking to abusiness within the mess-aging app they’re alreadyusing, rather than down-load a separate app andcreate another user nameand password for eachbusiness.

That’s already a popularmodel in some Asian coun-tries, where people useChina’s WeChat, Japan’sLine and other texting ser-vices to schedule doctor’sappointments, pay formeals, order merchandiseor send gifts to theirfriends.

Facebook Inc. is also re-leasing a host of other toolsfor developers to buildapps that work with its ser-vices, including softwarefor streaming video fromdrones and other gadgets.

Facebook shows new ways to chat at annual conference

Ime Archibong, Facebook director of product partnerships, duringthe keynote address at the F8 Facebook Developer Conference.

Photo by Eric Risberg | AP

By BRANDON BAILEYASSOCIATED PRESS

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST YTDName Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg

YTDName Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg

AT&T Inc 1.92 5.0 17 38.67 +.28 +12.4

Alcoa .12 1.3 26 9.48 -.26 -4.0

AEP 2.24 3.4 21 66.31 +.63 +13.8

BkofAm .20 1.5 10 13.27 +.30 -21.2

B iPVixST ... ... ... 18.12 -.64 -9.9

Caterpillar 3.08 4.0 15 76.10 +1.47 +12.0

ChesEng ... ... ... 6.05 +1.55 +34.4

CCFemsa 1.98 2.4 ... 83.66 +2.40 +18.1

CmtyHlt ... ... 10 18.53 +.27 -30.2

ConocoPhil 1.00 2.3 ... 43.47 +2.28 -6.9

Dillards .28 .4 11 73.12 +.09 +11.3

DirDGldBr ... ... ... 2.06 -.05 -87.5

EmpIca ... ... ... .94 +.00 +22.2

ExxonMbl 2.92 3.5 22 84.35 +1.03 +8.2

FordM .60 4.7 7 12.81 +.15 -9.1

FrptMcM ... ... ... 10.43 +.67 +54.1

GenElec .92 3.0 ... 30.81 +.10 -1.1

HP Inc .50 4.1 11 12.22 +.09 +3.2

HomeDp 2.76 2.1 25 134.38 +1.37 +1.6

iShEMkts .84 2.4 ... 34.33 +.52 +6.6

Intel 1.04 3.3 14 31.86 +.19 -7.5

IntlBcsh .58 2.4 12 24.19 +.46 -5.9

IBM 5.20 3.5 10 149.63 +.38 +8.7

Lowes 1.12 1.5 23 75.73 +.58 -.4

Lubys ... ... ... 4.95 +.15 +10.7

MetLife 1.50 3.5 10 43.16 +.73 -10.5

MexicoFd 1.81 ... ... 17.34 +.19 +4.3

Microsoft 1.44 2.6 35 54.65 +.34 -1.5

Modine ... ... ... 10.39 -.06 +14.8

Penney ... ... ... 9.75 -.04 +46.4

Petrobras ... ... ... 6.43 +.54 +49.5

S&P500ETF 4.13 2.0 ... 205.92 +1.90 +1.0

SanchezEn ... ... ... 6.92 +.47 +60.6

Schlmbrg 2.00 2.6 23 75.90 +2.02 +8.8

SearsHldgs ... ... ... 14.95 +.51 -27.3

SonyCp ... ... ... 27.97 +.99 +13.7

UnionPac 2.20 2.8 15 79.64 +.95 +1.8

USSteel .20 1.1 ... 17.62 +.29 +120.8

UnivHlthS .40 .3 18 122.49 +.75 +2.5

Vale SA .29 5.5 ... 5.32 +.44 +61.7

WalMart 2.00 2.9 15 68.80 +1.40 +12.2

WellsFargo 1.50 3.1 12 47.77 +.74 -12.1

STOCK MARKET INDEXES

MONEY RATES CURRENCIES

MUTUAL FUNDS

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Prime Rate

Discount Rate

Federal Funds Rate

Treasuries

3-month

6-month

5-year

10-year

30-year

DAILY DOW JONES

18,351.36 15,370.33 Dow Industrials 17,721.25 +164.84 +.94 +1.70 -1.75

8,953.18 6,403.31 Dow Transportation 7,758.69 +59.20 +.77 +3.33 -10.80

672.28 539.96 Dow Utilities 662.77 +5.26 +.80 +14.70 +12.76

11,254.87 8,937.99 NYSE Composite 10,238.69 +124.11 +1.23 +.94 -7.83

5,231.94 4,209.76 Nasdaq Composite 4,872.09 +38.69 +.80 -2.70 -2.11

947.85 809.57 S&P 100 915.50 +8.93 +.98 +.45 -.08

2,134.72 1,810.10 S&P 500 2,061.72 +19.73 +.97 +.87 -1.63

1,551.28 1,215.14 S&P MidCap 1,439.75 +14.94 +1.05 +2.94 -5.96

22,537.15 18,462.43 Wilshire 5000 21,228.87 +207.63 +.99 +.29 -4.46

1,296.00 943.09 Russell 2000 1,105.71 +11.37 +1.04 -2.66 -12.62

52-Week YTD 12-moHigh Low Name Last Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg

3.50 3.50

1.00 1.00

.25-.50 .25-.50

0.22 0.19

0.34 0.27

1.21 1.18

1.78 1.72

2.60 2.55

Last PvsWeek

THE MARKET IN REVIEW

AB GlbThmtGrA m WS 483 84.41 +2.8 -8.7/D +1.8/E 4.25 2,500

Columbia ComInfoA m ST 2,780 54.98 +1.1 +2.7/A +11.2/B 5.75 2,000

Eaton Vance WldwHealA m SH 887 11.11 +2.3 -10.4/B +16.1/D 5.75 1,000

Fidelity Select Biotech d SH 9,957 173.83 +6.9 -27.7/E +23.3/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select BrokInv d SF 335 57.80 -1.8 -18.0/E +4.5/D NL 2,500

