Helping or hurting? - Previous Issues

MOVIES
Marketing films
overseas can
be a tough sell
Page 24
FACES: Iconic musician
Prince dead at 57
Page 43
stripes.com
Volume 75, No. 5 ©SS 2016
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016
$1.00
GOP wants
to fund more
troops with
war money
Army veteran Joe
Aguirre sits with his
service dog, Munger,
in Fayetteville, N.C.
BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN
Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — One big
question surrounding this year’s
defense budget has been how
Republicans will pay for the additional soldiers, the troop pay
raises and the new hardware
they want while staying within
the strict limits Congress has imposed on spending.
The answer: Fund the Islamic
State war only through next April,
instead of a full year.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, RTexas, the chairman of the
House Armed Services Committee, said Thursday that providing
only partial funding of the war
in 2017 will allow Republicans to
spend $18 billion more than the
Pentagon requested for nonwar
operations.
It also would allow the party
to stay within the federal spending limits Congress agreed to last
fall to ease the political gridlock,
which has tangled up the budget
for years.
Thornberry said the next president and Congress will be left to
work out a new agreement to fund
the war in Iraq and Syria — as
well as any continuing operations
in Afghanistan — for the remainder of 2017.
“Maybe the new president says
President Barack Obama got it
just right and maybe the new
president says he is not doing
enough,” he said.
SEE FUND ON PAGE 4
‘
Maybe the new
president says
President Barack
Obama got it just
right and maybe the
new president says he
is not doing enough.
’
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas
chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee
A LLEN G. BREED/AP
Helping or hurting?
Questions raised over VA study of service dogs for vets with PTSD
BY A LLEN G. BREED
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Army veteran
Joe Aguirre opens a restaurant door, then
steps aside to let his golden retriever take
point. “Clear,” Aguirre commands, and
3-year-old Munger pivots right, left, then
right again, sweeping the room for potential
threats.
“He’s basically looking for ... anything that
would be out of the ordinary. A bag. A particular weapon. People acting erratic,” said Aguirre, who suffers from post-traumatic stress
disorder after three tours of duty in Iraq and
one in Afghanistan. At the cash register, Aguirre says “Block,” and the dog places himself
perpendicular to his master, creating a buffer
to anyone who might approach.
‘ They startle very quickly.
And knowing that they have
that dog there, guarding
their six as it were ...
they’re not in this constant
hyper vigilant state.
’
David Cantara
Patriot Rovers
Before Munger, a simple outing like this
would have been terrifying, if not impossible.
“He’s put faith back into my way of looking
at society,” Aguirre said. But do the comfort
and security this lovable dog provides come
at the expense of true healing from PTSD?
Is Munger merely preventing Aguirre from
confronting his demons?
Since 2002, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has paid veterinary bills to veterans with guide or service dogs for physical
disabilities. Now, the agency is in the midst of
a $12 million study to gauge the efficacy and
costs of using dogs to help those who suffer
from post-traumatic stress.
Four years in, that research has been
plagued by problems. Only about 50 dogs
have been placed with veterans, and critics question whether the protocol, itself,
is flawed — with the dogs being trained to
do things that could reinforce fears. Others
worry the animals could become a substitute
for the hard work that comes with therapy.
SEE DOGS ON PAGE 5
PAGE 2
F3HIJKLM
QUOTE
OF THE DAY
“The government
is actually going to
show up at the hearing
instead of trying to
shut it down.”
— Dror La-din, staff attorney at
the ACLU, which brought the case
against the Justice Department
arising from the CIA’s harsh
interrogation techniques
See story on Page 8
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Friday, April 22, 2016
PACIFIC
Yokosuka commanding officer fired
BY ERIK SLAVIN
Stars and Stripes
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE,
Japan — Yokosuka base commanding officer Capt. David
Glenister has been relieved of
duty, Navy officials in Japan said
Thursday.
Rear. Adm. Matthew Carter,
head of Navy Region Japan, relieved Glenister on Wednesday
afternoon after losing confidence
in his ability to command.
“The action resulted from the
findings gathered during investigations which determined that
Glenister had not performed to
the high standards demanded of
an installation commanding officer,” a Navy statement said.
Glenister’s initial misstep involved an investigation into Morale, Welfare and Recreation
programs in the summer of 2015,
Navy Region Japan officials said.
The investigation completed by
the base command was deemed
by higher headquarters as “wholly insufficient,” Navy Region
Japan spokesman Cmdr. Ron
Flanders said Thursday.
The regional command later
conducted its own investigation,
which found and corrected deficiencies in the MWR programs,
Flanders said.
This year, Glenister inadequately handled a “very serious”
personnel grievance filed by a
Yokosuka civilian base employ-
ee, Navy Region Japan officials
said. The grievance was not filed
against Glenister personally. Officials declined to provide more
detail on the grievance because it
could be the subject of a lawsuit.
The two incidents, combined
with poor initial findings of a
command climate survey, led the
Navy to determine that Glenister could no longer “handle that
complex range of issues that can
occur at a major base,” Flanders
said.
Glenister was not immediately
available for comment Thursday.
Glenister assumed command
of Yokosuka Naval Base in August 2013 and would have been
relieved this summer under a
normal rotation process.
Glenister’s past commands included the minehunter USS Falcon and the frigate USS Rentz. He
has been temporarily reassigned
to Navy Region Japan, which is
also at Yokosuka.
Capt. Steven Wieman, deputy
commander and chief of staff of
Navy Region Japan and former
commanding officer of Naval Air
Facility Atsugi, has been assigned
as acting commanding officer.
Yokosuka Naval Base is the
service’s largest overseas installation and headquarters to the 7th
Fleet, which includes the aircraft
carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
[email protected]
Twitter:@eslavin_stripes
North Korea may have
resumed excavation
at nuclear test site
BY K IM GAMEL
Stars and Stripes
SEOUL, South Korea — New
satellite images show North Korea
may have resumed tunnel excavation at its main nuclear test site, a
Washington-based think tank says,
adding to concern that Pyongyang
could be preparing a fifth nuclear
test despite international condemnation and sanctions.
“The possibility of an impending test cannot be ruled out,” said
an analysis published Wednesday
by 38 North, a website run by
Johns Hopkins University’s School
of Advanced International Studies
that monitors North Korean activities. “Pyongyang has clearly demonstrated … the ability to conduct
detonations on short notice while
masking indicators of its preparations from satellite view.”
Limited vehicle and equipment
activity has been detected along
with indications that excavation operations have resumed at
the Punggye-ri nuclear test site,
where the North’s past tests took
place, the analysis said. Satellite
images from Tuesday showed two
small mine ore carts on a track
crossing the road from a tunnel
entrance.
“The presence of the two carts
… and the absence of any notable
changes in the spoil pile suggests
that tunnel excavation operations
are about to resume, or have recently resumed, for the first time
this year,” the analysis said.
However, the signs at Punggye-ri are not confirmation that a
test is imminent, said the report,
which added those activities could
be carried out either in possible
preparation for a test or to conceal
those preparations.
Many officials and analysts believe North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un, in defiance of fresh
U.N. sanctions after the country’s
fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and
a subsequent long-range rocket
launch, is preparing another test
as a show of power ahead of the
first ruling party congress in
three decades next month.
The U.S., South Korea and
Japan pledged to toughen measures against North Korea if it
goes through with a new nuclear
test or other provocation. The
North tried but failed last week to
launch a reported midrange bal-
Courtesy of 38 North/Airbus Defence and Space
This satellite image taken Tuesday shows the limited movement
of vehicles and equipment at the north portal of North Korea’s
Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
listic missile timed to mark the
104th birthday of the country’s
founding leader, Kim Il Sung, who
is the grandfather of the current
leader.
South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung Nam
warned at a joint news conference
after trilateral talks with his U.S.
and Japanese counterparts that
Pyongyang “will face even stron-
ger sanctions and deeper isolation” if it continues to defy the
international community.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Antony Blinken also said further
provocation would trigger new
sanctions, including a move to cut
off hard currency earnings by its
workers abroad.
[email protected]
Twitter: @kimgamel
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PAGE 3
EUROPE
Command ship USS Mount Whitney turns 45
Face-lifts keep
6th Fleet’s busy
flagship tied into
changing theater
BY STEVEN BEARDSLEY
Stars and Stripes
GAETA, Italy — From a bridge
wing of the USS Mount Whitney,
executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Chris
De Leon pointed out the exterior
radar arrays to be swapped out
during a coming maintenance
period.
“This will change, that will
change,” he said, indicating large
and small domes on the ship’s
fore and aft. “You won’t see two of
these anymore,” he said, pointing
to another. “You’ll see one.”
Regular face-lifts help keep
the 45-year-old Mount Whitney,
flagship for the U.S. 6th Fleet,
well plugged into the theater it
oversees. The aging ship remains
an unflashy centerpiece of the
fleet, a floating command node
that enables admirals to direct
American naval power — ships,
submarines and aircraft — from
international waters.
“Anything and everything
that’s happening Navy, from the
Atlantic to the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and over to the Red Sea,
is under our purview,” said Capt.
Carlos Sardiello, the commanding officer.
There’s a lot happening in Europe right now, judging by the
Mount Whitney’s schedule.
It sailed to Scotland in October
for a first-of-its-kind multinational ballistic missile demonstration. It will head to the Baltic
Sea in a few months for an exercise that will flex U.S. and NATO
maritime might in a region increasingly contested by Russia.
Sandwiched in between are
visits to friendly ports and events
like this month’s “tiger cruise”
for family and Navy personnel in
the area.
One of only two active, purposebuilt command ships commissioned by the Navy, the Mount
Whitney arrived in Gaeta in 2005,
the same year the Navy moved its
European command from London
to Naples in a shift of focus toward
the Mediterranean. Equipped
only with defensive weapons, the
ship was designed as a floating
Stars and Stripes
After a 14-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean from Norfolk, Va., the USS Mount Whitney sails toward Gaeta, Italy, in February 2005.
maritime operations center, or
MOC, that would allow the 6th
Fleet to move its staff from headquarters in Naples offshore when
necessary.
“All the functions that the MOC
does in Naples, they can do here,”
said De Leon. “We shift the
MOC.”
The ship wears a NATO hat and
has a separate NATO staff, reflecting the 6th Fleet commander’s dual role as head of Naval
Striking and Support Forces
NATO.
The Mount Whitney is one of
four “hybrid crews” in the Navy.
Civilian mariners are responsible
for navigation, while uniformed
sailors man communications
equipment and weapons. Sardiello has authority over the entire
crew.
The fleet commander and his
staff make use of the ship’s large
operations center, where they
can monitor events, hold meetings and brief others via secured
communications. The ship’s ever-
Courtesy of the U.S. Navy
Liaison officers from coalition countries meet with Joint Task Force
Odyssey Dawn staff members aboard the USS Mount Whitney in
2011 to discuss operations against the Libyan regime of Moammar
Gadhafi.
shifting radar arrays are central
to the ship’s connectivity.
The Mount Whitney has good
reason to stay prepared these
days. European waters, regarded
as sleepy after the end of the Cold
War, have become active again.
Russia has increased its maritime
patrols, while instability across
North Africa and the Middle East
threatens to bleed into Europe.
The Mount Whitney was among
the first American ships to visit
Georgia after Russia’s invasion.
It was headquarters to the fourstar joint task force that bombed
Libyan regime forces of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
It returned to the Black Sea
three years later as terrorism
fears ran high around the Sochi
Olympics.
After several years in which
it was the only permanently stationed American ship in Europe,
the Mount Whitney has been
joined by four guided-missile destroyers moved to Rota, Spain.
Although each is armed with far
more weapons, the Mount Whitney calls the shots when the commander is embarked, Sardiello
said.
“Everything in the theater is
the weapons,” he said. “And it’s
all at the admiral’s fingertips
here.”
[email protected]
Twitter: @sjbeardsley
Humvees hurtle to ground in training accident in Hohenfels
Stars and Stripes
GRAFENWOEHR,
Germany — A training mission gone
awry resulted in the loss of three
Army Humvees during a heavyequipment-drop mission last
week in Hohenfels.
A video circulating on social
media shows the vehicles falling
To see video of the Humvees’
airdrop mishap, go to
www.stripes.com/go/humvees
out of the back of passing C-130s
during a routine training exercise for the U.S. Army’s 173rd
Airborne Brigade on April 11.
Connected to parachutes, most of
the Humvees simply float gently
to the ground. But during a second C-130 pass, one of the Humvees disconnects from its chute
and hurtles to the ground.
A minute later, a second one
breaks free from its chute. Then,
a third.
A spokesman for the 173rd said
no one was injured as a result of
the incident and that its cause
is under review. The brigade is
wrapping up operations on Saber
Junction 16, an exercise that saw
hundreds of successful airdrops
during the course of the past few
weeks.
“Everything is planned for
safety purposes; everything is
done according to Army regulations and policies to ensure the
safety of personnel and equipment,” said Maj. Juan Martinez.
“However, things do happen,
and that’s why investigations
come up to identify what went
wrong, what happened, so we can
learn from here and continue so
when we do real operations, these
things don’t happen.” he added.
[email protected]
PAGE 4
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Friday, April 22, 2016
MILITARY
EUCOM nominee favors 3rd
permanent brigade in Europe
BY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, tapped to lead U.S. troops in
Europe, said Thursday he favors
permanently stationing a heavyarmor brigade on the continent
to deal with the threat posed by a
resurgent Russia.
“A permanently stationed armored brigade in Europe would
be best,” he said during a confirmation hearing before the Senate
Armed Services Committee.
Scaparrotti, who now commands U.S. forces in Korea,
called Russia the top threat facing the U.S., and he said Moscow
should be delivered a sharp warning to keep a distance from U.S.
forces operating in the region.
At present, only two brigades
are permanently stationed in Europe, both light infantry.
During the course of several
days last week, Russian fighter
jets buzzed a U.S. warship patrolling in the Baltics and barrelrolled over a U.S. reconnaissance
aircraft flying in the area, prompting protests from U.S. officials.
When asked whether America
should draw a line with Moscow
and make clear that such direct
‘ We should engage (Russia) and make
clear what is acceptable operations of both
our forces in close proximity. And once we
make that known, we have to enforce it.
’
U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti
confrontation could prompt a military response, Scaparrotti said,
“We should engage them and
make clear what is acceptable operations of both our forces in close
proximity. And once we make that
known, we have to enforce it.
“We should keep everything on
the table.”
If he is confirmed, Scaparrotti,
will replace retiring Gen. Philip
Breedlove at the helm of U.S. European Command and as NATO’s
supreme allied commander. He
will come to Europe at a time of
turbulence. In addition to a more
aggressive Russia, he faces growing concerns about terrorism and
instability fueled by the migrant
crisis spilling into Europe from
Syria.
In response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine two years
ago, the U.S. has strengthened its
posture on the continent, sending
rotational forces to Poland and
the Baltics, areas with a history
of concern about Russian intentions. Still, adding a third permanently stationed Army brigade in
Europe would provide more stability for U.S. training missions
than rotational forces and would
send a signal of commitment to
the region, Scaparrotti said.
At issue is whether the Army
has the resources to commit an
additional brigade on a permanent basis, which the general said
he would examine.
“I’ve got to look at the service’s
situation,” he said.
Scaparrotti offered a defense of
the NATO alliance, a frequent target of criticism in the U.S. because
of the view that Europeans underinvest in their own defense. For
example, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump
JOE G ROMELSKI /Stars and Stripes
Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti testifies Thursday before a Senate Armed
Services Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to serve
as commander of the U.S. European Command.
has said he
would consider withdrawing the
U.S.
from
the NATO.
Scaparrotti
countered
that Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin would
Robinson
be the bigger
winner if the U.S. pulled out of the
transatlantic alliance.
Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson,
who leads the service in the Pacific and is tapped to lead U.S.
Northern Command, also testi-
fied Thursday.
Robinson, who, if confirmed,
would be the first woman to lead
a combatant command, said she
would look for ways to better coordinate with U.S. agencies on the
southern border, where there is
increased concern about the flow
of heroin and other narcotics into
the U.S. Robinson also named
Russia as the main foreign threat
and homegrown terrorists as a
top areas of focus.
“Defense of the homeland is a
sacred responsibility and the No.
1 mission of the Department of
Defense,” she said.
[email protected]
Fund: Bill adds 20K soldiers DOD seeking Gitmo hearings by video
to Army’s proposed budget
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
Miami Herald
FROM FRONT PAGE
The plan is being rolled into the
annual National Defense Authorization Act, which sets defense
policy, as the House Armed Services Committee plans to hammer out its version of the massive
bill next week.
Thornberry’s
committee
pushed ahead Wednesday with a
$610 billion budget bill that adds
20,000 soldiers to the Army’s proposed budget and a 2.1 percent
pay raise, the highest increase in
years.
It is a shrewd move by Republicans who earlier had attempted
to skirt the agreed-upon budget
caps using the war fund, called
Overseas Contingency Operations, by arguing the cap on the
fund actually was supposed to be
a minimum spending amount.
The short-term war budget
also could lead to a new twist on
a common problem for a divided
Congress that increasingly has
struggled with crises created by
short-term spending measures
— a fiscal cliff for the war effort.
Thornberry laid the blame
for the budget maneuvering at
Obama’s feet, saying the administration did not request enough
money in the overseas war fund
to cover costs.
“There is not enough OCO left
to pay for the activities that the
president has asked for [during]
the whole fiscal year,” he said.
The chairman and his counterpart on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., have decried what they
consider anemic military funding
and overall declining readiness
in the face of increasing security
risks around the world. But Congress has tied its own hands with
spending limits, mostly championed by fiscally conservative
Republicans.
“Unfortunately, the president’s
defense budget request for the
coming fiscal year does little to
nothing to address this problem,”
McCain said Wednesday on the
Senate floor. “Instead, it continues down the dangerous path
of budgeting based not on what
our military needs, but on what
arbitrary defense spending constraints allow.”
Thornberry and McCain have
called for reversing the Army’s
plans to draw down end strength
from 492,000 to 450,000 and
pumping more money into programs such as Marine Corps
aviation maintenance, which is
suffering with parts shortages.
The Army announced the threeyear drawdown last summer as
a cost-cutting measure that ultimately will save $7 billion.
[email protected]
Twitter: @Travis_Tritten
The Obama administration
is proposing to hold parts of the
Guantanamo trials by video feed
and let war court judges outsource
some legal decisions to secondary
military judges in a bid to speed
up the war court.
The Pentagon submitted the
request to Congress April 14, coincidentally just after The Miami
Herald published a leaked report
on potential toxic hazards at the
war court compound in Cuba,
Camp Justice. A Marine general
is refusing to let his troops sleep
there pending more information
on the safety of Camp Justice.
A Pentagon spokesman said the
timing was unrelated.
Rather, Navy Cmdr Gary Ross
said Wednesday that the proposed Military Commissions Act
Amendments of 2016 are “designed to improve the efficacy, ef-
ficiency, and fiscal accountability
of the commission process.” They
are “fully in alignment with the
interests of justice and consistent
with our American values of fairness in judicial processes.”
As long as there’s no jury present, under the new vision, a judge
could convene a hearing elsewhere
and let the accused terrorists participate, Skype-style. Ross cast it
as “another tool” for the military
judge “to facilitate the scheduling
and convening of hearings.” The
idea is “to provide flexibility at
the military judge’s discretion to
convene hearings without requiring all necessary participants to
travel to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
A veteran death-penalty defense attorney on the Sept. 11
case, Jay Connell, called the idea
unworkable “because everyone
has a right to be present at their
own trial.” He reminded that the
Pentagon prosecutor, Army Brig.
Gen. Mark Martins, has argued in
court that the suspected 9/11 plotters should be required to attend
all pretrial hearings. The trial
judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl,
allows them to waive attendance
after an initial appearance.
The new rules would authorize a military judge take a warcrimes guilty plea by video feed.
Officials could not put a price
tag on the efficiency proposals for
an operation that costs $5.56 million per year per prisoner.
Another
proposed
change
would permit a trial judge to assign a secondary military judge to
“rule upon one or more collateral
or other motions before a military
commission,” according to the request the Pentagon sent Congress
without mention of the array of
side issues that have stalled progress in the Sept. 11 trial. President George W. Bush established
these military commissions,
which Barack Obama reformed
at the start of his presidency.
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PAGE 5
MILITARY
Dogs: VA study that survived revamp of protocol is set to conclude in 2018
FROM FRONT PAGE
“You will have the veterans go
to more places with the dogs and
do more things than they would
otherwise do,” said Dr. Edna Foa,
director of the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. “But
they are reliant on the dog, not on
their knowledge of ... whether really they are afraid of a ghost.”
More than 350,000 veterans of
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
have sought help from the VA for
PTSD. Yet the agency is authorized
to pay only for “evidence-based”
therapies such as cognitive processing and prolonged exposure,
which involve having veterans
confront and analyze traumatic
events.
In 2010, Congress permitted the
VA to study alternative treatments
for PTSD, including the therapeutic use of animals. The study
began in late 2011 in Tampa, Fla.,
with three nonprofits contracted
to provide up to 200 service dogs
for veterans, who would be compared against a control group that
did not receive dogs.
The effort soon ran into trouble.
The VA cut off two of the three dog
vendors following biting incidents
involving participants’ children.
The final contract was terminated
in August 2012 amid allegations
of lax veterinary care and placement of dogs “with known aggres-
PABLO M ARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP
Military veteran Cole Lyle, who
suffers with PTSD, walks with
his dog, Kaya, in the hallways
of the Rayburn House Office
building last week prior to
testifying before a House
subcommittee hearing.
sive behavior,” according to VA
records. By then, only 17 dogs had
been placed.
During the next year and a half,
the study protocol was revamped
to exclude veterans with children
under age 10. It also dropped the
no-dog control in favor of a group
that would receive less-specialized “emotional support dogs”
whose “sole function is to provide
comfort.”
Critics of the study object most
strongly to the tasks the VA is requiring of the dogs — sweeping
the perimeter of a room before
a veteran enters, for example,
or protecting the veteran by
“blocking.”
“Isn’t that saying that al-Qaida
could be behind the shower curtain? That’s supporting paranoid,
pathological thinking,” said Meg
Daley Olmert, author of a book on
how contact with a dog can create
a sense of well-being. Olmert is
chief research adviser for Warrior
Canine Connection, a Marylandbased nonprofit that uses veterans
to train service dogs. The group’s
leaders say dogs should be trained
to pick up on cues from PTSD sufferers and then provide support.
Rick Yount, executive director of the nonprofit, questioned
whether the study had perhaps
even been set up to fail so the VA
wouldn’t have to pick up the tab
for veterinary bills for psychiatric
service dogs. Already the VA is on
the hook for upward of $1.4 million a year to cover bills for service dogs for physical disabilities.
Michael Fallon, VA chief veterinary medical officer, said the
insinuation that money is the
researchers’ chief concern is
“ludicrous.” As for the training
guidelines, he said the list of commands was developed during a
year of consultation with mental
health experts, service dog providers and veterans. They help get
veterans “out into the community
and integrated more into the public life,” he said.
One dog trainer agreed, in part.
David Cantara heads North Carolina-based Patriot Rovers, which
trained Aguirre’s dog and is not
connected to the VA’s study. While
Cantara is opposed to using dogs
to sweep rooms, he said the blocking command is one of the most
vital to his veterans.
“They startle very quickly.
And knowing that they have that
dog there, guarding their six as it
were ... they’re not in this constant
hypervigilant state,” he said.
The debate has highlighted an
overall lack of standards in the
service dog industry. Currently,
the VA will only pay benefits for
service dogs trained by an organization accredited by Assistance
Dogs International, and that
group is only now developing its
own guidelines for the use of dogs
for veterans with combat-related
PTSD. Only one of the vendors
supplying dogs for the VA study
is ADI-accredited, and none has
prior experience training animals
for veterans with PTSD.
Despite all the criticism, the
VA’s study, set to conclude in 2018,
is chugging along — with more
than 100 of an eventual 220 veterans enrolled, about half paired
with dogs.
In November, the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for
Health Research released the results of a study involving 78 veterans with PTSD. It found that
those with animals had better
overall mental health, less substance abuse and higher ratings
on their interpersonal relationships. Researchers said, however,
that “differences cannot be directly attributed to service dogs”
and that more study is needed.
As far as Joe Aguirre is concerned, the question of whether these dogs help has been
answered.
“I honestly feel without Munger
in my life right now, I probably
wouldn’t be alive,” he said of the
dog named in honor of Spc. Joshua Munger, of Maysville, Mo.,
killed by an improvised explosive
device near Baghdad in 2005. Patriot Rovers names all its support
dogs after fallen servicemembers.
“It makes me feel like I’ve got a
bond, knowing that he, like any
other soldier that you have a bond
with, would take a bullet for you.
Would watch your back — and
your front.”
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Friday, April 22, 2016
MILITARY
More collaboration
urged for research
into brain injuries
BY DIANNA CAHN
Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — A Super
Bowl champion, an Olympic gold
medalist and Department of
Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob
McDonald announced they are
leaving their brains to scientists
seeking a cure to traumatic brain
injury.
But the three couldn’t compete
with Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg at this week’s Brain Trust
summit. The Army Ranger and
his parents brought hundreds of
participants at the summit to a
standing ovation with his story
of recovery from a deadly bomb
blast in Afghanistan.
The bomb blew out an ear and
an eye, collapsed both his lungs
and threw him 40 feet through
the air to land face down in water.
He wasn’t breathing, his skull
was pummeled, he had broken
bones and his chances of survival
were small.
But Remsburg did survive, due
to a direct pipeline of care that led
from the battlefield through six
years of recovery, his parents and
doctor said. He emerged from a
coma mute and completely immobile and, though he’s still severely
disabled, today he is walking and
can speak.
Remsburg’s recovery is a prime
example of “the brain being able
to fix itself,” said former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.
Scientists now know that even 90or 100-year-olds will grow new
neural networks as they learn
to play an instrument or speak a
new language.
“Really, Cory’s story speaks of
that,” Carmona said. “Because
from being almost functionless
from these devastating injuries serving our country, look at
what’s happened.” If you have the
right environment, “the brain can
continue to remodel itself.”
But science has only scratched
the surface of how the brain suffers injury and how it heals, said
Carmona and others on an expert
panel that led off the two-day
event. TBI and post-traumatic
stress disorder account for the
highest percentage of injured
servicemembers from the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Scientists
are struggling to understand the
effects of multiple concussions
and when they lead to cognitive
brain disease, such as chronic
traumatic encephalopathy.
If they are to find the answers,
the research community must
share information to find a cure –
something it isn’t doing now, said
Gen. Peter Chiarelli, a retired
Army vice chief of staff.
“If we are going to make progress in traumatic brain injury and
post-traumatic stress research,
we really have got to start collab-
orating and working together in
ways that most researchers cannot imagine,” said Chiarelli, who
runs the nonprofit ONE MIND,
which advocates for people with
brain disease and for a faster
track to finding a cure.
The system is now geared toward individual success. The
Nobel Prize is more often than
not awarded to individual scientists, and academic institutions
measure their scientists’ success
by the findings they publish. Data
is proprietary, disease research
is segregated into silos, and the
opportunities that would arise
from bringing scientists together
to brainstorm problems is lost, he
said.
“TBI in all its different forms
is associated with other neurodegenerative diseases, like
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia,” Chiarelli said. “We just don’t
know whether people that are
studying any one of those diseases, if their data sets were opened
up for other researchers studying associated diseases, whether
or not they could find a key, the
critical piece that would allow us
to move quicker to real diagnostics and treatments.”
Chiarelli recalled that when
the AIDS epidemic first emerged,
a group of mothers marched on
Washington and lobbied Congress until lawmakers convened a
public-private partnership to look
into the disease. That group, he
said, made remarkable advances
in a short time and today, the industry is talking about a cure.
“Medical research is the only
place I know that you would have
success like you had with AIDS
and then go back to doing everything the same way you did it before,” he said.
As serious as AIDS is, the injuries suffered by Cory and others
are just as debilitating, Chiarelli
said.
“We need to find answers,” he
said. “And we can do that if we
work together.”
The impact of concussions has
emerged not just on the battlefield but in far greater numbers
in sports, such as boxing and
football, Chiarelli said. Some 2.5
million Americans show up in
emergency rooms each year with
head trauma, he said, compared
with 360,000 servicemember
concussions since 9/11.
Meanwhile, findings indicate a
large proportion of soldiers were
involved in contact sports as kids
and many of them had suffered
multiple concussion before entering the military. The real opportunities lie in studying that
entire population of concussion
sufferers.
That collaboration was on display at the start of the conference
Tuesday when former Olympic
PHOTOS
BY
DIANNA CAHN /Stars and Stripes
Army Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, along with his mother, Annie, receives a standing ovation during
the VA Brain Trust summit in Washington. Remsburg was an Army Ranger when he suffered severe
injuries, including traumatic brain injury, from a bomb in Afghanistan in 2009.
From left, Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar; Dr. Anne
McKee, a neuropathologist and director of the Veterans Affairs brain
bank; former Oakland Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano; and Chris
Nowinski, president of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, pose for
a photo during the VA Brain Trust summit. Villappiano and Makar,
along with VA Secretary Bob McDonald, donated their brains to the
brain bank for scientific research into brain injury and disease.
swimmer
Nancy
HogsheadMakar and former Oakland Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano
announced they would donate
their brains to the Concussion
Legacy Foundation’s campaign
to collect brains for science. The
foundation, in partnership with
Boston University and the VA,
helped form the Center for the
Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the VA Brain Bank.
To date, the only way scientists
know how to study CTE is with
cadaver brains. Of the 325 brains
that the brain bank has collected,
it has diagnosed 200 with CTE
and now claims to be the largest
repository of CTE tissue in the
world.
Hogshead-Makar said the
scourge of TBI had discouraged
youngsters from joining youth
sports, depriving them of vital
long-term health benefits.
Villapiano said he never knew
that all the fun he was having
on the football field — ramming
the other guy with his helmet
and tackling as hard as he could
— would do long-term damage.
“How stupid was I?” he said.
McDonald said he had listened
to the powerful veterans stories
and the challenges the top researchers face and he made a
decision.
“I decided to join the hundreds
of veterans and athletes who have
already donated their brain to the
VA Brain Bank so that I may, in a
small way, contribute to the vital
research happening to better understand brain trauma,” he said.
“This is a very, very serious issue,
one that affects veterans and nonveterans alike.”
Medical researchers don’t
know as much as they should
about brain health, McDonald
said. The VA must continue leading a coalition of scientists to find
those answers.
[email protected]
Twitter: @DiannaCahn
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WAR ON TERRORISM
Obama, Gulf allies meet in
Saudi Arabia to talk security
BY K ATHLEEN H ENNESSEY
AND A DAM SCHRECK
Associated Press
R AHMAT G UL /AP
Destroyed cars litter the ground Wednesday after Tuesday’s Talibanclaimed deadly suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Kabul blames Pakistan
for bomb attack on
intelligence agency
BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN
Stars and Stripes
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomb attack in Kabul earlier
this week that left more 64 people
dead and hundreds more injured
likely was planned in Pakistan,
Afghan officials said Thursday.
The accusation could strain
already-frayed relations between
the two countries.
Afghanistan often accuses
Pakistan of aiding and abetting
the Taliban, who are thought to
control more Afghan territory
than at any time since 2001, when
a U.S.-led invasion ousted them
from power. President Ashraf
Ghani has said that peace and
stability in Afghanistan can be
achieved only with Pakistan’s full
cooperation.
“The initial evidence we have
from Tuesday’s incident suggests
that the attack was organized
outside Afghanistan,” said Javed
Faisal, spokesman for Abdullah
Abdullah, the chief executive.
Faisal said he would not provide
more information until an investigation concluded.
The finding led Abdullah to
postpone a two-day visit to Pakistan, an act Faisal said is intended
“to send a message” to Islamabad about Kabul’s frustration.
Russia defends Aleppo
assault amid Syria talks
Russia defended an offensive
near Syria’s mainly rebel-held
city of Aleppo as a response to
“provocations” by an al-Qaida
wing, while the opposition blamed
President Bashar Assad’s forces
for the near-collapse of an almost
two-month truce.
Armed opposition groups that
have signed on to the ceasefire must end their ties with the
al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front
to avoid getting attacked, said
Alexei Borodavkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations in
Geneva, who represents his country at Syria peace talks.
“If they broke off decisively
from Nusra and indicated where
No new date has been set for the
visit, which was originally scheduled for May 2-3.
Pakistan is a member of a fourparty group, along with Afghanistan, the United States and China,
that has been trying to get the
Taliban to participate in peace
talks with Kabul.
