the zapata times 2/11/2015

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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST RANDLEEX-GIRLFRIEND ALLEGES COWBOYS RB POINTED GUN AT HER, 6A

Two Zapata women have both been con-victed of embezzling money in a long-run-ning bank fraud scheme targeting ZapataNational Bank, United States Attorney Ken-neth Magidson announced Tuesday.

Anita Arredondo, 53, entered her pleathis morning, while Petra Del Bosque, 54,previously pleaded last month.

Del Bosque is a former employee of Zapa-ta National Bank, while Arredondo workedfor a Zapata-based construction company asa clerk in the accounts payable department

and had responsibility for issuing companychecks.

For two years, Arredondo issued numer-ous false company checks made payable tocontractors who had not performed thework that was the alleged basis for thechecks.

Arredondo admitted to endorsing thefalse checks by forging the signatures of thecontractors and then delivering the checksto Del Bosque at ZNB. Del Bosque led ZNBtellers to believe she was cashing thechecks on behalf of the contractors whowere unable to come to the bank themselves

and that she would deliver the funds fromthe cashed checks. However, she actuallypocketed the money and split the proceedsof the fraud with Arredondo.

Both have admitted that the loss as a re-sult of the scheme totals more than $800,000.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Mar-molejo accepted the pleas and has set sen-tencing for April 28, 2015. At that time, eachfaces up to 30 years in federal prison and apossible $1 million fine.

The FBI investigated, and Assistant U.S.Attorneys Robert S. Johnson and SanjeevBhasker are prosecuting the case.

ZAPATA NATIONAL BANK

Both women convictedTwo will face up to 30 years for embezzling money

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

NEW YORK — Oil and gasdrilling services companyHalliburton said Tuesdaythat it will eliminate at least5,000 jobs in response to fall-ing oil prices.

The Houston companysaid it will lay off 6.5 to 8percent of its staff, whichrepresents 5,005 to 6,160 em-ployees based on its totalfrom the end of 2014.

The company said thecuts will come from all areasof its operations and that themoves are necessary be-cause of the difficult market.Halliburton did not provideany details on the timing ofthe cuts or what the movesmight cost.

Halliburton Co. also cutabout 1,000 jobs from itsEastern hemisphere work-force in December. Hallibur-ton said the moves are notrelated to its pending acqui-sition of competitor BakerHughes Inc.

Shares of Halliburton fell$1.13, or 2.6 percent, to $42.38in afternoon trading.

Oil prices plunged 60 per-cent from June to January,although they have reco-vered some of those lossesrecently. In January Halli-burton said 2015 will be adifficult year for its indus-try, saying its customershave cut their capital spend-ing budgets by 25 or 30 per-cent in response to lower oilprices.

Halliburton also took $129million in restructuringcharges because of expectedbusiness declines.

Halliburton competitorSchlumberger Ltd. said inJanuary that it would elim-inate 9,000 jobs in responseto falling oil prices. Thatrepresented about 7.3 per-cent of Schlumberger’s staff.

Also last month, Hallibur-ton takeover target BakerHughes said it would lay offabout 7,000 workers as itbraced for a downturn in or-ders because of the plungein crude prices. That repre-sented about an 11 percentcut to the 62,000-plus work-ers Baker Hughes says it em-ploys worldwide.

EAGLE FORD SHALE

Oil, gascompany

to cutjobs

Halliburton will layoff up to 6,160

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Alfredo Pa-dilla grew up in Texas as a mi-grant farmworker who followedthe harvest with his parents topick sugar beets in Minnesota

each summer. He has not forgot-ten the aches of labor or howmuch the weather — too littlerain, or too much — affected thefamily livelihood.

Now an insurance lawyer inCarrizo Springs, Texas, he saidhe was concerned about global

warming."It’s obviously happening, the

flooding, the record droughts,"said Padilla, who agrees withthe science that human activ-ities are the leading cause of cli-mate change. "And all this af-fects poor people harder. The

jobs are more based on weather.And when there are hurricanes,when there is flooding, who getshit the worst? The people on thepoor side of town."

Padilla’s concern is echoed by

ENVIRONMENT

CLIMATE CHANGE WORRY

A refinery in Los Angeles, is seen from the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Wilmington, Feb. 6. One reason Hispanics may be concerned about global warmingis that they often live in areas directly exposed to pollution.

Photo by Monica Almeida | New York Times

Hispanics see change as it affects them personallyBy CORAL DAVENPORT

NEW YORK TIMES

See CLIMATE PAGE 11A

Saying that drug cartelsare “ramping up” their ef-forts as the Texas NationalGuard prepares to leavethe Rio Grande Valleynext month, Lt. Gov. DanPatrick announced Tues-day that he’s seeking anadditional $12 million tokeep the troops therethrough May.

Beyond that, he addedat a Capitol news confer-

ence, he would work to geta supplemental bill to funddeployments through Au-gust, in the hopes that theTexas Legislature wouldpass a budget that in-cludes deployment fundingbeyond that. The Senate’sbudget includes about $815million for border security,which is more than theprevious seven years com-bined.

“Under no circumstanc-es should we have a com-plete pullout of the Nation-

al Guard next month,” Pa-trick said. “We have that[$12 million], and we needto spend that money tokeep the Guard there.”

The National Guard wasdeployed last summer inresponse to the surge ofunaccompanied minorsand family units, mainlyfrom Central America,who breached the Texas-Mexico border. FormerGov. Rick Perry orderedup to 1,000 troops in re-sponse. That was in addi-

tion to a surge of TexasDepartment of Public Safe-ty officers, which Patricksaid would remain inplace.

Patrick did not say ifany of the Guard mem-bers’ duties would changeshould the $12 million beapproved. They are cur-rently used for surveil-lance and other supportroles and do not have ar-resting powers.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY

Patrick wants $12 millionto keep guard on border

By JULIÁN AGUILARTEXAS TRIBUNE

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick talks about his vision for the Texas Senate dur-ing a news conference at the Texas State Capitol on Jan. 8.

Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman | AP file

See GUARD PAGE 11A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES International WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

DAKAR, Senegal — Withthe regional war against theBoko Haram militant groupwidening, Niger’s parlia-ment has agreed to sendtroops across the border tojoin the fight.

The vote was unanimousin Niger’s National Assemb-ly on Monday night, reflect-ing the shock produced byat least four attacks in Nig-er in less than a week, in-cluding an explosion at amarket in the country’s eastthat killed a number of ci-vilians.

Chad, Cameroon and Be-nin have also agreed to con-tribute troops to an 8,700-member force to fight BokoHaram, a Nigerian militantgroup whose attacks haveincreasingly spilled acrossborders in the region.

Nigeria’s war has nowspread to its smaller, poorerneighbor, Niger. In Diffa, themain city in the country’sfar east, just across the bor-der from Nigeria, "peopleare in a panic," the head ofthe local Red Cross in Diffa,Abdullai Adah, said byphone on Tuesday, after abombing at a vegetable mar-ket and an attack on the

city’s prison the precedingday. At least eight are dead,he said.

"Everybody is shut up athome," Adah said. "All thestores are closed. And weare hearing heavy artilleryfrom the Nigeria side."

The civil prison at Diffa,the target of one of the BokoHaram attacks, held mili-tants and their sympathiz-ers, according to a regionalnews site, Sahelien.com.The site quoted residentssaying that they had heardarmed men calling "Allahuakbar" from pickup trucksas the prison was attacked— a cry that also resoundsfrom three newly releasedBoko Haram propagandavideos this week.

The National Assemblyvote in Niger’s capital 850miles away, Niamey, fol-lowed the attacks in Diffawithin hours.

"People are worried," saida leading political scientistin the capital, MahamanTidjani Alou.

"That there are bombs inNiger, this is something to-tally unprecedented," saidAlou, speaking by phonefrom Niamey on Tuesday."It’s clear that this is notjust at our doorstep now. Itis inside the country."

Niger, a country whereU.S. and French drones arebased, has been attackedpreviously by al-Qaida’sAfrican affiliate in its desertnorth. It now finds itself un-der attack on its southernedge by a different group ofIslamist extremists.

"Niger has had a veryclear position in relation toBoko Haram, and it isequally clear that this posi-tion can have consequenc-es," Alou said. "It’s the stateitself that has been attack,the symbols of authority.The state can’t simply allowthat."

Diffa, only 260 miles fromthe Nigerian city thatspawned Boko Haram, Mai-duguri, was penetrated aslong ago as the early 2000sby the radical Islamist ideol-ogy on which the sect wasnurtured, the French BokoHaram specialist Marc-An-toine Pérouse de Montclos,said in a new study.

Extremist preachersstruggled for influence inthe town before beingchased from Diffa’s centralmosque in 2007, de Montcloswrote. Yet the dusty, low-slung market town wasthought by specialists tohave been penetrated by Bo-ko Haram cells, and to have

provided a safe haven forthe militants even as theywere attacking Nigeriansacross the border.

As the vote wrapped upin Niger’s parliament inNiamey late Monday, theNational Assembly speaker,Amadou Salifou, said thatthere had been a "collectiverecognition of the gravity ofthe situation," according tothe state news service.

With attacks on Boko Ha-ram now coming from themilitaries of four countries— Niger, Chad, Cameroonand Nigeria — the group’sleader, Abubakar Shekau,released a video this weekon YouTube in which hemocks the forces arrayedagainst him, especiallyChad’s.

"You sent 7,000 of yoursoldiers. Why didn’t you

send 7 million?" Shekausaid in the video, accordingto a translation by the ter-rorism monitoring group

SITE. "Only 7,000!? By Al-lah, it is small. We can cap-ture them in an attempt ortwo."

People take part in a march to show their support for the Cameroon army fighting against Boko Haram militants in the city of Yaounde, Cameroon, Saturday. Boko Haram staged an overnight assault on a bor-der town in Niger, residents said Sunday, the second time the West African nation has come under attack by the Nigeria-based extremists since Friday.

Photo by Joel Kouam | AP

Niger sending troops to fight Boko HaramBy ADAM NOSSITER

NEW YORK TIMES

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Paul Griffin, passedaway on Saturday, Febru-ary 7, 2015 on his 64thbirthday at Retama ManorWest in Laredo, Texas.