Fidelity Select CommEq d ST 180 27.48 -1.0 -12.0/E +2.0/E NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Computer d ST 420 68.27 +2.2 -12.2/E +6.4/E NL 2,500

Fidelity Select ConsFin d SF 90 11.65 +1.7 -10.9/D +10.1/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Electron d ST 1,474 75.34 +0.7 -3.2/C +11.9/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select FinSvc d SF 1,098 79.87 +0.9 -9.2/C +6.4/C NL 2,500

Fidelity Select SwreITSvcs d ST 3,214 118.82 +2.9 +6.2/A +15.2/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Tech d ST 2,998 116.86 +3.4 -0.9/B +9.5/C NL 2,500

T Rowe Price SciTech ST 2,946 33.37 +2.1 -0.6/B +10.0/B NL 2,500

Vanguard HlthCare SH 10,810 199.51 +0.4 -6.7/A +18.0/B NL 3,000

Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m ST 3,005 12.34 +1.7 -17.3/E +9.8/C 5.75 750

Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min InitName Obj ($Mlns) NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -ForeignLargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, ST - Technology, WS -World Stock, TotalReturn: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, Ein bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source:Morningstar.

NYSE10,238.69 +124.11

NASDAQ 4,872.09 +38.69

Volume

Name Vol (00) Last ChgSiriusXM 511466 3.86 +.05

HorizPhm 462200 13.42 -4.80

Cisco 268095 27.64 +.02

Apple Inc 267702 110.44 +1.42

Facebook 258844 110.61 +1.62

MicronT 253089 10.17 -.28

Microsoft 242529 54.65 +.34

Starbucks s 171708 59.50 -1.40

IntgDv 167210 20.22 +.79

Intel 163617 31.86 +.19

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg%ChgLegcyR pfB 4.39 +1.12 +34.3

LegcyR pf 4.26 +1.02 +31.5

LibtyGlobB 40.42 +9.08 +29.0

HighpwrInt 2.35 +.39 +19.9

VanNR pfB 3.47 +.50 +16.8

AmElTech 2.34 +.31 +15.3

VanNR pfC 3.27 +.43 +15.1

VoyagerT n 10.98 +1.34 +13.9

EV Engy 2.41 +.29 +13.7

Breitbrn pf 5.14 +.60 +13.2

Name Last Chg%ChgHorizPhm 13.42 -4.80 -26.3

OptimB rs 4.01 -.76 -15.9

T2 Biosys 9.15 -1.45 -13.7

DragonW rs 5.93 -.81 -12.0

TechComm 2.50 -.27 -9.8

StarBulk19 14.42 -1.55 -9.7

Net1UEPS 10.71 -.97 -8.3

XteraCm n 2.69 -.24 -8.2

MitekSys 5.62 -.49 -8.0

EntertG rs 2.07 -.18 -7.9

DIARYAdvanced 1,876

Declined 909

Unchanged 178

Total issues 2,963

New Highs 34

New Lows 27

1,715,993,542

Name Vol (00) Last ChgChesEng 1814820 6.05 +1.55

BkofAm 972175 13.27 +.30

Alcoa 654390 9.48 -.26

FrptMcM 580141 10.43 +.67

Vale SA 570826 5.32 +.44

Petrobras 564759 6.43 +.54

WhitingPet 445644 10.89 +1.37

MarathnO 435837 13.12 +1.45

Pfizer 409437 31.96 +.07

SeadrillLtd 339988 3.83 +.75

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg%ChgChesEng 6.05 +1.55 +34.4

BonanzaCE 2.49 +.63 +33.9

DenburyR 3.23 +.67 +26.2

SeadrillLtd 3.83 +.75 +24.4

SM Energy 25.48 +4.84 +23.4

ChesEn pfD 25.57 +4.57 +21.8

Tidwtr 7.97 +1.41 +21.5

SiderurNac 3.12 +.54 +20.9

EP Energy 4.85 +.78 +19.2

W&T Off 2.54 +.39 +18.1

Name Last Chg%ChgDrxCySBull 24.96 -6.66 -21.1

DxSPOGBr s 8.92 -2.22 -19.9

DrxNGBear 14.84 -2.89 -16.3

Och-Ziff 3.30 -.50 -13.2

CSVInvNG 18.31 -2.68 -12.8

PrUSOGEx 21.65 -2.83 -11.6

CSVInvCrd 111.80-14.39 -11.4

DxEnBear 19.71 -1.92 -8.9

DxRsaBr rs 16.08 -1.58 -8.9

ETrMLPSht 14.55 -1.39 -8.7

DIARYAdvanced 2,444

Declined 621

Unchanged 104

Total issues 3,169

New Highs 124

New Lows 10

4,140,602,457Volume

STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Latefiling with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 per-cent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within thelast year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemptionfee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s= fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.

Australia 1.3008 1.3144

Britain 1.4273 1.4236

Canada 1.2753 1.2891

Euro .8774 .8763

Japan 108.53 107.94

Mexico 17.4440 17.6001

Switzerlnd .9549 .9538

Last Pvs Day

British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. Allothers show dollar in foreign currency.

uu uu

15,500

16,000

16,500

17,000

17,500

18,000

O AN D J F M

17,480

17,660

17,840Dow Jones industrialsClose: 17,721.25Change: 164.84 (0.9%)

10 DAYS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

NEW YORK — Stocksposted solid gains on Tues-day, led by energy compa-nies after news reports saidSaudi Arabia and Russiawere working toward anagreement to cut oil pro-duction. Investors alsoworked through the initialbatch of earnings from thefirst quarter of the year.