Officials said Pakistan’s main
role ought to be to pressure the
Taliban to enter negotiations. The
insurgent group so has far rejected the invitation.
“Tuesday’s attack proved that
insurgents are still well supported, well financed, and well
trained within Pakistan. This
means Pakistan did not do much,
or they did not deliver on their
words,” Faisal said.
The
Taliban
immediately
claimed responsibility for the coordinated attack on an Afghan intelligence agency office in central
Kabul. It included a massive car
bomb that exploded during morning rush hour and shook buildings
throughout the capital.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry
on Tuesday strongly condemned
the violence and expressed “solidarity with the government and
brotherly people of Afghanistan.”
Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this
report.
[email protected]
Twitter: @PhillipWellman
their positions are, we could ensure the cease-fire would apply
strictly to them,” Borodavkin said
in an interview on Wednesday, referring to the Army of Islam and
Ahrar as-Sham, two main rebel
factions.
A recent upsurge of fighting
around Aleppo and in the north,
northwest and center of Syria is
threatening to torpedo the truce
and peace talks in Geneva. The
main opposition group on Monday quit the negotiations and said
it won’t return unless the government halts its attacks and allows
access for aid. The United States
urged Russia, which has waged
an air campaign in Syria for six
months, to press Assad to stop
targeting the rebels.
From wire reports
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia —
President Barack Obama met
Thursday with top officials from
six Arab nations in a push to coordinate efforts in the conflicts
in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and to
press Gulf allies to step up their
role in the fight against the Islamic State militant group.
In a morning session of talks,
the leaders expressed cautious
optimism about a nascent ceasefire in Yemen and the prospects
for peace talks opening in Kuwait
Thursday, the White House said.
The U.S. views the talks between
the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-supported Shiite
rebels as a moment of “particular
promise and opportunity” that
could allow the U.S. and Gulf allies refocus attention on the fight
against the al-Qaida affiliate that
has thrived amid the conflict,
deputy national security adviser
Ben Rhodes told reporters.
Rhodes said Obama also
pressed the Arab allies to increase
their support for the besieged
Iraqi government as it battles the
Islamic State militants and to increase contributions, particularly
special operations mission, to the
U.S.-led campaign.
The meetings in Riyadh are
meant to build on a similar sum-
mit convened last year at Camp
David, the American president’s
Maryland retreat. They reflect
an effort by the White House to
reassure and coordinate with
important-but-wary Mideast allies that harbor serious doubts
about Obama’s outreach to Iran
and U.S. policy toward the grinding civil war in Syria.
Obama and officials from the
U.S.-allied countries of the Gulf
Cooperation Council opened talks
Thursday morning by posing for
a group photo. The leaders, meeting around a circular table in an
ornate meeting room in the Diriyah Palace, made polite conversation and smiled for cameras,
but offered no remarks.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter,
Secretary of State John Kerry,
National Security Adviser Susan
Rice and CIA Director John Brennan also attended the meeting.
The summit follows bilateral
talks that Obama held with Saudi
King Salman on Wednesday
shortly after arriving in the kingdom. Besides Saudi Arabia, the
GCC includes the United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman
and Bahrain.
The White House has said the
summit meeting will include
three sessions. One is aimed at
fostering regional stability and
another at counterterrorism efforts, including efforts to defeat
al-Qaida and Islamic State mili-
tants. A third session will focus
on Iran, which Saudi Arabia and
other Gulf states see as a destabilizing rival in the region.
Saudi Arabia, the Emirates
and other Gulf countries share
the U.S. view that Islamic State
militants pose a threat, and have
joined the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the group. But they
want the U.S. to do more to attempt to remove Syrian President
Bashar Assad from power.
The Gulf states are also deeply
skeptical of Obama’s willingness
to negotiate with Shiite powerhouse Iran, and fear that last
year’s nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic will lead to a rebalancing of regional stances at
their expense.
Several of the Sunni-ruled Gulf
states view Tehran’s backing of
Shiite militias in Lebanon, Yemen
and Iraq as the main driver of
sectarianism and instability in
the region.
Disputes over Iran were a major
part of Obama’s talks with Saudi
King Salman on Wednesday. U.S
officials said the president restated his belief that the Saudis and
Iranians should be looking for
ways to defuse tensions, standing
by his recent comments suggesting the two learn to “share the
neighborhood.” Obama’s remark
in an Atlantic magazine article
has helped fuel tensions in the
U.S.-Saudi relationship.
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NATION
Justice appears
to be open to
interrogation suit
BY ERIC T UCKER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has signaled
that it won’t try to block a lawsuit
arising from the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques, leaving
the door open for a court challenge over tactics that have since
been discontinued and widely
discredited.
Lawyers call the government’s
stance unprecedented, but also
a recognition that a once-secret
program is now largely out in the
open. They say it’s the first time
the Justice Department has not
sought, as its first step, to dismiss
a lawsuit over the interrogation
program by arguing that its mere
existence is too secret to discuss
in court. Judges have previously
accepted that assertion, turning
aside cases about a program that
was designed to extract intelligence from suspected militants
captured overseas.
The lawsuit at issue, pending
in federal court in Washington
state, accuses the two Air Force
psychologists who designed the
interrogation program of endorsing and teaching torture tactics
under the guise of science.
Although the Justice Department isn’t part of the case, it submitted a filing ahead of a Friday
hearing saying that it wanted to
ensure that certain classified information — such as identities
of interrogators and locations of
detention sites — remains private
as the suit moves forward. But
the lawyers who brought the case
were heartened that the government did not immediately invoke
the state secrets privilege, which
protects the government’s right
to shield sensitive information
in lawsuits. Instead, the Justice
Department suggested that it
was willing to let the suit proceed
through the information-sharing
stage known as discovery.
“The government is actually
going to show up at the hearing
instead of trying to shut it down,”
said Dror Ladin, a staff attorney
at the American Civil Liberties
Union, which brought the case.
“It’s going to be suggesting procedures that might allow the case
to go forward.”
That’s a departure for the
Justice Department, which has
successfully fended off multiple
lawsuits by invoking the state secrets privilege.
A notable example was the case
of Khaled El-Masri, a German
citizen who unsuccessfully sued
after he said he had been beaten
and sodomized in a CIA-run prison in Afghanistan known as “the
Salt Pit.” Courts sided with the
government in holding that the
danger that state secrets could be
revealed far outweighed the injuries he suffered.
The veil of secrecy surrounding CIA interrogations was
pierced by the 2014 release of the
executive summary of a scathing
Senate report on the program.
That report said the interrogation techniques — including sleep
deprivation, waterboarding and
beatings — had inflicted pain on
al-Qaida prisoners far beyond the
legal limits and did not yield lifesaving intelligence.
A hearing Friday will likely include discussion of how to protect
the secrecy of certain information if the case proceeds.
PABLO M ARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP
Hillary Clinton addresses supporters Tuesday in Washington.
Clinton on clear path to nomination,
Trump still has bumps on the road
BY K EN THOMAS
AND JULIE PACE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Hillary
Clinton, the nearly unstoppable
Democrat, and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump accelerated Wednesday toward upcoming
primaries on an increasingly direct path to presidential nominations after trouncing party
challengers in New York.
Clinton, now 81 percent of the
way toward clinching the Democratic nomination that eluded her
eight years ago, can lose every remaining contest and still prevail.
Her sweeping victory in the New
York primary called into question
the durability of Bernie Sanders’
rival campaign and left him with
severely limited options for overtaking her.
While Trump strengthened his
hand, he is still not in the clear.
Trump is focused heavily on
clinching the Republican nomination through voters’ balloting
in state primaries, thus avoiding
a contested national convention
in Cleveland in July. The businessman’s win in his home state
keeps him on a path to securing
the 1,237 delegates he needs,
though he’ll have to perform well
in the round of primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut,
Rhode Island and Delaware on
Tuesday and in California’s huge
contest on June 7.
His chief rival, Texas Sen. Ted
Cruz, has no mathematical path
to getting the nomination through
primary voting. But he sees a
window to snatch the nomination
from Trump at the convention,
and his campaign is working feverishly to line up delegates who
would support him if Trump fails
to prevail on a first ballot.
The side-by-side Republican
efforts at this late stage — with
Trump amassing primary victories while Cruz digs for the support of delegates who could settle
the nomination — are unprecedented in recent presidential
campaigns and add to the deeply
uncertain nature of the race.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders gathered at an oceanside
resort in Florida for the Republican National Committee’s spring
meeting. Trump has argued that
the complicated state-by-state
presidential nomination process
is “rigged” against him.
Clinton’s win in New York, a
state she represented in the Senate for eight years, halted Sanders’ recent string of victories
and put her in a stronger position
heading into the next contests.
Sanders’ advisers offered no
signs of giving up before the Democrats’ Philadelphia convention.
Both Trump and Cruz are urging Republicans to unify behind
their campaigns, but many party
leaders are torn. Trump is seen
by some as a threat to the party’s
very existence. Others fear the
party would implode anyway if
Cruz were to overtake Trump
through a bitter and complicated
delegate struggle in Cleveland.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the only
other Republican left in the race,
picked up at least three New York
delegates but still has only one
primary win — his home state.
Colleagues divided over GOP senator’s Sept. 11 compensation bill
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Key Senate Republicans are divided over
a GOP senator’s bill that would
allow families of Sept. 11 victims
to sue the government of Saudi
Arabia.
In a political twist, Democrats
firmly back the legislation even
though it puts them at odds with
the White House.
President Barack Obama is
visiting Saudi Arabia amid the
kingdom’s threats to pull billions
of dollars from the U.S. economy
if Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s bill
is enacted. The legislation from
Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, has sparked a veto threat
from the White House, which believes the bill could expose Americans overseas to legal risks.
The unease among Republicans over Cornyn’s bill mirrors
that of an administration they are
frequently at odds with on foreign
policy issues.
The debate over Cornyn’s bill
underscores the challenges of
providing the victims’ families
with closure and compensation
nearly 15 years after al-Qaida extremists hijacked four airplanes
and killed thousands of people on
U.S. soil Sept. 11, 2001.
The Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act, which Cornyn introduced in September with Sen.
Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gives
victims’ families the right to sue
the government of Saudi Arabia
in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government
may have played in the attacks.
More than a dozen relatives of
Sept. 11 victims have called on
Obama to back the legislation and
declassify and release U.S. intelligence that allegedly discusses
possible Saudi involvement in the
attacks.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham,
R-S.C., said Wednesday that
Cornyn’s bill could lead to unintended consequences that stem
from U.S. support for the alphabet soup of rebel groups in Syria
battling the Islamic State and
President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the
chairman of the Armed Services
Committee, fears that the legislation, if passed, would alienate
Saudi Arabia and undermine a
longstanding yet strained relationship with a critical U.S. ally
in the Middle East.
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NATION
Harriet Tubman to be new face on $20 bill
BY M ARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — U.S. paper
money is getting a historic
makeover.
Harriet Tubman, a black abolitionist born into slavery, will be
the new face on the $20 bill.
The leader of the Underground
Railroad is replacing the portrait
of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s
seventh president and a slave
owner, who is being pushed to the
back of the bill.
And Alexander Hamilton, the
nation’s first Treasury secretary
who’s enjoying a revival thanks to
a hit Broadway play, will keep his
spot on the $10 note after earlier
talk of his removal.
The changes are part of a
currency redesign announced
Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, with the new $20
marking two historic milestones:
Tubman will become the first
black on U.S. paper money and
the first woman to be depicted on
currency in 100 years.
“This gesture sends a powerful
message, because of the tendency
in American history, the background of excluding women and
marginalizing them as national
symbols,” said Riche Richardson, associate professor in the
Africana Studies and Research
Center at Cornell University. “So
even the symbolic significance of
this cannot be overstated.”
Lew also settled a backlash
that had erupted after he had
announced an initial plan to remove Hamilton from the $10 bill
in order to honor a woman on the
bill. Instead, the Treasury building on the back of the bill will be
changed to commemorate a 1913
march that ended on the steps
of the building. It also will feature suffragette leaders Lucretia
Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B.
Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Alice Paul.
The back of the $20, which now
shows the White House, will be
redesigned to include the White
House and Jackson, whose statute stands across the street in Lafayette Park.
The $5 bill also will undergo
change. The illustration of the
Lincoln Memorial on the back
will be redesigned to honor
“events at the Lincoln Memorial
that helped to shape our history
and our democracy.”
The new image on the $5 bill will
include civil rights leader Martin
Luther King Jr., who gave his famous “I have a dream” speech
on the steps of the memorial in
1963, and Marian Anderson and
Eleanor Roosevelt. Anderson, a
black opera singer, gave a concert
at the memorial in 1939 after she
had been blocked from singing at
the then-segregated Constitution
Hall. The Lincoln Memorial concert was arranged by Roosevelt.
An online group, Women on 20s,
said it was encouraged that Lew
was responding to its campaign
to replace Jackson with a woman.
But it said it wouldn’t be satisfied
unless Lew committed to issuing
the new $20 bill at the same time
that the redesigned $10 bill is
scheduled to be issued in 2020.
Lew didn’t go that far Wednesday. But he pledged that at least
the designs for all three bills will
be accelerated so they’ll be finished by 2020 — the 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th
amendment giving women the
right to vote. He said the new
notes will go into circulation as
fast as possible after that, consistent with the need to incorporate
new anti-counterfeiting measures
in the designs.
U.S. currency has undergone
upgrades over the years to stay
ahead of counterfeiters. But the
updates proposed by Lew for
the three bills would be the most
sweeping changes since 1929,
when all U.S. paper money was
redesigned to feature more standard designs and a smaller size to
save printing costs.
Lew initially had selected the
$10 bill to feature a woman because under the original timetable, it was the next bill to be
redesigned. That proposal met
fierce objections from supporters of Hamilton, who is enjoying
renewed popular interest with
the smash Broadway hit musical
“Hamilton.”
Tubman, who was born into
slavery in the early part of the
19th century, escaped and then
used the network of anti-slavery
activists and safe houses known
as the Underground Railroad to
transport other slaves to freedom.
After the Civil War, Tubman, who
died in 1913, became active in the
campaign for women’s suffrage.
Numerous groups have been
campaigning to have a woman
honored on the nation’s paper currency, which has been an all-male
domain for more than a century.
Wednesday’s
announcement
helped mark a decadeslong decline in the reputation of Jackson,
once a pillar of the modern Democratic Party but now often defined by his ownership of slaves
and the “Trail of Tears” saga that
forcibly removed American Indians from their land.
The last woman featured on
U.S. paper money was Martha
Washington, who was on a dollar silver certificate from 1891 to
1896.
The only other woman ever featured on U.S. paper money was
Pocahontas, from 1865 to 1869.
Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea
are on dollar coins.
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NATION
Ex-cops plead guilty in Katrina shooting case
BY M ICHAEL KUNZELMAN
AND K EVIN MCGILL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Five former New
Orleans police officers pleaded guilty
Wednesday in deadly shootings in the days
following Hurricane Katrina, abruptly
ending a decade-old case that tainted an
already scandal-plagued police force and
reawakened memories of the chaos and
devastation from the catastrophic 2005
storm.
The case also spotlighted misconduct
by federal prosecutors. The men had been
convicted by a jury in 2011 but U.S. District
Judge Kurt Engelhardt set aside the verdict two years later because federal prosecutors leaked information to the media and
made anonymous online comments about
the case.
The plea agreement means significantly
shorter sentences for the former officers,
with credit for years already served. It also
avoids another long and painful trial.
“Hopefully, today will mean further closure for the victims of these crimes and
the city, itself,” Engelhardt said.
He castigated the Justice Department
for what he called evasive and sometimes
false responses to questions about the online comments, calling it “jiggery pokery”
at one point.
The case isn’t completely finished. The
sentences still must be completed, lawsuits
continue and the criminal case of another
ex-officer implicated in the cover up was
severed from the others and has yet to be
resolved.
Four of the former officers have been
locked up for nearly six years while the
fifth has been out on bond. Their original
convictions called for them to serve anywhere from six years to 65 years in prison. The plea deal calls for them to serve a
range of three to 12 years.
On Sept. 4, 2005, days after the levees
failed and water swamped the city, police
gunned down James Brissette, 17, and Ronald Madison, 40, who were both unarmed,
and wounded four others on the Danziger
Bridge. To cover it up, the officers planted
a gun, fabricated witnesses and falsified
reports, prosecutors have said.
Lance Madison, brother of mentally
disabled Ronald Madison, was on the
bridge that day and initially was arrested
after being falsely accused of shooting at
officers.
“I’m thankful that our mother is still with
us to see justice being served and for these
officers to finally be held accountable for
their crimes,” he said in a statement.
The shootings at the bridge happened
as much of the city remained under water
and without power after the Aug. 29 deluge. Tens of thousands had been stranded
at the Louisiana Superdome and the Morial Convention Center for days after the
storm. The police force was under immense strain as looting was rampant and
authorities were struggling to account for
and collect the bodies of hundreds killed in
the floodwaters.
Police said at the time of the Danziger
shooting that the officers were responding to a report of other officers down when
they came under fire.
However, after hearing from five dozen
witnesses and examining 400 pieces of evidence during a monthlong trial, a federal
jury convicted the officers for opening fire
and trying to cover up wrongdoing.
Former officer Robert Faulcon initially
was sentenced to 65 years in prison before
his conviction was thrown out. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 12 years. Ex-Sgts.
Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius, once
sentenced to 40 years each, will now serve
10.
Anthony Villavaso, once facing 38 years,
now is sentenced to seven, and Arthur
Kaufman received a six-year sentence
originally but was given three. He has
been out on bond and Engelhardt agreed to
consider home incarceration for him.
Under the plea agreement, they will get
credit for time served and most of them
could be released from prison anywhere
from the next one to six years.
NC governor ‘in tough
spot’ over LGBT law
BY JONATHAN DREW
GARY D. ROBERTSON
AND
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat
McCrory signed a far-reaching
LGBT law that critics called discriminatory, he said it wouldn’t
hurt the state’s ability to attract
jobs. It did.
When he signed an executive
order seeking to lessen the law’s
impact, it upset some of his conservative supporters who said
he “went too far” in bowing to
national pressure. In yet another
blow Tuesday, a federal appeals
court that oversees North Carolina issued an opinion that now
threatens part of the state law.
Through it all, McCrory has
emerged — perhaps reluctantly
— as the public face of the law and
could become the biggest political
loser as he suddenly finds himself
in a tough re-election fight already swayed by the issue.
“He’s in a tough spot,” said
Chris Cooper, a political science
professor at Western Carolina
University. “The executive order
probably isn’t going to mean a
lot policy-wise. He’s running the
risk, no matter what he does,
of alienating the average North
Carolina voter. He’s sort of stuck
in the political middle.”
In a nod to the balancing act,
McCrory described during an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet
the Press” “the disconnect we
have between the corporate suites
and main street,” saying he recently was praised by small-town
voters shortly before fielding a
phone call from a concerned corporate leader.
After McCrory signed the law
in late March, condemnation
from the business community
was swift. Deutsche Bank halted
plans to add 250 North Carolina
jobs, while Paypal reversed a decision to open a 400-employee op-
eration center in Charlotte. Local
tourism boards say they lost
millions of dollars in economic
impact because of cancelled conventions and business meetings.
Chris LaCivita, McCrory’s chief
campaign consultant, rejects the
idea that the governor has stumbled. He said there’s no doubt
McCrory is getting hammered
because the governor is the top
target for national Democrats in a
presidential battleground state. He
faces Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, who has refused
to defend North Carolina’s law in
court. Both already have used the
conflict to boost donations.
During his first gubernatorial campaign and in 14 years as
Charlotte’s mayor, McCrory cultivated an image as a moderate
“business Republican” who prioritized economic development
over social issues. But things appeared to change when he signed
a divisive voter ID law in 2013,
and an immigration bill last year
restricting local governments’
policies on ID cards and police
tactics.
Now, McCrory is in the difficult position of trying to appear
business-friendly without watering down his appeal to social
conservatives.
On Tuesday, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with
a transgender teen’s arguments
that a Virginia school board violated Title IX by forbidding him
from using the boys’ restroom.
In the North Carolina law, a
provision requires transgender
students in public schools and
universities to use bathrooms
corresponding to the gender on
their birth certificate.
McCrory said he wants to hear
from state lawyers about whether
schools can keep implementing the law while the Virginia
defendants consider whether to
appeal.
U.S. D EPARTMENT
OF
JUSTICE /AP
An elevator inside a tunnel stretching from Mexico to San Diego is seen in an undated photo.
Half-mile-long tunnel found on
US-Mexico border, drugs seized
BY ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — U.S. authorities
said Wednesday that they discovered a cross-border tunnel that
ran a half-mile from a Tijuana
house equipped with a large elevator to a lot in San Diego that
was advertised as a wooden pallet business, resulting in seizures
of more than a ton of cocaine and
seven tons of marijuana.
It was the 13th sophisticated,
secret passage found along California’s border with Mexico since
2006, including three on the same,
short street in San Diego that
runs parallel to a border fence
with a densely populated residential area on the Mexican side. The
unusually narrow tunnel was only
about three feet wide, equipped
with a rail system, lighting and
ventilation.
The tunnel was unusual because it was used for cocaine, not
just marijuana, said Laura Duffy,
U.S. attorney for the Southern
District of California. Tunnels
are often built for marijuana because its bulk and odor make it
more difficult to escape border
inspectors’ scrutiny than cocaine
and other drugs.
The elevator, which was big
enough for eight to 10 people, was
located in the closet of a Tijuana
house whose floors were strewn
with mattresses, Duffy said. The
tunnel zig-zagged for 874 yards to
the fenced commercial lot in San
Diego, where the exit was covered by a large trash bin.
Other tunnels that have ended
in California were inside houses
and warehouses.
Investigators didn’t know when
the tunnel was completed. Margarita Ontiveros, who works at a
law office next to the San Diego
lot, said the tenants arrived about
a year ago and often bought and
sold wooden pallets.
Investigators began to monitor
the lot daily last fall after Border
Patrol agents assigned to the area
saw heavy traffic and grew suspicious, said Duffy. The prosecutor
said she was “fairly confident”
that the first drug load was sent
earlier this month but didn’t rule
out the possibility that some got
through undetected.
Six people were arrested in
the San Diego area Friday on
drug- and tunnel-related crimes,
including one U.S. citizen, two
Cubans who were granted asylum
and three Mexicans who were legally entitled to be in the country,
Duffy said.
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NATION
Prosecutor
who targeted
big financial
firms quits
3 officials charged
in Flint water crisis
BY M IKE HOUSEHOLDER
AND ED WHITE
Associated Press
FLINT, Mich. — The Flint
water crisis has become a criminal case, with two state regulators
and a city employee charged with
official misconduct, evidencetampering and other offenses
over the lead contamination that
alarmed the country and brought
cries of racism.
For nearly 18 months, the poor,
majority-black city of 100,000
used the Flint River for tap water
as a way to save money — a decision made by a state-appointed
emergency manager — while a
new pipeline was under construction. But the water wasn’t treated
to control corrosion. The result:
Lead was released from aging
pipes and fixtures as water flowed
into homes and businesses.
“This is a road back to restoring faith and confidence in all
Michigan families in their government,” state Attorney General
Bill Schuette said Wednesday in
announcing the first charges to
come out of the disaster, blamed
on a series of bad decisions by bureaucrats and political leaders.
He warned there will be more
charges — “That I can guarantee” — and added, “No one is off
the table.”
Gov. Rick Snyder didn’t acknowledge the problem until
last fall, when tests revealed
high levels of lead in children, in
whom the heavy metal can cause
low IQs and
behavioral
problems.
Michael
Prysby, a former district
engineer with
the state Department of
Environmental
Quality,
and Stephen
Glasgow
Busch, a supervisor in the
department’s
drinking
water office,
were charged
with misconduct,conspiracy, tampering
with test results and misdemeanor
violations of
clean-water
Busch
law. The felonies carry maximum penalties of
four to five years in prison.
Among other things, they were
accused of failing to order anticorrosion chemicals added to the
water to coat the pipes and pre-
BY DON THOMPSON
Associated Press
JAKE M AY/The Flint (Mich.) Journal-MLive.com via AP
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employee Michael
Prysby stands as his defense attorney Richard Hillman, right, enters
a plea of not guilty during an arraignment related to the Flint water
crisis Wednesday.
vent them from releasing lead.
Flint utilities administrator
Michael Glasgow, who oversaw
day-to-day operations at the city’s
water plant at the time, also was
charged Wednesday with tampering with evidence for allegedly falsifying test results and with
willful neglect of duty.
Busch and Prysby pleaded not
guilty and were released on bail.
Both were suspended without pay.
Glasgow also was placed on leave
and awaited a court appearance.
The crisis — and the state’s
slow and dismissive response to
complaints about the water from
experts and residents — led to
allegations of environmental racism, became an issue in the presidential race during Michigan’s
Democratic primary in March,
and sent other U.S. cities rushing
to test their water, particularly
in older neighborhoods with lead
pipes.
“They failed Michigan families. Indeed, they failed us all,”
Schuette said of the men charged.
“I don’t care where you live.”
Essentially, all three were accused of failing to do their duty to
provide safe drinking water.
“This is rare,” said Neil Rockind, a Detroit-area defense attorney and former prosecutor. “It’s
very hard to find a similar case
where people are charged for just
being personally bad or neglectful at their job. Usually there’s
some personal corrupt intent
involved.”
Nature of refunds debated at auditor’s trial
Associated Press
TACOMA, Wash. — The fiveweek fraud trial of Washington
State Auditor Troy Kelley drew
to a close Wednesday, with prosecutors calling it a “plain case
of fraud and a cover-up” and the
defense team describing it as a
“disaster.”
“Someone who has done nothing
wrong does not need an elaborate
cover-up,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Katheryn Kim Frierson told
jurors in her closing argument.
“He did the things only those who
know they are guilty do.”
Kelley, the first Washington
state official indicted in 35 years,
stands accused of illegally pocketing $3 million in fees prosecutors
say he should have refunded to homeowners when he ran a real estate services business called Post
Closing Department during the
height of the housing boom before
he was elected state auditor.
His trial featured testimony
from former employees, including Jason Jerue, who told jurors
that Kelley ordered him to falsify
documents to hide that the company wasn’t paying the refunds.
Frierson told jurors that Kelley’s
actions also included moving
money among various accounts
to hide the proceeds, asking Jerue
to destroy company records, trying to pay off a homeowner who
filed a lawsuit over the retained
fees, and lying in civil litigation
as well as on his taxes.
One of Kelley’s attorneys, Angelo Calfo, sought to dismantle the
government’s case point-by-point
in his closing argument, saying
that because of Kelley’s high political profile, investigators set
out from the beginning to win a
conviction — not to find the truth
— and as a result ignored evidence of his client’s innocence.
The case is “based on a fundamental premise, a fundamental
misconception, and that is that
Troy Kelley was dealing with
other people’s money,” Calfo said.
“He wasn’t.”
Kelley, a lawyer himself who
has taught tax law courses, faces
15 counts in all, including money
laundering and tax evasion.
The charges date to 2005, when
Kelley’s company tracked escrow
paperwork for title companies.
Prosecutors say that to obtain
business from the title companies
— and get access to vast sums of
money from homeowners — he
promised that Post Closing Department would collect $100
to $150 for each transaction it
tracked; keep $15 or $20 for itself; use some of the money to pay
county recording and other fees
if necessary; and refund the customer any remaining money.
In tens of thousands of cases, the
additional fees were not needed,
but Kelley refunded the balance
only when title companies began
asking uncomfortable questions
or when homeowners were savvy
enough to demand it, prosecutors
said, adding that Kelley amassed
about $3 million and eventually
began paying himself $245,000 a
year from the proceeds.
Calfo attacked at the notion
the money was stolen. The title
companies that Kelley contracted
with didn’t take the position that
homeowners were entitled to the
refunds, he argued. No one promised they would get their money
back. And when they signed their
escrow documents, they voluntarily transferred the fees to
Kelley, who then had the right to
control the money, Calfo said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A
California-based federal prosecutor whose office secured multibillion-dollar settlements after
the housing meltdown announced
Wednesday that he is resigning
as President Barack Obama’s
administration begins to wind
down.
Benjamin Wagner, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of
California, said he will step down
at the end of April.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney
Phillip Talbert will become acting U.S. attorney on May 1.
Wagner was appointed to the
post in 2009 by Obama. The region from Bakersfield to the
Oregon border was among the
hardest hit by the housing crisis.
Settlements Wagner reached
include last week’s $5 billion
agreement with Goldman Sachs
and a $13 billion payment by
JPMorgan Chase in 2013.
Prosecutors alleged both misled investors over the quality of
residential mortgage-backed securities as millions of residents
lost their homes nationwide.
Nearly 300 individuals were
convicted in mortgage frauds
that Wagner’s office said cost homeowners millions of dollars.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta
Lynch, in a statement, praised
Wagner’s vigorous prosecution of
mortgage fraud cases as well as
his near quarter-century in the
federal prosecutor’s office.
Among other significant cases
during his tenure was the prosecution of officials with one of the
nation’s leading tomato processing companies.
SK Foods owner Frederick
Scott Salyer and others were convicted in a price-fixing scam that
included bribing buyers at food
giants. His office also secured a
$122 million settlement with the
state’s largest private landholder,
Sierra Pacific Industries, over a
massive wildfire.
As an assistant, Wagner helped
prosecute two arsonists whose
targets were reproductive health
care clinics and two brothers
who burned three Sacramento
synagogues.
Wagner, 56, said in a statement that he plans to seek a job
at a Northern California law firm
after he leaves office.
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WORLD
On Gulf visit, Obama pledges vigilance against Iran
Associated Press
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Barack Obama on Thursday
pledged to remain vigilant against
Iran’s destabilizing activities in
the Middle East as he tried to allay
concerns of Persian Gulf allies
wary of his nuclear deal with their
regional rival.
“None of our nations have an
interest in conflict with Iran,”
Obama said as he met with top officials from six Arab nations at a
Gulf summit in Saudi Arabia.
Obama, finishing his brief trip
to the kingdom, said he and the
Gulf leaders had agreed about
ways to move forward in the campaign against the Islamic State
group, with members of the Gulf
Cooperation Council agreeing to
“increase their contributions to
the fight.”
He said the nations had also
agreed to help Iraq. That was a
nod to Obama’s request to Gulf
countries to step up their financial
and political support for rebuilding Iraq after years of war.
Obama’s comments in the Saudi
capital came after talks aimed at
reassuring and coordinating with
Mideast allies that harbor serious
doubts about Obama’s outreach to
Iran and about U.S. policy toward
Syria, where a civil war rages on.
Obama said the fragile cessation of hostilities there was under
“tremendous strain” and he decried continued violations, but
made the case for sticking to the
U.S. strategy of using diplomatic
talks to pursue a political transition for Syria.
“This violence is yet another
reminder that there’s just one way
to end this civil war,” Obama said,
adding that the Gulf leaders had
agreed. The summit followed bilateral talks that Obama held with
Saudi King Salman on Wednesday shortly after arriving in the
kingdom. Besides Saudi Arabia,
the GCC includes the United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman
and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and
other Gulf countries share the U.S.
view that Islamic State militants
pose a threat, and have joined
the U.S.-led bombing campaign
against the group. But they want
the U.S. to do more to attempt to
remove Syrian President Bashar
Assad from power.
The Gulf states are also skeptical of Obama’s willingness to negotiate with Shiite Iran, and fear
that last year’s nuclear deal with
the Islamic Republic will lead to a
rebalancing of regional stances at
their expense.
CAROLYN K ASTER /AP
President Barack Obama looks to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman as
he speaks Thursday during the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Record 160 countries
expected to sign
Paris pact on first day
Associated Press
RODRIGO A BD/AP
People sleep outside Thursday after searching all night for recyclable items on a field where earthquake
debris is being placed in Manta, Ecuador. The damage from the 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already
heavy economic hardships being felt in the nation.
Earthquake adds to hardships in Ecuador
Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador — President
Rafael Correa said Ecuador’s worst
earthquake in decades caused billions of dollars of damage and he
is raising sales taxes and putting
a one-time levy on millionaires to
help pay for reconstruction.
The damage from the 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already
heavy economic hardships being
felt in this OPEC nation triggered by the collapse in world oil
prices. Even before the quake,
Ecuador was bracing for a bout of
austerity, with the International
Monetary Fund forecasting the
economy would shrink 4.5 percent
this year.
In a televised address Wednesday night, Correa warned the nation of a long and costly post-quake
recovery and said the economic
pain shouldn’t fall only on hard-hit
communities along the coast.
“I know we’re at the most-difficult stage right now but it’s just the
beginning,” he said.