Mr. Griffin is precededin death by his parents,Jack R. Griffin and AnnaA. Griffin; son, Michael J.Griffin and a niece, CarrieH. Griffin.

Mr. Griffin is survivedby his ex-wife, Debra(Robert) Lairson; five chil-dren, Timothy J. Griffin,Rachel (Benjamin) Garcia,Esther (Ricky) De LosSantos and Stephen A.Griffin; daughter-in-law,Marien S. Griffin; twelve-grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and also bya good friend and sister inChrist, Martha Taylor.

Paul worked many jobsand was a missionary/pastor. He was well-knownin Zapata for providingtransportation for theneedy. He had a lot of mu-sical talent and played the

guitar, base, keyboard/pi-ano, harmonica and ac-cordion. He spent a lot ofhis time writing, singingand recording gospelsongs. Before he becameill, his late son Michaeland him would make tripsto Laredo and feed thehomeless with their ownfinancial means. He willbe laid to rest with hisparents in Chiefland, Flor-ida. A Griffin Family Re-union will take place at alater date in Florida tohonor his life/memoryhere on earth.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 N.U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.

PAUL GRIFFIN

Feb. 7, 1951 – Feb. 7, 2015

other Hispanics acrossthe country, according toa poll conducted lastmonth by The New YorkTimes, Stanford Universi-ty and the nonpartisanenvironmental researchgroup Resources for theFuture. The survey, inwhich Padilla was a re-spondent, found that His-panics are more likelythan non-Hispanic whitesto view global warmingas a problem that affectsthem personally. It alsofound that they are farmore likely to supportpolicies, such as taxesand regulations on green-house gas pollution,aimed at curbing it.

The findings in the pollcould have significant im-plications for the 2016presidential campaign asboth parties seek to winvotes from Hispanics,particularly in states likeFlorida and Coloradothat will be influential indetermining the outcomeof the election. The pollalso shows the challengefor the potential Republi-can presidential candi-dates - including two His-panics - many of whomquestion or deny the sci-entific basis for the find-ing that humans causedglobal warming.

Among Hispanic re-spondents to the poll, 54percent rated globalwarming as extremely orvery important to thempersonally, comparedwith 37 percent of whites.Sixty-seven percent ofHispanics said theywould be hurt personallyto a significant degree ifnothing was done to re-duce global warming,compared with half ofwhites.

And 63 percent of His-panics said the federalgovernment should actbroadly to address globalwarming, compared with49 percent of whites.

A greater percentage ofHispanics than whitesidentify as Democrats,and Democrats are morelikely than Republicansand independents to saythat the governmentshould fight climatechange. In the poll, 48percent of Hispanicsidentified as Democrats,31 percent as independ-ents and 15 percent as Re-publicans. Among whites,23 percent identified as

Democrats, 41 percent asindependents and 27 per-cent as Republicans.

Overall, the findings ofthe poll run contrary to alongstanding view in pol-itics that the environ-ment is largely a concernof affluent, white liberals.

"There’s a stereotypethat Latinos are notaware of or concernedabout these issues," saidGabriel Sanchez, an asso-ciate professor of politi-cal science at the Univer-sity of New Mexico anddirector of research atLatino Decisions, a sur-vey firm focused on theHispanic population. "ButLatinos are actuallyamong the most con-cerned about the environ-ment, particularly globalwarming."

One reason, Sanchezand others said, is thatHispanics often live in ar-eas where they are direct-ly exposed to pollution,such as neighborhoodsnear highways and powerplants.

Hispanics typically rateimmigration, educationand employment in thetop tier of the policy is-sues on which they vote,but the poll is the latestin a growing body of datashowing that Hispanicsalso care intensely aboutenvironmental issues.

A 2013 poll by the PewResearch Center foundthat 76 percent of Hispan-ics agreed that the Earthhad been warming, and59 percent attributed thatwarming to human activ-ity. By comparison, 62percent of whites agreedthat the Earth had beenwarming, and 41 percentattributed that to humanactivity.

A 2014 study in the sci-entific journal PLOS Onefound that nationally, mi-norities were exposed toconcentrations of the tox-ic pollutant nitrogendioxide that were 38 per-cent higher than whatwhites faced. Nitrogendioxide is linked to respi-ratory illness and, likeplanet-warming carbondioxide, is spewed fromvehicle tailpipes and pow-er plant smokestacks.While it is not directlylinked to global warming,populations that experi-ence high levels of expo-sure to it are likely to bemore supportive of pollu-

tion regulation in gener-al, Sanchez said.

The nationwide pollwas conducted Jan. 7-22using cellphones and lan-dlines by The Times,Stanford and Resourcesfor the Future. Inter-views were in English orSpanish with 1,006 adults,including 738 non-His-panic white adults and103 Hispanic adults. Themargin of sampling erroris plus or minus 4 per-centage points for non-Hispanic white adultsand 12 percentage pointsfor Hispanic adults.

The combined resultshave been weighted to ad-just for variation in thesample relating to geo-graphic region, sex, race,Hispanic origin, maritalstatus, age, educationand, for landline house-holds, the number ofadults and number ofphone lines. In compari-ng subgroups, The Timesonly reports poll resultsthat are statistically sig-nificant.

Tony Vazquez of SanJose, California, a poll re-spondent and a formertruck driver who nowmakes nickel plates forcar parts, said in a fol-low-up interview that hewould support policiessuch as national taxes ongreenhouse gas pollution.

"Where I live, you don’tknow what you’re breath-ing — smog and pollutionfrom refineries, ships,diesel trucks," Vazquezsaid. "You’re breathing itall."

Hispanics are alsomore likely to be con-cerned about the impactof global warming out-side the United States,Latino researchers say,particularly in LatinAmerica, Mexico and theCaribbean. Strongerdroughts and stormsthere can lead to floodingor shortages of food andwater, but people andgovernments may not beequipped to handle that.

President Barack Oba-ma has proposed spend-ing $3 billion on a globalGreen Climate Fund in-tended to help poor coun-tries adapt to the effectsof climate change, but Re-publicans in Congresshave been sharply criti-cal of that plan. In con-trast, two-thirds of His-panics in the poll said

the U.S. governmentshould give money topoor countries to helpthem reduce the damagecaused by global warm-ing. Two-thirds of whitessaid the United Statesshould not provide themoney.

The result, Sanchezand other researcherssaid, is that politiciansshould be wary of dismis-sing the issue of climatechange.

"The most importantthing is that candidateshave to think about theLatino population ascomplex," Sanchez said."To ignore the environ-ment is to ignore some-thing that a large sectionof the Latino populationsees as important."

Republican politicalstrategists were skepti-cal.

"The real issue here iswhether a dollar spentfighting climate changeis better than a dollarspent improving school,health care or nationalsecurity," said WhitAyres, a Republican poll-ster. "Most Republicansare going to find greaterpolitical advantage inpromoting credible plansto strengthen the econo-my, improve educationand make progress on ahost of other issues, in-cluding immigration,rather than climatechange."

In Florida, a state thatwill be crucial to presi-dential candidates, NicoleHernandez Hammer, asea-level rise researcherof Cuban-Guatemalan de-scent, is working to raiseawareness of climatechange among Hispanicvoters. Last month, shewas invited to sit in thefirst lady’s box duringObama’s State of theUnion address.

Of Hispanics’ growinginterest in climatechange issues, Hammersaid: "We’re not at rallies.Latinos in immigrantcommunities are moreconcerned about puttingfood on the table."

But, she said, "Weknow that our communi-ties are disproportionate-ly more vulnerable to theimpacts of climatechange, so when it comestime to vote, we makeour voices heard on theissue."

CLIMATE Continued from Page 1A

The lieutenant governoralso predicted anothersurge of illegal immigra-tion this spring and sum-mer because of what hesaid was President Oba-ma’s refusal to enforce im-migration laws.

State Sen. Juan “Chuy”Hinojosa, D-McAllen, saidTuesday that he supportsthe DPS surge to combatthe area’s problems.

“We have a problemdown on the border, wehave drug trafficking, wehave human smuggling, wehave guns going south,” hesaid.

But Hinojosa disagreedthat his region needed theNational Guard, addingthat money earmarked forthe Guard deploymentcould be better spent on

DPS resources and equip-ment.

“I support maximizingand using the military as-sets, surveillance droneswhatever we have” withDPS, he said. “I don’t thinkit’s effective to have thou-sands of guardsmen on theborder. I think it’s counter-productive.”

Border security was thetop concern for 37 percentof Texas Republicans, ac-cording to an October 2014poll conducted by the Uni-versity of Texas and theTexas Tribune. Immigra-tion followed at 26 percent.That’s compared with 7and 9 percent of Democratsthat identified border secu-rity and immigration astheir top concerns, respec-tively.

GUARD Continued from Page 1A

A teary, blonde womansits alone at her kitchen ta-ble. In a matter of days,she’s been left fatherlessand buried in debt. Ahandsome man offers hermilk, though not just anymilk, Lala milk from Gru-po Lala SAB.

This is a scene from oneof TV Azteca SAB’s newestprime-time telenovelas,“Las Bravo.” Mexico’s sec-ond-biggest broadcaster istaking advantage of hitsthat reach an average of 65million viewers a week toencourage marketers topay for their products toappear or be featured insoap operas and reality-tel-evision shows.

“If you sell soap, sham-

poo, soda, beer, and carswith mass appeal, then ob-viously you’re going towant TV as an importantmarketing medium,” TVAzteca Chief Executive Of-ficer Mario San Romansaid in an interview lastweek at his office in Mex-ico City. “And if we fitthose into our plots peopleare going to rememberthem.”

Product placement inTV shows allows Azteca tomake additional moneywithout adding time forcommercials and helps abrand reach viewers whoare increasingly skippingadvertisements with digitalvideo recorders. The Mexi-co City-based company de-pends on advertising for 91percent of its sales, andthat revenue stream is un-

der threat as new nationalbroadcast networks are cre-ated this year.