The Dow Jones industri-al average rose 164.84points, or 0.9 percent, to17,721.25. The Standard &Poor’s 500 index climbed19.73 points, or 1 percent, to2,061.72 and the Nasdaqcomposite increased 38.69points, or 0.8 percent, to4,872.09.

Corporate earnings gotunderway on a weak noteafter Alcoa, the aluminummining giant, reported a 15percent decline in revenuelate Monday. Alcoa also hada huge drop in first-quarterprofit from a year earlieras aluminum prices fell. Al-coa’s stock fell 26 cents, or2.7 percent, to $9.48.

Later this week big U.S.banks will start releasingtheir results, includingJPMorgan Chase, Citi-group and Wells Fargo. In-vestors will be watchingthe banks to see how wellthey’ve weathered the mar-ket’s recent volatility andlow oil prices earlier thisyear. Banks are often seenas a proxy for how the U.S.economy is doing.

“It’s not going to be aclean earnings season forfinancials at all,” said PeterStournaras, a portfoliomanager at BlackRock.“The banks have sufferedfrom fears about oil loans,but those fears are over-blown.”

Expectations for earn-ings are low this quarter.Analysts surveyed by Fact-Set expect corporate profitsto be down 9.1 percent froma year ago, hurt primarilyby the steep drop in oil

prices and other commodi-ties. The entire energy sec-tor is expected to report aloss this quarter, accordingto FactSet.

“Earnings will paint animportant picture over thenext few weeks, but themore important story isthe continued improvementin the macroeconomic envi-ronment here in the U.S.and globally,” said RyanLarson, head of U.S. equitytrading at RBC Global As-set Management in Chica-go.

Oil prices moved sharplyhigher after Russian offi-cials told Interfax, the Rus-sian news agency, that theyplanned to reach a dealwith Saudi Arabia to cutoil production. OPEC min-isters meet this Sunday inDoha, Qatar.

Benchmark U.S. crudeoil climbed $1.81, or 4.5 per-cent, at $42.17 a barrel inNew York. Brent crude, theinternational standard,rose $1.86 to $44.69 a barrelin London.

Energy stocks, whichhave been beaten down inrecent months, followed theprice of crude oil higher.The energy component ofthe S&P 500 jumped almost3 percent.

U.S. government bondprices fell. The yield on the10-year Treasury note roseto 1.77 percent from 1.73percent late Monday. Theeuro fell to $1.1397 from$1.1412 while the dollarrose to 108.53 yen from107.94 yen.

In other energy com-modities, heating oil rose 6cents to $1.276 a gallon,wholesale gasoline rose 3cents to $1.534 a gallon andnatural gas rose 9 cents to$2.004 per thousand cubicfeet.

Precious and industrialmetals prices closed broad-ly higher. Gold gained $2.90to $1,260.90 an ounce, silverrose 25 cents to $16.22 anounce and copper climbedsix cents to $2.15 a pound.

This April 22, 2010, file photo, shows a Wall Street sign in front ofthe New York Stock Exchange.

Photo by Mark Lennihan | AP file

Gains in theenergy sector

lift stocksBy KEN SWEET

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — The 2016Ford F-150 is the only full-size pickup truck to scorethe top rating in newfront crash tests perform-ed by the insurance indus-try.

Rival pickups fromChevrolet, GMC, Ram andToyota didn’t fare as well,according to results re-leased Tuesday by the In-surance Institute forHighway Safety.

The institute evaluated2016 models in a smalloverlap crash test, whichreplicates what happenswhen a vehicle runs offthe road and a portion ofits front end hits a tree ora pole at 40 miles perhour.

The tests evaluatedboth crew cab and extend-ed cab versions of eachtruck, since those are themost popular body styles.A crew cab has four fulldoors and two full rows ofseating. An extended cabhas two full front doors,two small rear doors andsmaller second-row seats.

The institute also eval-uated different body stylesbecause past tests haveshown varying results. Intests last year, the 2015F-150 SuperCab — the ex-tended cab version of theF-150 — lacked some ofthe structural elements ofthe larger F-150 Super-Crew so it got lower safety

ratings. Ford responded by add-

ing reinforcements to the2016 SuperCab, includinghigh-strength steel tubesin the wheel wells andaluminum rocker panelson the sides that help ab-sorb energy from a crash.Ford also added nylon re-inforcements to the doorhinges. With those en-hancements, both ver-sions of the F-150 nowhave the institute’s high-est safety rating of“good.”

The results were a vin-dication for Ford MotorCo., which switched to alightweight aluminumbody on the F-150 in the2015 model year in orderto increase fuel economy.Ford was the first auto-

maker to move away froma steel body on its pick-ups, and some had ques-tioned whether aluminumwould perform as well.

Crash test results var-ied for other brands. Theextended cab versions ofthe Chevrolet Silverado,GMC Sierra and ToyotaTundra, for example, allperformed better than thelarger crew cab versions.But the institute said allof them failed to protectthe crash test dummy’slower leg and foot. Nonegot the highest safety rat-ing.

Toyota Motor Corp. isevaluating the results,spokeswoman CindyKnight said. She stressedthat the Tundra meets orexceeds all federal safety

requirements. The insti-tute performs a differentset of tests than federalregulators.