Using authority granted by the
state of emergency he declared
after Saturday night’s quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase
to 14 percent from 12 percent for
the coming year.
People with more than $1 million in assets will be charged a
one-time tax of 0.9 percent on
their wealth, while workers earning over $1,000 a month will be
forced to contribute a day’s wages
and those earning $5,000 a month
the equivalent of five days’ pay.
Taxes on companies will also go
up, and Correa said he will look
to sell certain state assets that he
didn’t specify. He is also drawing on $600 million in emergency
credits from the World Bank and
other multilateral lenders.
Unlike the deadly earthquake
that ravaged Chile in 2010, when
commodity prices were at a high
and most of South America was
booming, Ecuador must rebuild
with prices of oil, the lifeblood of
its economy, near a decade low.
Manufacturing is also suffering
because the economy is dollarized, depriving companies in Ecuador of the same jolt the rest of
South America has experienced
from devalued currencies.
The tax hikes come as the scale
of devastation continues to sink in.
A helicopter flyover of the damage
zone Wednesday showed entire
city blocks in ruins as if they had
been bombed.
Late Wednesday, the government raised the death toll to 570.
Officials listed 163 people as missing while the number of those
made homeless climbed over
23,500.
While humanitarian aid has
been pouring in from around
the world, distribution is slow.
In Manta on Wednesday, people
waited for hours under the tropical sun for water and food supplies. Soldiers kept control with
fenced barricades.
UNITED NATIONS — About
160 countries are expected to sign
the Paris Agreement on climate
change Friday in a symbolic triumph for a landmark deal that
once seemed unlikely but now appears on track to enter into force
years ahead of schedule.
U.N. officials say the signing
ceremony Friday will set a record
for international diplomacy: Never
before have so many countries
inked an agreement on the first
day of the signing period.
That could help pave the way for
the pact to become effective long
before the original 2020 deadline
— possibly this year — though
countries must first formally approve it through their domestic
procedures.
The U.S. and China, which together account for nearly 40 percent of global emissions, have said
they intend to formally join the
agreement this year. It will enter
into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of
global emissions have done so.
“There’s incredible momentum,” former New Zealand Prime
Minister Helen Clark, who heads
the U.N. Development Program,
told The Associated Press. “We’re
moving as quickly as possible to
action.”
She said her agency is working
with more than 140 countries on
climate change-related issues, and
that financing to make the Paris
Agreement a reality is “critical,
and let’s hope everyone lives up to
commitments made.”
The agreement, the world’s response to hotter temperatures,
rising seas and other impacts of
climate change, was hammered
out in December outside Paris. The
pact was a major breakthrough in
U.N. climate negotiations, which
for years were bogged down with
disputes between rich and poor
countries over who should do what
to fight global warming.
The mood was so pessimistic
after a failed 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark,
that U.N. climate chief Christiana
Figueres said she thought a global
deal wouldn’t happen in her lifetime. Now she expects the Paris
Agreement to take effect by 2018.
Under the agreement, countries
set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases. The
targets are not legally binding but
countries must update them every
five years.
That’s because scientific analyses show the initial set of targets
that countries pledged before
Paris don’t match the long-term
goal of the agreement to keep
global warming below 2 degrees
Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit),
compared with pre-industrial
times. Global average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1 degree C. Last year was the
hottest on record.
“Even if the Paris pledges are
implemented in full, they are not
enough to get us even close to
a 2-degree pathway,” said John
Sterman, of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. “I don’t
think people understand how urgent it is.”
The latest analysis by Sterman
and colleagues at the Climate Interactive research group shows
the Paris pledges put the world on
track for 3.5 degrees C of warming. A separate analysis by Climate Action Tracker, a European
group, projected warming of 2.7
degrees C.
Either way, scientists say the
consequences could be catastrophic in some places, wiping
out crops, flooding coastal areas
and melting glaciers and Arctic
sea ice.
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WORLD
US official urges China
to follow laws of the sea
Associated Press
HANOI, Vietnam — A U.S. official on Thursday questioned
China’s intentions with its massive
land reclamation projects in the
South China Sea and urged it to
follow international laws.
“The United States and Vietnam
share an interest in maintaining
peace and stability in the region,”
said Deputy Secretary of State
Antony Blinken. “So does China.
But its massive land reclamation
project in the South China Sea and
increasing militarization of these
outposts fuel regional tension and
raise serious questions about China’s intentions.”
China claims virtually the entire
South China Sea, an area that contains some of the world’s busiest
sea lanes and is believed to be rich
in oil and gas deposits. Its claim is
disputed by other countries in the
region, including Vietnam and the
Philippines.
“The United States will defend
our national interest and support
our allies and partners in the region. We are not looking for bases,
but we will continue to sail, to fly,
to operate anywhere that interna-
tional laws allow,” Blinken said
in a speech at Vietnam’s National
University in Hanoi.
Amid tensions over China’s reclamation work — including the
construction of airstrips, ports
and radar stations and the positioning of surface-to-air missiles
on at least one new island — Beijing’s Defense Ministry on Thursday appeared to confirm a test of
an intercontinental missile.
A three-sentence statement
posted on the ministry’s website
posed the question of whether
China had fired an ICBM “in the
South China Sea area.”
In its response, the ministry said China maintains that
“technological research experiments conducted according to
plan within China’s boundaries
are normal and are not aimed at
any specific nations or targets”
— a standard ministry response to
questions about testing of military
hardware.
The statement follows a report
in the U.S. newspaper Washington
Free Beacon that quoted unidentified Pentagon officials as saying China tested its longest-range
DF-41 missile with two multiple
independently targetable re-entry
vehicles on Tuesday. The report
did not say where the test took
place, but referenced recent tensions between China and the U.S.
over Beijing’s actions to shore up
its claims to the South China Sea.
Chinese military analyst Ni Lexiong said the ministry appeared to
be seeking to advertise China’s capabilities and boldness while leaving room for speculation about its
actions and intentions.
That approach aims to show
that China is “prepared for conflicts and even combat, though unwilling to see it actually happen,”
said Ni, who teaches at Shanghai’s
University of Political Science and
Law.
Blinken said the United States
welcomes China’s peaceful rise
and that he hopes China will “act
in accordance with international
norms and rules and laws,” because that would benefit China as
well as other countries.
Ignoring those rules and laws
would alienate many countries
and diminish, not expand, China’s
power over time, he said.
TRAN VAN MINH /AP
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken claps, during his
visit to Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday.
Blinken questioned the intentions behind China activities in the
South China Sea during his visit.
China’s Xi taking larger role as head of military
BY CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press
BEIJING — Bolstering his status as
China’s most powerful leader in decades,
Chinese President Xi Jinping has assumed
a more direct role as head of the country’s
powerful armed forces with the new title
of commander in chief of its Joint Operations Command Center, state media and
analysts said Thursday.
Xi’s new position was revealed in news
reports that featured prominently on national news broadcasts Wednesday and
Thursday in which he appeared publicly
for the first time in camouflage battle
dress wearing the joint center’s insignia.
During his Wednesday visit, Xi called
on the center’s staff to “closely follow the
trends of global military revolution and
strive to build a joint battle command system that meets the need of fighting and
winning an informationized war,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Officers should “change their ideas, innovate and tackle difficulties in a bid to
build a joint battle command system that
was absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding and courageous and capable of winning wars,”
Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
Battle command capacities should be
measured by “the standards of being able
to fight and win wars,” Xi said, stressing
the need to prepare for conflicts, analyze
possible security risks and handle effectively “all sorts of emergencies.”
The joint center, reportedly located
underground in the western outskirts of
Beijing, is under the direct supervision
of the ruling Communist Party’s Central
Military Commission, which is headed by
Xi and oversees the 2.3 million-member
People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing armed forces.
CCTV/AP
In this image taken Thursday from video footage run by China’s CCTV via AP Video,
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in military uniform, shakes hands with a military staff
member in Beijing.
Xi was accompanied on his visit by the
commission’s two vice chairmen, Gen. Fan
Changlong and Gen. Xu Qiliang.
Among his several other titles, Xi is also
leader of the ruling Communist Party and
chair of a recently created National Security Council, which gives him greater control over the domestic security services.
As head of the military, Xi has overseen
a reorganization of the PLA’s command
structure into five theater commands
aimed at better integrating the different
services. He has ordered a 300,000-person
reduction in forces that will see the elimination of many outdated and noncombat
units, and shift the emphasis further from
ground forces to the navy, air force and
missile corps.
Xi’s appearance in battle dress with insignia Wednesday emphasized his more
direct role in military affairs. When appearing simply as head of the Central
Military Commission he routinely wears
olive green tunics, shirts and trousers
without insignia or decoration, as did his
predecessors.
Xi’s new choice of apparel “indicates
that he not only controls the military, but
also does it in an absolute manner, and that
in wartime, he is ready to command personally,” said Ni Lexiong, a military affairs
expert at Shanghai’s University of Political
Science and Law.
Three years since taking on the presidency, Xi is widely seen as having accumulated more power and authority than any
Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping in the
late 1980s. A cult of personality has also
sprung up around him to rival that of the
founder of the communist state, Mao Zedong, with his slogans, sayings and signature political themes widely disseminated
in the media.
Yet his reputation has also been called
into question by anonymous letters, allegedly from Communist Party members,
calling for his resignation. Revelations in
the international media about vast wealth
accumulated by members of his extended
family have flown in the face of his relentless campaign against corruption in the
party, military and state industries.
Xi’s new title and his visit to the joint
center were “more political than military”
in significance and don’t imply he will
take charge of the day-to-day running of
the PLA, said Andrei Chang, Hong Kongbased editor of the magazine Kanwa Asian
Defense and a close observer of Chinese
military affairs.
“Throughout Chinese history, political
power has always been founded on control
of the military,” Chang said. “This was a
visit to show off his muscle to his potential
enemies and show that he is tough and in
charge.”
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AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Venomous snakes keep THE CENSUS
firefighters out of home
JAMES
ISLAND
SC
— Firefighters came
across a new danger while bat-
$102K
The amount of money a Philadelphia woman is accused of stealing from retirement benefits intended for her grandmother after the woman’s 2005 death. Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that
Martha Stanley, 47, has been indicted on charges of wire fraud, Social Security fraud and theft of
government funds. She faces up to 75 years behind bars if she’s convicted.
tling a James Island house fire —
about a dozen venomous snakes.
Local media outlets reported
that workers in nuisance wildlife
removal told fire crews Tuesday
to be aware of up to 80 reptiles in
the home’s garage. Officials said
about a dozen of the reptiles were
poisonous snakes.
Firefighters had the blaze
under control within an hour,
but they couldn’t enter the home
while deadly snakes were potentially on the loose.
James Island Fire Chief Chris
Seabolt said six snakes made
it out alive, four of which were
venomous. He said the surviving
reptiles were taken to the Edisto
Serpentarium.
Disbarred lawyer is
denied bid for license
HARRISBURG — A
PA
suburban Philadelphia
lawyer with a master’s degree in
taxation who told Pennsylvania
ethics investigators he found paying taxes to be “annoying” isn’t
getting back his law license.
The state Supreme Court last
month denied Sebastian Rainone’s
request to reinstate his license,
nearly a decade after he was disbarred for mishandling client
funds and violating registration
rules.
Rainone has served as campus
dean and taught business and
ethics classes at Strayer University in Willingboro, N.J. He
previously was a tenured faculty
member at Villanova University
in Pennsylvania.
Businesses donate to
fixing cemetery damage
FORT WAYNE — Two
IN
Fort Wayne businesses
are helping to restore 61 headstones that were broken and
tipped over at Fort Wayne’s Jewish Cemetery.
WPTA-TV reported that Birkmeier Monument Co. and D.O McComb & Sons Funeral Homes are
donating their services to reset the
headstones that were vandalized
in February at the graveyard.
Dave McComb, of the funeral
home company, said company officials were saddened by the vandalism and felt it was important
to step in and offer assistance.
C HELSEA PURGAHN, K ALAMAZOO (MICH.) G AZETTE-MLIVE MEDIA G ROUP/AP
Keys to the city
Glen VanNortwick, Kim Weiss and Paul Keene work on a piano crosswalk in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Tuesday. Some crosswalks in downtown
Kalamazoo are being transformed to look like piano keys ahead of a big musical event that takes place April 26-May 14.
emailed the parents this week
asking them to end the lunches.
They say the district leases the
park during school hours, so its
rules apply. That includes rules
about food safety and food preparation, food allergy procedures
and visitor policies.
School asks parents
to end ‘Jesus Lunches’
Ninth-grade girls hire
male stripper for event
lunches accompanied by discussions about Christianity outside
a high school in Middleton, citing
legal concerns.
A handful of parents have been
organizing the noontime meetings,
which students call “Jesus Lunches,” outside Middleton High since
2014. As the meetings grew, organizers moved them to Fireman’s
Park across from the school.
Superintendent Donald Johnson and Principal Stephen Plank
ninth-grade girls hired a male
stripper to perform at their
school’s synchronized swimming
club’s annual banquet.
District spokesman Phil Roeder told The Des Moines Register
that the Roosevelt High School
principal will decide whether the
girls violated school policies and
punishment is merited.
A father of one of the team
members said the girls employed
the stripper as a joke, and that the
stripper didn’t totally disrobe at
the event at the Des Moines Social Club.
Roeder said a club employee
asked the stripper to leave, deeming the appearance inappropriate
for the students.
Addicts shooting up at
hospital to lessen risk
BOSTON — One of
Boston’s top hospitals
is seeing an increasing number of
drug abusers shoot up on its property, a tactic experts say opioid
addicts hope will save them from
lethal overdoses.
Massachusetts General Hospital has equipped its security
guards with the overdose antidote
Narcan after seeing an increase
in the past 18 months of addicts
shooting up in MGH walkways,
parking garages and bathrooms,
where addicts tie emergency pull
cords to their bodies in case they
collapse.
DES MOINES — A Des MA
MIDDLETON — School
WI
administrators are ask- IA Moines school district
ing parents to stop hosting free spokesman has confirmed that
Dawn Williamson, an MGH
clinical specialist in addiction,
told the Boston Herald that using
drugs near the hospital is addicts’
“way of kind of mitigating the
risk.”
animal without reporting to authorities first.
Man allowed to keep
dead mountain lion
GRAND JUNCTION
CO
— Mesa County jail is
ending its underutilized work re-
ALBUQUERQUE
NM
— State officials are
letting a New Mexico man take
a road kill mountain lion to a
taxidermist.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque reported that New Mexico Game
and Fish Department recently
gave the OK for Arcy Vigil to
keep the big cat after he found it
dead along Interstate 25 in northern New Mexico.
State officials took the cat after
he called to report it. Officials
said the cat appeared to have died
from injuries from a vehicle.
New Mexico law prohibits residents from picking up a trophy
County jail set to end
underused work release
lease program this summer.
KJCT-TV reported that Mesa
County Sheriff Matt Lewis announced the plan last week.
Inmates taking part in the program are able to hold jobs in the
community while serving time.
Lewis said the almost $1 million program wasn’t worth the
cost for such a small population
of inmates. The 89-bed facility
has 25 inmates.
Mesa County District Attorney
Dan Rubinstein said possible alternatives include jail time, home
detention, public service hours,
or neighboring work release
programs.
From wire reports
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NATION
More rain
drenches
Houston
Associated Press
JENNY NEYMAN /AP
Chris Hanna, of Soldotna, Alaska, skis in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, on April 8. Hanna and Jenny Neyman were stranded for four
nights during a blizzard and survived in a snow cave.
Skiers feared safety cave would be tomb
BY DAN JOLING
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — By
their third day in a tiny snow
cave under 4 feet of snow, Chris
Hanna and Jenny Neyman
thought the shelter in an Alaska
ice field might turn into a tomb.
The 7-by-5-foot space Hanna
dug started with a ceiling 40
inches high. Warmth from their
bodies made the ceiling sag to
within 8 inches of their faces,
like a giant, suffocating sponge.
Besides hypothermia, hunger
and a shortage of oxygen, the
experienced outdoor enthusiasts
had to stave off claustrophobia.
“The closer that ceiling got,
the more unnerving it was,” Neyman said Wednesday.
Luckily, their ordeal ended a
few hours later. A locator beacon
led an Alaska Air National Guard
helicopter to the underground
shelter, and the crew swooped in
and dug out the pair after four
nights on Harding Ice Field, including three in the cave.
Neyman, 36, and Hanna, 46,
had planned to spend April 8
cross-country skiing on the 700square-mile ice field, which offers spectacular views of peaks,
fjords and ocean.
A friend flew them there
under blue skies in the morning
and planned to return at 5 p.m.,
long before a storm expected
that night. By 2 p.m., the clouds
moved in. By 3 p.m., they knew
the plane couldn’t reach them.
They said their first inclination was to ski down one of the
ice field’s 30 glaciers. But by
nightfall, with visibility at 10
feet, Neyman said she could not
go on. They spent the night in
their tent.
The predicted blizzard hit the
next afternoon, with snow flattening the tent.
“We were being buried alive,”
Hanna said.
Almost as quickly as he could
scoop snow off, it poured around
the tent like liquid. Exhausted,
Hanna climbed inside and sent
text messages to his 18- and 22year-old daughters. He said he
loved them and was proud to be
their dad.
He told Neyman that without a
shovel to dig a snow cave, their
odds of survival were not good.
“She was not happy with my
report,” Hanna said. “She said,
‘No, we have to do something.’ ”
They talked for 20 minutes
with limbs splayed on the tent
walls to keep it from collapsing.
Hanna decided to try digging a
snow cave — or die trying.
“If death is for sure what’s
going to happen, you won’t lose
anything by trying,” Neyman
said.
With his hands and a ski,
Hanna dug down outside at a
45-degree angle. He created a
7-foot, 30-inch-diameter tunnel,
then dug horizontally to create
the snow cave. They scrambled
inside with sleeping bags, pads,
a stove and food.
Within minutes, snow filled
the entrance. Silence replaced
the sound of the tent flapping in
40 mph wind.
Hanna was soaked. It took
hours to control his shaking.
They could send and receive
messages by their locator beacon
if it was paired with a phone, but
the phone’s battery was quickly
losing life.
All they could do was wait.
Hanna used a broken tent pole to
make an air hole. When he made
it too large, it let in too much cold
air, and the shaking returned.
They briefly lit their stove, but
the fumes made them cough and
it wouldn’t stay lit. Hanna was so
dehydrated, his throat swelled
when he tried eating freezedried turkey tetrazzini reconstituted with slushy water.
Still, they had hope. A text
message told them Air Guard
skiers were on their way.
Early April 12, they heard a
helicopter fly by. Hanna tied an
orange space blanket to the tent
pole and jammed it through the
air hole as a signal.
A few hours later, they heard
a helicopter, then snowshoes
crunching on snow. Someone
pulled on the space blanket on
the pole.
“It was like ice fishing in reverse,” Hanna said.
A voice called out, wondering
where to dig. Fifteen minutes
later, the Air Guardsman had
Hanna and Neyman out of their
collapsing cave.
At a hospital, staff checked
Neyman’s vital signs and bought
her and Hanna lunch in the cafeteria. Hanna declined treatment
but saw his daughters.
“When you think the end is
probable or inevitable, that’s
what you think about,” he said.
HOUSTON — Thunderstorms
raced through the Houston area
Thursday, aggravating flooding
in already drenched parts of the
city as mandatory evacuations
were ordered for low-lying neighborhoods in a community about
50 miles away.
Houston
and
surrounding
counties have received more
than a foot of rain since Sunday
night, and the flooding has forced
thousands of people from their
homes as creeks and bayous became overwhelmed. At least eight
deaths have been blamed on the
weather.
A heavy rainstorm Thursday
morning dumped more than an
inch of rain in less than an hour
in some areas of Harris County,
which includes most of Houston.
“We’re seeing some minor rises
in some creeks,” Jeff Lindner,
with the Harris County Flood
Control District, said. “It doesn’t
look like we’ll see enough rain to
see more widespread flooding.”
Water likely would collect in
some streets but subside once the
rain stopped, he said.
Two aging reservoirs in west
Houston considered “extremely
high risk” by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers were holding record
amounts of water — at 50 percent
capacity — but remained in good
shape, he said.
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PACIFIC
Killing, mass
abuse, cover up
in South Korea
BY K IM TONG -HYUNG
AND FOSTER K LUG
labor at Brothers were sent to Europe, Japan and possibly beyond,
and the family that owned Brothers continued to run welfare faBUSAN, South Korea — Three cilities and schools until just two
decades ago, a policeman tor- years ago.
tured Choi Seung-woo over a
The few former inmates speakpiece of bread he found in the ing out want a new investigation.
boy’s schoolbag.
The government is blocking an
After being stripped and hav- opposition lawmaker’s push to reing a cigarette lighter repeatedly visit the case, contending that the
sparked near his genitals, the evidence is too old.
14-year-old falsely confessed to
Ahn Jeong-tae, an official from
stealing the bread. Two men with Seoul’s Ministry of the Interior,
clubs came and dragged him off said Brothers’ victims should
to the Brothers Home, a moun- have submitted their case years
tainside institution where some of ago to a temporary truth-findthe worst human rights atrocities ing commission. “We can’t make
in modern South Korean history separate laws for every incident,”
took place.
Ahn said.
Even now, Choi weeps as he
The official silence means that
speaks of what
even as South
happened there.
Korea prepares
A guard in
for its second
The government
Choi’s dormitory
Olympics,
in
raped him that has consistently
2018, thousands
night in 1982, and
of traumatized
the next, and the tried to bury what
former inmates
next. So began happened. How do
have still refive hellish years
ceived no comof slave labor and you fight that?
pensation,
let
near-daily
asChoi Seung-woo alone public recsaults, years in
former inmate ognition or an
which Choi saw
apology.
men and women
“The
govbeaten to death,
ernment
has
their
bodies
consistently tried to bury what
carted away like garbage.
happened. How do you fight that?”
Choi was one of thousands Choi asked. “Look at me now. I
— the homeless, the drunk, the am wailing, desperate to tell our
unlucky, but mostly children and story. Please listen to us.”
the disabled — who were forced
Police officers, assisted by shop
into facilities for so-called va- owners, rounded up children,
grants in the 1970s and ‘80s. The panhandlers, small-time street
roundup came as the ruling dicta- merchants, the disabled and distors prepared to bid for and host sidents. They ended up as pristhe 1988 Seoul Olympics, which oners at 36 nationwide facilities,
they saw as international valida- and numbered 16,000 by 1986,
tion of South Korea’s arrival as a according to government documodern country. So they ordered ments obtained by AP.
police and local officials to “puNearly 4,000 were at Brothers.
rify” the streets.
Once an orphanage, Brothers
Today, nobody has been held Home at its peak had more than 20
accountable for the hundreds factories behind its well-guarded
of deaths, rapes and beatings walls in the southern port city of
on the grounds of Brothers, the Busan, churning out goods made
largest of dozens of facilities for by mostly unpaid inmates.
those considered undesirable, acSome 90 percent of those
cording to an Associated Press shouldn’t have been there because
investigation.
they didn’t meet the government’s
The AP found that abuse at definition of “vagrant,” former
Brothers, previously almost un- prosecutor Kim Yong Won told
known, was much more vicious the AP, based on Brothers’ reand widespread than had been cords and interviews compiled in
realized, based on hundreds of 1987 before government officials
exclusive documents and dozens ended his investigation.
of interviews with officials and
A former inmate, Lee Chaeformer inmates, most of whom sik, said he watched the man he
had not spoken before publicly.
worked for, chief enforcer Kim
Secrecy around Brothers per- Kwang-seok, lead near-daily,
sists because of a cover-up at the often fatal beatings at a “correchighest levels, the AP found. Two
tions room.” Lee said he also saw
early attempts to investigate were
records that sometimes listed as
suppressed by senior officials who
many as five daily deaths. The
went on to thrive in high-profile
AP tried repeatedly to track Kim
jobs; one remains a senior adviser
down but could not.
to the current ruling party.
Associated Press
‘
’
Products made using slave
SEE PAGE 17
PHOTOS
BY
C OMMITTEE AGAINST INSTITUTIONALIZING DISABLED PERSONS/AP
Top: In this undated image, child inmates line up for morning assembly at the Brothers Home in Busan,
South Korea.
Below: Guards unload children from a truck, so they can start working at the Brothers Home.
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FROM PAGE 16
The documents show that Brothers should have paid the current
equivalent of $1.7 million to more
than 1,000 inmates for their dawnto-dusk work over an unspecified
period. However, facility records
and interviews with inmates at the
time suggest that most people at
Brothers were subjected to forced
labor without pay, according to
prosecutor Kim.
In his autobiography and elsewhere, Brothers’ owner, Park
In-keun, has denied wrongdoing,
saying he simply followed government orders. Repeated attempts to
contact him were unsuccessful.
The former second-highest
management official at Brothers,
Lim Young-soon, attributed the facility’s high death toll to the many
inmates he said arrived there in
poor health.
“These were people who would
have died in the streets anyway,”
Lim told AP in a phone interview.
While Park grew rich, inmates
struggled to survive.
On his second day at Brothers,
Choi said he watched a guard drag
a woman by her hair and beat her
with a club until blood flowed.
Death tallies compiled by the
facility claimed 513 people died
between 1975 and 1986; the real
toll was almost certainly higher.
Most of the new arrivals at Brothers were in relatively good health,
government documents show.
Yet at least 15 inmates were dead
within just a month of arrival in
1985, and 22 in 1986.
Brothers’ downfall began by ac-
‘
How can we ever forget the pain for
the beating, the dead bodies, the
backbreaking labor the fear ... all the bad
memories.
’
cident. While pheasant hunting,
Kim, then a newly appointed prosecutor in the city of Ulsan, stumbled upon bedraggled prisoners
working on a mountainside. Their
guards said they were building a
ranch for the owner of the Brothers Home in nearby Busan.
Kim and 10 policemen raided
Brothers in January 1987. But at
every turn in his investigation,
Kim said, high-ranking officials
blocked him, in part out of fear of
embarrassing pre-Olympics news.
Internal prosecution records reveal intense pressure from the
president’s office for Kim to curb
his probe and push for lighter punishment for the owner.
Kim’s boss, Park Hee-tae, then
Busan’s head prosecutor and
later the nation’s justice minister,
pushed to reduce the scope of the
investigation, Kim said, including
forcing him to stop efforts to interview every Brothers inmate. Park,
a senior adviser to the current ruling party, denied AP interview
requests. His personal secretary
said Park can’t remember details
about the investigation.
Kim, now 61 and a managing
partner at a Seoul law firm, said
Lee Chae-sik
former inmate
his bosses prevented him from
charging the owner for suspected
widespread abuse at the main
compound, limiting him to pursuing much narrower abuse linked to
the construction site he’d found.
Despite interference, Kim eventually collected bank records and
financial transactions indicating
that, in 1985 and 1986 alone, the
owner embezzled millions from
government subsidies. The Supreme Court in 1989 gave Park 2{
years in prison for embezzlement
and violations of construction,
grassland management and foreign currency laws.
Brothers finally closed its gates
in 1988.
While most former inmates
are silent, a few are demanding an apology and an admission
that officials encouraged police to
kidnap and lock away people who
shouldn’t have been confined.
“How can we ever forget the
pain from the beatings, the dead
bodies, the backbreaking labor,
the fear ... all the bad memories,”
said Lee, who now manages a
lakeside motel. “It will haunt us
until we die.”
A HN YOUNG -JOON /AP
Choi Seung-woo, left, and Lee Chae-sik examine what they say was
a water tank left from the Brothers Home, a mountainside institution
where some of the worst human rights atrocities in modern South
Korean history reportedly took place, in Busan, South Korea.
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PHOTOS
BY
PAUL TRAYNOR /AP
An assistant puts makeup on the face of Web performer Zhang Qige as she prepares for a live streaming
session at an Internet broadcasting studio in Shanghai on Feb. 19. Zhang’s webcam broadcast has more
than 2 million subscribers.
China’s live-streaming sites
draw followers and scrutiny
BY LOUISE WATT
Associated Press
BEIJING — China’s livestreaming sites have become a
burgeoning cottage industry, offering money-making opportunities and even stardom to their
mostly female hosts and an entertaining new alternative for millions of viewers to online dramas
and stodgy state-controlled TV.
Zhang Qige, 23, who plays computer games and chats on her
webcam, attracts hundreds of
thousands of real-time viewers at
once. She has more than 2 million
subscribers on the website Douyu
TV and an average viewership of
400,000 for each nightly show.
“They like me chatting with
them,” said Zhang, who says she
earns more than $150,000 from
her performances. “They feel like
I’m talking to them face to face.”
The proliferation of such shows
and sites demonstrate the entrepreneurial drive of young Chinese
as well as the financial potential of
social media in the country, which
has 668 million people online —
the world’s largest.
But their popularity also reflects the loneliness of Chinese
urban life as well as the growing
surplus of single men, blamed in
part on the country’s former onechild policy.
Much of the content on various
live streaming sites could be considered seedy, and some goes well
beyond the borders of good taste.
Many female broadcasters wear
revealing costumes, and authorities recently cracked down after
live pornographic scenes were
broadcast on at least two sites. In
one case, 34 people in the central
province of Anhui were arrested
for taking part.
The spread of such platforms
has drawn close government scrutiny, with the Ministry of Culture
saying Thursday that Douyu and
other sites have been added to a
list of websites found broadcasting pornographic and other objectionable
content and
Their
will be handpopularity ed unspecified penalties.
also
The ministry
said
online
reflects
live-streamthe
ing platforms
loneliness draw around
million
of Chinese 200
users,
with
urban life major sites
running
sevas well
eral thousand
as the
live-streaming “studios”
growing
simultanesurplus
ously.
These sites
of single
derive a small
men,
proportion
blamed in of their revpart on the enue through
advertising.
country’s
They
survive primarformer
ily
through
one-child a
practice
invented by
policy.
Chinese companies:
virtual gifting.
Viewers can buy imaginary
gifts such as images of flowers or
bottles of beer for their favorite
performers, who receive a portion
of the cash, with the site getting a
hefty cut. Viewers can also send
comments that pop up onscreen,
giving them the perception they
are interacting with the host.
“I think everyone, without ex-
ception, likes to watch beautiful
girls,” said a 28-year-old single
office worker who asked that he
be identified only by his surname,
Zhai. He said he spends $80-120 a
week purchasing virtual gifts on
four or more different sites.
This business model works in
China because it builds on the
traditional culture of giving red
envelopes stuffed with money at
weddings and fruit, cigarettes
or bottles of booze at Lunar New
Year.
“Gifting is a common practice
offline, and having that happen
online to make it easier to form
social relationships seems quite
natural,” said Hans Tung, a managing partner at GGV Capital, a
venture capital firm. U.S. players
are paying attention, but so far
haven’t gotten this model to work.
“There are a lot more ways people
can make money now online ...
that is not as prevalent outside of
Asia,” Tung said.
One of the biggest Chinese
hosting sites, YY, is listed on the
Nasdaq stock exchange and saw
its revenues rise 60 percent to
$910 million last year, according
to unaudited financial results announced in March. It claims more
than 120 million active users who
spend an average of 48 hours per
month on the site.
Young Chinese see virtual gifting as a fun way to spend their
disposable income, said Dong
Mengyuan, head of entertainment
content at China Renaissance,
an investment bank that focuses on Internet and technology
companies.
“They don’t just only pay for
their clothes, food and some other
basic demands,” he said. “They
also want to pay for something like
entertainment.”
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
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BUSINESS/WEATHER
EXCHANGE RATES
Jobless aid claims at a 4-decade low
BY JOSH BOAK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The number
of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to a four-decade
low last week, a sign that employers are unconcerned about weak
economic growth in the first
three months of 2016.
Weekly applications for jobless
benefits declined to a seasonally
adjusted 247,000, the lowest reading since November 1973, the
Labor Department said Thurs-
day. The four-week average,
a less-volatile figure, dropped
4,500 to 260,500. The total number of people receiving benefits
has fallen 7.6 percent from a year
ago to 2.14 million.
Applications are a proxy for
layoffs. The historically low figures indicate that employers are
holding onto workers and possibly are looking to hire more,
a positive sign for an economy
that endured a rocky start to the
year. Many analysts are forecasting sluggish growth of less than
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Change in price
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1 percent annualized during the
first three months of the year as
stock markets and the broader
global economy turned volatile.
Yet the declining number of
requests for jobless aid suggests
that hiring will continue uninterrupted. A level of applications
this low generally corresponds
with monthly net job gains of
more than 200,000. Applications
have been below 300,000 for 59
straight weeks, the longest consecutive period since 1973.
Despite continued signs of
weakness in manufacturing and
retail sales slipping in March, a
healthy job market is expected
to help propel economic growth
in the coming months. The additional paychecks from more
employment historically have
boosted consumer spending in
ways that feed broader growth.