Billionaire Ricardo Sali-nas purchased state-ownedbroadcaster Azteca in 1993to compete with Grupo Te-levisa SAB, and the net-work now reaches threeout of 10 Mexican TV view-ers. Both broadcasters will

soon face more competitionas Mexico’s regulator accel-erates plan to auction offtwo new broadcast net-works by March, part ofPresident Enrique PeñaNieto’s push to increasecompetition in the highlyconcentrated industry.

Azteca’s shares have fall-en 25 percent in the last

year. Televisa has gained 26percent in the same period.

To help bolster its per-formance, Azteca is work-ing to integrate marketingmessages into its program-ming and even help sellthose goods and servicesdirectly to viewers.

Telenovelas are ripe forproduct placement because

the dramas have been suchan intrinsic part of Mexi-co’s popular culture fordecades. And Azteca cancharge more to integrate abrand into a show’s plotthan it can for regular adspace, San Roman said.

A Lala press officialdidn’t respond to requestsfor comment.

TV Azteca sells milk during telenovela plotsBy PATRICIA LAYABLOOMBERG NEWS

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

A Zin brief WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11Free heart health education

class. 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. at FirstUnited Methodist Church, 1220 McClel-land. All materials are in English. Top-ics to be discussed: Blood Pressure101, Cholesterol 101, Dietary Approach-es to Stop Hypertension, Weight Man-agement and Physical Activity, Heart-Healthy Cooking and Fast Food Survivalfor Heart Health. For more information,contact Patricia at 722-1674.

THURSDAY, FEB. 12The Laredo Area Retired School

Employees Association is holding itsmonthly meeting at 11 a.m. at BlessedSacrament Parish Hall. A volunteer fairwill be held.

The Webb County HeritageFoundation’s Valentines’ MembershipCocktail Party. From 6 – 8 p.m. at VillaAntigua Border Heritage Museum, 810Zaragoza St. The public is invited torenew or initiate memberships. Formore information, call 727-0977 or visitwebbheritage.org.

SATURDAY, FEB. 14TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Sci-

ence Center Planetarium. Earth, Moonand Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4for children and $5 for adults. Admis-sion is $4 for TAMIU students, facultyand staff. Call 956-236-DOME (3663).

TUESDAY, FEB. 17TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Sci-

ence Center Planetarium. Saturn: Jewelof the Heavens, 5 p.m. Black Holes, 6p.m. Admission is $4 for children and$5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TA-MIU students, faculty and staff. Call956-236-DOME (3663).




ence Center Planetarium. Earth, Moonand Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4for children and $5 for adults. Admis-sion is $4 for TAMIU students, facultyand staff. Call 956-236-DOME (3663).

TUESDAY, FEB. 24TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Sci-

ence Center Planetarium. Saturn: Jewelof the Heavens, 5 p.m. Black Holes, 6p.m. Admission is $4 for children and$5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TA-MIU students, faculty and staff. Call956-236-DOME (3663).



THURSDAY, FEB. 26Spanish Book Club from 6 to 8

p.m. at Laredo Public Library on Cal-ton. Call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Villa San Agustin de Laredo Ge-nealogical Society will meet, from 3-5p.m., at the Center for the Arts in his-torical downtown. A $2 donation fornon-members is requested. Call San-juanita Martinez-Hunter at 722-3497.

FRIDAY, FEB. 27TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Sci-

ence Center Planetarium. Led Zeppelin,6 p.m. Live Star Presentation (observ-ing will occur after show if weatherpermits), 7 p.m. Admission is $4 forchildren and $5 for adults. Admissionis $4 for TAMIU students, faculty andstaff. Call 956-236-DOME (3663).


ence Center Planetarium. Earth, Moonand Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 11,the 42nd day of 2015. There are323 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On Feb. 11, 1945, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, BritishPrime Minister Winston Chur-chill and Soviet leader JosefStalin signed the Yalta Agree-ment, in which Stalin agreedto declare war against Imperi-al Japan following Nazi Ger-many’s capitulation (in re-turn, the Soviet Union wouldacquire territories lost to Ja-pan in the Russo-JapaneseWar).

On this date:In 1812, Massachusetts Gov.

Elbridge Gerry signed a redis-tricting law favoring his Dem-ocratic-Republican Party —giving rise to the term “gerry-mandering.”

In 1929, the Lateran Treatywas signed, with Italy recog-nizing the independence andsovereignty of Vatican City.

In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against GeneralMotors ended, with the compa-ny agreeing to recognize theUnited Automobile WorkersUnion.

In 1963, American authorand poet Sylvia Plath wasfound dead in her London flat,a suicide; she was 30.

In 1975, Margaret Thatcherwas elected leader of Britain’sopposition Conservative Party.

In 1989, Rev. Barbara C.Harris became the first wom-an consecrated as a bishop inthe Episcopal Church, in aceremony held in Boston.

In 1990, South African blackactivist Nelson Mandela wasfreed after 27 years in captiv-ity.

In 2012, pop singer WhitneyHouston, 48, was found deadin a hotel room in BeverlyHills, California.

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVIannounced his resignationduring a routine morningmeeting of Vatican cardinals.(The 85-year-old pontiff wassucceeded by Pope Francis.)

Ten years ago: DefenseSecretary Donald H. Rumsfeldmade an unannounced visit toIraq, where he observed Iraqisecurity forces and declared“there’s no question progresshas been made” in preparingthe nation for building a newgovernment.

Five years ago: Britishfashion designer AlexanderMcQueen, 40, was found deadin his London home.

One year ago: PresidentBarack Obama, during a jointWhite House news conferencewith French President Fran-cois Hollande, vowed to comedown like “a ton of bricks” onbusinesses that violated Ira-nian sanctions while nuclearnegotiations were underway,and conceded “enormous frus-tration” with stalled Syrianpeace talks.

Today’s Birthdays: ActorConrad Janis is 87. Fashiondesigner Mary Quant is 81.Actor Burt Reynolds is 79. Ac-tor Philip Anglim is 63. For-mer Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is62. Singer Sheryl Crow is 53.Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pal-in is 51. Actress Jennifer An-iston is 46. Actor Damian Le-wis is 44. Singer D’Angelo is41. Singer-actress Brandy is 36.Actor Matthew Lawrence is35. Rhythm-and-blues singerKelly Rowland is 34. SingerAubrey O’Day is 31. Actor Tay-lor Lautner is 23.

Thought for Today: “Lifedoes not count by years. Somesuffer a lifetime in a day, andso grow old between the risingand the setting of the sun.” —Augusta Jane Evans, Ameri-can novelist (1835-1909).

TODAY IN HISTORY

STEPHENVILLE — The trial of the mancharged with killing Chris Kyle, a formersniper for the Navy SEALs, is scheduled toopen here today at 9 a.m. The blockbusterwar movie about Kyle, "American Sniper,"now playing at Cinemark Cinema 6 threemiles from the courtroom, will be showingat 3:40 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10:20 p.m.

The convergence of the movie, the trialand the fierce emotions that both havestirred up has set this rural town 100 milessouthwest of Dallas on edge, as legal expertshave questioned whether Eddie Ray Routh,27, the mentally ill veteran accused of killingKyle and Kyle’s friend at a shooting range inStephenville’s Erath County in 2013, can re-ceive a fair trial here.

But aside from the questions about the le-

gal proceedings, something more than a dou-ble-murder trial is set to play out here thisweek. "American Sniper" has become a cul-tural moment far beyond the reach of thebook, the movie or the criminal case againstRouth. And just as the movie has been debat-ed for what it says about war and warriors,the trial will dissect what war did to and fortwo men — one of them hailed, particularlyin Texas, as an American hero, the other afellow soldier on trial for two murders thatpeople here are still trying to comprehendtwo years later. Kyle’s celebrity hangs overthe trial and the town, larger in death thanit was in life. The sign outside the Grand En-try Western Store advertises Chris Kylebaseball caps for sale. More ominously, aman called the local newspaper and told themanaging editor that a bomb was going togo off before jury selection

AROUND TEXAS

The sun shines over a sign displaing support for the families of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield Tuesday in Stephenville, Tex-as. The former Marine Eddie Ray Routh is accused of killing Navy SEAL sniper Kyle and his friend Littlefield on Feb. 2, 2013,and is standing trial for the murders.

Photo by LM Otero | AP

Trial sets town on edgeBy MANNY FERNANDEZ AND KATHRYN JONES

NEW YORK TIMES

Man injured when blasttears through home

BOERNE — One man hasbeen injured when an explosioncompletely shattered the housewhere he lived in the Texas HillCountry town of Boerne.

City spokeswoman PamBransford says the blast shortlybefore noon Tuesday demolishedthe house and ignited a ragingfire that also damaged neighbor-ing houses.

Black staff targets ofracism at Texas plant

DALLAS — Federal author-ities have determined that blackemployees at a North Texas foodplant were exposed to dangerouswork conditions and subjected toracial discrimination and a hos-tile work environment. The U.S.Equal Employment OpportunityCommission found the formerworkers at the Sara Lee plantwere exposed to asbestos, blackmold and other toxins. They alsowere targets of racial slurs.

University of Texasinvestigates frat partyAUSTIN — A University of

Texas fraternity is under investi-gation after complaints were fil-ed about how Hispanics wereportrayed during a weekend par-ty. The university newspaper, theDaily Texan, reported guests atPhi Gamma Delta’s soiree woresombreros, ponchos, construc-tion worker outfits and militarygear. The fraternity’s presidenttold the newspaper the party waswestern-themed.

2 men killed in rockclimbing accident

SAN ANTONIO — Two menhave died after falling from arock wall they were scaling inSan Antonio. Police say it ap-pears the unidentified men wererappelling down a climbing areaknown as Medicine Wall innorth San Antonio late Mondaynight. Their bodies were found atthe base of the wall, which isabout 80 to 100 feet high.

Ex-deputy, brother pleadguilty in drug case

LAREDO — A former SouthTexas sheriff ’s deputy and herbrother have pleaded guilty todrug possession charges in a fed-eral trafficking case.

Former Starr County sheriff ’sDeputy Amy Reyes and herbrother, Bobby Lee Reyes, hadbeen charged with conspiracy ina two-count indictment returnedin December by a federal grandjury in Laredo.