Both versions of theRam pickup were theworst performers on thesmall overlap test. The in-stitute said the trucks hada poor structure and theforce of the crash pushedthe instrument panel andsteering wheel back to-ward the dummy. A mess-age seeking comment wasleft with Fiat Chrysler.

The institute also testedroof strength to see howwell the pickups wouldprotect an occupant in arollover crash. Roofstrength is especially crit-ical for pickup trucks,since studies have shownthat pickup drivers areless likely to wear seatbelts. A crushed roof canbreak window glass anddoors and make it morelikely that an unbelted oc-cupant will be thrownfrom the vehicle.

The F-150, both Silvera-dos, both Sierras and theTundra Double Cab — theextended version of theTundra — all got the high-est ratings for roofstrength. The TundraCrewMax crew cab andboth Rams got lower rat-ings.

The institute said itplans to test two morefull-size pickup trucks,the Nissan Titan and theHonda Ridgeline, laterthis year after both are re-designed.

Ford F-150 gets highest ratingBy DEE-ANN DURBIN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The 2016 Ford F-150 with 5.0-liter Ti-VCT V8 engine rolls off theline at Kansas City Assembly Plant.

Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company | AP

WASHINGTON —World finance officialswho meet in Washingtonthis week confront a bleakpicture: Eight years afterthe financial crisis erupt-ed, the global economy re-mains fragile and at riskof another recession.

“Growth has been tooslow for too long,” Maur-ice Obstfeld, chief econo-mist of the InternationalMonetary Fund, warnedon the eve of the springmeetings of the IMF, theWorld Bank and the Groupof 20 major economiesThursday through Satur-day.

The IMF on Tuesdaydowngraded its outlook forgrowth for most regionsand for the global econo-my as a whole. It now fore-sees a weaker financiallandscape than it did inJanuary. Like the WorldBank and the Organiza-tion for Economic Cooper-ation and Development,the IMF has repeatedlyoverestimated the strengthof the world economy inthe aftermath of the 2008

financial crisis. Problems span the

globe. China’s sharp slow-down has hurt commodity-exporting countries bydriving down demand foreverything from iron oreto coal. Prices of raw mate-rials have sunk as a result.

A rising dollar haspinched American facto-ries by making their goodsmore expensive in foreignmarkets and contributingto a sharp deceleration inU.S. growth since late 2015.The 19 countries that usethe euro currency havestruggled to gain any mo-mentum despite aggressiveeasy-money policies fromthe European CentralBank. Japan’s economy ishobbled by consumers wa-ry of spending.

Obstfeld expressed con-cern about volatility in fi-nancial markets, the refu-gee crisis caused by vio-lence in the Middle Eastand the possibility that theUnited Kingdom will leavethe European Union — aprospect that could under-cut Europe’s political andeconomic stability.

In the United States andEurope, Obstfeld said that

“a backlash against cross-border economic integra-tion threatens to halt oreven reverse the postwartrend of ever more opentrade.”

The dangers could “pullthe world economy belowstalling speed,” Obstfeldsaid.

Experts have been con-founded since the financialcrisis by trends that insome ways have defied eco-nomic history. Wageshaven’t risen significantlyin advanced economieseven though unemploy-ment has fallen. Inflationhas remained dangerouslysubpar despite ultra-lowborrowing rates engi-neered by major centralbanks. And those histori-cally low loan rates haveyet to encourage business-es to step up investmentmeaningfully.

One especially pressingconcern: With rates al-ready low and governmentdebts high, many coun-tries wouldn’t have muchammunition to fight an-other recession should oneoccur.

Obstfeld issued an ur-gent warning for countries

to make a pre-emptive ef-fort to jump-start theireconomies through contin-ued low rates, governmentspending that encouragesgrowth and reforms thatpromote economic efficien-cy.

“There is no longermuch room for error,” hesaid.

The IMF foresees globalgrowth of 3.2 percent thisyear, down from the 3.4percent it predicted in Jan-uary. Still, even the scaled-back forecast would markan improvement over lastyear’s 3.1 percent growth,the slowest pace since therecession year of 2009.

The agency cut its fore-cast for 2016 economicgrowth in the UnitedStates to 2.4 percent from2.6 percent; Japan to 0.5percent from 1 percent;and the 19-country euro-zone to 1.5 percent from 1.7percent.

The IMF did raise itsgrowth forecast for Chinato 6.5 percent from the 6.3percent it predicted in Jan-uary. It cited resilient con-sumer demand and fastgrowth in Chinese servic-es industries.

Officials face fragile economyBy PAUL WISEMANASSOCIATED PRESS

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES International WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

MEXICO CITY — Mex-ico’s National HumanRights Commission saidTuesday that most of thecountry’s prisons are ill-equipped, overcrowdedand dangerous.

A report by the govern-mental commission saidthat of 130 state prisonsinspected, 95 lack ade-quate guards and staffand 104 fail to adequatelyseparate convicted in-mates from people facingtrial.

The most shocking partof the report was the over-crowding found at 71 ofthe 130 penitentiaries.Commission PresidentLuis Raul Gonzalez saidas many as 30 inmateswere found living in cellsdesigned for four people.

Inmates were found tobe partly in control ofmore than half the pris-ons, the report added.

In February, a brawl be-tween inmates armedwith hammers, cudgelsand makeshift knives atthe Topo Chico prison re-sulted in 49 deaths. Gon-zalez said the governmentshould not “wait untilsomething else serioushappens at a prison toturn its attention” to theproblems.