That could help overcome concerns about economic growth at
the start of the year being lower
than the 1.4 percent annualized
gain in the final three months of
2015.
PACIFIC GAS PRICES
Diesel
$2.524
+5.5 cents
Country
Japan
Change in price
Unleaded
---
Military rates
MARKET WATCH
Super unleaded Super plus
$2.679
-+6.0 cents
--
Diesel
$2.259
+4.0 cents
Netherlands
Change in price
---
$2.847
+3.9 cents
$2.918
+6.3 cents
$2.729
+5.1 cents
Okinawa
Change in price
$2.229
+7.0 cents
---
---
$2.259
+4.0 cents
U.K.
Change in price
---
$2.676
+6.3 cents
$2.888
+6.3 cents
$2.463
+3.7 cents
South Korea
Change in price
$2.269
+7.0 cents
---
$2.719
+6.0 cents
$2.299
+4.0 cents
Azores
Change in price
---
---
$3.193
no change
---
Guam
Change in price
$2.259**
+7.0 cents
$2.499
+7.0 cents
$2.709
+6.0 cents
---
Belgium
Change in price
---
$2.108
no change
$2.470
no change
$2.150
no change
Turkey
Change in price
---
---
$2.767
+6.3 cents
$2.587*
no change
Italy
Change in price
$2.612
no change
---
---
$2.500
no change
Euro costs (April 22) ........................ $1.1667
Dollar buys (April 22) .......................€0.8571
British pound (April 22) ....................... $1.48
Japanese yen (April 22) .....................106.00
South Korean won (April 22) .........1,106.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3770
British pound ....................... $1.4336/0.6975
Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.2700
China (Yuan) ........................................6.4790
Denmark (Krone) ................................6.5897
Egypt (Pound) ......................................8.8762
Euro ........................................ $1.1293/0.8855
Hong Kong (Dollar) ............................. 7.7570
Hungary (Forint) ................................. 274.10
Israel (Shekel) ..................................... 3.7641
Japan (Yen)...........................................109.36
Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3015
Norway (Krone) ...................................8.1809
Philippines (Peso).................................46.53
Poland (Zloty) .......................................... 3.81
Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ........................... 3.7502
Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3486
South Korea (Won) ..........................1,138.42
Switzerland (Franc)............................ 0.9721
Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 35.07
Turkey (Lira) .........................................2.8297
(Military exchange rates are those
available to customers at military banking
facilities in the country of issuance
for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For
nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e.,
purchasing British pounds in Germany),
check with your local military banking
facility. Commercial rates are interbank
rates provided for reference when buying
currency. All figures are foreign currencies
to one dollar, except for the British pound,
which is represented in dollars-to-pound,
and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate ................................................ 3.50
Discount rate .......................................... 1.00
Federal funds market rate ................... 0.36
3-month bill ............................................. 0.22
30-year bond ........................................... 2.65
* Diesel EFD ** Midgrade
For the week of April 23-29
WEATHER OUTLOOK
FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC
FRIDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa
61/43
Kabul
67/42
Seoul
67/43
Baghdad
99/66
Kandahar
82/54
Kuwait
City
94/70
Mildenhall/
Lakenheath
50/38
Brussels
53/40
Bahrain
88/75
Riyadh
93/70
Lajes,
Azores
68/58
Doha
93/75
Busan
67/50
Tokyo
72/56
Iwakuni
69/55
Guam
87/58
Sasebo
68/56
Ramstein
62/43
Pápa
73/50
Stuttgart
65/47
Aviano/
Vicenza
64/50
Naples
68/59
Morón
75/52
Djibouti
92/80
Osan
68/42
Sigonella
77/53
Rota
68/55
Okinawa
81/71
The weather is provided by the
American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
Souda Bay
73/58
Friday’s US temperatures
City
Abilene, Tex
Akron, Ohio
Albany, N.Y.
Albuquerque
Allentown, Pa.
Amarillo
Anchorage
Asheville
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Austin
Baltimore
Baton Rouge
Billings
Birmingham
Bismarck
Boise
Boston
Bridgeport
Brownsville
Buffalo
Burlington, Vt.
Caribou, Maine
Casper
Charleston, S.C.
Charleston, W.Va.
Charlotte, N.C.
Hi
77
65
74
80
73
80
53
71
74
76
82
75
81
84
75
67
71
76
77
83
61
73
68
76
80
72
76
Lo
54
40
48
51
50
52
40
52
56
53
57
53
59
49
56
44
47
53
55
70
38
44
40
42
61
50
57
Wthr
Clr
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Rain
Clr
Cldy
Rain
Rain
Rain
PCldy
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Clr
Cldy
Cldy
Rain
Cldy
Rain
Rain
Rain
Clr
Rain
Rain
Rain
Chattanooga
Cheyenne
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Colorado Springs
Columbia, S.C.
Columbus, Ga.
Columbus, Ohio
Concord, N.H.
Corpus Christi
Dallas-Ft Worth
Dayton
Daytona Beach
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
Duluth
El Paso
Elkins
Erie
Eugene
Evansville
Fairbanks
Fargo
Flagstaff
Flint
Fort Smith
76
72
53
70
61
73
78
78
69
76
81
82
68
79
76
67
62
49
84
68
60
62
73
58
61
68
60
79
53
43
37
48
42
46
59
58
43
47
68
58
43
63
46
47
37
31
63
47
39
47
47
35
45
38
33
53
Rain
Clr
Cldy
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Rain
Clr
Clr
Cldy
PCldy
PCldy
Rain
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Cldy
PCldy
Clr
Cldy
Clr
Fort Wayne
Fresno
Goodland
Grand Junction
Grand Rapids
Great Falls
Green Bay
Greensboro, N.C.
Harrisburg
Hartford Spgfld
Helena
Honolulu
Houston
Huntsville
Indianapolis
Jackson, Miss.
Jacksonville
Juneau
Kansas City
Key West
Knoxville
Lake Charles
Lansing
Las Vegas
Lexington
Lincoln
Little Rock
Los Angeles
65
74
75
77
59
84
54
73
72
76
82
85
83
75
67
79
81
58
70
82
74
81
58
89
71
69
79
71
41
51
49
46
40
45
32
56
49
50
45
72
62
54
42
55
63
42
49
74
53
63
38
62
49
46
55
58
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Clr
Cldy
PCldy
PCldy
Rain
Rain
Rain
PCldy
PCldy
PCldy
Cldy
Cldy
Cldy
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Rain
PCldy
Cldy
Clr
Cldy
Clr
Clr
Cldy
Louisville
Lubbock
Macon
Madison
Medford
Memphis
Miami Beach
Midland-Odessa
Milwaukee
Mpls-St Paul
Missoula
Mobile
Montgomery
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Newark
Norfolk, Va.
North Platte
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Orlando
Paducah
Pendleton
Peoria
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
73
78
79
58
62
77
81
79
47
60
80
80
78
77
79
77
81
77
74
78
68
83
75
70
65
74
95
66
51
53
56
34
44
57
73
54
36
43
49
60
58
54
64
55
56
59
47
51
48
64
49
51
42
55
67
44
Cldy
PCldy
Rain
PCldy
Rain
Clr
Rain
Clr
Cldy
Clr
Clr
Cldy
Rain
Cldy
Cldy
Rain
Rain
Rain
Clr
Clr
Clr
Rain
Clr
Cldy
Cldy
Rain
PCldy
Rain
Pocatello
Portland, Maine
Portland, Ore.
Providence
Pueblo
Raleigh-Durham
Rapid City
Reno
Richmond
Roanoke
Rochester
Rockford
Sacramento
St Louis
St Petersburg
St Thomas
Salem, Ore.
Salt Lake City
San Angelo
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
Santa Fe
St Ste Marie
Savannah
Seattle
Shreveport
77
68
62
72
79
74
79
61
77
74
65
59
65
69
81
86
62
82
80
82
70
63
66
73
46
80
63
81
44
48
49
54
45
58
50
38
57
53
39
36
48
48
70
76
46
48
55
61
59
52
49
45
28
62
48
57
Clr
Cldy
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Clr
Rain
Rain
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Rain
PCldy
PCldy
Rain
Rain
Clr
Clr
PCldy
PCldy
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Clr
Rain
Rain
Clr
Sioux City
Sioux Falls
South Bend
Spokane
Springfield, Ill
Springfield, Mo
Syracuse
Tallahassee
Tampa
Toledo
Topeka
Tucson
Tulsa
Tupelo
Waco
Washington
W. Palm Beach
Wichita
Wichita Falls
Wilkes-Barre
Wilmington, Del.
Yakima
Youngstown
67
65
57
75
66
71
69
82
81
63
72
93
78
78
81
76
81
76
78
71
74
71
63
46
47
38
47
43
48
40
62
68
38
49
61
50
54
55
55
70
49
52
47
53
49
38
Clr
Clr
Cldy
Cldy
Cldy
PCldy
Rain
Rain
PCldy
Cldy
Clr
PCldy
Clr
PCldy
Clr
Rain
Rain
Clr
Clr
Rain
Rain
Cldy
Rain
National temperature extremes
Hi: Wed., 102, Death Valley, Calif.
Lo: Wed., 9, Mount Washington, N.H.
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What others
want from US
Europe likes sex; Asia prefers
violence and Nicolas Cage.
Marketing movies
to foreign audiences
can be a fine art
in and of itself.
Page 24
Video games – 26
Travel – 27-35
Music – 36-37
Health – 40
Crossword – 42
PAGE 22
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: GADGETS & CHARTS
GADGET WATCH
Portable Flip-Pal device scans on the go
BY GREGG ELLMAN
Tribune News Service
T
INSOMNIAC G AMES/AP
Insomniac Games is ratcheting up work in virtual reality. The developer
is set to release three VR games, including “The Unspoken” (pictured),
for the Oculus Rift system in 2016.
Insomniac Games plans
3 new VR titles for Oculus
BY DERRIK J. LANG
Associated Press
I
nsomniac Games is ratcheting up its work in virtual
reality.
The developer best known
for the “Resistance” and “Ratchet
& Clank” franchises is set to
release three VR games for the recently released Oculus Rift system
in 2016.
After four years in development,
the Oculus Rift began shipping
to consumers March 28. Despite
the technology’s untested position
in the marketplace, Insomniac
Games is moving full force into
the emerging 360-degree interactive medium.
Insomniac’s VR games set to
debut later this year include:
• “Edge of Nowhere”: A moody
third-person title inspired by
H.P. Lovecraft set in the Arctic
that recalls “Tomb Raider” and
Uncharted” adventures. The game
mimics a player’s head movements
in VR to cast a flashlight in different directions when exploring
unnerving virtual caves.
• “The Unspoken”: With the
handheld Oculus Touch controllers, players’ hands are capable
of casting spells in seedy corners
of Chicago, where members of an
urban magic fight club meet to
duel. The spells range from spewing fireballs with a wrist flick to
waving crows to attack.
• “Feral Rites”: An adventure
brawler featuring shapeshifting
protagonists that’s described as
a cross between “The Legend of
Zelda,” “God of War” and “Altered
Beasts.” The game is inspired by
adventure novels from such authors as Arthur Conan Doyle and
H.G. Wells.
Insomniac Games President
and CEO Ted Price estimated that
Insomniac Games is dedicating
about 30 to 50 percent of its workforce to working on VR games.
Oculus has not released initial sales figures for the Rift but
acknowledged that it has struggled
to ship systems to consumers. The
current orders for Oculus Rift
systems aren’t expected to arrive
until summer.
Jason Rubin, Oculus’ head of
worldwide studios, said titles
from proven developers such as
Insomniac Games will increase
awareness and provide legitimacy
for the VR medium.
“We want bigger games at
launch,” said Rubin. “We think
that helps push the industry forward in terms of technology and
consumer excitement about the
business. We all learn from each
other as we’re doing it.”
While Insomniac’s VR games
will first launch for Oculus, Price
said he hasn’t ruled out releasing
them for the other VR systems, the
HTC Vive and PlayStation VR.
ON THE COVER: Illustration by Noga Ami-rav/Stars and Stripes
he Flip-Pal mobile scanner (model
100C) does a great job of scanning
photos, documents and even books on
the go. The device stores easily in a
computer bag or laptop for ultimate portability.
It’s powered by four AA batteries and works
on its own, scanning directly to the included
removable SD memory card, without needing a
computer.
The scanner also supports wireless Eye-Fi SD
memory cards (not included).
The device as a whole measures 1.3 by 10.3
by 6.5 inches, and a pass-through scan viewing
area is 4 by 6 inches.
The SD memory card comes with stitching
software to combine multiple scans, which
comes in handy since often you’ll be scanning
things larger than 4 by 6 inches. It worked well
stitching tests of a document and an 8-by-10inch photo.
You can choose resolutions of 300 or 600
pixels per inch. Both were complete in less than
30 seconds, including time for the scanner to
reset itself.
What I loved was being able to turn the scan
over to copy photos mounted in glass as well
as images from books (copyrights do apply,
so always check). The scanner allows you to
see through to the scanning area to make sure
everything is positioned correctly.
After scanning, you can view the results on
the built-in 1.7-inch color LCD.
A press release for the scanner had some
clever uses listed, including a baby’s feet and
Genealogy hobbyists.
Online: flip-pal.com; $149.99
The Winegard FlatWave Micro compact
antenna reflects our changing times.
For years, it seemed we couldn’t get
enough TV channels for movies, news or
sports. Then along came the “cut the cable”
era, eliminating many of those channels.
During that era the ways to get your local TV
broadcasts changed dramatically.
The antenna is a great solution and costs
only $21.99. As a company representative
pointed out, this is a one-time payment with no
monthly fees.
The antenna receives local broadcasts from
up to 30 miles away. It’s a thick piece of paper
measuring 5.25 by 7 by 0.5 inches, which is a
long way from the big and bulky rabbit ears my
family had on TVs when I was a kid.
The size lets you hide it almost anywhere
as long as the attached 5-foot coaxial cable is
within reach to connect to your TV.
Setup takes just minutes. All you need to do is
connect the cable and run a channel scan to see
what it picks up.
It worked at home and since it was small and
FLIP -PAL /TNS
The Flip-Pal mobile scanner scans photos,
documents and books wherever you take it.
compact I took it along on a recent road trip.
Most of the local channels came as if I had the
hotel cable TV plugged in.
A few channels did have some static, though
moving the antenna around seemed to help. It
worked best when I had it against a window.
Online: Winegard.com; $21.99
The slim (14 mm) designed The SoundCover
folio speaker for the iPad Air provides both the
case and the Bluetooth speaker that are essential for iPad owners.
The speakers won’t
produce
the great
head-banging
sound you get
from many
portable
Bluetooth
speakers,
but it’s better
than what
O NANOFF/TNS
comes out of
Sound Cover is an iPad Air smart
the tablet’s
cover with built-in speakers.
internal
speaker.
You must remove the iPad since the touchscreen faces the SoundCover for storage and
protection. But once it’s removed and you open
the kickstand, the two are synced for use (after
the initial pairing).
You’ll get up to 15 hours of playback before a
USB charge of the 3300 mAh lithium polymer
battery is needed. Once the iPad is back in the
case, it automatically shuts off to save power.
The speaker can be paired with other Bluetooth-enabled devices and has an internal microphone for phone calls, a 3.5 mm direct audio
connection and includes a travel bag.
Online: Onanoff.com; $129.99 in black, gold
and gray for the Apple iPad Air 1 & 2 generation
ITUNES MUSIC
SPOTIFY MUSIC ITUNES MOVIES VIDEO GAMES
The top 10 songs on iTunes
for the week ending April 10:
The most streamed tracks on Spotify
from April 7-14:
The top 10 movies on iTunes
for the week ending April 17:
Game Informer ranks the Top 10
downloadable games for April:
The top paid iPhone apps on the app
store for the week ending April 17:
1. “One Dance” (feat. Wizkid & Kyla),
Drake
2. “NO,” Meghan Trainor
3. “7 Years,” Lukas Graham
4. “Pop Style” (feat. The Throne), Drake
5. “Panda,” Desiigner
6. “Work from Home” (feat. Ty Dolla
$ign), Fifth Harmony
7. “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” Mike Posner
8. “My House,” Flo Rida
9. “PILLOWTALK,” ZAYN
10. “Somewhere on a Beach,” Dierks
Bentley
1. “Panda,” Desiigner
2. “Work,” Rihanna
3. “Work from Home,” Fifth Harmony
4. “7 Years,” Lukas Graham
5. “I Took A Pill In Ibiza,” Mike Posner
6. “PILLOWTALK,” ZAYN
7. “Me, Myself & I,” G-Eazy, Bebe
Rexha
8. “Roses,” The Chainsmokers
9. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,”
Kanye West
10. “Famous,” Kanye West
1. “The Big Short”
2. “Star Wars: The
Force Awakens”
3. “Man Up”
4. The Hateful
Eight
5. “The 5th
Wave”
6. “Daddy’s
Home”
7. “The Hunger
Games: Mockingjay — Part 2”
8. “Ride Along 2”
9. “Mr. Right”
10. “Sisters”
1. “Hyper Light Drifter,” PC, Mac
2. “Clash Royale,” iOS
3. “Stardew Valley,” PC
4. “Salt and Sanctuary,” PS4, PC, Vita
5. “Enter the Gungeon,” PS4, PC, Mac
6. “Adr1ft,” PC, Rift
7. “The Flame in the Flood,” Xbox
One, PC, Mac
8. “Day of the Tentacle Remastered,”
PS4, PC
9. “Stories: The Path of Destinies,” PS4,
PC
10. “Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked,” PC,
Mac
1. Minecraft: Pocket Edition
2. Radiation Island
3. Facetune
4. Heads Up!
5. Face Swap Live — Switch faces with
friends & photos in live video
6. Plague Inc.
7. 7 Minute Workout Challenge
8. Geometry Dash
9. Chameleon Run
10. Bloons TD 5, Ninja Kiwi
— Compiled by AP
— Compiled by AP
— Compiled by TNS
— Compiled by AP
APPS
— Compiled by AP
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PAGE 23
WEEKEND
CHECK IT OUT
Events, entertainment and other ways to fill your free time
1
4-part documentary
fit for royalty
The British monarchy seems to be one of
those divisive commodities (such as, say,
singer Neil Diamond) that folks either
can’t get enough of, or want nothing to
do with. If you’re in the first category, a
lovely trip down memory lane awaits you
with “William & Kate: The Journey.”
As the title would suggest, the series is
a lengthy look at the royal couple’s entire
relationship, starting with their college
years at St. Andrews and continuing
through their children’s births. The series
commemorates the couple’s five-year
anniversary, so it makes sense that the
second episode, which covers the royal
wedding, is the most revelatory.
Five years later, it remains a joy to relive
— if you’re a fan in the first place.
Part one of “William & Kate” airs
Friday on AFN-Pulse.
A BACA PRESS/TNS
Handout from St James’s Palace
Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, pose
above in London on June 3, 2011. Upper right: Their wedding on April
29, 2011. Right: A first look at newborn Princess Charlotte on May
3, 2015. The courtship and marriage of the duo will be the subject of
“William & Kate: The Journey,” airing on AFN-Pulse.
2
ZUMA PRESS/TNS
3
Colbert’s tune fit
for Waffle House
Stay in the know
with the Eye Opener
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert
struck up an unlikely partnership
with country singer Sturgill Simpson this week. The two performed
a song about the Waffle House, a
cherished Southern breakfast restaurant chain that, it turns out, supplies its restaurant jukeboxes with
original, breakfast-themed songs.
Colbert’s tune about restaurant
etiquette, “No Shirt, No Shoes, No
Knuckleheads” (also, no zombies),
should definitely make the cut.
Judge for yourself at tinyurl.
com/gpzuqes.
The TV show “CBS This Morning” has found
a way to woo viewers and remain relevant,
no easy task in our multipleplatform news era. Its
secret? The Eye Opener,
a rapid-fire video montage that promises “Your
world in 90 seconds.”
And even if you don’t, or
can’t, watch the whole show,
the Eye Opener is available via email newsletter or online shortly after it airs.
Read more about the Eye Opener on
Page 39.
Find it online at tinyurl.com/qzojynt
Screenshot from YouTube.com
Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert and country singer Sturgill
Simpson perform an ode to Waffle House restaurants, “No Shirt, No
Shoes, No Knuckleheads.”
PAGE 24
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: MOVIES
Fox Searchlight
Pictures
DISNEYLUCASFILM /AP
Above: Advertising for foreign markets can take twists, such as shrinking the face of John Boyega, who
played a lead character in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” for a Chinese poster.
Left: The poster for “12 Years a Slave” in the U.S. showed lead Chiwetel Ejiofor, pictured, alone. But
posters for many other countries, including South Korea, also included photos of equal size of co-stars
Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch, diminishing Ejiofor’s starring role.
Distributing, selling American films
to foreign audiences takes finesse
BY JEFFREY FLEISHMAN
Los Angeles Times
L
ike many in the film distribution business, Mimi
Steinbauer has a story
— “funniest example
ever” — of the ingenious sleight
of hand in marketing American
movies to foreign lands.
In her case it was “Machete,”
a picture by Robert Rodriguez
about a Mexican drug lord, an
ex-federal agent and a racist
Texas senator. With comedy,
satire and caricature, the film
was a violent and outlandish
comment on America’s immigration debate.
Buyers in Thailand, however,
weren’t interested in political
overtones. “The Thais called it
‘Machete: Splatter Blood’ and
there was blood all over the
poster,” said Steinbauer, president and chief executive of Radiant Films International in Los
Angeles. “I said, ‘You can’t call it
that.’ But they said it would work
and it did. It wasn’t a lie, per se.
It wasn’t a slasher film, but they
knew their audience.”
Distributing and marketing
American films to other countries is a game of deciphering
aesthetics and culture. What
appeals to one nation may turn
off another. Europe prefers sex
to shootouts, while Asia and the
Middle East are rapt by action
and violence. Italians recoil at
science fiction, Argentines drift
toward the intellectual, Russians
adore “Minions” but are cool to
interracial love stories, and one
distributor described American
dramas as “the big dirty word in
our business.”
Race, politics, religion all factor into how films are packaged.
Steinbauer and other U.S.-based
film distributors are intimate
with local markets and how an
American distribution campaign
may have to be recast — at times
dramatically so — to resonate
abroad.
Understanding international
preferences is crucial as Hollywood and independent film-
makers reach for larger global
shares. Worldwide ticket sales
reached a record-breaking
$38.3 billion last year. More than
70 percent of the film industry’s
box office is generated overseas,
a figure that is increasingly
driving strategy and financing
decisions.
Tapping into the fascinations of
audiences from Beijing to Brussels is a high-stakes alchemy of
language, allure, censorship, the
style of a trailer, the background
color of a poster and the bankability of a star such as Nicolas
Cage, who despite a declining
career is still a good bet in Asia.
Such calculations require people
with on-the-ground knowledge
of specific regions — the kind of
innate sensitivity you can’t learn
in Hollywood.
“You have to pay attention
to the nuances and cultures
of every country,” said Pedro
Rodriguez, president of International Distribution Co., who
has been distributing films in
Latin America for three decades.
“Each has its own DNA. There’s
no bible to this. It’s like drinking
the Kool-Aid from each place.
We’re not selling shoes here.
Each movie is a piece of art. How
do we find its audience?”
That has been complicated by
a younger generation driven by
social media, the growing sophistication of TV markets and the
populism of Netflix and Amazon,
which has given viewers the
power to tailor their entertainment. American films are also
encountering competition from
indigenous studios and filmmakers in countries such as Germany, Turkey, France, South Korea,
Mexico and Guatemala, which
has a vibrant young production
industry.
“Hollywood is hitting serious
competition from local TV and
film productions,” said Jean M.
Prewitt, president and chief executive of the Independent Film
& Television Alliance. “More
countries are producing worldquality films. We’re certainly
seeing that.”
Independent financiers
and distributors are trying to
“squeeze as much money out
Kathryn Bigelow, right, won an Oscar for directing the film “The Hurt Locker,” an Iraq war story about
an explosive ordnance disposal team. The U.S. poster suggested internal turmoil. But in France, it was
marketed as an action film, as the French are considered less interested in the nuances of war.
M ATT SAYLES/AP
of as many movies as we can
because there’s so little to be
made,” said Nadine de Barros,
co-founder of Fortitude International, a foreign sales and finance
company based in Sherman
Oaks, Calif. “The first thing
everyone wants to do it is put
numbers on paper to reassure
investors that they’ll get their
money back. I put a number on
each territory and what I call my
worst-case-scenario number for
each country.”
Recasting posters has become
a surreal art form in some territories and is often indicative
of racial prejudices and playing
on established stars. Chinese
posters for “Star Wars: The
Force Awakens” shrunk the face
of John Boyega, the black actor
who played Finn, one of the film’s
lead characters. In 2013, Italian
marketers prominently
displayed Brad Pitt
on a poster for “12
Years a Slave.”
Pitt had a cameo
in the movie but
his dominance
on the poster
— aglow in
Renaissancelike visage
— overshadowed Chiwetel Ejiofor, the
black star.
It wasn’t
the poster for
Helen Mirren’s new film about
drone warfare — “Eye in the Sky”
— that concerned Rodriguez.
He knew that Latin America’s
large Catholic population might
read the title as a reference to
God watching from above. The
name was changed to “Invisible
Enemy.” Such, he said, are the
equations of marketing, many of
which are likely to change markedly in coming years as distributors reach for younger audiences
who have a wider sense of the
globe.
Selling movies often relies on
finesse and a personal touch. De
Barros was working for Voltage
Pictures when she was shopping
“The Hurt Locker,” an Iraq war
story about a U.S. bomb demolition expert directed by Kathryn
Bigelow. The 2008 film went
on to win six Academy Awards
including best picture,
but before that it was a
complicated movie for
an international market
not enamored with the
psychological scars
of an unpopular
American war.
There was no star
and Bigelow’s
previous film, “K19: The Widowmaker,” didn’t do
well.
CONTINUED ON
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WEEKEND: MOVIES
‘Huntsman’ sequel misses its target
BY KATIE WALSH
New on base
Tribune News Service
“The Huntsman: Winter’s
War” is playing at the
following military facilities:
Europe
Lakenheath, Mildenhall,
Ansbach, Baumholder,
Grafenwoehr, Hohenfels,
Ramstein, Spangdahlem,
Stuttgart, Vilseck, Wiesbaden, Aviano, Vicenza,
Brunssum and Schinnen.
Pacific
Atsugi, Showboat, Village,
Benny Decker, Fleet, Yokota,
Zama, Yongsan South Post
No. 1, Casey, Henry, Humphreys, Kunsan, Osan,
Carroll, Foster, Futenma,
Hansen, Kadena, Kinser and
Schwab.
H
ow do you solve a
problem like Kristen
(Stewart)? If you’re
the filmmakers of
“The Huntsman: Winter’s War,”
you write Snow White entirely
out of the sequel to “Snow White
and the Huntsman.” The film’s
clearly a valuable property, so it’s
no wonder that Universal would
return to that well with a sequel,
this time directed by Cedric
Nicolas-Troyan, the visual effects supervisor on the first film.
But the script acrobatics result in
a bizarre prequel/sequel mashup
where Snow White doesn’t show
up in her own fairy tale.
The film focuses on two of
the best elements from the first
film: Charlize Theron’s wickedly
beautiful and scheming Ravenna,
a queen who desires power and
to be the fairest of them all, and
Chris Hemsworth’s ruggedly
hunky ax-throwing huntsman,
Eric. Added to the mix is Ravenna’s sister Freya (Emily Blunt), a
literal ice queen; and Sara (Jessica Chastain), a fellow huntsman
and Eric’s true love.
In the prequel portion, Freya
suffers a devastating loss at the
hands of her lover, which causes
her to spontaneously transform
into ice. She retreats to the North
to rule as the Ice Queen, where
she wears fabulously glittery
gowns and builds an army by
kidnapping children and forcing
them to become her huntsmen
(and women). Eric and Sara fall
in love there, but Freya, jaded,
has only one rule: no love.
In the sequel part, heralded by
a “7 years later” title, Eric and
Sara have been driven apart,
Ravenna’s been dispatched, and
Freya is on a kingdom-conquer-
Online: thehuntsmanmovie.
com
Universal Pictures
Charlize Theron, right, returns as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her sister Freya (Emily Blunt, left),
with an unforgivable act, freezing Freya’s heart to love and unleashing in her an icy power she never
knew she possesed in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War.
ing, kid-snatching roll. The tricky
mirror-mirror has gone missing
too, and Eric’s got to get his hands
on it before Freya does.
The film feels disjointed and
lackluster for the majority. The
scenes and character introductions feel random, the time jump
implausible, and no one is all
that compelling, especially the
lone male lead, Hemsworth. The
huntsman in “The Huntsman”
is the least interesting part of
FROM PAGE 24
“It was a very scary sell. Buyers hold
a grudge for actors or directors who
cost them money,” said De Barros. “But
Kathryn was my angle for selling that
movie. She has a commanding presence.”
De Barros recounted phoning Bigelow one
evening and telling her to come to the Four
Seasons in Los Angeles where she was dining with an Italian buyer. “Kathryn came
over. The buyer was enraptured by her. I
sold the film to Italy the next day.”
Independent film distribution companies such as SquareOne Entertainment in
Germany review hundreds of projects a
year and compete for movie theaters with
Hollywood blockbusters and local productions, which in Germany accounted for a
record-breaking 27.5 percent of the market
in 2015. The number of films released in
Germany rose from 300 in 2003 to an estimated 600 this year. SquareOne distributes
about 12 theatrical releases annually.
“There’s never been as many buyers of
films as there are today,” said SquareOne
Chief Executive Al Munteanu. “So many
movies are being made that probably
this movie, though there’s some
entertainment to be found in
Hemsworth’s accent — his best
impression of Gerard Butler.
It also seems as if the writers of “The Huntsman: Winter’s
War” have been catching up on
“Game of Thrones,” because
there are a few uncanny similarities — Chastain’s arrow-slinging
Sara sports a ridiculous Scottish
accent to match Jon Snow’s girlfriend Ygritte, and the stormy
shouldn’t be made to hit international
markets. Finding quality films is like finding the needle in the haystack.”
SquareOne targets older, discriminating
audiences. Robert Redford’s “All Is Lost”
did well with that demographic, and its
trailer and ads didn’t need a lot of tweaking: “A man in a boat trying to survive. No
cultural nuances,” said Munteanu. He had
a tougher time, however, with films about
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — Europeans opposed those conflicts as misguided
American hubris — and with movies that
revisit the Nazis and World War II.
The marketing of “Lone Survivor,”
the tale of U.S. soldiers pinned down by
the Taliban in Afghanistan and starring
Mark Wahlberg, had to be rebranded in
Germany. “It was a story of war and was
a very patriotic U.S. approach,” Munteanu
said. “But in Europe we toned down the
patriotism and made it into a thinkingman’s film. It was more nuanced than the
U.S. campaign.”
“The Imitation Game,” starring
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a
British mathematician who cracked Nazi
intelligence codes during World War II,
had to be calibrated to the fact that Ger-
lovers have to scale ice walls.
Worthy of George R.R. Martin?
Nah, queen.
One bright spot in the film
are the dwarves used for comic
relief. Once you get past the
digital shrinking of the actors
and the lowbrow humor, they
inject a much-needed levity, and
Sheridan Smith almost steals
the whole show as the sassy Mrs.
Bromwyn. The visual effects,
naturally, are truly amazing,
mans are not inured to heroes — the Nazis
mythologized them — and are sensitive
about their history.
“How do you sell Alan Turing as a war
hero?” Munteanu asked.
“We toned down the hero aspect and
sold it as a thriller and an emotional
drama,” said Murat Isgueder, SquareOne’s head of marketing. “We toned down
the whole World War II backdrop.”
Rodriguez has faced similar marketing questions. Jennifer Lawrence and
the “Hunger Games” franchise were a
powerful global brand when Rodriguez,
who is as familiar with cinema tastes in
Sao Paolo as he is with art house preferences in Buenos Aires, contemplated how
to translate “Mockingjay” into Portuguese
for Brazilian audiences.
“Mockingjay is a nonexistent bird,” said
Rodriguez. “It’s a beautiful name, but. ...”
Finding the right translation for “The
Hunger Games: Mockingjay” was tricky.
The Brazil edition of the book the film was
based on substituted the name of the fictitious bird with the Portuguese word esperanca (hope). “We couldn’t do something
different,” Rodriguez said. “We had a fan
base we had to respect and, you know,
Check movie listings for base theaters at stripes.com/military-life
particularly the shape-shifting
liquid gold of the mirror.