Off-duty Dallas officerfatally shoots driver

DALLAS — Dallas police sayan off-duty officer shot and killeda driver who accelerated towardhim. The officer went to investi-gate when several people toldhim they heard gunfire. The offi-cer arrested a man who was run-ning toward him. As he was tak-ing the man into custody, he sawa truck speeding toward themand opened fire. — Compiledfrom AP reports

Latest snowstorm raisesquestion: Where to put it?

BOSTON — The third majorwinter storm in less than twoweeks inflicted fresh snow —and misery — across New Eng-land and portions of New Yorkstate on Monday. Boston, facingup to 2 more feet, grappled witha conundrum: Where to put itall?

The National Weather Serviceissued winter storm warningsfor central New York, the west-ern Catskills and much of NewEngland through early Tuesday.

Some areas of Massachusettshad about a foot of snow beforedawn, and the storm was expect-ed to last all day Monday.

U.S. closing embassy inYemen amid turmoil

WASHINGTON — The U.S.Embassy in Yemen is closing be-cause of security concerns amidthe unstable Arab country’s

deepening political turmoil,State Department officials an-nounced Tuesday.

After weeks of trimming ser-vices at the U.S. mission in Sana,the capital, officials said theywill take steps to halt operationsand expect the ambassador to

leave the country by Wednesday.The U.S.-backed former Presi-

dent Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadiresigned on Jan. 22 under pres-sure from the Houthi rebels whoseized control of the capital lastfall.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Lee Anderson adds to the pile of snow beside the sidewalk in front of his house inSomerville, Mass., Tuesday as his dog Ace looks on. The latest snowstorm left theBoston area with another two feet of snow.

Photo by Josh Reynolds | AP

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 State THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

GALVESTON — Jurors imposed a 40-year prison sentence Tuesday on a Texasman convicted in a childhood arson at-tack on a boy who died as a result nearly13 years later.

Don Collins was sentenced for pouringgasoline on Robert Middleton and settinghim on fire on Middleton’s eighth birth-day in 1998 near Splendora, about 35miles northeast of Houston. Prosecutorshave said Collins burned the boy to si-lence him after earlier sexually assault-ing the child.

Middleton endured years of physicaltherapy before he died in 2011 from skincancer blamed on his burns.

Collins, 29, was convicted of capitalmurder Monday. His punishment wascapped at 40 years because he was 13 atthe time of the attack.

A jury of seven women and five menheard testimony Tuesday that Collinswas a troubled child who molested a 6-year-old girl and stomped a kitten todeath, according to the Houston Chroni-cle.

A man testified that Collins sexuallyassaulted him as a child.

“He had no friends,” Colleen Middle-ton, Robert Middleton’s mother, testified,KHOU-TV reported. “Everybody wasafraid of him. He was the big bully thatstomped kittens to death.”

Defense attorney E. Tay Bond told ju-rors that Collins’ mother died when hewas 8 and that his father was absent. Hewas left in the care of relatives who hadlittle interaction with him.

Rebecca Whitlock, a nurse who helpedMiddleton regain his strength and flexi-bility at a Galveston hospital, testifiedthat he helped other burned children andlobbied to keep the hospital open when itwas on the verge of being closed follow-ing Hurricane Ike in 2008, the Chroniclereported.

He was so well-liked that Whitlockworked to have June 28, his birthday, de-clared Robert Middleton Day by the cityof Galveston. A plaque with a city procla-mation and a photo of Middleton adornthe lobby of the hospital’s burn center,she said.

The trial was held in Galveston Countybecause the case received extensivemedia coverage in Montgomery County,north of Houston.

Man gets 40years for

burning boyASSOCIATED PRESS

State Rep. Giovanni Capri-glione, a leading advocate ofethics reform in the noto-riously unrestrained TexasLegislature, filed legislationTuesday designed to shedmore light on lawmakers whomake money off of govern-ment contracts.

One bill, identical to legisla-tion the Southlake Republicancouldn’t get through theHouse two years ago, requiresstate elected officials to dis-close government contracts inwhich they or a close familymember have a substantial fi-nancial interest.

The other bill takes a differ-ent tack. Rather than forcinglawmakers to add informationto their personal disclosureforms — an idea that hit tur-bulence last session — itwould require governmentalentities to reveal all “interest-ed parties” in their contracts.

Capriglione said his legisla-tion is modeled in part afterfederal contracting guidelines,and is aimed at ensuring vot-

ers can find out whether theirlawmakers are enmeshed inconflicts of interest the publicshould know about. He’s alsohoping it will sidestep con-cerns from colleagues aboutnew and potentially burden-some disclosure require-ments.

“I think that this might beanother way to get the samesort of information availableto the public, and maybe in away that is a little more palat-able to legislators,” Capri-glione told The Texas Tri-bune. “Just tell us who ismaking the money.”

The bill would require gov-ernmental entities — definedas a municipality, county,school district or special pur-pose district or authority — toreveal all interested partieswho stand to benefit financial-ly from a contract approvedby the governing body. Inter-ested parties would include abroker, intermediary, lawyeror adviser. It would also applyto state agency contracts of $1million or more.

That information would beforwarded to the Texas Ethics

Commission and made availa-ble to the public, allowing vot-ers to see if their lawmakersare scoring a big pay day atCity Hall, a state agency orsome other governmentalbody.

Under the state’s lax ethicslaws, lawmakers can easilyprofit from government con-tracts without explicitly dis-closing it to voters.

The Republican lawmakerthat Capriglione defeated inthe GOP primary in 2012,then-Rep. Vicki Truitt, waspaid hundreds of thousands ofdollars to do consulting workfor the Tarrant County Hospi-tal District, according to pub-lished reports.

On her 2010 personal finan-cial statement, Truitt onlyhad to list her consultingbusiness, Physician ResourceNetwork, and didn’t have toreveal to the Ethics Commis-sion that the company con-tracted with a public entity.It’s a gigantic loophole thatother Texas politicians haveused, making it difficult forthe public to know whethertheir legislator’s ties to some

business deal—or a govern-ment contract—might presenta conflict of interest.

Truitt said at the time thather relationship with the hos-pital district pre-dated her ser-vice in the Legislature anddid not conflict with her du-ties as a lawmaker.

The issue also arose in the2014 governor’s race, when Re-publican Greg Abbott accusedhis Democratic opponent,then-Sen. Wendy Davis, D-FortWorth, of profiting off her ser-vice in the Legislaturethrough contracts betweenher law firm and public enti-ties. Davis said her work forpublic entities, including theNorth Texas Tollway Author-ity, did not conflict with herrole as a senator.

Abbott, who trounced Davisin November and was swornin as governor last month,proposed far-reaching ethicsreforms on the campaign trailbut hasn’t talked much aboutit since. His next big opportu-nity will likely come nextweek when he delivers his“state of the state” speech tothe Legislature.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione R-Southlake waits to testify during a March 14 House Homeland Security & Public Safety committee hearing.

Photo by Marjorie Kamys Cotera | Texas Tribune

Bill would shed light on contractsBy JAY ROOT

TEXAS TRIBUNE

A Zopinion WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO [email protected]

There’s something sadin Brian Williams’ needto puff up his Iraq adven-tures and something bar-baric in the public re-sponse.

The sad part is the re-minder that no matterhow high you go in lifeand no matter how manyaccolades you win, it’snever enough. The desirefor even more admira-tion races ahead. Careersuccess never really sat-isfies. Public love alwaysleaves you hungry. Evenvery famous people cando self-destructive thingsin an attempt to seemjust a little cooler.

The barbaric part isthe way we respond toscandal these days.When somebody violatesa public trust, we try topurge and ostracize him.A sort of coliseum cul-ture takes over, leavingno place for mercy. Bynow, the script it famil-iar: Some famous persondoes something wrong.The Internet, the mostimpersonal of mediums,erupts with contemptand mockery. The offend-er issues a paltry half-apology, which only in-flames the public more.The pounding cry for re-signation builds until ca-pitulation comes. Publicpassion is spent, and thespotlight moves on.

I’ve only spoken withWilliams a few times,and can’t really speakabout the man (althoughI often appear on NBCNews’ "Meet the Press"),but I do think we’d all bebetter off if we reacted tothese sorts of scandals ina different way. The civicfabric would be strongerif, instead of trying tosever relationships withthose who have donewrong, we tried to repairthem, if we tried forgive-ness instead of exiling.

Forgiveness is oftenspoken of in sentimentalterms — as gushy abso-lution for everything, re-gardless of right orwrong. But many writers— ranging from HannahArendt and the Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.to modern figures likeJeffrie Murphy and L.Gregory Jones — havetried to think hard aboutrigorous forgiveness,which balances account-ability with compassion.

They’ve generally de-scribed four processes in-volved in forgiveness:

Pre-emptive MercyKing argued that for-

giveness isn’t an act; it’san attitude. We are allsinners. We expect sin,empathize with sin andare slow to think our-selves superior. The for-giving person is strongenough to display angerand resentment towardthe person who haswronged her, but she isalso strong enough togive away that anger andresentment.

In this view, the for-giving person makes thefirst move, even beforethe offender has asked.She resists the naturalurge for vengeance. In-stead, she creates a wel-coming context in whichthe offender can confess.

JudgmentA wrong is an occa-

sion to re-evaluate. What

is the character of theperson in question?Should a period of stu-pidity eclipse a record ofdecency?

It’s also an occasion toinvestigate each uniquecircumstance, the natureof each sin that was com-mitted and the impliedremedy to that sin. Somesins, like anger and lust,are like wild beasts.They have to be foughtthrough habits of re-straint. Some sins likebigotry are like stains.They can be expungedonly by apology andcleansing. Some likestealing are like a debt.They can be rectified on-ly by repaying. Some,like adultery, are morelike treason than likecrime; they can be recti-fied only by slowly re-weaving relationships.Some sins like vanity —Williams’ sin — can betreated only by extremeself-abasement.

During the judgmentphase hard questionshave to be asked so thatin forgiving we don’tlower our standards.