Gonzalez said therehad been only “minimal”improvement over the lastyear in the 247,000-inmateprison system. The reportsaid only one of Mexico’s31 states had acceptableconditions at its prisons.

The commission said itfound similar problems atMexico’s 21 federal pris-ons, although it said thosefacilities were somewhatbetter than the state pris-ons.

Conditions had im-proved slightly at thecountry’s highest securityprison, the Altiplano peni-tentiary west of MexicoCity, where drug lord Joa-quin “El Chapo” Guzmanis being held, the reportsaid. It said there was lessovercrowding and controlhad improved at the facil-ity, from which Guzmanescaped last July, beforebeing recaptured and re-turned in January.

The report said Altipla-no was built to hold 836inmates and holds 1,018.

“A federal prison, whenit is overcrowded, the firstthing that goes is its max-imum-security status,”said commission inspec-tor Ruth Villanueva.“That is something thathas been the focus of at-tention. They are workingon it and it’s gettingfixed.”

In this Sept. 14, 2008 file photo, relatives and friends of inmatesstand outside La Mesa state penitentiary.

Photo by Guillermo Arias | AP file

Most Mexicanprisons dirty,overcrowded

By MARIA VERZAASSOCIATED PRESS

BUENOS AIRES, Argen-tina — Corruption allega-tions always swirledaround former PresidentCristina Fernandez duringher two terms in office,but they never stuck.

Now, the walls seem tobe closing on the fierypopulist leader who typi-cally criticized those whodared to question hermanagement and ethics.In the past week, a federalprosecutor has asked thatshe be included in a wid-ening investigation intomoney laundering. Herformer transportation sec-retary and a businessmanwith close ties to her fam-ily were arrested in sepa-rate corruption probesthat could implicate her. Aseparate money-launder-ing probe into hotels own-ed by her family has beenrelaunched.

To top it off, she hasbeen called to testifyWednesday in an allegedscheme to manipulate Ar-gentina’s currency, mark-ing the first time she hasbeen legally summoned inan investigation againsther.

“This has happened allof a sudden,” said SergioBerensztein, a local politi-cal analyst and pollster.“Four months ago, Cristi-na (Fernandez) was stillone of the most powerfulpeople in Argentina.”

But then, she was suc-ceeded in the presidencyin December by a conser-vative political rival,Mauricio Macri, the for-mer Buenos Aires mayorand son of one of the coun-try’s richest businessmen.

Fernandez and her latehusband and predecessor,Nestor Kirchner, had beenthe most dominant politi-cal leaders to come out ofArgentina in decades andare often credited with lift-ing the country out of itsworst economic crisis in2001. But detractors saytheir social policies con-tributed to spiraling infla-tion and criticize her com-bative rhetoric, the cou-ple’s personal enrichment,and their ties to scandals.She always dismissed the

accusations as lies by thepress or defamations byenemies aimed at discred-iting the achievements oftheir collective 12 years inpower.

While the corruptioncases seem to be gettingcloser to Fernandez, shehasn’t been formallycharged with as a suspectin any crime. When shedecided not to run for an-other office last year —such as senator, a movethat would have affordedher certain immunities —her supporters said itshowed she had nothing tohide.

“Of course, we thinkthis all goes back to politi-cal motives,” said DanielFilmus, a Fernandez allyand former Argentine edu-cation minister. “This isrevenge by sectors thatwere punished by the poli-tics of economic growthand social equality thatwere led by Cristina.”

Since Fernandez endedher term in December, thenew administration haspromised to crack downon the corruption that haslong plagued Argentina.Analysts say that has em-boldened judges who arenow more independent topursue sensitive casesagainst the former leaderand her close circle with-out fear of retribution.

“When Fernandez waspresident, she exercisedpower very forcefully andeveryone was scared,” Be-rensztein said. “But thisfear has dissipated.”

A once seemingly un-touchable friend of thepresidential couple was ar-rested last week as soon ashe landed in his private jetat a Buenos Aires airport.Lazaro Baez, a millionairebusinessman who got pub-lic works contracts duringthe Kirchner and Fernan-dez administrations, is ac-cused of embezzling andlaundering about $5 mil-lion. When brought beforea judge, he refused to testi-fy and remains jailed.

Prosecutors began look-ing into Baez after a 2013journalistic investigationnamed him as Kirchner’sfigurehead in an elaboratescheme. The news reportsaid Baez used his compa-

nies to launder money forthe former presidents.

Argentines are accus-tomed to corruption scan-dals that grab headlinesbefore becoming lost inslow-moving investiga-tions. But even in a coun-try that ranked 107 out of167 on Transparency Inter-national’s annual corrup-tion index last year, manyArgentines were shockedby recent images on localTV that showed one ofBaez’s sons and otherscounting wads of cash at acompany under investiga-tion.

Prosecutors have saidthey are looking into thefinancial transactions atseveral top hotels ownedby the Kirchner family inthe southern province ofSanta Cruz, where Fernan-dez has been living sinceshe stepped down from of-fice. Local news reportssay the hotels are usuallyempty, raising questionsabout how they generatethe income they report.

Fernandez remains pop-ular with many Argen-tines. She traveled onMonday to Buenos Airesahead of testimony shewas ordered to give onWednesday. Fernandez issuspected of being part ofa scheme to keep the Ar-gentine peso inflated byselling derivatives belowmarket value. The salesled to a sharp drop in cen-tral bank reserves.

Her supporters say thatthe courts should insteadfocus on other formerpresidents and even Ar-gentina’s current leader.