Every time Charlize Theron is
on screen, the movie gets crazy
campy, and therefore at least
somewhat interesting. Ultimately, the film presents a message
that emotional vulnerability can
be a source of strength. It’s a bit
self-help-y, but by the end it feels
somewhat earned. Shockingly,
it’s not through the relationship
of Eric and Sara but through
the feuding sister queens. Even
though they’re battling with ice
crystals and stabby tentacles,
the resentments and revelations
between them feel authentic.
However, and despite all the
talent involved, this “Huntsman”
wildly misses its target.
“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is rated
PG-13 for fantasy action violence and
some sensuality. Running time: 114
minutes.
esperanca is very poetic.”
Steinbauer, president of Radiant Films,
said finding a cast with global appeal,
especially actors with newfound critical
acclaim in the U.S. who are also trending
on social media, is critical. Radiant is internationally distributing “Carrie Pilby,”
which stars Bel Powley as a young, adrift
Ivy League graduate. Powley drew praise
last year for her sexually searching role in
“The Diary of a Teenage Girl.”
“She’s on everybody’s radar now, but
a year ago nobody knew who she was,”
said Steinbauer, who has been involved
in financing and distribution for more
than 20 years and has worked on “The
Lord of the Rings” and “The Matrix.” The
calculations and methods of distribution
— whether they’re tied to a rising star or a
clever trailer — are increasingly important to reaching young moviegoers.
“It’s all in flux, and I’m not sure where
it will land,” said Rodriguez, whose mother was a translator. “Thirty years ago, we
didn’t have cellphones and laptops. Now,
I have four children and they spend their
lives on Facebook and Instagram. We
have to learn to speak that language.”
PAGE 26
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: VIDEO GAMES
‘Quantum
Break’:
An interesting sci-fi
game let down by its
live-action series tie-in
BY CHRISTOPH
The Wa
ER
BYRD
shington Pos
Littlefinger in
t
“G
or most of thi
“The Wire” — ame of Thrones” and Tom
s
Jac
evance of tele young century, the cultural
ty’s physics bui k meets him at the Riv my Carcetti in
belief that reg
vis
erport Unive
lding.
ard
on the upswin ion and video games has relrsiAfter a brief
should rage aga less of whether fate exi
bee
g.
sts
play second fi Whereas both formats use n
the innovative catching up, Paul broaches
you might say inst it. Determinism vs. rel , one
ddl
d
e
to
work conducted
to
the subject of
hear that we
. With the kno
liam. The eld
are basking in movies, it’s now common
by
Jac
from his time
wledge Paul obtativity,
k’s old
er
to
that global vid
a
tra
physics has res Joyce’s contribution to the er brother Wileo game revenugolden age of television and
Monarch Soluti vels, he builds a compan ains
wo
ult
by the silver
rld
ed
es
exc
in
of
y
a way to manip
particle
eed tho
built a busine
scr
effrontery. Pau ons, whose name is a model called
ulate
ss
of cinema are een. Some may assert tha se generated
would seem tha around the fruit of Willia time. Paul has
t the triumphs
broader and gen
resources, a sml believes that with his com of ironic
m’s
TV or games,
pany’s
to William — t his enterprise is in jeopar work, but it
but this is bes erally higher than either
Jack, howeve all slice of humanity can
vividly portra
dy. According
ide the point.
is a thing, as
be
r,
bel
saved.
ieves that
yed
who played Ch
Bin
are
all of humani
arlie in “Lost” by Dominic Monaghan,
countless hou blockbuster video games, ge culture
ty, even if tha it is better to try to save
team has con
—
rs of people’s
that wrangle
the
t
tim
via
wo
uld
ble
e
machine Pau
structed is flaw
possibility of
eliminate a mo
tim
tion, it’s clear
l’s
to a fracture
sav
ed,
re
ing
and
why an enterp e. Given this configuraa tiny fraction
its activation
You spend a lot
in
ris
would angle to
will lead
of it.
of the game
where time wil time, a calamity resulting
bring the two ing group of people
Monarch’s goo
in
which is what
for
ns. The game’s as Jack shooting at
gives Paul’s invl stop functioning normally. a “zero state”
Remedy Enter mats closer together,
und
com
isti
bat
nguished if not
est
This assertion
“Quantum Bre
tainment has
Paul tells Jac ors cold feet.
for Jack’s var would be
done with
ak.”
warp time in
ious abi
his
The end produc
machine works k that he needs to prove tha
It can easily be favor to gain an edge on lities to
his enemies.
and an underw t is a carefully plotted sci
said that “Quan
trusting that . But since human testing t the time
me
-fi game
helming live-ac
nts
tum
his
isn
,
wh
Break’s” env
’t legal, he’s
old partner in
ich are stuffe
following eac
it. With little
ironcri
d
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me
h of the game’s tion series (streamed
and
h
will help him
documents, vis
other points of
deliberation as
the more discon
first four acts),
ver
ual gags,
ify
nar
act
to
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the
ions, the two
ive int
consequen
spots in the gam
made all
shine brighter certing because some of its
e. They tell a erest, are the brightest
time machine go ahead with a test. Unfor ces of their
tha
mo
in their digital
fine actors
n
re
the
cre
tun
mu
fou
ate
ltif
ately, the
r episodes of
s a micro
overlapping tim
incarnations.
field of time.
the live-action aceted story
Depending on
Wi
As a result, Pau black hole that disturbs
ser
“Quantum Bre elines and steady character th its
the
large concen
l and Jack are
you’ll see a few your actions and choices ies.
ak” feels much
rev
tra
in
a shame, how
regulate the fl tions of so-called chronon exposed to
indebted to “Lo eals,
This minor for different scenes in the tele the game,
ever, that the
ow
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st.”
of
ticl
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tim
es, wh
vision show.
m
e, and both acq
game’s exposi
ments are mo
superpowers
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uire time-alter ich
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re intriguing
t to the produc
tacked on a
ing
than the televis
of which aim
Pau
l
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tion cost. Still,
erges
’t mask the
s to
ion
its novelty
because he ent from this situation the wo
of characters. flesh out the game’s suppor show,
highly motiva so-so quality of the show,
rse for the we
ting cast
wh
ted character
hind at the con ered the time machine wh
ar
“Quantum Bre
s who cast few ich is full of
were.
ile
ak” opens wit
shadows, as it
are more ext trols. In the course of his tim Jack stayed be— Shawn Ash
h
Jac
k
For
ensive than he
Joyce
all of its
mo
degenerative
initially lets on, e travels, which
Days of Futur re, who played Iceman in
Break’s” story sci-fi, bullet-popping action
dis
e
,
He is also pos ease that eats away at his Paul develops a
fictional city Past”— returning home to “X-Men:
of our day — loops around some of the “Quantum
ses
mind and bod
of
big theme
the unansw
y.
slice of humani sed by a sense of purpos
for six years Riverport after sojournin the
soc
iety
e
to
and the necess erable power of oligarchs s
to
g abr
he refers to as ty survive a future catastrop help a small
ity
of his best frie escape legal troubles. At the oad
in
of
of overwhelmi
political protes
The
hic event that
nd Paul Serene
beh
ng odds. At a
t in the face
The central con End of Time.
— Aidan Gillen est
time travelers
cou
flict of the
, aka
try to avert 9/1 ple of points, the game’s
certainty tha
game makes
1
but
t some events game revolves around Pau
fi
nd
the
the
are inevitable
l’s
ness of the pas point that for all of the chay cannot. The
and Jack’s
t,
time, not its ma present and future, they racters’ awareare dupes of
sters.
F
MICROSOFT/AP photos
Many more staff-written game reviews at stripes.com/games
•STA
Friday, April 22, 2016
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PAGE 27
Europe
WEEKEND
THE EUROPE EXPERIENCE
GET READY TO MOTOR:
Ignition car festival set for Glasgow, Scotland
Courtesy of Llandudno Extravaganza
Every year on the first weekend in May, Llandudno, a seaside town in northern Wales, celebrates
its roots as a Victorian resort with the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza. This year’s event, set for
the April 30 to May 2 bank holiday weekend, offers both a modern and old-time fairgrounds, people
in period costumes, carriage rides, marching bands, street entertainers, jugglers, fire eaters and a
parade at noon every day. Find more information at victorian-extravaganza.com.
The sights and growling
sounds of Formula One
racing will come to the streets
of Glasgow, Scotland, Aug. 5-7
in a new festival called Ignition,
which organizers say will be “the
most complex motor show ever to
be staged in Scotland.”
As well as paying homage to
some of the world’s sports-driving elite, the event at Glasgow’s
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre will showcase all
aspects of motoring. It will even
close roads around the conference center and SSE Hydro
Arena to create Glasgow’s firstever street circuit. Scotland’s
own Formula One star David
Coulthard will take to the specially constructed circuit in the
Red Bull Racing RB7, giving
fans a unique opportunity to see
and hear the machine up close.
Further track action from a
wide selection of race, rally and
supercars and motorbikes will
take place on each show day
and will be complemented by
displays of iconic machines from
the past and present. Adding to
the action will be the Top Gear
Live Stunt team, which will
showcase its daredevil driving in
a live-action zone.
Festival-goers can get into the
Courtesy of MPA Creative
Scotland’s David Coulthard will
drive the Ignition circuit in the
Red Bull Racing RB7.
driver’s seat in a test-car facility
and a young-driver area. Plus,
manufacturers and dealers will
have their products on display.
Single tickets start at 28 pounds
($40) in advance for day entry to
the festival, while a family day
ticket for two adults and up to
three children costs 65 pounds.
Find full details at the show’s
website, ignitionfestival.co.uk.
TOP TRAVEL PICKS
Floralies in Ghent
One of Belgium’s prettiest
cities becomes all the more
breathtaking through May 1, as
Floralies marries architecture
with stunning floral design.
For 10 days, Ghent’s Arts
Quarter is the backdrop for a
fragrant and colorful assortment
of flowers and plants artfully arranged by top florists.
The vast exhibition is divided
into four themed sites. Bijloke
welcomes Japan; Leopold Barracks shows off urban green
spaces; St. Peter’s Church holds
a gigantic flower chandelier;
and the Citadel Park overflows
with azaleas. Workshops, artistic
installations, gift shops and
refreshment stands round out the
offerings.
Floralies runs from 8 a.m. to
10 p.m. daily. A free shuttle bus
links the sites, which also can be
explored on foot.
Online tickets cost 3 euros
less than those purchased at the
entrance. Entry costs 32 euros
($36.50) for adults, 19 euros for
ages 13-18, 19 euros for students,
16 euros for ages 7-12 and one
euro for children ages 6 and
under. Plan a trip at floralien.
be/en.
Gelato goes on tour
Sure it’s not great for your
waistline, but just think how
Karen Bradbury
Read more about things to do
in the Europe Traveler blog:
stripes.com/travel/europe-travel
happy your bones will be from
all that calcium! Indulge in the
icy summertime treat known as
gelato at locations throughout
Italy and elsewhere as the Gelato
Festival embarks on its annual
summer tour. At each city stop,
at least eight ice cream makers
from Italy and beyond will present their unique and flavorful
creations in a bid to win the title
of festival best.
Serving as the jury are both
a panel of technical experts and
the festival-goers themselves. To
participate, buy a Gelato Card,
which costs 12 euros ($13.70)
when ordered online in advance.
(Or buy one on-site, subject to an
additional cost.) With the card,
you can sample all eight flavors
in the competition, plus an ad-
ditional six offered by the event
sponsors. Card holders also can
take part in activities such as
workshops or presentations by
top chefs.
The festival kicks off, fittingly,
in the birthplace of gelato itself.
Florence’s Piazzale Michelangelo hosts the tasty fest from
noon to 10 p.m. daily through
April 25. The tour continues in
Parma (April 28-May 1); Rome
(May 5-15); Naples (May 19-22);
Turin (May 26-29); Milan (June
2-12); London (June 17-26); and
Valencia, Spain (July 14-24) before returning to Florence for the
finals, slated for Sept. 1-4.
Learn more at gelatofestival.
it/en.
Elfin fun in Utrecht
Is your alter ego a goblin, furry
or steampunk? Let it roam wild
among all the other free spirits
at Elfia, a fantasy festival that
takes place against the backdrop
of Castle de Haar in Utrecht,
Netherlands, April 23-24.
Bygone eras, far-off kingdoms
and alternate universes peacefully coexist at this eclectic
fest. Activities include walking
on water while ensconced in a
plastic bubble, learning how to
handle a Samurai sword, taking
in the Showteam Epona Show
featuring Irish Cob Horses or
watching a contest for the best
Courtesy of Elfia
Elves and other free spirits come out to play at Elfia, a fantasy
festival at Castle de Haar in Utrecht, Netherlands, April 23-24.
26th century spacesuit.
Kids can try their hands at a
medieval stabbing at the rings
competition, enjoy a ride on
horseback or take part in a stage
combat workshop.
Always a highlight is the
Elfia Costume Parade, in which
participants have two minutes
to wow a professional jury with
the mimics and gestures that
complete their character. An additional category for best “Game
of Thrones” costume comes as a
nod to the release of the series’
fifth season on DVD and Blu-ray.
Parades take place at 1:45 p.m.
both days.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to
10 p.m. April 23 and 10 a.m. to 7
p.m. April 24.
Castle de Haar is located at
Kasteellaan 1, 3455 Haarzuilens.
The grounds will be limited to
a maximum of 15,000 revelers
a day, so organizers strongly
recommend buying tickets
online in advance. Adult tickets
allowing entry to all sites on both
days cost 35.95 euros ($41) when
bought no later than April 22.
Passes for kids ages 3-11 go for
19.95 euros.
Learn more at elfia.com.
Looking for even more to do? For additional events, concerts and activities, go to stripes.com/military-life
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Europe
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
Pieces of an ancient past
Museum displays artifacts from naval support site in Italy
BY STEVEN BEARDSLEY
Stars and Stripes
I
t’s impossible to stick a
shovel into the ground in
southern Italy without hitting something very old.
Few people were surprised,
then, when construction crews
working on the future U.S. Navy
support site in the farming town
of Gricignano in the mid 1990s
began uncovering artifacts. Yet
the discoveries would exceed
expectations, in particular the
excavation of 93 Bronze Age
tombs occupied by the remains
and possessions of their owners,
from amber necklaces to pottery
and a finely carved Egyptian
pendant.
Those artifacts are displayed
today in the Archeological Museum of Agro Atellano, an excellent
little museum in the nearby town
of Succivo, a stone’s throw from
the Gricignano base near Naples.
Anyone interested in life on base
before the Navy Exchange will
be well rewarded by a visit.
Agro Atellano was a region
of the larger Campania plain, a
broad expanse south of Rome
and west of Italy’s mountainous
spine made fertile from regular
volcanic deposits. The same volcanism shaped the movements
of civilizations that farmed the
plain, wiping out villages and
forcing populations to abandon
settlements from time to time.
The Bronze Age settlement at
Gricignano was itself fleeting,
according to archeologists, who
date it to the last three decades of
the eighth century B.C. Villagers
farmed and traded their surplus with coastal communities,
including early Greek colonies at
Ischia and Cuma. They had contact with the sea-going Phoenicians and traded for items as far
abroad as Egypt and Syria.
The museum lays out many of
those possessions across its two
floors. The upper floor exhibits
items removed from the tombs
excavated at the Navy site; the
lower is devoted to artifacts from
the surrounding communities,
including some dating back to
the 18th century B.C.
Displays are in Italian, and
museum staff doesn’t speak
English. Yet they can provide
a copy of the quick guide, or
guida rapida, a free pamphlet
with excellent English-language
descriptions of each display.
The guide explains how each
tomb reflected its occupant’s
position. Men were buried with
tools and weapons, women with
food jars, jewelry and spindles.
The tombs of the elite were
clustered together and filled
with finer bronze brooches, or
fibulas, used to fasten clothes. A
soapstone scarab — an Egyptian
amulet carved in the shape of a
beetle — embedded in one fibula
indicated its owner’s wealth.
A few tombs held cremated
PHOTOS
BY
STEVEN BEARDSLEY/Stars and Stripes
Pottery dating to the sixth century B.C. and excavated from the site of the U.S. Navy base in Gricignano, Italy, is displayed at the
Archeological Museum of Agro Atellano in nearby Succivo.
Fourth-century B.C. vases on display at the museum.
A bronze fibula, an ancient
device used to fasten clothing,
was taken from an eighthcentury B.C. tomb.
remains, suggesting some of the
elite had picked up the Greek rite
from neighboring communities.
Later inhabitants would
produce more elaborate art and
infrastructures. Water jugs and
vases painted with mythological
scenes reflect the growing influence of Greek colonizers, who
would go on to found Neapolis,
modern day Naples.
Roman rule arrived centuries later, bringing alliance and
upheaval. Rome punished the
Atellan communities for siding
with Carthaginian conqueror
Hannibal during the Second
Punic War. Archeologists working on the Navy site found rubble
in some canals from the time, a
hint of the destruction.
Now that’s something to ponder while waiting for checkout at
the Navy Exchange.
[email protected]
Twitter: @sjbeardsley
An eighth-century B.C. water jug taken from one of the tombs
excavated at the site of the U.S. Navy base in Gricignano.
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Europe
WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS
Left: Visitors to the beer exhibit
at Mannheim’s Technoseum can
pretend they’re at Oktoberfest
by stepping into these cutouts.
The exhibit marks the 500 years
since the adoption of the socalled Beer Purity Law.
Below: Brewers have long
trumpeted the supposed
health benefits of drinking
beer. This 1930 advertisement
touts brown beer as “liquid
bread.” One item in the exhibit
— Wonderbust — is a spray
containing hops that promises to
firm the bust.
PHOTOS
BY
A NDREW YURKOVSKY/Stars and Stripes
500 years of ‘beer purity’
Mannheim exhibit features law that regulates German suds KNOW & GO
BY ANDREW YURKOVSKY
Stars and Stripes
A
t first glance, Germany’s Reinheitsgebot
seems straightforward
enough. Known in English as the Beer Purity Law, it
limits the ingredients in German
beers to water, barley and hops.
In fact, the only thing simple
about it is the effect it has had on
the character of German brews,
which are generally light in color
and — to the palate of someone
accustomed to American craft
beers — rather bland.
The 500th anniversary of the
Reinheitsgebot is the occasion
of a new exhibit at Mannheim’s
Technoseum, “Beer: The Brewers’ Art and 500 Years of the
German Beer Purity Law.” Running through July 24, it traces
the history of beer making in
Germany from 1516 to the present. It’s comprehensive and pulls
no punches, covering everything
from the ingredients needed to
make good beer to the consequences of overindulgence.
The exhibit wastes no time
in laying bare the law’s mythology, with texts at the entrance
that explain the Reinheitsgebot’s
history and evolution. The Beer
Purity Law, it turns out, was
inspired as much by economic
necessity as the desire to ensure
the production of high-quality
beer. Promulgated in Bavaria,
the German state synonymous
with beer, it aimed both to prevent undesirable additives and
to ensure a sufficient supply of
wheat for bread making.
Different versions of the law
were subsequently adopted in
other regions of Germany, and
in 1906 the Reinheitsgebot took
effect in the entire country. The
current incarnation, known as
the Preliminary Beer Law, contains almost as many loopholes
as the American tax code. And
yet it remains a powerful tool for
promoting German beer at home
and abroad.
Unfortunately, the texts and
captions in “Beer” are in German, but you don’t need to know
the language to enjoy the exhibit.
There’s plenty to look at and
experience. Even without a word
of German, you should be able
to make sense of many of the
displays.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
Above right: The top of a kettle
is one of many pieces of brewing
equipment on display.
Right: The exhibit doesn’t shy
away from the dark side of
Germany’s favorite beverage.
This display highlights the health
hazards of imbibing, including
swollen skin, high blood
pressure and liver damage. The
heading in the background —
“Der massvolle Genuss” — may
be translated as “Pleasure in
measure.”
DIRECTIONS
Address: Technoseum, Museumsstr. 1, 68165 Mannheim.
From Kaiserslautern, take the
A6 to the A61; then the A650 into
Mannheim. Once in Mannheim,
follow the B37 to Friedenplatz.
There is parking at Friedenplatz.
TIMES
The exhibit runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
daily through July 24.
COSTS
Entry costs 8 euros ($9) for
adults; 5 euros for children.
Tours in English are available
for 160 euros for a maximum of
30 people. A free English-language tour will be offered May
22 during International Museum
Day. Admission to the museum
and exhibit is also free that day.
FOOD
A cafe inside the museum serves
drinks and snacks; the Museumschiff, a short drive from the
Technoseum, is home to Muellers Restaurant & Cafe-Lounge
(muellers-mannheim.de)
INFORMATION
Phone: (+ 49 (0) 621-4298-9,
email en.technoseum.de, website
[email protected]. To book a
tour, call (+49) (0) 621-4298-839
or send an email to paedagogik@
technoseum.de.
— Andrew Yurkovsky
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Europe
WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING
FROM PAGE 29
A massive panel running
the length of the exhibit space
outlines each stage in the brewing process, with pictures that
make many of the explanations
superfluous. At the start of the
process, you can sample barley; midway through you get a
chance to compare the aromas of
different hops.
Much of the antique equipment on display also speaks for
itself. There are devices used to
make, fill, wash and dry bottles;
lantern-shaped glass receptacles
for mixing beer; and a filtering
gadget that looks like a rack for
hanging file folders. Some equipment from the middle of the last
century attests to the fact that
brewing remained a craft in Germany well after it had become a
highly automated industry in the
United States.
With the consolidation of local
breweries after World War II and
the emergence of global giants,
marketing became increasingly
sophisticated. By the beginning
of the 21st century, it turned
from bold to brazen. A magazine
ad for Nova Schin beer depicts
a pregnant woman patting her
belly while holding a glass of
alcohol-free brew. The image
provoked widespread outrage,
but it’s easy to mistake the baby
bump for a beer belly — a condition that in Germany is hardly
restricted to men.
This advertisement is included
in a section on alcohol abuse, a
lengthy interlude that will give
pause to the most enthusiastic
drinker. If the pictures of traffic
accidents and physical ailments
don’t disturb you, some figures
probably will: Half of all emergency room patients in Germany
arrive under the influence of
alcohol, and every fourth death
among European men ages 15-29
can be attributed to excessive
alcohol consumption.
The exhibit ends on a more
upbeat note, highlighting the celebratory aspects of beer drinking and offering a short history
of Mannheim’s pub scene. In a
country where beer is so closely
connected to the national psyche,
drinking rituals cut across class
and political boundaries, as we
see in photos showing current
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a
Christian Democrat, and her
socialist predecessor, Gerhard
Schroeder, hoisting their glasses
with great relish.
Munich, of course, is where
Germans’ passion for beer
reaches a climax every year.
Though the world’s biggest beer
festival is increasingly associated with excess (nearly 700
people suffered from alcohol
poisoning during the 2014 event,
we’re told), Oktoberfest is also an
opportunity for city dwellers and
country folk to don traditional
outfits.
Visitors to the Technoseum
can join in the spirit by stepping
behind a cutout of lederhosenand dirndl-clad revelers. And if
make-believe isn’t good enough,
anyone 16 or older can sample
the real thing at a bar set up at
the exhibit’s exit. Then again,
given the grim picture of alcohol
abuse you’ve just encountered,
you might opt for a nonalcoholic
beverage instead.
[email protected]
After Hours: Germany
BY SAM AMRHEIN
Stars and Stripes
I
f you like to eat out, Kaiserslautern’s options can
seem pretty limited — lots
of German and Italian
restaurants, with an occasional
Thai or Asian restaurant here
or there.
My daughter and I were
looking for something a little
different recently. After reading
some good reviews, we decided
to try Tamarillo, a Spanish
restaurant a few blocks from the
city center.
It’s hard to gauge the place
by the outside in winter: The
beer garden was closed, and
the historic building that sits on
the edge of the Stadtpark was
looking a little dark as dusk was
setting over the city.
But the dining room was
warm and inviting. I’d even call
it cozy.
True, there were only two
other patrons in the restaurant
when we arrived on a weekday
evening, but the layout of the
tables led me to believe that you
could have a quiet meal here no
matter how busy the place got.
First, we ordered drinks. The
menu contained a large selection of dry and semi-dry wines
as well as other drinks, but I
decided on a beer. My daughter
chose the sangria, and after a
quick sip, I was jealous. My beer
was, well, a beer. Her sangria
was a refreshing medley of
oranges and lemons, along
with the red wine and maybe
a little brandy. It seemed like
the perfect drink to sip in the
restaurant’s beer garden when
the weather turns warm.
On its website, Tamarillo
bills itself as a restaurant and
tapas bar. And while there were
plenty of tapas from which to
choose, we opted for a more
traditional dinner.
First, we tried an appetizer of
roasted tomatoes, baked zucchini and goat cheese, all drizzled
in a balsamic vinegar sauce that
was a bit on the sweet side. But,
when you put it all together on
your fork, it was delicious.
There were plenty of fish
and meats to choose from for
our entree, and we decided on
the fish paella for two people.
The rather large portion came
topped with shrimp, mussels
and red and green roasted peppers. Underneath, the Spanish
rice was chock-full of salmon,
whitefish, squid and octopus. I
can’t say I loved the dish, but my
daughter really enjoyed it.
And even though we were
feeling rather full from the
paella, we figured we had to try
the dessert.
We ordered coffee and the
variation dessert, which turned
out to be an excellent choice.
First, the strawberry sherbet
really cleansed the palate. Next,
we dove into the creme brulee
and the panna cotta, which was
topped with fresh strawberries.
Both were divine.
PHOTOS
BY
SAM A MRHEIN /Stars and Stripes
The paella at Tamarillo, a Spanish restaurant in Kaiserslautern, was chock-full of seafood, from the
shrimp and mussels on top to the salmon, whitefish, squid and octopus inside the rice.
TAMARILLO
A sweet balsamic vinegar was a perfect topping for the roasted
tomatoes, baked zucchini and goat cheese appetizer.
A nice cappuccino was the perfect complement to the dessert
variety plate at Tamarillo.
Address: Pirmasenserstrasse 59, Kaiserslautern
Website: In German:
web75090.customer.
xenway.de. The restaurant
also has a Facebook page.
English menu: Yes
Price: Tapas start around
4 euros, with entrees running between 15 and 20
euros.
Other: The restaurant
also serves Sunday
brunch from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m., starting at 9.50
euros.
In warmer weather it’s a
good idea to book ahead,
since the beer garden
tends to fill up quickly for
both lunch and dinner.
— Sam Amrhein
The fourth dessert, a natilla,
had a crunchy top that we didn’t
particularly care for, but the
custard underneath was quite
good.
In the end, I considered the
trip a success. I’d say it’s worth
a return trip, although next
time I think I’ll try the tapas, or
maybe a nice juicy steak.
And, I’ll definitely leave room
for dessert.
[email protected]
Friday, April 22, 2016
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Europe
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
How to avoid travel blunders
O
• Traveling with outdated
nce, while riding the
information. I may be biased,
train into Dresden,
but an up-to-date guidebook is a
Germany, I got off
$20 tool for a $4,000 experience
where most other pas— and justifies its expense on the
sengers did — at Dresden Neusfirst ride to your hotel from the
tadt. After 20 minutes of walking
airport.
in a confused fog, my denial that
A guidebook can head off both
I had gotten off at the wrong stacostly mistakes (getting fined for
tion slowly faded.
not validating your train ticket)
Embarrassed by my mistake,
and simple faux pas (ordering
I hopped on the next train. Five
cappuccino with
minutes later, I got off
your pasta in Italy).
at Dresden Mitte. As
A good guidebook
I stepped outside the
also can save time,
station, it slowly sank
keeping you from
in: I had made the
visiting a museum
same mistake again!
that’s closed for
Another train came.
renovation, waiting
I got on and finally
for a bus that no
made it to Dresden
longer runs and…
Hauptbahnhof — a
• Waiting in line,
block from my hotel.
Even after countneedlessly. I’ve said
less trips to Europe,
it before and I’ll
Rick Steves
I still make my share
say it again: There
of blunders — I get lost, miss
are two IQs for travelers: those
train connections and get shortwho stand in lines and those
changed by taxi drivers. But with who don’t. Crowds are unavoideach slip-up, I learn something.
able at big attractions, like the
Now I make it a point to tell
Eiffel Tower or Anne Frank’s
people: “Many towns have more
house — but what is avoidable is
than one train station. Be sure
standing in line for hours to buy
you get off at the right one.”
tickets. These days, most popular
Here are some of the biggest
sights sell advance tickets that
guarantee admission at a certain
mistakes I see travelers make
time (often with a small booking
these days:
• Saving money at the expense fee). While hundreds of tourists
are sweating in long lines, those
of time. People focus on savwho’ve booked ahead can show
ing money while forgetting that
up at their reserved time and
their time is an equally valuable
breeze right in.
and limited resource. It’s worth
paying for museum admission
• Not being alert to scammers
rather than going on a free day
and thieves. You’re probably not
and suffering through slow lines
going to get knifed or mugged
and crowds. If a taxi costs you
in Europe. But if you’re not on
and your partner $5 more than
the ball, you could get conned,
two bus tickets, it’s worth the 20
whether it’s a cabbie padding
minutes saved. If ever time was
your fare, a waiter offering a
money, it’s when you’re trying
special with a “special” into get the most out of traveling
creased price, or a beggar with
abroad.
beautiful eyes, beautiful children
Courtesy of ricksteves.com
Don’t dine anywhere with a menu printed in five languages, and a big, hard-to-believe promise in English,
such as this one claiming “No Frozen Food.”
and sad stories asking for a euro
— and stealing your wallet. Be
cautious and be alert. And watch
for thieves who work the lines
at crowded sites and on the bus
lines handiest for tourists. Store
your passport, credit cards and
cash securely in a money belt.
• Never leaving the tourist
zone. Many people jockey themselves into the most crowded spot
of the most crowded city in the
most crowded month (Old Town
Square, Prague, July) — and
then complain about the crowds.
Likewise, they eat dinner on the
most touristy street at the most
high-profile restaurant with
the most aggressive sales pitch,
then are upset by the big bill and
disappointing food.
You’ll enrich your trip by
wandering the back streets,
away from the main tourist area.
Old Town Square may be a mob
scene, but six blocks away you’ll
find fewer crowds and eateries
full of happy Czechs.
• Never leaving your comfort
zone. A fundamental goal in my
travels is to have meaningful
contact with local people. At a
pub anywhere in England, don’t
sit at a table. Sit at the bar, where
people hang out to talk. At lunchtime in Coimbra, Portugal, leave
the quaint Old Town and head to
the local university’s cafeteria to
eat with students and professors.
Connecting with people is what
enlivens your travel experience.
And for many of us, that means
getting out of our comfort zones.
• Letting mistakes ruin your
trip. Many tourists get indignant
when they make a mistake or
get ripped off. When something
happens, it’s best to get over it.
The joy of travel is not the sights
and not necessarily doing it right
— it’s having fun with the process, being wonderstruck with a
wider world, laughing through
the mistakes and learning from
them and making friends along
the way.
Rick Steves writes European travel
guidebooks and hosts travel shows
on public television and public radio.
Email him at [email protected] and
follow his blog on Facebook.
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WEEKEND: TRAVEL
Museum in Tokyo re-creates simpler era
BY YOSHIYUKI SHIMADA
The Japan News/Yomiuri
V
isitors to the Shitamachi
Museum run by the
government of Taito
Ward, Tokyo, can take a
step back in time to a traditional
commercial and residential area
in the Taisho era (1912-1926).
The first floor of the museum
features a replica of a streetscape from that era. The reproduction comprises a wooden
house that doubles as a familyrun store selling dagashi (penny
candies), and one unit of a nagaya — Japanese-style row house
— surrounded by narrow lanes.
A room in the house offers visitors a chance to see traditional
furniture, such as a chabudai
dining table and tansu chest.
Opening a fusuma closet sliding
door reveals a charcoal-heated
iron used back then to press
clothing.
The hands of a wall clock tick
softly, making visitors feel as if
time is slowing down.
“This takes me back to my
childhood,” said Yukako Okamoto, a 70-year-old housewife from
Toshima Ward, Tokyo, who vis-
TAKU YAGINUMA , SPECIAL
TO
THE JAPAN NEWS/Yomiuri
Visitors look at a unit of a nagaya row house and lanes dating back
to the Taisho era (1912-1926) at the Shitamachi Museum in Tokyo.
ited the museum with a friend.
On the second floor, a chanoma living space typical of the
30th to 39th years of the Showa
era (1926-1989) is reproduced.
A TV set, rice cooker and other
items from daily life in that era
are displayed.