Confession andPenitence

At some point the of-fender has to get out infront of the process, be-ing more self-criticalthan anyone else aroundhim. He has to probedown to the root of hiserror, offer a confessionmore complete than ex-pected. He has to putpublic reputation and ca-reer on the back burnerand come up with acourse that will movehim toward his ownemotional and spiritualrecovery, to becomestrongest in the weakestplaces.

Reconciliation andRe-trust

After judgments havebeen made and penitenceperformed, both the of-fender and offended bendtoward each other. AsKing said, trust doesn’thave to be immediate,but the wrong act is nolonger a barrier to a re-lationship. The offenderendures his season ofshame and is better forit. The offended are freefrom mean emotions likevengeance and are uplift-ed when they offer kind-ness. The social fabric isrepaired. Communitysolidarity is strength-ened by the reunion.

I guess I think BrianWilliams shouldn’t haveto resign, for the reasonthat David Carr empha-sized in The Times: Wil-liams’ transgressionswere not part of his pri-mary job responsibili-ties. And because I thinkgood people are strongerwhen given secondchances.

But the larger ques-tion is how we buildcommunity in the face ofscandal. Do we exile theoffender or heal the rela-tionship? Would yourather become the sort ofperson who excludes, orone who offers tough buthealing love?

COLUMN

Williamsand the actof rigorousforgiving

“DAVID BROOKS

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Times doesnot publish anonymousletters.

To be published, lettersmust include the writer’sfirst and last names aswell as a phone numberto verify identity. The

phone number IS NOTpublished; it is used sole-ly to verify identity andto clarify content, if nec-essary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

We want to assure our

readers that a letter iswritten by the person whosigns the letter. The Zapa-ta Times does not allowthe use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-call-

ing or gratuitous abuse isallowed.

Via e-mail, send lettersto [email protected] or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Laredo,TX 78041.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Are Americans worriedabout climate change? Dothey want their govern-ment to regulate green-house gases? A recent sur-vey — from Stanford Uni-versity, The New YorkTimes and Resources forthe Future — found thatstrong majorities say "yes"to both questions.

But there’s a big catch,which isn’t getting the at-tention it deserves: Astrong majority also saythat they oppose increasingtaxes on either gasoline orelectricity in order to re-duce climate change. That’simportant, because any se-rious effort to lower emis-sions is going to raise pric-es (certainly in the shortrun).

The pattern of responseshere is essentially the sameas it was in the late 1990s,when the U.S. was debating

whether to ratify the KyotoProtocol to limit green-house gas emissions world-wide. In one poll at thetime, 59 percent of Ameri-cans favored ratification.Indeed, a strong majorityagreed with this extraor-dinary statement: "Protect-ing the environment is soimportant that require-ments and standards can-not be too high and contin-uing environmental im-provements must be maderegardless of cost."

At the same time, a ma-jority said they would op-pose the Kyoto Protocol if itwould cost them personally$50 per month. When thathypothetical monthly costwas raised to $100, almost90 percent said they wouldoppose it.

How can most Ameri-cans be unwilling to pay toreduce a problem that theybelieve (as they indicatedin the recent poll) will dam-age them personally?

One answer is that manypeople believe companiescan reduce emissions ontheir own, and without im-posing costs on consumers.(Unfortunately, that’s high-ly unrealistic.) Another isthat, in surveys, most peo-ple express an immediateand strong aversion tohigher taxes as the solutionto climate change (or al-most any other problem).

If the second answer isthe right one, then theremay be an opening for anadult conversation aboutthe topic. If we are worriedabout climate change, sure-ly we would be willing topay something — at least ifit isn’t a lot — to reducethe risk. According to someestimates, the U.S. could doa lot to reduce greenhousegases if the average Amer-ican paid a monthly energytax, targeted to such emis-sions, of $10, along with anequivalent gasoline tax.

It would be interesting to

ask people whether theywould be willing to paysuch amounts — or justhow much they might bewilling to pay.

The recent survey doesprovide a clear lesson fornational political cam-paigns: Candidates willhave trouble if they declineto acknowledge climatechange or say that theydon’t want to address it. Atthe same time, they have tobe wary of favoring initia-tives that would impose sig-nificant costs on Americanconsumers.

It’s much more effectiveto stress the potential bene-fits of new forms of clean,American-made energy —and to celebrate the money-saving advantages of ener-gy-efficient appliances andfuel-efficient cars. But ef-fective campaigning is onething; adult conversationsare another, and they can-not avoid the question ofcost.

COLUMN

We have to pay to slow changeBy CASS SUNSTEINBLOOMBERG NEWS

Thanks to the New Hori-zons probe, which began itsexploration of Pluto lastmonth, scientists and thepublic can anticipate evermore exciting pictures anddata about the dwarf plan-et. It will be the first en-

counter with a member ofthe Kuiper Belt of icy ob-jects beyond Neptune. Yetthe scheduled July 14 flybywill be of not one object butat least six: Pluto, Charon(a satellite half the size ofPluto) and four smallmoons — and who knowswhat else in orbit aroundtheir common center. Many

wonders and insights aboutthe origins and evolution ofthe solar system await.

But this encounter mayalso mark the beginning ofthe end of a golden periodof U.S. planetary explora-tion, particularly of our so-lar system’s outer reaches.If marvelous things arefound at Pluto, when would

the next mission follow up?If we are to continue ex-

ploring our home system,Congress and the presidentneed to commit to newfunding. While the humanspaceflight program faltersfrom uncertainty, we knowthat planetary explorationprovides enormous returnsfor the dollars invested.

COMMENTARY

Turning our backs on spaceBy MICHAEL J. NEUFELDTHE WASHINGTON POST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 Nation THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judgewill hear arguments Thursday onwhether to order local officialshere to begin issuing marriage li-censes to same-sex couples, assome Alabama counties grantedthe licenses for a second day, butmost continued to refuse.

Late Monday, gay rights advo-cates asked Judge Callie V.S. Gra-nade of U.S. District Court in Mo-bile to direct the probate judgehere, Don Davis, to issue the licens-es. The state’s second-most pop-ulous county, Mobile was by far thelargest where officials refused to is-sue licenses to anyone Monday.

The state attorney general, Luth-er Strange, filed a response Tues-day, opposing the request.

The county Probate Court judg-es who issue the licenses have beencaught in an unusual power strug-gle between state and federal ju-rists, sowing confusion as to howto proceed — confusion that nowappears set to persist at least untilThursday’s hearing.

Granade ruled last month thatAlabama’s ban on gay marriagewas unconstitutional. But Sundaynight, Alabama’s chief justice, RoyS. Moore, ordered that marriage li-censes not be granted to same-sexcouples.

Lawyers who challenged thestate’s ban, and many legal schol-ars, argue the law is clear that a

federal court order trumps the di-rection of Moore.

In some counties, includingthose that encompass the cities ofBirmingham, Montgomery andHuntsville, probate judges grantedlicenses to same-sex couples for thefirst time Monday. Several smallercounties that had refused to issuelicenses Monday changed courseTuesday and said they would, al-though it was not clear whetherthey had any takers. But 44 of Ala-bama’s 67 counties, including Mo-bile, still were not granting them,according to a tally kept by the Hu-man Rights Campaign, a gay-rightsgroup.

Granade’s decision strikingdown the state’s marriage law tookeffect Monday, and the U.S. Su-preme Court turned down a re-quest by state officials to stay thatruling, pending appeals.

Later that day, after Davis re-fused to issue licenses, same-sexmarriage advocates asked Granadeto hold him in contempt of court,but she turned down that request,partly on the basis that he was nota party named in the underlyinglawsuits. On Monday night, law-yers filed two new actions, namingDavis and state officials as defend-ants, and asking Granade for acourt order, but they did not askher to hold Davis in contempt.

On Monday, lawyers for Davispetitioned the Supreme Court ofAlabama for guidance regarding"the scope and the effectiveness" ofMoore’s administrative order.

James Strawser, left, celebrates as attorneys announce that a federal judge set ahearing to consider a request to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Photo by Sharon Steinmann/Al.com | AP

Same sex marriagepossible in Alabama

By KALYN WOLFE, RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA AND RICHARD FAUSSET

NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — The U.S.government has confirmedthat Kayla Mueller, a 26-year-old American woman heldhostage by the Islamic State inSyria, was killed, reachingthat conclusion after the groupsent pictures of her body toher family.

"We are heartbroken toshare that we’ve received con-firmation that Kayla JeanMueller has lost her life," herparents said in a statementTuesday. "Kayla was a compas-sionate and devoted humani-tarian. She dedicated thewhole of her young life to help-ing those in need of freedom,justice, and peace."

In a statement, PresidentBarack Obama said that "it iswith profound sadness that wehave learned of the death ofKayla Jean Mueller. On behalfof the American people, Mi-chelle and I convey our deep-est condolences to Kayla’s fam-ily — her parents, Marsha andCarl, and her brother Eric andhis family — and all of thosewho loved Kayla dearly. At thistime of unimaginable suffer-ing, the country shares intheir grief."

The Islamic State an-nounced Friday that Muellerwas killed when a Jordanianfighter jet bombed the build-ing where she was being heldin the north-central Syriancity of Raqqa, the group’s defacto capital. It was the firsttime the Islamic State, a radi-cal al-Qaida offshoot alsoknown as ISIS or ISIL, had ac-knowledged publicly that itwas holding the young woman.

Mueller’s family received anemail message over the week-end with "additional informa-tion about her death," WhiteHouse press secretary JoshEarnest said. "That informa-tion was shared with the intel-ligence community, which"concluded that Kayla has, infact, died."

The information availableto intelligence officials, Ear-nest said, "did not allow themto arrive at a conclusion abouther precise cause of death" orwhen it occurred. He and oth-er U.S. officials said theywould not provide details ofthe pictures her family re-ceived "out of respect for thefamily."

U.S. and Jordanian officialshave expressed strong skepti-cism that she was killed in anairstrike. Earnest repeatedearlier Jordanian statementsthat the target hit in the Feb. 6strike by the Jordanian airforce — a building that mili-tants showed in photographsposted online at the time theyannounced Mueller’s death —was a "weapons compound"near Raqqa that had also beenhit in earlier strikes.