“In this country wehave corruption cases thatgo back all the way to the1990s,” said Roberto Bac-man, a political analystand director of the Centerfor Public Opinion Stud-ies, a South American re-search firm. “It’s strangethat justice is rushingthings just now.”

Former President Car-los Menem’s status as alawmaker has protectedhim from imprisonment,including a 4 1/2-year sen-tence for embezzlementand a 7-year sentence forweapons smuggling. Earli-er this year, he declined totestify in a case in which

he is accused of derailingthe investigation into Ar-gentina’s worst terroristattack.

Macri, who campaignedon promises to root outcorruption, has recentlydrawn attention for hisrole in two offshore com-panies, including one thatemerged in the recent“Panama Papers” leak. Hesaid last week that he willset up a blind trust tomake his finances trans-parent, and he has beencareful in comments aboutFernandez.

When asked about Fer-nandez during an inter-view with The AssociatedPress last month, Macrinoted she had not beencharged with anything.But he said he would notstand in the way of any in-vestigation.

Hugo Ron, who owns anewspaper stand in down-town Buenos Aires,doesn’t think much of anyof them.

“It seems like every-thing is dirty,” he said.“There are no clean poli-ticians.”

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner waves to supporters upon her arrival at Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aireson April 11. Kirchner returns to the Argentine capital to face the first of an expanding series of corruption allegations against her.

Photo by Juan Mabromata/AFP | Getty Images

Corruption probes closing inBy LUIS ANDRES HENAO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

ing gang leaders like Chapa in Tex-as, and particularly North Texas, aregion the cartels over the yearshave used as a jumping off point tospread their drug distribution net-work. The Dallas region, fed byseveral freeways and small air-ports, allows for direct routes intothe Midwest and beyond.

Ledezma-Cepeda and the twoother defendants are scheduled tostand trial later this month oncharges including conspiracy tocommit murder for hire and inter-state stalking.

One of Ledezma-Cepeda’s attor-neys, Wes Ball, said Chapa headedthe Gulf Cartel in a transitional orinterim capacity. Federal author-ities have said Chapa was Carde-nas-Guillen’s lawyer and a princi-ple figure in the cartel’s operation.

Cartels often have lower-levelmembers living in the U.S. tobroaden drug-trafficking efforts,Russ Baer, a spokesman for the

U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminis-tration, said in a statement. Theseoperatives are usually in the statesfor limited periods and then rotat-ed back to Mexico to avoid law en-forcement scrutiny.

However, upper-level leaders usu-ally do not live in the U.S. due tothe increased likelihood of capture,Baer said.

Ball added that the trial for thethree men charged in Chapa’sdeath could offer a rare look intocartel operations.

“Most of your cartel heads nevergo to trial, they almost alwaysplead guilty,” Ball said. “So publictrials where all the nitty gritty de-tails are laid out is actually prettyrare.”

Chapa’s death near Dallas in2013 came the same month as theconviction in Austin of the brotherof two top leaders for a competingcartel.

Jose Trevino Morales and others

used proceeds from U.S. drug salesto purchase American quarterhorses and launder the money.Court records show the operationwas based out of suburban Dallas,and Trevino Morales was found tohave invested $16 million of drugmoney in the buying, training andracing of horses across the South-west United States.

Trevino Morales is the brotherof two former leaders of the Zetas,an organization that has expandedbeyond the drug trade to becomethe biggest criminal group in Mex-ico. One of the men was capturedin 2013 by Mexican authorities andthe other two years later.

In another case, Juan FranciscoSaenz-Tamez was arrested by fed-eral agents in 2014 while shoppingin the South Texas city of Edin-burg. The U.S. Drug EnforcementAdministration has said Saenz-Ta-mez was a leader of the Gulf Car-tel.

CARTEL Continued from Page 1A

site.Last September, more than

3,800 federal, state and localagencies colleted more than702,365 pounds of unused, ex-pired or unwanted drugs atmore than 5,000 collectionsites nationwide, accordingto the DEA website.

“The numbers are shock-ing — approximately 46,000Americans die each yearfrom drug-related deaths.More than half of those arefrom heroin and prescriptionopioids,” said Acting DEA

Administrator Chuck Rosen-berg.

“With four out of five newheroin users starting withprescription medications, Iknow our take-back programmakes a real difference.”

The service is free andanonymous — no questionsasked.

For more information, call800-882-9539 or visit www.dea-.gov.

(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

DEA Continued from Page 1A

nearby creek, the Sheriff ’s Of-fice said.

Deputies canvassed the areaand located a man matchingthe description of the suspect,who was later identified asGary Alaniz, 24.

“After matching the foot-prints on the ground to Ala-niz’s shoes, Alaniz was ques-tioned about the incident andadmitted to being the individ-ual suspected,” states a Sher-

iff ’s Office news release.Alaniz was charged with

theft, a Class B misdemeanorpunishable with up to 180days in jail or a $2,000 fine orboth. Custody records showAlaniz was behind bars at theZapata County Regional Jailon Tuesday.

The case remains open.(César G. Rodriguez may be

reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

THEFT Continued from Page 1A

Leal allegedly “grabbed the mi-nor by the throat and sat himdown on the couch followed by

slapping him across the face andpulling and twisting his ears,”states the report.

(César G. Rodriguez may bereached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

CHILD Continued from Page 1A

WASHINGTON — In a ru-ral stretch of Kentucky, voterspicked up the phone in Marchto hear President Barack Oba-ma on the line, urging them tovote for a little-known Demo-crat named Jeff Taylor.