The display underlines the
dramatic improvements that took
place in the convenience of daily
life from the Taisho to the Showa
eras.
Since the museum was opened
by the Taito Ward Office, it has
emphasized three major inci-
dents: the 1923 Great Kanto
Earthquake, the 1945 Great
Tokyo Air Raid and the high
economic growth that took place
in the Showa 30s (from the late
1950s to early 1960s).
According to officials of
the museum, the Great Kanto
Earthquake caused catastrophic
damage to buildings in Tokyo’s
shitamachi area, mostly wiping
away remnants of the Edo period
(1603-1867).
Wartime bombings later
turned the area into burned-out
fields. The area subsequently
experienced the postwar reconstruction years, and redevelopment triggered by the 1964
Tokyo Olympics, which significantly changed the landscape.
As a result, Taito Ward residents
began voicing concern in the
Showa 40s (from the late 1960s
to the early 1970s) that shitamachi culture was being lost.
The Shitamachi Museum was
established in response to this
concern. People from inside and
outside the ward donated items
to the museum, which now has
a collection of about 100,000
artifacts.
People from those earlier
KNOW & GO
Address: 2-1 Ueno Koen,
Taito, Tokyo Prefecture
Phone: +81 3-3823-7451
Hours: 9:30am-4:30pm.
Closed Mondays.
Costs: Admission is 300 yen
(about $2.75)
Website: www.taitocity.
net/zaidan/shitamachi; has
an English link.
eras used the artifacts displayed
in the museum, such as a well
pump, a tarai washtub and a
washboard, in their daily lives.
Museum curator Goji Kondo
explained how people in those
years lived: “A well was jointly
used by residents in a nagaya
complex. Housewives enjoyed
chatting, a practice called idobata kaigi (confab beside a well)
while washing clothing.”
The museum has revived
scenes from the ordinary
public’s daily lives in those years,
and hopes to pass on memories
of the shitamachi area to future
generations.
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THE PACIFIC EXPERIENCE
Events are as accurate as possible at press time. Since times or event schedules can
change, please verify events before attending.
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo at Odaiba is the
largest Cinco de Mayo party in
Japan. Enjoy music performed
by Fire Ball with Home Grown,
Orquesta Del Sol, True Spirit, Leslie
Shaw, plus food and drinks at
Odaiba Aomi Park Event Square.
For an event closer to base, Liberty
Center at Naval Base Guam will have
a celebration at 6 p.m. on May 5.
Photos courtesy of Cinco de Mayo
Courtesy of Iejima Sightseeing Association
Enjoy teppo yuri lilies in bloom now through May 6 on the island
of Iejima, off the coast of Motobu Peninsula. There you’ll find a
large field where 200,000 of the flowers bloom. Several military
installations on Okinawa are offering tours to the site, including
Camp Foster, Futenma and Kadena.
Courtesy of Ashikaga Flower Park
Now through May 22, 7 a.m.-9 p.m., check out the Wisteria Flower
Festival at Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi prefecture, Japan. The
site has more than 350 trees. For more: ashikaga.co.jp. Yokosuka
Tours is offering a trip to the garden on April 26.
Mother’s Day: May 8
Japan
Atsugi: May 8, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., All Hands Mother’s
Day Brunch, Trilogy, $21.25 adults, $10.25 ages 8-11,
$7.25 ages 4-7.
Sasebo: May 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Mother’s Day Brunch
at Harbor View Club (252-3965), $20 adults, $8 ages
4-10, free ages 3 & younger.
Guam
Coral Reef Fitness Center, Family Dive Center:
May 4, 6 a.m., Mother’s Day 5K.
Gecko Lanes: May 8, noon-6 p.m., celebrate Mother’s
Day with three free games of bowling when accompanied
by a family member.
For even more to do: stripes.com/military-life
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Pacific
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
PHOTOS
BY
M ARK MUCKENFUSS, O RANGE C OUNTY REGISTER /TNS
A hiker — or trekker, to use New Zealand terminology — enjoys a view of Lake Rotoiti, one of the Nelson Lakes, near the top of Mount Roberts.
Island nation’s hiking trails offer one spectacle after another
BY MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Orange County Register
T
he hike had been invigorating — as in just
this side of grueling.
A 6-mile ascent into
Mount Aspiring National Park
had brought us to an overlook of
Routeburn Falls, a thundering
multilevel cascade of crystalline
water (standard for New Zealand) jumping from the rock face
above our heads and rushing into
the deep valley below us. There
we could see the Routeburn
River winding through the highshouldered Humboldt Mountains
on its way to Lake Wakatipu.
We were breathless not only
because of the impressive
scenery but also because we had
run out of time. Sights along the
Routeburn Track earlier in the
day had slowed us down, and
in order to see the falls, we had
sprinted the last mile up the
steep trail. The effort was completely worth it.
Other than the danger of overextending yourself, hiking New
Zealand’s abundance of trails is
rarely disappointing. The Kiwis
work hard to make hiking attractive. The maintenance on the
trails we hiked was impressive:
crushed-rock trail beds; comfortable clearance even in the most
dense areas of the beech- and
fern-dominated rain forests;
boardwalks that meander over
wetlands; and well-built, if unnerving, suspension bridges that
span the roiling creeks.
Richard Davies, a recreation
manager for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, said
about $65 million is pumped into
the country’s park areas annually. Much of that is devoted to trail
development and maintenance.
“It hasn’t happened by
chance,” Davies said of the
manicured trails. “All our staff is
working on certain service standards — how much vegetation is
cleared, the gradient of the track,
whether the water courses are
bridged or not. We can provide a
really consistent service. Wherever you go in the country you
get a similar experience.”
There is good reason for the
effort. The spectacular scenery
this island nation has to offer
is unsurpassed. Director Peter
Jackson didn’t just film his J.R.R.
Tolkien epics here because he
didn’t want to leave his home
country. The vertical landscapes
lend themselves to fantasy.
What we were seeing often felt
unreal: The knife-edged ridges
on the mountains, the steep faces
of which are frequently laced
with waterfalls. The dense forests filled with calling birds and
towering giant ferns that make
you feel as if you’ve stumbled
into a prehistoric world. The
lakes are so clear you can look
through them to the bottom.
All of these, and more, make
this a country of constant surprises. And hiking is one of the
best ways to see it.
What we call hiking, Kiwis
refer to as trekking or tramping,
and it’s a bit different from what
we’re used to in the States. There
aren’t many places on the popular trails where you can head out
into the wilderness and plunk
your tent down when you think
you’ve found a good campsite.
On many trails, you can set up
camp only in designated campgrounds. On some, trekkers can
only stay overnight in huts, many
of which are rather primitive.
New Zealand’s most famous
trail, the Milford Track in Fiordland, is also its most restrictive. Both ends of the track are
accessible primarily by ferry.
Hikers can only do the route in
one direction, and you have to
have a permit or be with a guide
to access the trail at all. Reservations are hard to come by. When
I looked in October, shortly after
we decided to travel to New Zealand, there were no reservations
available until April.
Booking campsites and huts
is required on the more popular
trails. January weekday spots for
the Routeburn Track, perhaps
the next most popular after
the Milford Track, were still
available when I checked in late
CONTINUED ON PAGE 35
The Routeburn Track skirts the base of the nearly 600-foot-high
Earland Falls, one of New Zealand’s must-see waterfalls.
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WEEKEND: TRAVEL
FROM PAGE 34
November. But if you plan to go
during New Zealand’s summer,
January to April, you are best off
booking as early as possible.
We started our South Island
trip in Nelson, a quiet town but
one with enough restaurants
to make it interesting. After an
overnight stay at the very comfortable Bretton’s Retreat bed
and breakfast amid the vineyards of nearby Brightwater, we
took a 45-minute drive to Lake
Rotoiti, one of the Nelson Lakes.
Here there are several trails
around the lake and up adjoining
valleys. We took one of two steep
trails to the top of Mount Roberts, a 3,800-foot climb, where
there was a spectacular view of
the lake below and of the steep
slopes of the St. Arnaud Mountains to the south.
Trail distances in New
Zealand’s parks are typically
measured in time rather than
distance. We found the times to
be pretty liberal estimates. The
Mount Roberts loop is listed at
five hours. We finished in 3 ½
without pushing it.
Our drive for the remainder
of the day took us through the
Marlborough region, famous
for its wineries, and down the
picturesque east coastline, where
we saw ample numbers of surfers and sea lions, to Kaikoura.
The seaside village is known for
its crayfish, or spiny lobster, and
ocean excursions to see whales
or swim with dolphins.
One of the things we wanted
to see was Mount Cook, New
Zealand’s highest peak, in its
Southern Alps. So the following
day, we drove through the busy
city of Christchurch and miles of
green farmland to reach the tiny
resort town of Lake Tekapo.
Along the way, we stopped at
the occasional roadside stand to
buy blueberries, peaches and, of
course, kiwi. We were surprised
to discover that the quality and
price of the produce was pretty
comparable in the supermarkets.
And while the cost was a bit
higher than in the States, we did
not run into the exorbitant prices
we’d been warned about. The
same held true for hotel rates
and dining out.
We left Lake Tekapo in the
morning rain. The weather
hadn’t improved much by the
time we had skirted the shores of
glacier-fed Lake Pukaki with its
steel gray surface, and reached
the trail leading into the Aoraki/
Mount Cook National Park. An
hour’s hike took us over roaring
streams and along the base of
cliff faces cut with waterfalls.
When we reached the trail’s end
at the milky Hooker Lake, the
clouds had only slightly lifted
and offered us only occasional
glimpses of Mount Cook. Nevertheless, the scenery was stunning.
New Zealand’s weather can
be dicey, even in summer. These
are, after all, rain forests that we
were hiking through. They’re
called rain forests for a reason.
Three days later, when we
were trekking along the southern
end of the 30-mile-long Routeburn Track, we took a detour
to Key Summit. There we were
perched above a dramatic landscape. I know this because it said
so in large letters on the sign in
front of us. It was one of those
sloped metal signs that depict
the view before you, labeling all
of the important geographic features. Wrapped in a drizzling fog
whiteout, we could see none of it.
There was nothing else to do. I
took a picture of the sign.
Fortunately, this was the
exception. Though we dealt with
overcast skies on many days,
the clouds often added to the
landscape, rather than detracting from it. They were part of the
experience.
But, as if bestowing a parting
gift upon us, the following day
was sunny. We had returned to
the North Island and had started
our final day with a hike on the
coast directly west of Auckland,
above Mercer Bay, where the
coastline rivals Big Sur’s.
At one headland stands a
carving of the Maori maiden
Hinerangi, who married a young
chieftain but lost him at sea.
Legend says she died on this spot
of a broken heart, looking out to
sea, hoping for the return of her
love. Her face is said to appear
on a nearby cliffside.
I wasn’t able to pick out her
features, but that hardly diminished the beauty of the place.
Nor did her sad tale dampen my
enthusiasm or appreciation for
what we had experienced along
the trails we tramped in New
Zealand.
M ARK MUCKENFUSS, O RANGE C OUNTY REGISTER /TNS
Hikers make their way down from Mount Roberts in New Zealand on
a trail paved with crushed rock.
PAGE 35
PHOTOS
BY
THE JAPAN NEWS/Yomiuri
Adults and children behold the beauty of a mangrove forest by canoe in Amami, Japan.
Pretty paddling
Canoes explore mangroves in Japan
BY NATSUKO TAMAKI
The Japan News/Yomiuri
O
n the east coast of
Amami-Oshima island
in Japan’s Kagoshima
Prefecture, I took a
90-minute canoe tour to explore
a mangrove forest.
“This is a good tide,” said
guide Kazuhisa Saijo, 53, pointing upstream as I boarded a
canoe from a dock at the river
mouth. Luckily Saijo said we
could go to a waterway that is
passable only at full tide.
Seven of us on the tour
eagerly started paddling our
one-person canoes. We moved
ahead while looking at a mangrove forest on the banks of the
river. One of the attractions of
canoeing is that the paddler’s
eye level is closer to the surface
of the water than on a boat,
making you feel like a part of
nature.
“There is no tree named
mangrove,” Saijo explained as
we paddled. The term mangrove refers to trees growing
in brackish-water regions,
where fresh and salt water are
mixed. Around the mouths of
the Sumiyogawa and Yakugachigawa rivers, trees grow in
clusters on about 175 acres of
land, taking firm root in the soil.
This is Japan’s second-largest
mangrove forest, following that
on Iriomote Island in Okinawa
Prefecture.
We came to the waterway
we’d been headed for. It was just
one meter wide. I was almost
sent back by the reverse flow
but quickly remastered my
canoe to enjoy the challenging
but exciting spot.
A native of Amami, Saijo went
to college in Fukuoka Prefecture, when he felt attached to
the environment of the island.
After working for a tourist association in the city, he established a tour company with a
A canoe tourist holds a Kandelia obovate seed, right, and a
Heritiera littoralis seed.
friend in 1998.
The Amami region was once
ruled by the Ryukyu Kingdom,
and later became a directly
controlled territory of the
Satsuma domain. Shimauta,
the traditional folk music of the
region and Okinawa featuring
tremolo and falsetto, is said to
KNOW & GO
Amami-Oshima is one of
the Satsunan Islands, and
is the largest island within
the Amami archipelago
between Kyushu and
Okinawa.
Canoe tours of the
Kanko Network Amami
depart from and arrive
at the company’s office in
the central part of Amami.
Participants should call
(0997) 54-4991 to make
reservations (in Japanese).
The tour costs 5,700 yen
($47) for adults and 4,600
yen for children.
have emerged from the wails of
the people at a time when heavy
taxation was levied upon them.
The tax was called kokuto
jigoku (hell of kokuto brown
sugar), reflecting that annual
taxes were then paid in kokuto
brown sugar.
With such a history behind
it, the Amami region has been
attracting attention recently
as a unique area distinguished
from other parts of the nation,
including Okinawa. Last year,
Japan’s budget airline Vanilla
Air launched a service between
Narita Airport and AmamiOshima island, invigorating
tourism.
From the forest I could hear
songs of a ryukyu ruddy kingfisher, a migratory bird spending the summer in the region.
As we paddled, a Kandelia
obovate seed that looked like
a fishing float bobbed on the
water’s surface. The seed drifts
with the tide to enter the nesting hole of a crab and then come
into bud.
“That’s the curious wisdom of
plants,” Saijo said.
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: MUSIC
NOT POP STARS
The men of Swedish indie band Miike Snow just make pop music
BY MIKAEL WOOD/Los Angeles Times
MIIKE SNOW’S ANDREW WYATT, CHRISTIAN
KARLSSON and PONTUS WINNBERG understand
how pop music works. As successful songwriters and
producers for hire, the three have collaborated separately and together with the likes of Britney Spears
and Bruno Mars — name-brand stars whose songs use
melody and rhythm to shape public personas.
Remember when Britney went Bollywood in “Toxic,”
her adventurous 2004 hit? Credit Karlsson and Winnberg
(then producing under the names Bloodshy & Avant)
with lending the singer a touch of worldly sophistication. Later, when Mars needed some grit following 2010’s
squeaky-clean “Just the Way You Are,” Wyatt helped
write the Grammy-nominated “Grenade,” in which Mars
threatens to put a bullet in his brain. That flair for image
management has served each man well. But it’s also the skill they consciously ignore in the
international electro-pop trio they formed nearly a decade ago.
“Our goal is that the songs are just so good — so
hooky, and with so much tension and release — that
you don’t care if the singer is wearing a certain
fashion designer,” the American-born Wyatt said
recently. “That’s not what your investment is.”
Added Karlsson, who along with Winnberg is
Swedish: “We’re painting a picture, and the picture is
what we want you to look at, not us.”
They offer plenty to admire on “iii,” Miike Snow’s
vivid new album, which came out last month and will
bring the group to this weekend’s Coachella Valley
Music and Arts Festival, set to begin Friday at the
Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
Like the group’s first two records, “iii” shows off
the musicians’ deep compositional know-how, with
catchy, precisely calibrated tunes that blend dusty
samples and sleek electronic grooves. There’s emotion, too, such as in the brooding “Genghis Khan,”
where Wyatt plays a jealous lover, and “Heart Is
Full,” which has the singer promising to commit to
a woman over a dramatic loop from Marlena Shaw’s
“Waiting for Charlie to Come Home.” In the tender “I
Feel the Weight,” about the aftermath of a breakup,
Wyatt’s heavily processed vocals recall Katy Perry
in her 2013 song “Love Me,” which Karlsson produced and which seemed to refer explicitly to Perry’s
divorce from comedian Russell Brand.
Unlike Perry, however, the men of Miike Snow
aren’t trying to let listeners behind the curtain.
Asked to what extent their music, even at its most
intimate, should be considered a reflection of their
private lives, the three answered at the same time.
“Not at all,” they said, then laughed.
“We think of it more as the soundtrack to our little
self-created world,” Winnberg explained over lunch
in Hollywood before the band was due for a performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
For a comparison, Karlsson pointed to early Daft
Punk, which he called “my Beatles.”
“I didn’t know anything about those guys, and I
didn’t want to know,” he said of the helmeted French
duo. “I knew they were robots. That was Daft Punk for
me.”
There’s a high-minded concept at work in Miike
Snow’s willfully de-personalized approach. “It’s our
way of having fun with this moment when everything is
commodified by identity politics,” said Wyatt, who went
on to wonder, “At the end of the day, what is identity
anyway? If you really parse it, you can’t find an ‘I.’ ”
Yet by removing the pop star from pop music, the
three are also looking to escape what they view as
the creative restrictions of the celebrity-industrial
complex.
Back when he and Karlsson were working on
“Toxic,” Winnberg remembered, “Everyone was asking for something new, something they hadn’t heard
before. And radio was open for it.”
Today the climate is different, he said. He recently
read an interview with a “big producer and a very
big pop star” — he declined to name which ones
— “where the journalist asked, ‘What are you going
for on this new album?’ And the producer said, ‘We’re
gonna go for stuff that works.’ ” Winnberg shook his
head. “Well, that’s not very exciting.”
Miike Snow, in contrast, “means freedom,” said
Karlsson. “There’s absolutely zero rules about what
we can do.” Recording in Los Angeles (where Wyatt
and Karlsson both live part time), as well as in New
York and Stockholm, the trio combined live instruments with programmed beats and moved from
peppy uptempo numbers to the kind of slow-mo ballads that Karlsson said he could never get away with
in Galantis, his popular EDM side project.
As the group’s vocalist, Wyatt said he was especially eager to adapt his singing to the needs of each song
— from the sneering tone he uses in “Genghis Khan”
to the lighter, airier quality he brings to “The Heart
of Me” — without worrying whether he was presenting a consistent character.
While playing shows behind the trio’s 2009 debut,
that idea had begun to concern him, which resulted
in the more uniform sound of “Happy to You,” from
2012. “You become this touring band and you start
thinking about how you fit into this world where you’re
constantly sharing backstage areas with Arcade Fire
and Tame Impala,” he said. For “iii,” Wyatt focused on
what he could do in the studio, not onstage.
Which doesn’t mean Miike Snow has sworn off the
road: The band will stop at Coachella this weekend
amid a North American tour. But even when he’s literally in the spotlight, Wyatt has ways of keeping himself
mysterious: Singing “Heart Is Full” on “Kimmel,” for
instance, he rolled his Rs for no apparent reason.
“I’ve never gone in for that vibe of ‘You’ve gotta
believe in me ’cause I’m gonna give you the truth,’ ”
he said before the performance. “Knowing who I am
— why should that help you enjoy these songs?”
Andrew Wyatt, from left, Pontus Winnberg and
Christian Karlsson of the band Miike Snow.
ATLANTIC RECORDS/TNS
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WEEKEND: MUSIC
NEW ALBUMS
Margo Price
Various Artists
Parquet Courts
Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
(Third Man)
Southern Family
(Low Country/Elektra)
Human Performance (Rough Trade)
Margo Price arrives with no
shortage of hard-core country
cred. The Nashville guitarist and
songwriter, who grew up in Illinois on a family farm that failed,
recorded her solo debut at Sun
Studios in Memphis, and it’s the
first straight-up country record
to be released on Jack White’s
Third Man label. The lead single,
“Hurtin’ (on the Bottle),” is a
rowdy, classic country drinking
song about the folly of attempting to drown one’s sorrows with
a would-be remedy “that don’t
touch the pain you put on me.”
The album cuts deeper than
that, though, with songs like the
emotionally devastating “Hands
of Time,” tired-of-waiting “Four
Years of Chances,” and “This
Town Gets Around,” which hints
at casting-couch sleaziness in the
way business gets done in Music
City. All those, and the quiet
closer “World’s Greatest Loser,”
bring a sharp singer-songwriter
sensibility to “Midwest Farmer’s
Daughter” without watering
down the whiskey-swigging traditionalist approach that’s at the
heart of Price’s music.
— Dan DeLuca
The Philadelphia Inquirer
If there’s a unifying figure
in Nashville’s country-flavored
singer-songwriter renaissance,
it’s Dave Cobb. The producer
has helmed projects by Grammy
winners Chris Stapleton and
Jason Isbell, as well as Sturgill
Simpson and Shooter Jennings,
while branching out with Boston
pop quartet Lake Street Dive.
The Cobb-assembled “Southern
Family” showcases that Music
City community with songs that
aim to say something meaningful about Southern identity. In
addition to Stapleton, Isbell and
Jennings, the collection gathers
songs by Miranda Lambert and
Anderson East, among others.
With Isbell’s blue-collar “God
Is a Working Man” and Brandy
Clark’s unflinching portrait of
an elderly couple, “I Cried,”
“Southern Family” peaks high,
and Lambert, East, Holly Williams, and Brent Cobb — a
distant cousin of the producer
— all do good work. What drags
it down is the perhaps inevitable
tendency toward misty-eyed
sentimentality, as Zac Brown and
Jamey Johnson go, respectively,
on heart-tuggers “Grandma’s
Garden” and “Mama’s Table.”
— Dan DeLuca
The Philadelphia Inquirer
DANNY C LINCH /Courtesy of Concord Media Group
Ben Harper is back with an eclectic set of new songs and
complementary backing from the Innocent Criminals.
Ben Harper
& the Innocent
Criminals
Texas-born, Brooklyn-based
indie foursome Parquet Courts
has maintained a busy schedule
since debuting with the cassetteonly “American Specialities”
in 2011, releasing five studio
albums and two EPs (two under
the band’s alter-ego, Parkay
Quarts). The punk spirit that
animates the work of songwriters Andrew Savage and Austin Brown (and Sean Yeaton,
who steps up with “Human
Performance’s” excellent ode to
dislocation, “I Was Just Here”)
dictates that the band refuses to
sit still creatively, and they’ve
evolved rather than staying in
the Velvet Underground-to-Pavement continuum that’s their
ragged, jagged comfort zone.
“Human Performance” is
all about playing to the band’s
strengths, and lightening up
a bit. “Dust” is a jittery, droll
disquisition on housekeeping
laced with dry wit, and the
fabulous “Berlin Got Blurry” is
a travelogue rife with offhand
profundities (“Nothing lasts, but
everything lingers”) boosted by
garage-rock organ and winningly creepy, spy-music guitar licks.
Their best album yet.
— Dan DeLuca
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Call It What It Is (Stax)
Bob Mould
Patch the Sky (Merge)
Courtesy of Shore Fire Media
Throughout Bob Mould’s legendary indie-rock career, spanning more than three decades
as the frontman for Husker
Du and Sugar, his main gift
has been the ability to weld the
catchiest of pop melodies to the
heaviest of guitar riffs. His new
album, “Patch the Sky” (Merge),
continues that grand tradition.
Even more impressive is how
the triumphant single “Voices in
My Head” harks back to previous Mould triumphs like his solo
“See a Little Light” and Sugar’s
“If I Can’t Change Your Mind,”
while moving that style forward.
— Glenn Gamboa
Newsday
Ben Harper is back
with the best band he’s
ever sung with, delivering strong new material
with a group that has
always known when to
play hard and when to
hang back.
Coming on the heels
of a 2015 tour with the
Innocent Criminals, Harper and the band have recorded
11 new songs that stay true to their eclectic past. They’ve
done so on Stax Records, which isn’t the same outfit it was in
its Memphis heyday, when Otis Redding, Booker T and the
M.G.’s and Isaac Hayes were breaking barriers of both genre
and quality.
Harper’s new songs don’t attain those stratospheric levels
of achievement, but he and the band don’t dishonor the
legacy as they range comfortably from political diatribes to
love songs to forceful rock and roll.
The title cut, “Call It What It Is,” takes an angry swing at
the spate of recent shootings of young black men, and if the
message isn’t wildly original — it’s still murder, that’s the
point — Harper delivers it with plenty of feeling.
The common thread throughout the album is Harper’s
voice, one of the most versatile and sensitive of the past three
decades. It has always been what sets his work apart.
He’s in fine form on the opener, “When Sex Was Dirty,”
with a hint of Clash-influenced chant-rock, but really shines
on “Deeper and Deeper,” the kind of aching, wistful ballad
that he has always sung with more passion that just about
anyone else around.
It’s Ben Harper at his best — helped along by a band that
has always known how to complement his moods.
— Scott Stroud
Associated Press
Parker Millsap
The Very Last Day (Okrahoma)
On “The Very Last Day,” Parker Millsap pours intensity into
his songs, regardless of whether
he’s rocking out with his band,
quietly accompanying himself
on acoustic guitar, or playing the
blues as slow as molasses. Stylistically, the 23-year-old Oklahoman embraces the same sort
of anything-goes Americana as
genre stalwarts like Jason Isbell
or the Lone Bellow. “The Very
Last Day” features strong songwriting, insightful lyrics, and
successful dabbling in several
different musical styles. It might
be his intensity, though, that sets
him apart.
— Chris Conaton
PopMatters.com
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WEEKEND: BOOKS
Tale of a party gone horribly wrong
‘The Guest Room’ tackles human trafficking, sexual slavery
BY CONNIE OGLE
Miami Herald
T
he idea for his latest
novel came to Chris
Bohjalian in an organic
and sobering way. Visiting Armenia in 2013 with his
wife, then-teenage daughter
Grace and Grace’s friend, he got
up early to see Grace’s friend
safely to the airport to fly home.
Waiting for her in the hotel lobby
around 3 a.m., he spotted a young
girl talking to a bellman.
“She was paying him off to
go upstairs,” he says. “She was
clearly an escort, clearly younger
than my daughter. It was heartbreaking to see, as a dad, as an
Armenian American. She was
just so young. I began to wonder:
Is there a novel in a girl such as
this?”
The answer was yes — “The
Guest Room,” which tackles the
harrowing subject of human
trafficking and sexual slavery.
The novel opens with a bachelor
party gone horribly wrong in
a New York suburb. Richard
Chapman has grudgingly hosted
the gathering for his younger,
disreputable brother, his wife
and daughter off to the city for
the evening. He expects strippers, and there are two of them.
What he doesn’t expect — what
no one expects — is the carnage
that ensues.
Bohjalian examines the aftermath through the eyes of the
stunned and guilty Richard, his
angry wife and confused daughter and Alexandra, one of the
strippers, an Armenian teenager
abducted and forced into sexual
slavery by Russian mobsters.
Her story is graphic, terrible
and unforgettable. Bohjalian
admits he still can’t listen to the
audiobook — his daughter Grace,
now 20, reads the part of Alexandra. “There are certain things,”
he says, “that I don’t want to hear
my daughter say.”
Victoria Blewer
Author Chris Bohjalian combines an explosive premise
and a timely social topic in his thriller “The Guest Room.”
Bohjalian not only lays blame
on the mobsters who kidnap
Alexandra, he also calls out the
Richards of the world for justifying their bad behavior.
“One of the things I inadvertently ended up exploring is the
grotesque male herd behavior,”
says Bohjalian, who’s the author
of 16 other novels, including
“The Sandcastle Girls,” “The
Light in the Ruins,”
“The Secrets of Eden,”
“Midwives” and “Close
Your Eyes, Hold Hands.”
“Men in a herd behave in very
different ways than we do individually. In no place is that more
manifested in this country than
at bachelor parties.
“A strip club is just the most
depressing place in the world.
I think men justify strip clubs
and prostitution by viewing it as
a monetary transaction among
equals, which it is not, ever. No
7-year-old girl says, ‘I want to
grow up to be a hooker.’ It’s the
profession of last resort. Men justify it by believing we are more
attractive and appealing than we
really are.”
Bohjalian calls “The Guest
Room” “a 21st-century ‘Sandcastle Girls,’ ” referring to his
novel that touches on the Armenian genocide carried out by the
Ottoman government during and
after World War I. Both novels
involve Armenia — Bohjalian’s
grandparents were survivors of
the genocide, estimated to have
killed 1.5 million people — but
they also spring from the same
mindful, socially conscious
place, one Bohjalian says has
emerged over the course of his
career.
“I’m looking for two things at
this stage in my life,” says Bohjalian, who’s 53 and lives in Vermont (he grew up mostly
in New York, with a
brief side trip to Miami,
where he attended
Hialeah-Miami Lakes
High). “I look for a
good story, and I look
for a good story that
can make a social
difference. I know
no one would have
ever read ‘The
Sandcastle Girls’
if it were a litany
of the dead in the
desert. I needed
characters who
excite me and make
me want to be at my desk at six
in the morning. I didn’t think like
that consciously 20 years ago.”
The idea may have lurked in
his subconscious, however: His
fourth novel, “Water Witches,”
was set against a backdrop of
drought and climate change in
Vermont. Still, he says the reception to “The Sandcastle Girls,”
published in 2012, changed him
and how he thinks of his fiction.
“It’s great that the book turned
me into an activist,” says Bohjalian, who has traveled across
the world to discuss the book
and the genocide, including trips
to Russia, Lebanon and even
Turkey. “A day doesn’t go by
even now, four years after it was
published, that I don’t get a message on my Facebook page from
somebody commenting they had
no idea the genocide occurred
until their book group read the
book.”
Talking about the topic to a
Turkish audience was eye-opening, he says.
“The thing about the genocide in Turkey is how many
young adults and intellectuals
are aware of the crimes of the
Ottoman empire and want to see
their government acknowledge
it,” he says (Turkey has continued to deny it happened). “But
the majority of Turkish citizens
know what they’ve been taught,
that Armenians were a horrible minority, turncoats in the
war who slaughtered Muslims.
Maybe a few Armenians died,
but way more Muslims died and
that’s why the Armenians moved
away. . . . and the Turkish government is more dangerous now
than it was in 2013. The way it’s
destroying Kurdish neighbors is
horrific. That’s the kind of thing
that happens when a government
hasn’t acknowledged its past
crimes.”
This notion of a being a socially conscious writer, of calling out
injustice, is one that Bohjalian
hopes he’ll continue to cultivate.
“I don’t think I was a particularly good person as a young
man. I was really self absorbed.
I’m not proud of that. So if my
fiction is able to make a difference, I’m enormously grateful.”
Author argues addiction is a learning disorder in ‘Unbroken Brain’
BY CARLA K. JOHNSON
Associated Press
N
ancy Reagan’s death
last month caused some
to take stock of her
mantra “Just Say No”
and why it failed to prevent addiction or dissuade many young
people in the 1980s from experimenting with dangerous drugs.
In “Unbroken Brain,” science
writer Maia Szalavitz, a high
school student in the Reagan
years, describes her own drug
odyssey — LSD, cocaine, heroin
— and her first steps toward
successful recovery at age 23 in
1988. Since then, understanding addiction and treatment has
been her life’s work. She’s now
regarded as a leading authority,
with articles in Time, The New
York Times, Psychology Today
and other major publications.
Her previous book, “Help at
Any Cost,” examined programs
for troubled teens. This time, she
argues for a radical rethinking
of addiction with a new emphasis
on learning.
She writes that although addiction is a disease, a more nuanced
analysis reveals it to be a learning
disorder, more like dyslexia than
diabetes, opening new possibilities for treatment, recovery and
drug policy. This learning disorder framework takes into account
genetic vulnerabilities, brain
development and experience, she
says, and helps explain why locking up addicted offenders largely
fails to rehabilitate them.
Addiction is a pattern of learned
behavior defined by persistence
despite negative consequences,
she writes, and that is why
punishment — because prison,
after all, is just one more negative
consequence — doesn’t work and
can be counterproductive.
Szalavitz finds some value in
the Alcoholics Anonymous selfhelp movement, but objects to its
elevated status in medical and
criminal justice systems. In what
other disease, she asks, would
medical professionals recommend
submission to a Higher Power as
an essential part of treatment? A
chapter on programs employing
the learning disorder insight offers another way.