"The information that wehave, because this airstrikewas coordinated with the Unit-ed States military, is that therewas no evidence of civilians inthe target area prior to thecoalition airstrike takingplace," Earnest said.

Mueller, of Prescott, Ariz.,was abducted in August 2013after leaving a hospital in theSyrian city of Aleppo. She hadtraveled to the region in late

2012 to help refugees trying toescape the civil war in Syria.

Mueller is the fourth Amer-ican since August to die whilebeing held hostage by the Is-lamic State. The group is stillholding a British journalist.

Mueller’s parents had heldout hope that their daughterwas alive, issuing a statementFriday to her captors.

"This news leaves us con-cerned, yet, we are still hope-ful that Kayla is alive," thefamily said. "We have sent youa private message and ask thatyou respond to us privately.We know that you have readour previous communica-tions."

The Mueller family also re-vealed Tuesday that theirdaughter had written a letterin the spring of 2014 in whichshe talked about the condi-tions of her captivity. She saidshe had come to terms withher situation but had not giv-en up hope.

"None of us could haveknown it would be this longbut know I am also fightingfrom my side in the ways I amable … I have a lot of fight leftinside of me," she wrote. "I amnot breaking down … I willnot give in no matter how longit takes."

US confirms death ofIslamic State hostage

By ADAM GOLDMANTHE WASHINGTON POST

Terri Crippes, left, and Lori Lyon, aunts of Kayla Mueller, speak at a news con-ference in Prescott, Ariz., Tuesday.

Photo by Jarod Opperman | New York Times

Sports&OutdoorsWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

WICHITA, Kan. — Dal-las Cowboys running backJoseph Randle brandisheda gun, broke a car windowand threw away a largeamount of marijuana be-cause police were coming,the mother of his infantson told a 911 dispatcher af-ter an altercation at aWichita hotel last week.

Recordings of three 911calls — two of them madeby Randle’s former girl-friend, Dalia Jacobs —were provided to The Wich-ita Eagle through an openrecords request.

Officers arrived shortlybefore 3 a.m. Tuesday anddidn’t find a weapon, butthey did find a smallamount of marijuana in ahotel room registered toRandle. He was cited forsuspicion of drug posses-sion and given a notice toappear in court, but thecharge was later dismissed.

A Wichita police spokes-man said the investigationwas expanding because ofinconsistencies in witnessstatements and that thedrug charge and otherscould still be filed.

In the first call, Jacobstold the dispatcher Randlehad “pointed the gun at themother of his child,” with-out revealing she was that

woman. “He has a lot of weed,”

Jacobs said a short timelater. “Joseph Randle justbroke a window.”

She urged the dispatcherto get someone to the hotel“as soon as possible.” Even-tually she admitted shewas the mother of Randle’sson, but asked the dispatch-

er not to tell Randle whocalled 911. She told the dis-patcher Randle had a gunin the trunk of his blackChallenger, but he wasn’toutside the hotel with her.

“They’re throwing awaythe weed right now be-cause they’re scared,” shesaid.

The call is cut short

when she says, “He’s com-ing! I have to go. I’mscared. Bye-bye.”

A second woman called911 after that, urging thedispatcher to send help be-fore uttering profanitiesand hanging up.

In the third call, Jacobs

told the dispatcher every-thing was a misunder-standing and that it wasn’tnecessary to send officers,after all.

“You guys don’t have toworry about it,” Jacobstold the dispatcher. “Wejust talked it out. It’s fine.

Everything is fine. We justtalked to him and he’s finenow. . Please don’t come.”

The dispatcher tells Ja-cobs he can’t stop the po-lice from responding to acall involving a weapon,the Dallas Morning News(http://bit.ly/1DVj6tA) re-ported.

Jacobs insisted the carwith the marijuana hadleft, and the gun was nolonger there.

Jacobs requested a pro-tective order Wednesdayagainst Randle, who grewup in Wichita, accusinghim of being physicallyand emotionally abusive to-ward her.

His attorney, GaryAyers, issued a statementover the weekend that saidRandle regrets being in-volved in a party that end-ed with the Wichita policebeing called.

“A woman who was pre-sent at the party has filed aprotection from abuse law-suit, which Randle believesto have no merit,” Ayerssaid. “Randle asked thewoman to leave the partyand go home, which she re-fused to do. Contrary to thewoman’s allegations, Ran-dle did not threaten her orbrandish a gun at anytime.”

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Allegations against RandleEx-girlfriend says Cowboys rusher Joseph Randle pointed gun at her

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dallas running back Joseph Randle has been accused by his ex-girlfriend of pointing a gun at her, as well as breaking a car window andthrowing out a large amount marijuana before police arrived.

Photo by Tim Ireland | AP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 Zentertainment PAGE 7A

For fake news, it is theend of an era, but one thatJon Stewart knew was fastapproaching.

Stewart’s decision to stepdown as the host of “TheDaily Show” was an-nounced Tuesday in a state-ment from Comedy CentralPresident Michele Ganeless.

For the better part of thelast two decades, I have hadthe incredible honor andprivilege of working withJon Stewart," Ganeless said."His comedic brilliance issecond to none. Jon hasbeen at the heart of ComedyCentral, championing andnurturing the best talent inthe industry, in front of and

behind the camera.Through his unique voiceand vision, ‘The DailyShow’ has become a cultur-al touchstone for millions offans and an unparalleledplatform for political come-dy that will endure foryears to come. Jon will re-main at the helm of ‘TheDaily Show’ until later thisyear. He is a comic genius,generous with his time andtalent, and will always be apart of the Comedy Centralfamily.”

For those paying atten-tion to the changes at Come-dy Central from the end of“The Colbert Report” to thespin off of John Oliver’sown HBO version of satiri-cal news there was ampleevidence that “The Daily

Show” empire was in themidst of undergoing a meta-morphosis. Stewart’s forayinto film directing proved tobe the real catalyst for thecomedian to contemplate anew career direction. In aninterview with The DailyBeast, Stewart was askedwhether it was hard to leave“The Daily Show” for threemonths to direct “Rosewa-ter.”

“Let me think. No! I’vegot a great group of peoplethere, and I knew John (Ol-iver) would be flawless hisshow is so great now, too soI was never left with anytrepidation about it of ‘Ohno, what will happen?’ Iknew. So, more or less, itwas a gift that they gave.”

While Stewart said he did

not view making films as awholly different endeavorfrom crafting fake news, itwas clear from his inter-view that it had motivatedhim. “Well, I just view it asfilmmaking, and not a sep-arate profession from what Ido on ‘The Daily Show.’ Ijust hope I’ll continue to dowork that lights a fire un-derneath me a little bit andgets me excited.”

In the end, with his con-tract at Comedy Central setto expire this year, Stewarttook stock of all that he hadaccomplished with “TheDaily Show,” and decidedthat he, like Colbert, and allthe other talented actorswho had gotten their starton the show, was ready tofollow another opportunity.

Stewart to leave ‘Daily Show’

This Nov. 30, 2011 file photo shows television host Jon Stewart dur-ing a taping of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" in New York.

Photo by Brad Barket | AP file

By DAVID KNOWLESBLOOMBERG NEWS

WBCACarnaval del 12 al 23

de febrero. Lunes-viernes,puertas abren a las 5 p.m.;sábado-domingo, puertasabren a mediodía. Estaciona-miento de Laredo EnergyArena. Costo: 2 dólares en-trada.

El viernes 13 de fe-brero se realizará ComedyJam for George presenta a‘The Wolf’, ‘Ponchi Herrera’,‘Matt Golightly’, ‘ Gibran TheComegician’, and ‘Jon Strin-ger’, a las 7 p.m. y 10 p.m.en Laredo Little Theatre.Costo: 30 dólares. Audiencia

El sábado 14 de febre-ro tendrá lugar la Carrera yFeria de la Salud FoundingFather’s, comienza a las8:30 a.m. La inscripción enel lugar comenzará a las7:30 a.m. Costo día delevento es de 20 dólares, ni-ños menores de 16 años pa-garían 10 dólares.

También en el sábado14 de febrero se realizará elFamily Fun Fest y musical deLCC se realizará de 12 p.m.a 5 p.m. en el campus deLaredo Community College.Entrada gratuita.

Evento Pipes & Stri-pes Car, de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m.el sábado 14 de febrero enEl Metro Park & Ride (enThomas y Hillside).

AVISO DE TRÁFICOContinúa el proyecto

de ampliación sobre US 83 ylas líneas divisorias del Con-dado de Webb y Zapata. Es-te proyecto utilizará un con-trol de tráfico para construirlas transiciones de carreterasen las líneas divisoras delCondado de Webb/Zapatapara los carriles del norte ysur, por lo que se pide a losconductores a poner aten-ción y obedecer las señalesde tráfico para evitar acci-dentes. Los trabajos conti-nuarán hasta el 6 de marzo.

TORNEO DE PESCAEl torneo de pesca de

bagre Falcon Lake Babe —In-ternational Catfish Series—para damas solamente, sellevará a cabo el sábado 14de febrero.

La serie de cinco torneosque se realizan mensualmen-te desde noviembre finalizarácon una ronda de campeo-nato en el mes de marzo.

El torneo es un evento in-dividual que permite hastatres concursantes por em-barcación. Las participantesdeberán pagar la cuota departicipación en los cincotorneos para tener derecho ala ronda de campeonato.

Las inscripciones se reali-zan el viernes anterior al sá-bado del torneo en BeaconLodge Rec. Hall. La cuota deinscripción es de 20 dólarespor persona.

El siguiente torneo seráel 7 de marzo para finalizarcon la ronda de campeonatoel 7 de marzo.

Para mayores informescomuníquese con Betty Ortizal (956) 236-4590 o con El-cina Buck al (319) 2395859.

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOSEl lunes 09 de febre-

ro, los Comisionados de laCorte del Condado de Zapa-ta realizarán su junta quince-nal en la Sala de la Cortedel Condado de Zapata, apartir de las 9 a.m. a 12p.m.

Para mayores informesllame a Roxy Elizondo al(956) 765 9920.