That an obscure specialelection for a Kentucky Houseseat had caught the president’sattention seemed odd. Yet Tay-lor won, joining two other vic-torious Democrats to deny Re-publicans the chance to takeover the last Democratic-runlegislative chamber in theSouth.

Though he’s staying neutralin the Democratic presidentialrace, Obama is wading deepinto Democratic primaries forCongress, state legislature andeven mayoral races, cherry-picking candidates he sees asstronger while preparing tocampaign in person for Demo-crats in the fall.

Democratic officials saidObama and Vice President JoeBiden are in high demand thisyear —a sharp reversal fromjust two years ago, when Oba-ma was politically toxic. MostDemocratic candidates in 2014practically begged Obama andhis sagging poll numbers tostay away, relegating the presi-dent to a few Democrat-friend-ly states like Michigan.

This year, upbeat economicnews and rising approval rat-ings have increased his valueto Democrats in the last elec-tion cycle before he leaves of-fice.

“You’re going to see ever-in-creasing requests for Obamaand Biden to campaign forcandidates this year,” saidAmy Dacey, the CEO of theDemocratic National Commit-tee.

So far this year, Obama hasendorsed candidates in nineraces, in addition to four heendorsed last year. He’s backedformer Gov. Ted Strickland forSenate in Ohio over Cincinna-ti councilman P.G. Sittenfeld,and he came to the aid of Rep.Debbie Wasserman Schultz,who faces a surprisinglystrong primary challenge de-spite being the chairwoman ofthe Democratic Party.

Obama and Biden also en-dorsed Katie McGinty inPennsylvania, who faces anuphill battle to defeat formerRep. Joe Sestak in the Demo-cratic primary for Senate. TheDemocratic Senatorial Cam-paign Committee, whichworks to elect Senate Demo-crats, touted the endorsementsin a television ad releasedTuesday as part of a $1.1 mil-lion campaign.

In Florida, Obama sidedwith Rep. Patrick Murphyover Rep. Alan Grayson, a fa-vorite of the liberal wing ofthe Democratic Party who isunder scrutiny by the HouseEthics Committee. The twoDemocrats are running foroutgoing GOP Sen. Marco Ru-bio’s seat.

All the Senate candidatesObama has endorsed have alsobeen endorsed by the DSCC, a

wing of the Democratic Party.“It’s mirroring what’s going

on with Hillary Clinton andBernie Sanders, where the es-tablishment Democrats arebacking different candidatesthan their liberal, progressivebase wants,” said Andrea Bo-zek, communications directorfor the National RepublicanSenatorial Committee. Bozekcalled it a sign of desperationthat Democrats felt they need-ed to bring in Obama to securetheir preferred candidates.

Even Democrats deniedObama’s endorsement are re-luctant to complain about fa-voritism, wary of turning offloyal Obama supporters. TimCanova, the law school profes-sor challenging WassermanSchultz, said the attention ac-tually helped because it “reallyput us on the map.”

“It seemed like a sign thatWasserman Schultz is worriedabout our campaign, that shewould have gone running tothe White House for an en-dorsement,” Canova said.

Two years ago, Democratsfought their toughest Senateraces in conservative-leaningstates where Obama has al-ways been deeply unpopular.The map shifted this year tostates Obama won twice, in-cluding New Hampshire, Ne-vada and Colorado — also crit-ical states for winning theWhite House.

“The president right now isthe most popular elected offi-cial in the country amongDemocrats and independents,”said David Simas, the WhiteHouse political director.“When you start looking atwhat these battleground stateswill be at the presidential, Sen-ate and House level, the map ispretty wide open for the presi-dent to engage and be helpful.”

Though Obama won’t be onNovember’s ballot, the stakesfor his legacy are just as high.A return of the White Houseto GOP control would augurthe likely rollback of many ofhis policies on health care, im-migration and the environ-ment. Yet Democrats say thechaos in the GOP presidentialrace has created an opening totake back the Senate and may-be even the House, preservingObama’s policies for years tocome.

Obama’s involvement inlower-tier races stands in con-trast to his lower profile in thepresidential race, where Oba-ma is avoiding publicly choos-ing sides between Clinton andSanders. White House officialssaid Obama will campaignfull-force for the eventual nom-inee, but in the meantime hismain role has been to attackDonald Trump.

Biden, huddling with HouseDemocratic candidates overthe weekend in New Mexico,told them having Trump orTexas Sen. Ted Cruz on theballot would benefit Demo-crats in lower-tier races, said aDemocratic aide who request-ed anonymity to discuss theprivate meeting. Biden has al-ready campaigned for Senatecandidates in Florida, Ohio,Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Obama digs in for otherDemocrats

By JOSH LEDERMANASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — House Speak-er Paul Ryan on Tuesday definitive-ly ruled out a bid for president thisyear, insisting that the party’schoice should emerge from thegroup of candidates who pursuedthe GOP nomination. “Count meout,” he said.

In a brief news conference at theRepublican National Committeeheadquarters, the Wisconsin Re-publican sought to tamp down ram-pant speculation that he could endup as the party’s standard-bearer iffront-runner Donald Trump andthe other candidates flame out at acontested convention.

“We have too much work to doin the House to allow this specula-tion to swirl or have my motiva-tions questioned,” said Ryan, whowas the 2012 vice presidential nom-inee. “Let me be clear: I do notwant, nor will I accept, the Repub-lican nomination.”

Ryan’s comments come as a con-tested convention looks likelier bythe day. Ryan and his aides havecontinually denied the speaker haspresidential ambitions this year,but their statements have not putthe issue to rest. That’s partly be-cause Ryan also denied he wantedto be speaker last fall after then-Speaker John Boehner announcedhis resignation, but he ended upwith the job anyway.