Szalavitz’s personal story com-
plements her research without
overshadowing it, including an
unforgettable scene in which she
does cocaine with Jerry Garcia
of the Grateful Dead. She writes
movingly about the mental and
emotional consequences of drug
withdrawal, far worse than the
physical symptoms, in her experience: “ ... what tormented me
most as I shook through August
of 1988 wasn’t the nausea and
chills but the recurring fear that
I’d never have lasting comfort or
joy again.”
Anyone who has battled addiction or seen it harm a loved one
will gain insights from “Unbroken Brain,” and if it influences
policymakers, too, everyone will
benefit.
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WEEKEND: TELEVISION & DVD
NEW ON DVD
“Ip Man 3”: There are two elements of
a martial arts movie necessary for it to be
entertaining: strong fight scenes and an
engaging star. “Ip Man 3” has both, plus an
additional pleasant surprise. The latest film
in the action series has Ip Man (Donnie
Yen) pulled into a battle between a local
school and a crooked property developer
(Mike Tyson). It’s a traditional story of
greed vs. good. Yen has already shown in
two previous films in the series, based on
the true story of the Wing Chun Kung Fu
master who mentored Bruce Lee, that the
quiet power he brings to the role makes
him engaging.
“Silicon Valley: The Complete Second
Season”: This examination of the heart
of the high-tech world features the biting and offbeat humor of Mike Judge and
Alec Berg. It manages to not only be funny
but make the geek world of computers
make sense. The second season picks up
with the Pied Piper team — Erlich, Jared,
Dinesh and Gilfoyle — thinking they have
made it big. That success begins to wobble
when the competition goes through some
changes. It’s about the high-tech world, but
all who work in a white-collar job can see
a lot of their company in the stories. T.J.
Miller and Martin Starr are the wiring that
holds this comedy circuit board together.
Eye Opener grabs viewers
CBS
Twentieth Century Fox
Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar for his
role in “The Revenant,” now out on DVD.
Also available on DVD:
“The Revenant”: Story of the American
West starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
“And Then There Were None”: Latest
adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel about
a dinner party where the guests start dying
one by one.
“Fifty Shades of Black”: Comedy about
a college student who must deal with a
wealthy businessman’s sexual practices.
“Daniel Tosh: People Pleaser”: Irreverent comedy from the stand-up comedian.
“Haven: The Final Season”: All secrets
of the little town will be revealed.
“The Human Face of Big Data”: Look at
the digital trail everyone is creating.
“Bloody Wednesday”: Inspired by the
true story of a California mass murderer.
“Love Is a Verb”: Look at social movement of Sufi-inspired Sunni Muslims that
began in Turkey.
“Antonia’s Line”: Strong-willed Antonia
returns to her hometown after World War II.
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”:
This collector’s edition includes 10 hours of
bonus material.
“Lamb”: An 11-year-old girl tries to help
a depressed man.
“Veep: The Complete Fourth Season”:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues to mine the
comedy of politics.
“Dominion Creek”: First Western to be
shot in Ireland.
“The Lady in the Van”: Eccentric elderly
woman (Maggie Smith) temporarily parks
her van in a man’s driveway.
“Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The
Story of the National Lampoon”: Documentary on the creation and cult status of
the comedy magazine.
— Rick Bentley/The Fresno Bee
Above: Norah O’Donnell, Charlie Rose and Gayle King greet weekday viewers on “CBS This Morning.”
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: HEALTH & FITNESS
BY SHARYN JACKSON
(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
“T
ake one last sip of air,”
yoga instructor Elle
Lemler told her class of
22 pretzel-stretched folks
splayed on mats on the floor of a St. Paul,
Minn., brewery.
In a few minutes, they’d be taking a sip
of something else a bit higher in potency.
The class was a monthly outing from
GetKnit, an activity planner that brings
together local businesses — in this case,
YogaFresh and The Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.
While common wisdom might say that
drinking right after a workout is counterproductive, there is a growing scientific
understanding that the two activities
actually might go hand-in-hand. Recent
studies found that the more people work
out, the more they drink.
The reasons are varied and remain
something of a mystery, but research suggests that both activities can give people
a feel-good buzz that gets stronger when
they do them in succession.
To capitalize on that buzz, a growing number of Twin Cities area fitness
enthusiasts and instructors are bringing
workouts to the bar and vice versa.
“After doing something like yoga, it’s always really nice to continue that relaxation
into your day,” Lemler said after class,
as her charges lined up for beer tasting
flights.
Of course, she added, “moderation is
key.”
Attendee Audrey Horowitz said the
hourlong class helped “take away the guilt
part” of the pint of golden Wheatstone
Bridge she was sipping.
Vast numbers of exercisers who imbibe
will say that they’ve earned a drink or two
by blazing through calories beforehand.
GetKnit CEO Nick Blake said when planning activities — which have included a
boot camp that employed filled kegs as
weights — he and his colleagues like to
joke, “Detox to retox.”
Counting calories and fun
Brendan Kennealy of Bloomington,
Minn., follows a strict calorie intake to
maintain his weight. On workout days,
he can’t eat enough to fill the calorie gap
left by running trails or going to the gym.
So, he methodically indulges in new craft
beers at dinner. One or two nights a week,
he enjoys two or three brews.
“If I didn’t exercise, I wouldn’t be able
to justify all of those extra beer calories,”
he said. “In fact, I’m hesitant to go out for
dinner or drinks with friends or with my
girlfriend unless I’ve had a good run and
have ‘earned’ it.”
The reward aspect of earning a drink
after a hard workout isn’t the only reason
to hit up happy hours, the studies show.
There is the camaraderie found at the bar
and the gym, and the line between the two
can get blurry.
PedalPubs, for example, meld the social
and the physical. The ubiquitous bicyclepowered trolleys are outfitted with a keg,
and participants have to work for their
drink. “You get to share the exercise with
your friends,” said PedalPub city manager Lisa Staplin. “You’re sharing both
the love and the pain.”
Matthew Wildenauer works out at Alchemy in the North Loop, a fitness studio
where participants introduce themselves to
the group before every class. He described
the atmosphere like “Cheers,” the fictional
saloon where everybody knows your name.
“It’s like going to a bar,” he said, “but
working out instead of drinking.”
Focusing on the flavor
Striking a balance is the key to indulging in a tipple after training, instructors
say.
Fitness buffs following exercise with a beer chaser
“We’re in a place nowadays where
people feel like, ‘I need to punish
myself to feel good or make progress,’ ”
said Ted Roseen, a yoga instructor.
“But I think there’s a part of yoga that’s
just enjoyment, instead of one extreme
or the other.”
Roseen started hosting wine and yoga
events more than a decade ago. The
idea came to him after classes, when he
would offer participants treats such as
clementine oranges or dark chocolate.
“All the time, people would come
up to me and say, ‘Oh my, God, this
tastes so good.’ It was just a regular
old strawberry, but I realized they just
finished a yoga class, and their senses
are heightened. You take that to wine, it
can do some amazing things.”
Indeed, many organizers of exercise
and drinking events tend to focus on
some of the finer flavors in life.
“When you look at the type of person doing yoga, they care a lot more
about what they’re putting into their
bodies, and that in turn lends itself to
craft beer,” said Matt Zanetti, a founder
of Lake Monster Brewing in St. Paul,
which hosts a popular weekly yoga class.
“They’re not going to work out and
have a few shots of Fireball,” he said,
“and chase it down with a tallboy of
PBR.”
PHOTOS
BY
JIM G EHRZ, (MINNEAPOLIS) STAR TRIBUNE /TNS
Participants in a fitness class at The Tin Whiskers Brewing Company in St. Paul,
Minn., review beer offerings after a workout. Studies are confirming what many
gym rats have suspected: Exercise and drinking go together.
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WEEKEND: FAMILY
What does it mean when
boys wear dresses?
BY NARA SCHOENBERG/Chicago Tribune
ori Duron worried when her son C.J. discovered Barbie at age 2 and
became an instant fan. She worried a few months later when C.J.
fashioned a “dress” from her tank top and accessorized with her
plum-colored heels. She worried when her confident, cheerful little
boy gravitated to all things pink, sparkly and fabulous, from nail polish to
Disney Princesses.
Was C.J. going through a phase, she wondered?
Was he transgender? What would people say?
L
“It’s so personal when it’s your
She says she also reached out
nonconforming kids are more
kid,” says Duron, author of the
to C.J.’s preschool teacher before
likely than average to grow up to
memoir “Raising My Rainbow:
class started, explaining his gender be gay or bisexual, but again, those
Adventures in Raising a Fabulous,
nonconformity, and was pleased
studies are small and focused on
Gender Creative Son.” “A lot of
with the response.
children experiencing distress over
people see a boy in a skirt and think
“I try not to get defensive,” says
their birth gender. Studies find that
there’s something wrong with them
Duron, 38, of Orange County, Calif. anywhere from about 24 percent to
and they need to be fixed, so there’s
“C.J. has really taught me to hope
82 percent of those kids may grow
this urge to take care of the situafor the best from people, because
up to be gay or bisexual.
tion or take care of your child and
a lot of the time they meet that
As a general rule, the kids who
protect them.”
expectation.”
are most “insistent, consistent and
At a time when there’s increasStudies of adult outcomes for
persistent” about changing their
ing awareness of transgender
gender nonconforming children
gender are the ones who are most
adults, the youngest gender-nontend to be small, outdated and
likely to grow up to be transgender,
conforming Americans are also
focused on children who receive
says Diane Ehrensaft, director of
starting to come forward. That
professional treatment for signifimental health at the University of
includes the kids who are adacant discomfort with their birth
California, San Francisco, Child and
mant about having been born in
gender. They find that the vast
Adolescent Gender Center.
the wrong body, as well as a much
majority of these kids stop wanting
“They will typically say, ‘I am a
larger group of kids who consisto be the opposite sex after pugirl,’ not, ‘I wish I were.’ They often
tently and markedly defy gender
berty, with only 2 to 27 percent of
don’t like their bodies and will say
norms, but in ways that aren’t as
children continuing to feel serious
things like, ‘Why did God get it
easy to categorize: boys like C.J.
discomfort with their birth gender
wrong?’ or, ‘Mommy, can you put
who love dolls and dress-up but
in adulthood, according to a 2011
me back inside, so I can come out
don’t identify as girls; girls who
study in Clinical Child Psychology
with the right parts?’ Their play isn’t
keep their hair short, refuse to
and Psychiatry.
fanciful — they’re serious. They’re
wear dresses and sometimes say
Studies indicate that gender
often so distressed if people don’t
they want to be boys.
listen to them, and if
No one knows how many
they’re allowed to socially
of these kids there are or
transition (or live as the
whether any one kid will
opposite sex), they typigrow up to be gay, straight
cally get happier. They
or transgender.
perk up.”
But parents and health
Sarah Hoffman,
professionals, who are inco-author of the piccreasingly embracing the
ture book “Jacob’s New
idea that these kids need
Dress,” says that her son
to be accepted exactly as
Sam, who wore dresses
they are, say there’s a lot
to school when he was
of advice they can offer
little but now prefers boy
to parents embarking
clothes, had some lonely
on what can seem like a
years when girls stopped
perilous journey.
wanting to play with
“What we can say with
boys. But today, she says,
certainty is that we know
he’s doing great.
what every child needs,”
“He’s so happy,”
says Dr. Lisa Simons,
Hoffman says. “I think
a pediatrician at Lurie
there’s something about
Children’s Hospital’s Gengoing through a lot of
der and Sex Development
early life challenges that
Program.
built his confidence and
“Every child needs to
his sense of self.”
be loved for who they are
Duron says C.J., now 9,
right now — even if that
is also in a good place.
changes over time.”
He’s doing well at
For Duron and her
school, has a group of
husband, Matt, that apclose female friends,
proach meant allowing
and enjoys gymnastics,
C.J. to fully explore his
baking, art and making
traditionally feminine
things for his dollhouse.
interests in a supportive
“It’s a really colorful
home environment, while
life we have, and a lot of it
they figured out how to
is because our kids are so
keep him safe in the larger
different,” Duron says.
world. In time, they al“They expose me to
lowed C.J. to bring his “girl
such different things
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE DURON FAMILY/TNS
toys” to the grocery store,
— from “Minecraft” to
Parents of other gender nonconforming kids ask
just as his traditionally
princesses. It can really
Lori Duron, mother of C.J., pictured at top and above
masculine older brother,
widen your world and
at age 4, what the future holds. “You may not have
Chase, brought his boy
your heart and your brain
answers for a very long time,” she says. “We still
toys. It only seemed fair,
if you just kind of let it
don’t have answers,” she said of C.J., who’s now 9.
says Duron.
and have fun with it.”
E-books or
print: Same
old story
T
here is no better way to stir a
crowd than by asking whether
they prefer reading books in print
or books on a screen.
Lovers of paper will hold their noses
high and claim there is nothing quite like
holding a book in hand. You can highlight,
underline, make notes in the margins and
remember whether something you want to
find later was on the left or the right.
Lovers of screens will hold their noses
even higher and counter that they can make
notations on downloads
as well, and perform
search and find functions.
Lovers of paper will
then pull out the heavy
guns and say, “Ah, but
you can’t enjoy the
smell of a book on a
Lori Borgman
screen.”
Lovers of screens
will snicker and say, “Ah, but the smell
of a book is nothing more than the smell
of must and mildew — for which there
are numerous remedies you could read
online.” With the ball in their court, lovers
of screens will boast that they can carry
an entire library on their person.
Lovers of books will say, “I thought you
looked heavier.”
Lovers of books will question whether
the lovers of screens value quantity over
quality. At this point, you, having successfully stirred a heated debate, should
excuse yourself to the appetizer table.
Personally, I am firmly in the camp that
straddles the fence. I do the majority of
reading online, but have a fondness for
words on paper in my hand.
On my bedside table is a stack of
theologians, philosophers, humorists and
essayists — Audubon, Toqueville, Thurber
and Twain. On the husband’s side of the
bed there is no table. His stack builds from
the floor up, books about photographers,
artists, painters, the history of wars and
the history of historians. I’ve said when his
pile passes the height of the chair rail, he
must thin the stack.
The man would sooner raise the chair
rail than thin the stack.
Our grown children came of age with
the digital revolution and the dawn of
social media, yet they all prefer books in
print. A Pew study recently found that the
highest print readership rates are among
those ages 18 to 29.
Of course, another study disputed the
Pew study and said readers ages 18 to
29 just think they like books in print, but
actually prefer reading in digital form.
At this conflicting juncture, the only
thing for any of us to do is print out the
study we find most disagreeable and then
tear it up. It won’t change anything, but
it is wildly satisfying to hear the sound of
paper ripping.
The best selling point for traditional
books is that they are cordless — the one
thing we never need plug in at night. A
book doesn’t go off, beep, chime or make
noises of any sort.
A book is a quiet comfort. A book in
hand becomes an extension of you, speaks
to you, lulls you and quiets you. It slowly
leaves your hands, nestles in the bed or
tumbles the floor.
I rest my case. And my book.
Lori Borgman is a columnist, author and speaker.
Email her at [email protected].
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Friday, April 22, 2016
WEEKEND: CROSSWORD AND COMICS
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD
GUNSTON STREET
“Gunston Street” is drawn by Basil Zaviski. Email him at [email protected], and go online: gunstonstreet.com.
RESULTS FOR ABOVE PUZZLE
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FACES
Time for purple tears:
Music icon Prince dies
Associated Press
AP
Prince, shown in 2012, was found dead Thursday at his home in
suburban Minneapolis. The innovative musician was 57.
Secret keeper
Pop superstar Prince, widely
acclaimed as one of the most
inventive musicians of his era
with hits including “Little Red
Corvette,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and
“When Doves Cry,” was found
dead at his home on Thursday in
suburban Minneapolis, according
to his publicist. He was 57.
His publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, told The Associated Press
that the music icon died at his
home in Chanhassen. No details
were immediately released.
The Minneapolis native broke
through in the late 1970s with the
hits “Why You Wanna Treat Me
So Bad?” and “I Wanna Be Your
Lover,” and soared over the following decade with such albums
as “1999” and “Purple Rain.”
The title song from “1999”
includes one of the most widely
quoted refrains of popular culture: “Tonight I’m gonna party
like it’s 1999.”
The man born Prince Rogers
Nelson stood just 5 feet, 2 inches
and seemed to summon the most
original and compelling sounds
at will, whether playing guitar
in a flamboyant style that openly
drew upon Jimi Hendrix, switching his vocals from a nasal scream
to an erotic falsetto or turning out
album after album of stunningly
original material. Among his
other notable releases: “Sign O’
the Times,” “Graffiti Bridge” and
“The Black Album.”
He was also fiercely protective
of his independence, battling his
record company over control of
his material and even his name.
Prince once wrote “slave” on his
face in protest of not owning his
work and famously battled and
then departed his label, Warner
Bros., before returning a few
years ago.
“What’s happening now is the
position that I’ve always wanted
to be in,” Prince said in 2014. “I
was just trying to get here.”
In 2004, Prince was inducted
Reactions on Twitter
“I can’t. I just can not. #Prince”
— Producer Shonda Rhimes
“PRINCE, sad to say, has
passed on!!! He was a Giant. My
deep condolences go out to his
family, friends and fans.”
— Musician Gene Simmons
“Now Prince? No no no.. RIP You
genius x.”
— Musician Robbie Williams
“Prince was brilliant and larger
than life. What a sad day.”
— Comedian Ellen DeGeneres
“RIP to one the greatest to ever
hit the stage #Prince. We are all
going to cry purple tears today.
#Legend.”
— Musician Tito Jackson
into the Rock and Roll of Fame,
which hailed him as a musical
and social trailblazer.
Maisie Williams can’t say much
about ‘GOT’ — or her character
BY FRAZIER MOORE
Associated Press
A
rya Stark was no coddled child.
Born with a fiercely independent spirit, she spent her teens on
“Game of Thrones” braving hardship, loneliness and combat. Physically
small but handy with a sword, Arya’s creed
seemed to be “You go, girl!”
Her latest challenge, imposed at the end
of last season: She was struck blind as punishment for going rogue with a personal
hit list. She still has bloody scores to settle.
How will she cope now?
Among the legions of characters on
“Game of Thrones,” Arya has remained
one of its most popular throughout the
first five seasons of this epic fantasy set in
the make-believe continent of Westeros.
Now, as the sixth season nears (Sunday
in the U.S., and April 30 on AFN-Spectrum), “GOT” devotees are ravenous for
any advance intel on the show and its stars
— including Maisie Williams, now 19, who,
since she was 12, has invested Arya with
her feisty charm.
Arya was the British-born Williams’ first
acting job, landed after an open casting call
— a splashy way to enter the profession.
“I didn’t know much about television
or HBO,” she says. “The reason it was so
exciting was not because I thought, ‘Oh,
this could be a really big TV show.’ It was
more like, ‘Oh, look! Maisie got cast in
SOMETHING!’ ”
Of course, no one knew back then what
a global phenomenon “Game of Thrones,”
based on books by George R.R. Martin,
would be. Williams says that hit home for
her at the kickoff for season 3. “We had
our first proper premiere in L.A., and that
was the first time I saw lots of fans in one
place, and lots of paparazzi and cameras,”
she says. “I never believed that kind of
thing actually happened, and there I was,
standing in the middle of it all. That was
the first time I thought, ‘Wow, my life is
changing.’ ”
AP
Joanie Laurer, former pro wrestler known
as Chyna, in 2003. The 1990s WWE star
who became one of the best known and
most popular female professional wrestlers in history, has died at age 46.
1990s wrestling star dies
EVAN AGOSTINI, INVISION /AP
“Games of Thrones” star Maisie Williams says she was a tomboy as a child. “I definitely preferred playing with my brothers more than with my sister. I used to watch my
sister ... combing her hair and thought, ‘Oooh, that looks like so much effort!’ ”
Since the beginning, she and Arya have
followed somewhat parallel tracks in their
development.
“I was just like Arya when I was little,”
she recalls. “I was no daughter of a lord
like Arya, but I definitely preferred playing with my brothers more than with my
sister. I used to watch my sister straightening and combing her hair and thought,
‘Oooh, that looks like so much effort!’ ”
Williams is chatty and candid in interviews (except for “GOT” spoilers), and,
though richly punctuating what she says
with giggles, she speaks thoughtfully about
her future beyond “Game of Thrones.”
“Just because I’ve had a very good opportunity and my foot is in the door doesn’t
mean my career is going to last forever,”
she says. “I have to fight for it. I have to
prove that I can stay in this industry.”
In the meantime, her current off-screen
role includes keeping all those “GOT” secrets. For instance: Even after seeing Jon
Snow’s apparent death on last season’s finale, “GOT” fans have been dying to know
whether Jon (Arya’s beloved older brother,
portrayed by Kit Harington) is really finished. “When we do press, everyone asks
about it,” Williams says, “but we don’t answer. It’s like, ‘Oooohh, do you think I’m
gonna slip up and tell?’
“People feel like they want to know
what’s going to happen, but they don’t really want to know. They wouldn’t want it
spoiled for them,” she insists. “So it doesn’t
feel like I’m keeping a deep, dark secret.
It feels like, ‘Just wait! It’s going to be so
much better with you sitting down and
watching it, than with me ruining it for you
by explaining it now.’ ”
Chyna, the WWE star who became one
of the best-known and most popular female
professional wrestlers in history, has died
at age 46.
A coroner’s official says police initially reported the death as a “possible
overdose.”
Chyna, whose real name is Joan Marie
Laurer, was found dead at her apartment
in Redondo Beach, Calif., on Wednesday.
Ed Winter, Los Angeles County’s assistant chief coroner, said Wednesday that an
autopsy was planned in the next few days.
It could be weeks before the results of toxicology tests are known.
The muscle-bound, raven-haired Chyna
shot to WWE stardom in the 1990s, becoming one of the most prominent female professional wrestlers. Chyna billed herself
as the “9th Wonder of the World” because
her wrestling predecessor Andre the Giant
had already called himself the eighth. Rising to prominence in the late 1990s, she
was a member of D-Generation X, often
wrestled against men and at one point was
the WWE women’s champion.
From the Associated Press
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Friday, April 22, 2016
OMBUDSMAN/OPINION
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
Lt. Col. Michael C. Bailey, Europe commander
Lt. Col. Brian Choate, Pacific commander
Harry Eley, Europe Business Operations
Terry M. Wegner, Pacific Business Operations
Don’t rush to judgment on Stripes funding
BY TOBIAS NAEGELE
Stars and Stripes Ombudsman
EDITORIAL
Terry Leonard, Editor
[email protected]
Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor
[email protected]
Sam Amrhein, Managing Editor International
[email protected]
Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content
[email protected]
Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentation
[email protected]
Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for Digital
[email protected]
BUREAU STAFF
Europe/Mideast
Teddie Weyr, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chief
[email protected]
+49(0)631.3615.9310; cell +49(0)173.315.1881;
DSN (314)583.9310
Pacific
Paul Alexander, Pacific Bureau Chief
[email protected]
+81-3 6385.5377; cell (080)5883.1673
DSN (315)225.5377
Washington
Joseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chief
[email protected]
(+1)(202)761.0908; DSN (312)763.0908
Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, News
[email protected]
Amanda Trypanis, Design Desk Supervisor
[email protected]
CIRCULATION
Mideast
Robert Reismann, [email protected]
+49(0)631.3615.9150; DSN (314)583.9150
Europe
Van Rowell, [email protected]
+49(0)631.3615.9111; DSN (314)583.9111
Pacific
Mari Matsumoto, [email protected]
+81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)229.3171
T
he Defense Department is considering a proposal to stop funding
Stars and Stripes.
Such a cut would likely kill the
newspaper. It must not be made in haste or
in secret.
Stars and Stripes receives about $12 million a year in appropriated funding. That’s
about 40 percent of its overall budget, according to Stars and Stripes Publisher
Max Lederer, with the balance coming
from advertising and circulation sales. Of
the appropriated funds, $7 million comes
from the regular defense budget and $5
million from overseas contingency operations funds — the war budget — mostly to
pay for printing and distributing the paper
downrange.
In a world of multibillion-dollar aircraft
programs, that’s not a whole lot. But in my
house and yours, it’s real money, and for
Stripes, it’s the difference between publishing or not.
The proposal comes from the Business
Process and Systems Review team, chartered in 2014 to cut Pentagon headquarters spending by 20 percent. It’s important
work, and they’re right to question whether funding Stripes is a good use of taxpayer
funds.
I’ve asked the same question myself.
For many years, I led the newsroom at
Military Times, a rival to Stripes for both
readers and advertisers, and I often wondered whether, in an age of global connectivity, this newspaper still had a mission.
Couldn’t troops overseas access American
news on the Web?
Since joining Stars and Stripes as ombudsman a couple of months ago, others
have asked me the same question.
Turns out it’s not that simple. Yes, troops
in most places can access news on the Internet. But not everywhere. If you’re in
Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea —
base stations where Internet access is easy
and routine — you have no trouble reading
news online.
But deployed troops in Afghanistan or
Iraq, Kuwait or Djibouti do not have that
luxury. For them, Internet access is spotty
and unreliable. So a printed newspaper
distributed in chow halls and gyms and
elsewhere offers both information and
escape, news from home that can be read
and shared over a meal, on a flight or while
waiting for that next order or assignment.
That answers why print may still be
viable, but it doesn’t address why it’s
necessary.
Stars and Stripes as we know it today
dates to World War II, when American military leaders chose to create a daily newspaper for servicemembers overseas. They
wanted troops to feel connected to what
was happening back home. They continued
to publish Stripes for generations because
we, as a people, believe a well-informed
citizen-soldier is a better citizen and soldier. For most of that time, the newspaper
was self-supporting.
The economics of newspapering blew up
over the past decade, and with it Stripes’
economic model. Paid circulation declined, and with it advertising revenue,
which is based on reader volume. Today,
Stripes survives only because it gets direct
funding.
Some might argue the Pentagon would
save money by shuttering Stripes and instead delivering a commercial newspaper
to our troops overseas. But those papers
won’t come without a price and they won’t
be tailored, as Stripes is, to the interests
of military readers. The beauty of Stars
and Stripes is not just that it’s a daily
paper available overseas, but that it’s a
daily paper written and edited for military
members. Its blend of staff-written articles
and news culled from the nation’s leading
providers — The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The New York Times — is
unique, and provides depth and balance to
military readers.
Another difference: Most newspapers
endorse political policies and candidates,
creating political baggage in the process.
Stars and Stripes doesn’t take political
positions.
It seems inevitable that, like the American Forces Network, which balances leftleaning and right-leaning news channels,
the military eventually would have to follow suit and offer not one, but two newspapers in the war zone. That’s not going to
save a dime.
The BPSR team, along with the Defense
Media Activity, which oversees the newspaper, need to dig deeper. What is the ultimate value of delivering an independently
minded, military-oriented newspaper to
our troops downrange? What is that really worth to us as a nation? And what is it
worth to the troops who depend on it when
they’re far from home?
Studying Stars and Stripes’ balance
sheet tells us the obvious: The newspaper
loses money. It’s the intangibles that are
harder for us to understand.
I don’t think there’s any question that
Stripes offers value. But whether it’s worth
the cost and whether its value is appreciated are separate questions. Both deserve
answers.
Here’s a modest proposal: Fund a readership study downrange. Use it to dig beyond what servicemembers like or don’t
like about Stripes and discover the deeper
value they derive from having it available
and what the payoff is to helping them
be better-informed citizens. Then, when
we’ve gathered some answers, we can
talk seriously about whether it’s time for
Stripes to go the way of sailing ships and
hardtack, or whether it, like the ageless
B-52 bomber, should be refitted with new
wings and electronics and keep contributing to the military mission.
This newspaper exists for the benefit of
forward-stationed troops and those who
support them. They deserve a voice in determining its future.
The ombudsman welcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by email at naegele.
[email protected] or by phone at 202-761-0900.
CONTACT US
Washington
tel: (+1)202.761.0900; DSN (312)763.0900;
529 14th Street NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC
20045-1301
Even drunken drivers have constitutional rights
BY NOAH FELDMAN
Reader letters
Bloomberg View
[email protected]
Additional contacts
stripes.com/contactus
OMBUDSMAN
Tobias Naegele
The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flow
of news and information, reporting any attempts by the
military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’s
independence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns
and questions from readers, and monitors coverage
for fairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The
ombudsman welcomes comments from readers, and can
be contacted by email at [email protected], or
by phone at 202.761.0900.
Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published weekdays (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Monday
through Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars and
Stripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96338-5002. Periodicals
postage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Send
address changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002,
APO AP 96338-5002.
This newspaper is authorized by the Department of
Defense for members of the military services overseas.
However, the contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial,
and are not to be considered as the official views of, or
endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspaper,
Stars and Stripes may be distributed through official channels and use appropriated funds for distribution to remote
locations where overseas DOD personnel are located.
The appearance of advertising in this publication does
not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense
or Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised.
Products or services advertised shall be made available for
purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical
handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor
of the purchaser, user or patron.
© Stars and Stripes 2016
stripes.com
C
an you be charged with a crime
for refusing to take a Breathalyzer
test when stopped on suspicion of
drunken driving? It’s hard to think
of a constitutional rights question that affects more people. The Supreme Court took
it up Wednesday, considering whether the
Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure protects your
breath and your blood from a warrantless
search.
Two different states involved in the case
offer different constitutional reasons for
their practices — a sure sign that something is fishy here. The bottom line is that
mandating a search without a warrant violates the Constitution, and the court should
say so, regardless of the legitimate importance of combating drunken driving.
A review of the states’ positions should
make that clear.
North Dakota’s Supreme Court said that
you implicitly consent to taking a blood test
when you get into a car there. It added that
you aren’t really forced to take the blood
test — you just get convicted of a crime if
you don’t. In a sense, the court was saying
that driving is a privilege, not a right.
The government can’t condition the exercise of a constitutional right on the waiver of another one. The reason you can be
searched before getting on an airplane is
that flying isn’t recognized as a fundamental constitutional right.
Is driving a constitutional right? The Supreme Court has never said so, although
it has recognized a constitutional right to
travel. In today’s U.S., especially if you live
someplace without public transportation
(like most of North Dakota), you can’t really travel if you can’t drive.
Making consent to an invasive blood
draw the condition of driving seems clearly unconstitutional. As for the assertion
that you don’t have to take the test, that’s
even weaker. The very definition of being
required to do something is that you’ll be
convicted of a crime if you don’t.
The Minnesota Supreme Court said
that requiring a Breathalyzer counts as a
search incident to arrest, which is one of
the two recognized exceptions to the usual
rule that the police can search you only if
they have a warrant. The trouble with this
argument is that the exception is designed
to provide for the safety of the arresting
officer.
This is an important exception, to be
sure. And for better or worse, it’s the legal
basis for the stop-and-frisk policing policy
that has been the subject of both praise and
condemnation in recent years. But while
the officer’s safety may require a pat-down
to make sure the arrested person isn’t carrying a gun or a knife, testing the arrestee’s
breath doesn’t make the officer safer.
The Minnesota court pointed out that it
had already allowed photographing and
fingerprinting arrestees. But those administrative actions aren’t searches in the
same way as a Breathalyzer, which analyzes the chemical contents of the inside of
the body.
The Minnesota court emphasized that
the search was “reasonable” because a
Breathalyzer test is so minimally invasive.
In essence, the court was saying that the
Fourth Amendment allows the state to engage in a cost-benefit analysis. If the search
is minimal and the gain is great, then the
Constitution permits the search. Admittedly, the Fourth Amendment is written in
general terms. But the word “reasonable”
shouldn’t be taken as authority to trade
away the right not to be searched because
the state has much to gain. If the police
carried X-ray machines around with them,
they might be able to see hidden weapons
or drugs, and the gain might be great — but
the viewing would be a search within the
terms of the Fourth Amendment, even if it
wasn’t invasive at all.
There’s no question that we need better mechanisms to police and prevent
drunken driving. But it would be a serious mistake to sacrifice the right against
unlawful search while we’re figuring out
what those are. New technology will come.
But the principle of mandatory search will
sit about like a loaded weapon, to use the
phrase coined by Justice Robert Jackson.
The court should protect privacy and put
the burden on states to figure out better
ways to save lives.
Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a
professor of constitutional and international law
at Harvard.
Friday, April 22, 2016
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OPINION
What newspapers
are saying at home
The following editorial excerpts are selected from a cross section of newspapers
throughout the United States. The editorials are provided by The Associated Press
and other stateside syndicates.
Vatican still failing victims
The Washington Post
In three years at the helm of the Catholic
Church, Pope Francis has been a source of
inspiration for millions of faithful around
the world. In one critical respect, however,
he has fallen short of his own promise: to
come fully to terms with decades of child
sex abuse by clergymen and the institutional cover granted to them by bishops
and cardinals.