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOSEl lunes 23 de febre-

ro, los Comisionados de laCorte del Condado de Zapa-ta realizarán su junta quince-nal en la Sala de la Cortedel Condado de Zapata, apartir de las 9 a.m. a 12p.m.

Para mayores informesllame a Roxy Elizondo al(956) 765 9920.

Ribereñaen Breve

AUSTIN— Las tropas de laGuardia Nacional enviadas a lafrontera entre Texas y México du-rante el verano pasado, ahora es-tán en alineadas para permanecerahí indefinidamente, y no regresara casa en marzo como estaba pre-visto, dijo el Vicegobernador de Te-xas, el republicano Dan Patrick, elmiércoles.

El cambio llegó sólo cuatro se-manas después de que Rick Perry,quien ordenó 1.000 elementos efec-

tivos de la Guardia Nacional parael Valle del Río Grande, en uno desus últimos actos como gobernadorde Texas, fuera reemplazado porun sucesor que ha prometido unadefensa aún más dura para la segu-ridad fronteriza.

El gobernador Greg Abbott noasistió al anuncio y no se han for-malizado planes. Pero un extensodespliegue de elementos es la últi-ma señal de que el nuevo liderazgoconservador de Texas planea gas-tar en seguridad fronteriza, inclusoal tiempo que reconoce que los cru-ces ilegales han disminuido dramá-

ticamente.Patrick, quien también asumió

el cargo en enero, no quiso decircuántas tropas continuarían. Dijoque el mantenimiento de la misióndurante mayo costaría un extra de12 millones de dólares, y que espe-ra que Abbott haga un llamado pa-ra gastos de emergencia, para man-tener la guardia en la frontera has-ta agosto.

“No podemos retroceder ahora”,dijo Patrick. “Bajo ninguna cir-cunstancia debemos tener una reti-rada completa de la Guardia Nacio-nal, el próximo mes”.

La guardia comenzó a retirarsepoco a poco hasta la fecha límite demarzo y se redujo a 200 soldadosen la frontera el mes pasado.

Perry ordenó el despliegue du-rante lo que el presidente BarackObama llamó a una “crisis huma-nitaria” de decenas de miles de ni-ños no acompañados que entran enEU desde Centroamérica. Perry di-jo que el músculo adicional era ne-cesario para combatir los crimina-les que eran explotados mientraslos agentes de la Patrulla Fronteri-za están desbordados y distraídospor el aumento de los niños.

FRONTERA

Extienden plazoPOR PAUL J. WEBER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PÁGINA 8A Zfrontera MIÉRCOLES 11 DE FEBRERO DE 2015

La muerte de tres personas yel arresto de otras tres, ademásdel decomiso de armas y muni-ciones, fueron el resultado detres enfrentamientos entre civi-les armados y elementos policia-les.

Fue alrededor de las 11:45 p.m.del domingo, que oficiales mili-tares supuestamente fueron ata-cados en la carretera Reynosa-Matamoros, en el entronque dela Brecha 124 del municipio deRío Bravo, por civiles armados abordo de una camioneta Chevro-let Tahoe color negra y una ca-mioneta Chevrolet Equinox, am-bas con placas de Texas.

Tras los ataques un sospecho-so de entre 25 y 30 años de edad,murió. El hombre no ha sidoidentificado.

Además se decomisaron dosarmas largas, 440 cartuchos, 22cargadores, poncha-llantas, dospecheras y un chaleco antibalas,entre otros objetos.

El lunes, a las 9 a.m., elemen-tos de la Secretaría de la Defen-sa Nacional y Policía Federal delmunicipio de Reynosa, México,reportaron haber sido atacadospor personas armadas a bordode una camioneta Chevrolet, a lasalida de la certera a San Fer-nando. Al responder a la agre-sión, militares abatieron a dospresuntos agresores. Hasta elmomento no han sido identifica-dos.

Tras el enfrentamiento, oficia-les arrestaron a un tercer indivi-duo, identificado como AbrahamLinares, de 29 años de edad. Enel lugar se aseguraron dos ar-mas largas, un lanza-granadas,cartuchos y cargadores.

Elementos policiales arresta-ron a Iván Bladimir Niño Oroz-co y José Luis Gutiérrez Her-nández en el municipio de Mi-guel Alemán, México, acusadosde atentar contra la seguridadde la comunidad. Se les decomi-só 39 poncha-llantas y un radiode comunicación.

Ambos fueron detenidos en laColonia Educación cuando lospolicías estatales realizaban unoperativo en planteles educati-vos, percatándose de la presen-cia de los dos jóvenes en los mo-mentos en que arrojaban pon-cha-llantas sobre la avenida.

RIBEREÑA

Eventosdejan 3muertos

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

WASHINGTON — Elnúmero de plazas vacantesaumentó en diciembre asu mayor nivel en 14 años,una señal de que el fuerteaumento reciente del em-pleo continuará.

El Departamento delTrabajo informa que lasplazas en oferta aumenta-

ron 3,7% a una cifra ajus-tada por estación de 5 mi-llones, la más alta desdeenero de 2001. La contrata-ción total también aumen-tó 1,9% a 5,1 millones.

Pero más personas tam-bién dejaron sus trabajos,una señal de confianza enel mercado laboral, porquepor lo general eso sucedecuando ya tienen otro em-pleo a la vista, casi siem-

pre con un salario mayor.Las cifras reflejan el in-

forme mensual de empleode la semana pasada, quemostró que las empresasestán contratando a un rit-mo robusto e incluso pa-gando más. Las empresasagregaron 257.000 empleosen enero, y los salarios au-mentaron al ritmo men-sual más elevado en seisaños.

ECONOMÍA

Reportan aumento enoferta de empleo

POR CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABERASSOCIATED PRESS

En la imagen se observa a solicitantes utilizan el centro de compu-tación para presentar su solicitud durante una feria del trabajo deLewis Energy en las oficinas del Workforce Solution of South Texas.

Foto por Victor Strife/archivo | Laredo Morning Times

Un contingente de 250 ele-mentos policiales partióhacia un campo militaren Mazaquiahuac, Tlax-

cala, para recibir entrenamiento,el domingo por la mañana des-pués de una ceremonia de despe-dida por parte de autoridades deTamaulipas, señala un comunica-do.

La explanada del Complejo deSeguridad Pública de Ciudad Vic-toria, México, fue el punto de reu-nión del Gobernador Egidio TorreCantú, los elementos policiales,sus familias y otras autoridadesgubernamentales.

En 2014 hubo 3 contingentes

que fueron entrenados en el Cen-tro Especializado en Capacitacióny Adiestramiento. Los contingen-tes, en conjunto, suman 1.000 poli-cías estatales entrenados, sostieneun comunicado de prensa.

“Esta capacitación responde alas actuales necesidades que pre-senta nuestro Estado. (Los oficia-les) llegan con una nueva actitud,se ponen la camiseta, son recono-cidos por la Secretaría de la De-fensa Nacional, van con buenadisposición y motivados”, dijo Ar-turo Gutiérrez García, Secretariode Seguridad Pública, a través deun comunicado.

DespedidaLa señora Martha ve a su hijo

subir al autobús cargando una

mochila y distinguiéndose por loimpecable de su uniforme negro.

“Siempre soñó con ser policía,estamos orgullosos de él y de to-dos sus compañeros. Ellos son loshéroes que Tamaulipas necesita”.

Familiares, amigos y vecinosdespidieron al grupo de policías.

“Mi hermano tiene turno denoche, la gente duerme tranquila,saben que él vela su sueño en suronda por las calles, auxiliando aquien lo llame sin importar losriesgos latentes”, dijo Martina,hermana de un oficial que partióal campo militar. Dijo que éstaprofesión demanda mucho valor,pero que le ayuda mucho el profe-sionalismo y la capacitación queha tenido como policía estatal.

TAMAULIPAS

RECIBIRÁNENTRENAMIENTO

El Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, deseo buena suerte a 250 elementos policiales que ahora se encuentran cursando un entrena-miento táctico en el campo militar de Mazaquiahuac, Tlaxcala.

Foto de corteía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

250 policías partieron a campo militarTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 International THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

NEW DELHI — Less than ayear after Narendra Modi won ahistoric victory to become In-dia’s prime minister, a smallerpolitical earthquake struck thecapital Tuesday as a young polit-ical organization led by an anti-corruption crusader trouncedModi’s governing party in localelections.

The Aam Aadmi Party, orCommon Man Party, won 67 ofthe 70 seats in the Delhi Legisla-tive Assembly, far more thanpolls or even the most enthusias-tic of the party’s supporters hadpredicted. Aam Aadmi is led byArvind Kejriwal, a former taxexaminer who rose to fame as acampaigner against graft and re-fashioned himself into a defend-er of this city’s lowest socialstrata.

For Modi, the Delhi resultsrepresent the first resoundingdefeat since his Bharatiya Jana-ta Party, or BJP, won an outrightmajority in the lower house ofIndia’s parliament in May, thelargest such majority in 30years. In that election, the partywon all seven parliamentaryseats in Delhi, and as recentlyas December, polls had indicatedthat BJP would win the Delhielections handily.

But despite a string of suc-cessful foreign trips, Modi’s gov-ernment has yet to demonstra-bly revive India’s economy,which is producing a fraction ofthe jobs needed for the roughly12 million Indians who come ofage annually. This latest elec-tion, in which BJP took justthree seats, is the first sign thatvoters may be losing patience,analysts say. Some also suggest-ed Kejriwal’s "common man" im-age resonated in New Delhi, de-spite his frequent political mis-steps.

Hoping to take advantage ofwhat they saw as Modi’s enor-mous personal appeal, BJP hadused Modi’s image and presencethroughout the campaign. Inspeeches, Modi had vilified Kej-riwal, and Modi’s picture wasthe dominant image on full-pagenewspaper ads in the days lead-ing up to the vote.

Still, commentators disagreedTuesday about how badly Modiand his party would be woundedby the Delhi results, with somesuggesting it was just a hiccupin BJP’s effort to become thenew dominant national party.They said the Delhi contest wasjust one of many state elections— BJP had already done well infour state elections since Modicame to power — and the party’sloss was the result of tacticalmissteps rather than a funda-mental rejection of its messageand leader.