Tuesday’s appearance was an at-tempt to shut down the speculationonce and for all, and end whataides said has become a major dis-traction to Ryan’s work as speaker.

Yet it may not be enough to quietthe talk about Ryan, given the un-predictable twists of the GOP presi-dential primary.

“So let me speak directly to thedelegates on this: If no candidatehas a majority on the first ballot, Ibelieve you should only choose aperson who actually participated inthe primary. Count me out,” Ryansaid. “I simply believe that if youwant to be the nominee — to be thepresident — you should actuallyrun for it. I chose not to. Therefore,I should not be considered. Period.”

Trump looks unlikely to accu-mulate the necessary delegates toclinch the nomination ahead of theJuly Republican convention inCleveland. That would allow hislead challenger, Texas Sen. TedCruz, to make a play for the job. Athird hopeful, Ohio Gov. John Kas-ich, trails in the delegate count.

Yet party leaders fear neither theerratic Trump nor the polarizingCruz could beat likely Democratic

nominee Hillary Clinton in Novem-ber. They also fear the GOP won’tbe able to hold onto control of theSenate with Trump or Cruz at thetop of the ticket.

So if neither Trump nor Cruzcan get the delegate votes neces-sary as balloting progresses at theconvention, chaos could result —and along with it, the potential forsome other Republican who’s notcurrently running to emerge. As ayoung and charismatic conserva-tive, popular with donors and withsome conservative activists, Ryan’sname has been at the top of thatlist for months.

Ryan is also seen as a possiblecandidate in 2020. Early in the cam-paign season he announced hewould not be making a run in 2016,yet some of his own actions fueledthe talk. He’s delivered high-profilespeeches calling for a more princi-pled politics, and his staff uses so-cial media to promote develop-ments as varied as Ryan’s recenttrip to the Mideast and his decisionto “give up impatience and anxie-ty” for Lent.

Ryan insisted Tuesday that suchmoves have been aimed at commu-nicating on behalf of House Repub-licans, though he has yet to unveilthe policy proposals he’s beenpromising. Removing the presiden-tial speculation would put Ryan’sfocus squarely on his day job as theleader of the House, and he facesseveral key tests soon.

In a long-brewing embarrass-ment, it’s become plain that Ryanhas all but given up hope of passinga budget for the upcoming budgetyear.

Ryan won’t run for presidentBy ERICA WERNERASSOCIATED PRESS

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaksto reporters on Capitol Hill, Tuesday.

Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP

DES MOINES, Iowa — Alreadybehind the curve in organizing forthe Republican convention, DonaldTrump has missed crucial dead-lines in a number of states to lockup delegates who would stay loyalbeyond the first ballot.

Trump’s shortcomings in thisbehind-the-scenes campaign,which hasn’t played much of a rolein selecting the GOP nominee indecades, could doom his presiden-tial candidacy if he is unable towin the nomination in the initialvoting at this summer’s nationalconvention in Cleveland.

After that first ballot, most dele-gates are no longer bound to sup-port the winner of their state’sparty primary or caucuses —they’re free agents who can sup-port the candidate of their choos-ing.

Most of the actual delegates areelected at state and congressionaldistrict conventions run by partyinsiders, members of the Republi-can establishment that Trump hasrun against from the outset of hiscampaign.

And while Trump’s team hashad little contact with these loyalparty activists, his chief rival forthe Republican nomination, TexasSen. Ted Cruz, has been activelycourting them for months.

Trump has spent the past threedays hammering at his party’s del-egate selection process as ‘’unfair.”

At a rally in Rome, New York,Tuesday evening, Trump angrilydenounced Saturday’s final alloca-tion of all of Colorado’s delegatesto Cruz, blasting the party’s sys-tem as “rigged” and “corrupt.”

Trump’s team is only now start-ing to engage in the delegate selec-

tion process, the choosing of theactual people who will attend andvote at the convention. Republi-cans have already selected dele-gates in at least nine states. Andin others, such as Virginia andArizona, the deadline to apply tobe a delegate has passed.

Indiana’s primary, for example,won’t take place until next month.But the deadline to become a na-tional convention delegate was inmid-March.

“Are we concerned? Yes, defi-nitely,” said Tony Samuel, vicechairman of Trump’s Indianacampaign.

The Cruz team feels the oppo-site.

“Even if (Trump) jumped intohigh gear, he can’t do it,” saidShak Hill, a Cruz campaign leaderin Virginia. “That’s where he’sbeen shut out of the game.”

Trump’s delegates must vote forhim on the first ballot at the con-vention. But if no one gets a ma-

jority, most of the delegates canthen bolt if they choose.

Trump is the only candidatewith a realistic path to the 1,237delegates needed to clinch thenomination before the convention.But the path is narrow, and Cruzis working to block him.

Cruz has built an organizationof volunteers who are working instate after state to get his support-ers selected as delegates, eventhose who must vote for Trump atfirst.

Trump is just ramping up hisoperation, but in some states he’stoo late.

In Virginia — a state whereTrump won the primary — he hasmissed the deadlines to assemblelists of potential delegates. Cruz,however, has delegate candidatesin 10 of Virginia’s 11 congressionaldistricts.

The application deadline waslast month.

Trump’s delegates are feebleBy THOMAS BEAUMONT

AND STEPHEN OHLEMACHERASSOCIATED PRESS

In this April 11, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumpspeaks in Albany, N.Y.

Photo by Mike Groll | AP file

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016