But others suggested Modi’sloss was more fundamental andthat his honeymoon with India’svoters had ended.

Kejriwal briefly served as Del-hi’s chief minister a year ago,but he resigned after just 49days, leaving the running of thestate to a centrally appointedgovernor. The move was one ofmany apparent miscalculationsKejriwal has made since comingto prominence, including a can-tankerous split with his first po-litical patron and, last year, a de-cision to create a national partythat would compete across Indiafor parliamentary seats, which

largely failed.But Kejriwal’s oft-repeated

apologies for resigning and a 70-point manifesto he developed forthe election — promising to im-prove the lives of Delhi’s vastunderclass through a crackdownon corruption, as well as by pro-viding cheaper electricity andfree water — resonated stronglyacross the sprawling capital re-gion.

The Delhi results also deep-ened the crisis engulfing theonce-dominant Indian NationalCongress party, which ruled Del-hi for 15 years until 2013 butfailed to win a single seat Tues-day despite vigorous campaign-ing by Rahul Gandhi, the scionof the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

Kejriwal managed to outma-neuver Modi on multiple levels,not only projecting himself asthe true agent of change but alsoas a man from humble circum-stances. Modi’s party won lastyear in part by trumpeting hisupbringing as the child of a teaseller, a modest background thatcontrasted sharply with that ofGandhi. But recently, Modi hasbeen seen wearing a suit withpinstripes made from the repeat-

ed printing of his own name, re-ported to have cost $17,000. Kej-riwal, by contrast, is known as"the muffler man" for his mod-est attire and his ungainly habitof wrapping his head in a scarfto stay warm.

Showered by rose petals andraucous chants from hundredsof well-wishers who throngedthe alley outside his party’sheadquarters Tuesday, Kejriwalappeared on a third-floor balco-ny flanked by his wife and clos-est aides.

"This is the triumph of truth.Neither do we have money, nordo we have any resources," Kej-riwal said. "But it’s scary. Thishuge mandate begets responsib-ility in its wake. I would like torequest all party workers to re-main humble and not indulge inthe slightest bit of pride."

Kejriwal said he would takethe oath as chief minister Satur-day at Ramlila Maidan, a fieldwhere he helped stage vast anti-corruption protests in 2011.

Half of India’s population isyounger than 25, and Aam Aad-mi has become the party of theyoung, with thousands of stu-dents from around India volun-

teering as canvassers.Nishtha Sood, 24, came from

the southeastern state of Jhark-hand because she saw Kejriwalas the answer to the routine cor-ruption that she said had costher father his land.

"What other choice do wehave if we want a corruption-free government?" Sood asked.

Kejriwal’s vow to crack downon small-scale corruption hasparticular resonance amongslum dwellers. The vast majori-ty of Delhi’s cycle rickshaw driv-ers and street hawkers, for ex-ample, do not have permits andare routinely pressured forsmall bribes by constables whooften pay bribes to land theirjobs.

Soni, a woman with one namewho sells flatbread from a tinybrick oven set up on a backstreet, said before Aam Aadmi’srise, her family used to pay 1,000rupees a month — roughly aquarter of their earnings — inbribes to the police and licens-ing officials so her businesswould not be shut down.

"I voted for the broom," shesaid Tuesday, referring to AamAadmi’s ubiquitous symbol. "Heis the man who helps the poor."

Mamata Banerjee, the chiefminister of the state of WestBengal and a fierce critic of Mo-di, tweeted Tuesday that the re-sults were a "turning point" and"a big defeat for the arrogantand those who are doing politi-cal vendetta & spreading hateamong people."

A spokeswoman for Modi’sparty, Meenakshi Lekhi, said theDelhi rout "is a small loss and abig lesson," adding that the par-ty would reflect in coming dayson what happened.

The courtyard of the head-quarters of the once-powerfulCongress party was nearly de-serted Tuesday. Ajay Maken, thehead of the Delhi campaign, ten-dered his resignation Tuesdaymorning and left. P.C. Chacko,general secretary in charge ofthe Delhi elections, sat at hisdesk sipping tea.

"In fact, we have been expect-ing at least a few seats in Delhi,"Chacko said. "We were really notprepared. We didn’t have our or-ganization structure intact."

India’s Aam Aadmi Party sweeps electionBy GARDINER HARRIS AND ELLEN BARRY

NEW YORK TIMES

Supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, celebrate their party’s victory in New Delhi, India, Tuesday.The upstart anti-corruption party has won a smashing victory in elections to install a state government in India’s capital.

Photo by Tsering Topgyal | AP

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Thejudge overseeing an investigation into themysterious death of a federal prosecutorhere last month has asked forensic expertsto identify DNA traces found at his home,it was revealed Tuesday.

The prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, wasfound dead of a gunshot wound last monthat his apartment, hours before he was ex-pected to talk to lawmakers about his ac-cusations that President Cristina Fernán-dez de Kirchner had conspired to derailhis investigation into the fatal bombing ofa Jewish community center here in 1994.

In the case, which has convulsed Argen-tina, it is unclear whether Nisman com-mitted suicide or was killed. Judge Fabia-na Palmaghini said the DNA did not be-long to Nisman. The traces were found ona coffee cup in the kitchen sink, accordingto local news reports.

Diego Lagomarsino, an aide to Nisman,said he made himself coffee when he vis-ited the prosecutor the day before he wasfound dead to take him a .22-caliber Bersapistol. Lagomarsino, who is charged withlending Nisman the pistol that fired thebullet that killed him, said Nisman hadsought a weapon for protection. Until now,only Nisman’s DNA traces had been foundon items taken from his apartment for lab-oratory tests.

Local news media reported that testsfound no gunpowder residue on Nisman’shands, corroborating previous results. Butballistics experts say the Bersa pistolmight not have left residue.

Posters announcing a march to commemorate thedeath of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, are seen on awindow in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday.

Photo by Rodrigo Abd | AP

New DNAtest ordered

for prosecutorBy JONATHAN GILBERT

NEW YORK TIMES

MOSCOW — Negotiatorsmeeting in Minsk, Belarus,reached a tentative deal for acease-fire in Ukraine on Tues-day night, setting the stage fora meeting of the leaders ofRussia, Ukraine, Germanyand France to sign the agree-ment Wednesday, according tomedia reports.

The preliminary talks Tues-day came after a rush of diplo-matic activity late last week,as fighting flared up in east-ern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and the Uk-rainian military.

The diplomacy included asurprise visit to Kiev, the Uk-rainian capital, by the Ger-man chancellor, Angela Mer-kel, and the French president,François Hollande, who metwith President Petro Porosh-enko of Ukraine in hopes ofreviving a September truceagreement that never tookhold.

Merkel and Hollande thentraveled to Moscow on Fridaywhere they met with Presi-dent Vladimir Putin of Russia.

The Ukrainian side hadbeen insisting that any agree-ment adhere to the Septemberaccord, which called for anend to fighting and a with-drawal of heavy weapons, andestablished a cease-fire line ac-cording to military positionsat the time.

Putin and the separatistleaders were apparently seek-ing new lines based on recentadvances by separatist forces.

The terms of the tentative

deal reached in Minsk, whichwere first reported by theRussian news agency TASSand BelTa, a Belarusian newsagency, were not immediatelyavailable.

It had been uncertain ifWednesday’s gathering of thefour world leaders would goforward, as the preliminarymeeting, including represen-tatives of Ukraine, Russia andthe self-declared separatist re-publics of Donetsk and Lu-hansk, continued late Tues-day.

Participants in those talksincluded the former Ukrai-

nian president Leonid M.Kuchma, who has been repre-senting Poroshenko; the Rus-sian ambassador to Ukraine,Mikhail Y. Zurabov; ViktorMedvedchuk, a Ukrainian po-litical operative who is a closefriend of Putin’s; Denis Pushi-lin of the Donetsk separatistgroup; Vadislav Deinego ofthe Luhansk group; and HeidiTagliavini, a representative ofthe Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe,which has helped moderatethe talks.

After midnight, the Rus-sian news agency Interfax re-

ported an agreement had yetto be reached, citing an un-named source.

Earlier Tuesday, Poroshen-ko held a series of high-leveldiplomatic consultations in-cluding calls with PresidentBarack Obama, PresidentBronislaw Komorowski of Po-land, and the Swedish primeminister, Stefan Leuven.

A statement put out by Po-roshenko’s office said the callwith Obama focused on "theneed for a cease-fire andpeaceful settlement based onimplementation of the Minskarrangements."

Agreement on Ukraine cease-fireBy DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

NEW YORK TIMES

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, left, and Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov speak toeach other after their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday.

Photo by Sergei Grits | AP

Germany and Greece drewbattle lines ahead of an emer-gency meeting of official cred-itors today, setting the stagefor a clash.

German Finance MinisterWolfgang Schaeuble dousedexpectations of a positive out-come for Greece at the meet-ing in Brussels, saying there

are no plans to discuss a newaccord or give the countrymore time. Greece’s newPrime Minister Alexis Tsipraswas defiant, saying there is noway back for his government,and that he wants a newagreement that wont subjecthis people to more pain.

Tsipras said in a speech be-fore a vote of confidence inparliament that he wants anaccord that is in the mutualinterest of Greece and its

partners, one that will end pu-nitive terms and the destruc-tion of the Greek economy.

The discord risks roilingGreek markets again afterthey were buoyed by opti-mism on Tuesday that theremight be room to move to-ward an agreement. Greekgovernment bonds rose forthe first time in five days andthe benchmark Athens StockExchange Index advanced 8percent.

Speaking to reporters in Is-tanbul yesterday after a two-day meeting of finance chiefsfrom the Group of 20, Schaeu-ble said it’s over if Greecedoesnt want the final trancheof the current aid program.Greece’s creditors also can’tnegotiate about somethingnew, Schaeuble said. Any ac-cord would require an easingof Germany’s stance in thestandoff between Greece andits creditors.

Germany toughens tone with GreeceBy NIKOS CHRYSOLORAS

AND RAINER BUERGINBLOOMBERG NEWS

the zapata times 2/11/2015

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