Francis has pledged “the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and
the promise of accountability for all.” Yet
there has been scant accountability, particularly for bishops. Too often, the church’s
stance has been defiance and obstruction.
In his trip to the U.S. in the fall, Francis told victims that “words cannot fully
express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered.” Yet his initiative to establish a Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who enabled
or ignored pedophile priests has come to
naught. Not a single bishop has been called
to account by the tribunal, which itself remains more notional than real.
Meanwhile, church officials have fought
bills in state legislatures across the U.S.
that would allow thousands of abuse victims to seek justice in court. The legislation
would loosen deadlines limiting when survivors can bring lawsuits against abusers
or their superiors who turned a blind eye.
… Eight states have lifted such deadlines,
known as statutes of limitations, for victims who are sexually abused as minors.
Seven states have gone further, enacting
measures allowing past victims — not just
current and future ones — to file lawsuits
in a finite period of time, generally a twoor three-year window.
In many more states, however, the bishops and their staffs have successfully killed
such bills, arguing that it would be unfair
to subject the church to lawsuits in which
memories and evidence are degraded by
the passage of time. Quietly, they also say
the church … can ill afford further financial exposure. …
In his trip to the U.S., Pope Francis
praised bishops for what he called their
“generous commitment to bring healing to
victims.” … Yet by its actions, the church’s
“commitment to bring healing” has seemed
far from generous.
Castros up to their old tricks
The Miami Herald
The cadaverous image presented by Fidel
Castro on the closing day of the Communist Party Congress in Havana mirrors the
decrepit state of the Cuban government, as
well as its increasingly bleak future. Like
Marxist ideology, the 89-year-old Castro
looked like an utterly spent force as he
gazed forlornly into the audience of party
members and offered what may prove to
be his valedictory to the party.
Castro, in a rare public appearance, was
forced to acknowledge on Tuesday that his
end is near. “Soon I’ll be like all the others,”
he conceded. “The time comes for us all.”
The difference, regrettably, is that Castro
knows that his days are numbered, but neither he nor the party’s leadership seems to
understand — or is willing to admit — that
the revolution long ago lost its vitality. It is
the relic of a bygone era that cannot be reinvigorated or revived.
The party congress came as a huge
disappointment to Cubans who hoped it
would offer a glimpse of a better political
future. The meeting failed to resolve key
issues and closed the door on generational
ISMAEL FRANCISCO, CUBADEBATE /AP
Second Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee Jose Ramon Machado
Ventura, left, embraces Fidel Castro during the last day of the 7th Cuban Communist
Party Congress in Havana on Tuesday.
change. While Fidel pleaded with party
members to allow the revolution to survive
even as he fades into oblivion, his 84-yearold brother, Raul, gave himself one more
five-year term as the Communist Party’s
first secretary, and allowed feared hardliner Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, 85, to
remain second in command.
The decision means Raul Castro can
hold onto the position of party chairman,
the pinnacle of power in the communist
system, well past the date of his announced
retirement as Cuba’s president in 2018. All
the while, he’ll have by his side an even
older henchman known as the enforcer of
party discipline and as an implacable foe of
economic reform. Even Raul has criticized
Machado Ventura for orthodox rigidity, but
that apparently is no barrier to power.
Don’t look for fresh faces or younger
people associated with free-market reforms — which Raul Castro himself has
blessed — among the five new members
named to the powerful Politburo, either.
There aren’t any.
All of this amounts to a huge failure by
Raul Castro. He initiated economic reforms a few years ago not because he’s a
reformer, but because he’s a survivor. He
did it because he had to, knowing Cuba
was obliged to undertake changes or face
increasing unrest from the Cuban people.
Those reforms, gradual and incremental
as they are, have been sufficient to keep the
lid on, but Castro is fooling himself if he
thinks that’s enough for now. Change generates its own momentum, whether or not
he likes it. He had the choice of extending
reforms into the political realm, despite resistance from Machado Ventura and those
who think like him, or face demands for
change from the Cuban people. In the end,
he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Whether it was a failure of nerve or a
failure of vision matters little. The message
from this party congress is that the octogenarians leading Cuba are determined to
hold onto power for as long as they can, unyielding until the bitter end.
Check immigration overstep
The Boston Herald
Frustrated by his inability to get an immigration reform bill through Congress,
President Barack Obama decided to rewrite the law himself.
So in November of 2014, just after the
House killed a Senate-passed immigration bill, the president signed an executive
order giving some 4.9 million illegal immigrants — many of them the parents of U.S.
citizens or legal residents — what amounts
to a grant of immunity. Or as the White
House Solicitor General Donald Verrilli
defined it to the U.S. Supreme Court in arguments this week, they were given a grant
of “lawful presence.”
That allowed them not merely to avoid
deportation but to work and to collect an
array of benefits. And that’s where Texas
and eventually 25 other states said just
wait a darned minute and sued the federal
government for a vast overreach.
The issue here is less about a broken immigration system — which we agree desperately needs fixing and a path to legal
residence for the estimated 11 million immigrants who are here illegally — than it
is about an abuse of presidential power.
And it was that issue that the court’s more
conservative members pursued during
Monday’s argument. …
Chief Justice John Roberts asked if the
president could grant “deferred removal to
every unlawfully present alien in the U.S.
right now.” At least Verrilli cited statutory restraints on the president there. But
then he’s already defied some of those
“restraints.”
A 4-4 decision would allow a lower court
ruling against the president to stand and
halt this particular assault on the Constitution. But it surely shows how critical the
next election, however loony it seems now,
has become.
GOP misleads on Obamacare
The New York Times
“Disaster.”
“Incredible
economic
burden.” “The biggest job-killer in this
country.”
Central to the presidential campaigns
of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz has been
the claim that the Affordable Care Act has
been a complete failure, and that the only
way to save the country from this scourge is
to replace it with something they design.
It’s worth examining the big myths they
are peddling about the Affordable Care
Act and also their ill-conceived plans of
what might replace it.
Millions of people have lost their insurance. In January, Cruz claimed that “millions of Americans” had lost their health
insurance because of the health reform
law. …
Insurers did stop offering some plans
after the law took effect, including those
that didn’t provide required benefits like
maternity care or that charged higher premiums to older or sicker people. But people
with those plans had the opportunity to
sign up for others. And overall, the law has
drastically reduced the number of Americans who lack health insurance. According
to the Census Bureau, the number of uninsured Americans dropped by 10 million
between 2010, when the law passed, and
2014. …
Millions of people have lost their jobs.
Cruz has called the Affordable Care Act
“the biggest job-killer in this country” and
said “millions of Americans have lost their
jobs, have been forced into part-time work”
because of it. That is false. … A 2015 study
using data from the Current Population
Survey found that the law “had virtually
no adverse effect on labor force participation, employment or usual hours worked
per week through 2014.”
Reduce costs by weakening state regulations. Trump frequently talks about his
plan to “get rid of the lines around the
states” to foster competition among insurance companies. Customers in states
where insurance is heavily regulated, the
thinking goes, would be able to save money
if they could purchase coverage from insurers based in states with fewer rules.
Cruz, too, supports allowing people to buy
insurance across state borders — it’s one of
the few proposals he’s offered for replacing
the health law if it is repealed.
But the biggest obstacle stopping insurers from setting up in more states is not
regulation; it’s the difficulty of establishing a network of providers in a new market. And such a structure would destroy
the longstanding ability of states to regulate health insurance for their populations.
… Allowing cross-border plans would encourage insurers to base themselves in
low-regulation states, and the result might
be a proliferation of poor-quality plans.
The Affordable Care Act is not perfect.
Premiums for plans on the exchanges rose
between 2015 and 2016 and are likely to
rise again next year. … But the law has
helped millions of Americans. … In inventing problems that don’t exist and proposing
solutions that won’t help, Donald Trump
and Ted Cruz show that they don’t care
about helping Americans get health care.
… They want to trash the Affordable Care
Act, and they’re willing to mislead the public any way they can.
Calif. independents in for shock
Los Angeles Times
This year, it seems, California’s presidential primaries may finally matter. But
many voters could lose their opportunity
to participate if they don’t act soon. That’s
because the June 7 primaries are not open
races, in which voters may simply show up
and choose among all the possible candidates. Rather, these are party nominating
contests, and it is the parties themselves
that set the rules about who can participate.
Only registered Republicans may cast ballots for Donald Trump, Ted Cruz or John
Kasich. The Democratic Party restricts its
primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to registered Democrats and
to voters listed as “no party preference.”
With so much interest in this year’s primary, elections officials are concerned that
many Californians won’t be able to participate in the presidential primary of their
choice because they don’t know the rules,
don’t know their party status or have registered for the wrong party. A Times survey
recently found, for instance, that 3 out of
4 people who had signed up as American
Independents didn’t realize they had registered for a real, right-wing political party.
Many thought they were simply signing up
as lower-case “i” independents (the unaffiliated voters California classifies as “no
party preference” voters or, as they were
formerly called, “decline to state” voters).
Intentional or not, American Independents will be … barred from voting in the
Democratic or Republican presidential
primaries. … Secretary of State Alex Padilla ought to revisit the voter registration
form to eliminate that confusing element
and any others that people encounter when
they sign up to vote.
California is one of many states where
parties have chosen to hold so-called closed
primaries. Such rules may be frustrating
to unaffiliated voters and anti-establishment candidates. … But the primaries are
held for the benefit of political parties and
their members so they can choose the best
possible nominee for general election. The
parties set the rules. It’s up to the candidates to follow them, voters to understand
them and elections officials to implement
them as efficiently as possible.
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Friday, April 22, 2016
FAITH
BY JULIE Z AUZMER
The Washington Post
A
round the time the Rev.
Michael Tupper found
himself chasing his
windblown tent across
half a mile of Iowa grain fields,
he might have started questioning his mission from God.
God called him, he believes, to
sleep in a tent for 175 days to protest the fact that his church does
not allow him to perform gay
marriages.
The temperatures outside his
tent — and the reactions from his
fellow Methodists — have ranged
from warm to sub-freezing. And
now, with days to go in his sleepout, his end is in sight: the global
conference at which the United
Methodist Church will soon vote
whether to change its stance on
gay marriage.
Next month, the United States’
second-largest Protestant denomination will consider legislation at its General Conference
that would allow all clergy members to perform same-sex weddings if they choose and would
allow openly gay men and women
to serve as clergy members themselves. That legislation would reverse the long-held positions that
have led the church to discipline
and even defrock ministers in the
past for performing gay weddings
and for coming out as gay.
The General Conference, held
every four years, sets policy for
all churches in this mainline denomination worldwide. The topic
of homosexuality first came up in
1972.
“That whole ‘40 years in the
wilderness’? Really, it’s been 44
years,” Tupper says. “And hopefully, this is the end. Hopefully,
we’re close to the promised land.”
And then he breaks off, midsentence, and turns to his daughter. The tent he has been sleeping
in — in states scattered across the
country — is threatening to blow
away again, this time in the patch
of grass where he has staked it
in front of the office of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of
his church.
“Sarah, could you get the tent?”
he asks.
She was joining him in his
campout for the first time since
he began his protest, but in some
sense she has been there all
along. She was the inspiration for
his activism — and the first lesbian bride he married.
After he officiated at his
daughter’s wedding two years
ago — after the wedding party’s
pre-ceremony hiking trip, and
the two brides’ coordinated wedding outfits, and the friends who
came from as far New Zealand
and South Africa to be there, and
the 100 guests who all read a line
of the service — after all that, the
church charged him with violating its rules for its ministers.
Tupper reached a sort of outof-court settlement in the United
Methodist Church’s judicial system. He knew when he agreed
to officiate that he might be defrocked for it — the Rev. Frank
Schaefer of Pennsylvania was
barred from ministry by the
church after officiating at his gay
son’s wedding, then reinstated on
appeal. But Tupper was cleared
to continue ministry at his church
near Kalamazoo, Mich.
Then he performed his second gay wedding, that of a fellow
Minister uses tent in solo protest
The Rev. Mike Tupper, right, has been
sleeping in a tent to symbolize the
LGBT people ostracized by his church.
He officiated the same-sex marriage of
his daughter, Sarah Tupper, left, even
though the United Methodist Church
forbids it.
M ARVIN JOSEPH /The Washington Post
WHY?
United Methodist minister who
was banned from his pulpit when
he came out as gay. Tupper expected, after he helped officiate
Benjamin Hutchison’s wedding,
that he would face a church trial.
But the trial never came. And
Tupper, 57, started praying on
the subject, thinking perhaps he
should demonstrate in some other
way that he thinks the church’s
position needs to change.
That’s where the idea of the
tent came in. The church, Tupper
says, has left gay Christians “out
in the cold.”
Inside the Baltimore-Washington Conference headquarters,
Erik Alsgaard, the managing editor of the church’s official publications, looks out on Tupper’s tent
pitched on the office’s lawn for
the night and employs the same
metaphor, to different effect.
“I’m sure there are people
who agree with Mike. There are
people who disagree with Mike.
And that’s one of the nice things
about the United Methodist
Church,” Alsgaard says. “We are
the church of the big tent. There’s
room for everyone.”
Sarah Tupper, 29, objects to
that characterization. She has felt,
time and again, that Christian
churches do not make room for
her. She and her wife met at the
preeminent evangelical university Wheaton College — despite the
fact that Tupper, suspecting that
his teenage daughter was lesbian,
told her that if she were lesbian
she should not go to Wheaton.
They started dating during
their freshman year, and Sarah
says that both of them lost friends
who stopped associating with
them once they found out they
were lesbian, and faced pressure
from deans who said they would
kick them out of the school if they
could prove they were in a homosexual relationship.
But both kept their evangelical
faith. They joined a conservative
church in Baltimore, where they
now live.
When members found out they
were married, suddenly the pastor was praying weekly about
the sin of homosexuality. Sarah’s
wife was no longer welcome to
teach Sunday school. The couple
left the church.
Sarah sent emails to 30 pastors
at similarly conservative churches near their home. “There are
definitely denominations that are
welcoming. We would be giving
up something in our own theology
and how we want to raise our children to believe,” she said. “That’s
the trickiness of being someone
who’s conservative and evangelical and gay.”
She did not get a single response from those 30 pastors. “It
made me cry. I was shocked, really. There’s no space for us.”
Tupper hopes the General Conference will make space in the
United Methodist Church. The
conference votes on hundreds
of proposals sent in by members
worldwide. This year, many of
them relate to homosexuality.
Some want to open the church
to allowing gay marriages and
gay ministers. Others want to
enforce the current prohibitions even more strictly, such as
automatically defrocking any
minister who performs two gay
marriages.
A central committee has proposed allowing United Methodist
ministers to perform gay marriages if they personally choose
to do so.
Ministers say that representatives of the United Methodists
in Africa, who will make up 30
percent of the voters at the global conference, are most likely to
block the proposal.
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, a
Kansas pastor, has been leading
the push for that compromise position, but fears it will not pass.
More than half the American delegates will vote for it, he expects,
but most likely not enough to get
it through.
“When you add the African
delegations, you end up with gridlock. It will be interesting to see
where there will be enough votes
to allow the compromise to go forward or not,” Hamilton said. “It
will be close, I think. I don’t have
a clear prediction.”
Hamilton said the issue is contentious enough that it could split
the church. He believes 10 to 15
percent of the church’s 32,000
American congregations would
leave the United Methodists if
the denomination sanctioned gay
marriage in any way.
When the proposal comes up
for a vote in May, Tupper will end
his sleepout. He will also prepare
for retirement; he says that the
bitter opposition of some in his
church in Michigan has pushed
him to that decision.
Friday, April 22, 2016
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Friday, April 22, 2016
Transportation
Dental
Dental
R S
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902
Financial Services
904
Transportation
944
902
•STA
Friday, April 22, 2016
Announcements
040
Automotive
140
Automotive
140
Autos for Sale
- Germany
R S
A N D
142
BMW Z3, Cabrio 2 seat, 2001
$9500.00 Roadster, 2.2i Automatic, ABS, ESP, Power steering,
airbags,
climate
control,alarm, board computer,
CD, alloy wheels, ele windows,mirrors, heated seats, full
leather, full service history, color
black metallic, Sports PK, Emission Euro4, 015124145956
[email protected]
Ford, Fiesta, 2010 $9000.00
European specs, excellent condition, manual transmission, diesel, fully loaded, power everything, sunroof, all wheel drive,
summer & winter tires & rims,
excellent gas mileage. Dealer
maintained. 015202668023 kio
[email protected]
Autos for Sale
- Germany
142
Auto - Quality Pre-owned
US SPEC Vehicles
www.vilseckautosales.com
Free Europe-wide delivery
Events
Announcements
040
Let's Celebrate
Announce the birth of a child,
marriage, or perhaps an
anniversary in Stars and Stripes!
Call us: +49 (0)631 351 3612
041
Looking for a "Good Time" The
Darmstadt
Retired
Military
Group is looking for new members. We meet once a month to
share ideas and help each
other. No Dues. If you are a
Retired U.S Military Service
Member, surviving spouse or a
retired American and are interested please contact Larry at
06151-52548
or
at
[email protected].
BMW, X5 35i, E70, 2013
$35500.00 Absolutely like NEW
Only 10K mi ! 306HP, twin turbo
35i with X-drive. Garage kept,
not driven in the winter, no,
smoke, food, drinks, kids or dirty
shoes. No dents, scratches or
dings. Many, many extras to
include heated seats, roof rails,
free shipping to USA, Euro
coding and hardware package
e.g. rear fog light, etc., Alpine
white with black aluminum
brushed trim interior. Meets both
US and German specifications.
Will not find a cleaner car for
this price. Call John at
09502-924407
Autos for Sale
- Japan
Autos for Sale
- Korea
no voice mail
Autos for Sale
- Japan
146
Nissan, Cube, 2009 $6500.00
2009 Nissan cube, very good
condition. Bought new from
dealer, all check-ups and routine
maintenance performed by dealer every 6 months $1200 below
TrueCar market average, with
1/3 the mileage Minor damage
to right front top and left front
side Intelligent key, push button
start Nissan HDD GPS, DVD,
CD, MP3, TV, USB connection
for Ipod Rear view camera
Xtronic CVT transmission Non
smoking Emergency battery
charger and snow chains included
08017849908
[email protected]
146
Nissan, Cube, 2009 $6500.00
2009 Nissan cube, very good
condition. Bought new from
dealer, all check-ups and routine
maintenance performed by dealer every 6 months $1200 below
TrueCar market average, with
1/3 the mileage Minor damage
to right front top and left front
side Intelligent key, push button
start Nissan HDD GPS, DVD,
CD, MP3, TV, USB connection
for Ipod Rear view camera
Xtronic CVT transmission Non
smoking Emergency battery
charger and snow chains included
08017849908
[email protected]
148
Chrysler, Town & Country
Touring-L Minivan 4D, 2011
$18800.00
Mileage:
31,000(50,500km)
_
asking
$18.8K USD Option as followings; Keyless Entry, Remote
Start Premium Sound with DVD
System, Leather, Heated Seats,
Eco drive + Llumar premium tint
window film + Black box with
2ch. cameras + Two of snow &
Ice winter Michelin tires included. [email protected]
Honda,
Odyssey,
2006
$6900.00 EX model. Engine and
interior are in very good condition. Body is fair. Inspected Jan
2016. Very good summer and
winter tires, both with rims. Nice
car to travel through Europe.
Reliable. Located in Bad Windsheim. 09841-7552 after 17:00
0175-839-0001
Infiniti, 2008 $18000.00 Infiniti
G37S Coupe, 2dr sedan, 19"
alloy wheels, charcoal grey
exterior, black leather interior,
pwr steering, pwr locks, pwr
seats, sun roof, heated leather
seats, Bose stereo premium,
340hp, brand new tires. Runs
great! Looks great! Fully loaded!
+49 1728574326
[email protected]
ST
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Autos for Sale
- Germany
•
142
Jeep, Wrangler, Sport, 2012
$24000.00, 29,000 miles, still
under 75,000 mile warrantee.
Excellent condition. Also comes
with Thule Ski rack pictured
here. Willing to drive to your
area if necessary as I know it's a
long way to GAP. Message me
if interested or if you know
anyone else who might be.
Thanks! +4917680539663
Toyota, Corolla S, 2003
$2500.00. Great condition & well
maintained with receipts for
upgrades.
Power
windows,
locks, side mirrors. Air, cruise,
pioneer stereo with removable
face for extra security. Currently
has winter tires on and comes
with a set of summers on
standard Toyota aluminum rims.
5 speed manual, 4 cyl engine.
Smoking deal, $900 below blue
book heidi.pennington@edelwe
isslodgeandresort.com
Toyota, RAV4, 2007 $11000.00
European specs, excellent condition diesel, manual transmission, new brakes & rotors, fully
loaded, power everything, sunroof, all wheel drive, summer &
winter tires & rims, excellent gas
mileage. Dealer maintained.
015202668023
[email protected]
Volvo, XC60, 2016 $41000.00
U.S. Specs. T5 AWD, 5cyl; 2.5
liter, twilight bronze metallic;
platinum, safety, and sports
leather package. $42,000 OBO.
Available for sale in late May
timeframe. Call 0151 52132375
or email [email protected]
Mercedes, C180, 1996. Excellent condition.81,000 kilometers.
46,000 miles. Silver color. 5speed, manual transmission.
4-door.
Call
Benjamin
at
0152-0599-7637.
VW, Golf convertible, 2013
$17500.00 White with black
leather, black top, GPS, air
conditioned. Dealer maintained.
All the bells and whistles, prime
condition. 015146243986
[email protected]
Autos for Sale
- Korea
Real Estate
148
Ford, Taurus Limited Edition
All-Wheel-Drive (AWD), 2008
$7200.00 3.5L V6 6-Speed
Automatic
All-Wheel
Drive
(AWD) Limited Edition Sedan.
Runs Great. 81,000 miles. Excellent condition, Fully loaded.
Highest IIHS Safety Ratings.
Light Sage Clearcoat Metallic
exterior, All-Leather Camel interior. Ceiling mount DVD entertainment system is great for
children. Local Ford Service
center maintained. EPA Mileage
EST 18/28 mpg. $7,200 asking
price is $1,000 below April 2016
Kelley Blue Book price. Make an
Offer. 010-4555-6266
850
Transitioning back to the U.S.?
Need a home? $350000.00 If
you are transition back to the
U.S. for orders or relocating and
need a home please reach out
to me. I can help you find your
next home anywhere in the U.S.
I am a licensed REALTOR® in
the State of California but can
help anyone regardless of location. Buyers do not pay commission to the Real Estate Agent
representing them, Sellers do.
Please feel free to call, text or
email me for any questions.
Thank you for your service.
Respectfully, Carlos H. Carmona USMC Ret. 858-336-8746
[email protected]
8583368746 carlos_carmona@
me.com
Autos for Sale
- Italy
144
BMW, 328i Hardtop Convertible,
2009 $15500.00 US Specs,
Hardtop Convertible, new run
flat tires, rear park assistance,
s i n g l e
o w n e r .
[email protected]
Motorcycles
164
BMW,
R1150RT,
2001
$5500.00 Silver German spec
38000 KM; Excellent condition
garage kept no accidents falls;
hard sidecases and topcase;
heated grips, Throttlemeister
(cruise control), footpeg lower
kits can be removed; $5500
OBO; [email protected];
Stuttgart area.
Harley Davidson, FLHTK, 2013
$17500.00 US SPEC 2 Electra
Glide® Ultra Limited model
FLHTK. Premium features include: air-cooled Twin Cam 103
engine for powerful performance, ABS brakes, heated hand
grips, titanium face gauges,
Tour-Pak inserts, a premium
Tour-Pak luggage rack, 28Spoke contrast chrome wheels,
and six gallon tank. Tires have
been changed recently and
always maintained at the local
Harley dealership. The bike is
located in Prague, Czech Republic. $17,500 OBO. Great bike
for touring EUR. hdinprague@h
otmail.com
Harley-Davidson, FLTRI Road
Glide, 2004 $10500.00 Great
Cruiser for the German roads,
Has a lot of extras on it,
including larger heads, tour
pack, and lots of chrome extras.
0 9 6 8 1 - 9 1 7 2 1 8
[email protected]
Miscellaneous
1040
Applied Wing Chun Kung Fu
$80.00 Martial Arts in Ginowan:
Applied Wing Chun Okinawa
100% authentic Wing Chun
Kung Fu as passed down from
Grandmaster Ip Man through his
disciple Duncan Leung, classmate of Bruce Lee. Location:
Byakuren
Karate
Dojo,
901-2223
Okinawa-ken,
Ginowan-shi,
ÅŒyama,
1
Chomeâˆ'14âˆ'25, Ginowan, Okinawa 901-2223. Just 6 buildings
north of MCAS Futenma's main
gate on Rt 58. T/TH: 1930-2130
Sat: 0800-1000 Private Lessons
available on request. www.okin
awawingchun.com okinawawin
g c h u n @ g m a i l . c o m
080-6494-8437 okinawawingch
[email protected]
F3HIJKLM
PAGE 51
510
Travel
1000
Miscellaneous
1040
Furniture
Computer Cabinet $200.00 Solid hard wood computer desk
with roll out desk top and printer
tray. Has 3 drawers and is wire
with switch panel and has over
head pull out light. Excellent
condition. 42" wide, 67" ht and
22" deep. A solid piece of
furniture. 06174 9683760
Wicker Hutch $75.00 Beautiful
hutch made of solid wicker and
rod iron. Priced to sell. Quality
wicker furniture that has 3 glass
shelves and 2 wooden. Rod iron
legs and frame. Wired for light.
A solid piece of furniture for any
home. Size 45" wide 80" ht and
20" deep. First come! Located in
Glashutten. Only 25 minutes
from Wiesbaden. bob.marian.c
[email protected]
Obituaries
750
Passing of a loved one?
You can place an Obituary in
Stars and Stripes. Call us at:
+49 (0)631 3615 9012
no voice mail
Travel
1000
** Spring Garmisch**
Hotel Forsthaus Oberau 8 km
N of Garmisch Hot tub/sauna
39eur PP, DBL occp, free brkfst,
dogs welcome. 08824-9120
www.forsthaus-oberau.de
15 Inch Summer Tires with rims
$650.00, Fits BMW 381i Stored
all Winter in temperature controlled room Price is negotiable
485 1570 [email protected]
PAGE 52
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SCOREBOARD
Sports
on AFN
Golf
Deals
Tennis
LPGA Tour statistics
Wednesday’s transactions
Porsche Grand Prix
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal
4 2 0 12 10 6
Philadelphia
3 3 0
9
8 7
Orlando City
2 1 3
9 11 8
Toronto FC
2 2 2
8
6 5
New England
1 1 5
8
8 10
New York City FC 1 2 3
6
9 10
Chicago
1 2 3
6
6 7
D.C. United
1 3 3
6
7 10
Columbus
1 3 2
5
6 9
New York
1 6 0
3
5 15
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
FC Dallas
5 1 2 17 15 10
Real Salt Lake
4 0 2 14 10 6
Colorado
4 2 1 13
7 5
Sporting KC
4 3 0 12
9 7
Los Angeles
3 1 2 11 12 5
San Jose
3 2 2 11 10 10
Portland
2 3 2
8 11 14
Seattle
2 3 1
7
6 7
Vancouver
2 4 1
7
6 11
Houston
1 3 2
5 13 13
Note: Three points for victory, one
point for tie.
Sunday, April 17
Orlando City 2, New England 2, tie
FC Dallas 2, Sporting Kansas City 1
Saturday’s games
Toronto FC at Montreal
New York City FC at Philadelphia
New England at D.C. United
Houston at Columbus
Seattle at Colorado
Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles
FC Dallas at Vancouver
Sunday’s games
Sporting Kansas City at San Jose
Orlando City at New York
Through April 17
Scoring
1, Lydia Ko, 68.93. 2, In Gee Chun, 69.00.
3, Ha Na Jang, 69.41. 4, Brooke Henderson, 69.66. 5, Amy Yang, 69.80. 6, Lexi
Thompson, 69.97. 7, Sei-Young Kim, 70.07.
8, Haru Nomura, 70.17. 9, Stacy Lewis,
70.18. 10, Minjee Lee, 70.19.
Driving Distance
1, Lexi Thompson, 286.9. 2, MaudeAimee Leblanc, 284.0. 3, Sadena Parks,
280.1. 4, Sei-Young Kim, 277.8. 5, Paula
Reto, 276.8. 6, Carlota Ciganda, 274.8. 7,
Joanna Klatten, 274.7. 8, Gerina Piller,
274.0. 9, Benyapa Niphatsophon, 272.6.
10, Jaye Marie Green, 272.5.
Greens in Regulation Pct.
1, Ha Na Jang, 82.1%. 2, Lexi Thompson, 80.8%. 3, Anna Nordqvist, 80.0%.
4, Stacy Lewis, 78.0%. 5, Karine Icher,
76.9%. 6, Jessica Korda, 76.9%. 7, Shanshan Feng, 76.6%. 8, Catriona Matthew,
76.3%. 9, Lydia Ko, 76.0%. 10, Caroline
Masson, 75.7%.
Putting Average
1, In Gee Chun, 1.690. 2, Lydia Ko,
1.695. 3, Hyo-Joo Kim, 1.725. 4, Nontaya
Srisawang, 1.726. 5, Amy Yang, 1.736. 6,
Minjee Lee, 1.742. 7, Mirim Lee, 1.744. 8,
Brittany Lang, 1.745. 9 (tie) Paula Reto
and Haru omura, 1.750.
Birdie Average
1, Sei-Young Kim, 4.47. 2, Lydia Ko,
4.46. 3, Brooke Henderson, 4.34. 4, Haru
Nomura, 4.28. 5, Hyo-Joo Kim, 4.22. 6,
Paula Reto, 4.21. 7, Amy Yang, 4.20. 8, Ryann O’Toole, 4.19. 9, Stacy Lewis, 4.19. 10,
Gerina Piller, 4.15.
Eagle Average
1, Lexi Thompson, .250. 2, Catriona
Matthew, .227. 3, Giulia Sergas, .200. 4,
Ha Na Jang, .188. 5 (tie), Minjee Lee, SeiYoung Kim and Budsabakorn Sukapan,
.167. 8, Gerina Piller, .154. 9 (tie), Thidapa
Suwannapura and Mi Hyang Lee, .143.
Sand Save Percentage
1, I.K. Kim, 83.33%. 2, Jenny Shin,
78.79%. 3, Simin Feng, 76.19%. 4, Candie
Kung, 72.00%. 5, Pornanong Phatlum,
69.70%. 6, Brittany Lincicome, 69.05%. 7,
5 tied with 66.67%.
Rounds Under Par
1, Lydia Ko, .893. 2, In Gee Chun, .875. 3
(tie), Ha Na Jang and Brooke Henderson,
.844. 5, Amy Yang, .800. 6, Haru Nomura,
.722. 7 (tie), Lexi Thompson and Nontaya
Srisawang, .714. 9 (tie), Shanshan Feng
and Paula Reto, .708.
Wednesday
At Porsche-Arena
Stuttgart, Germany
Purse: $693,900 (Premier)
Surface: Clay-Indoor
Singles
First Round
Roberta Vinci (6), Italy, def. Ekaterina
Makarova, Russia, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, def.
Lucie Safarova (8), Czech Republic, 7-6
(4), 4-6, 7-5.
Julia Goerges, Germany, def. Alize Cornet, France, 6-4, 6-0.
Andrea Petkovic, Germany, def. Kristina Mladenovic, France, 6-2, 6-4.
Monica Niculescu, Romania, def. Caroline Garcia, France, 6-2, 6-2.
Second Round
Angelique Kerber (2), Germany, def.
Annika Beck, Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Garbine Muguruza (3), Spain, def.
Timea Babos, Hungary, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles
First Round
Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik (3), Slovenia, def. Lyudmyla Kichenok
and Nadiia Kichenok, Ukraine, 6-2, 7-6
(1).
Anna-Lena Friedsam and Andrea Petkovic, Germany, def. Arina Rodionova,
Australia, and Stephanie Vogt, Liechtenstein, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
Maria Irigoyen, Argentina, and Paula
Kania, Poland, def. Chuang Chia-jung,
Taiwan, and Darija Jurak, Croatia, 6-3,
6-3.
Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Sania Mirza (1), India, def. Eri Hozumi and
Miyu Kato, Japan, 6-1, 6-1.
NWSL
LPGA Tour money leaders
W L T Pts GF GA
Houston
1 0 0
3
3 1
Sky Blue FC
1 0 0
3
2 1
Portland
1 0 0
3
2 1
Western New York 1 0 0
3
1 0
Washington
1 0 0
3
1 0
Orlando
0 1 0
0
1 2
Seattle
0 1 0
0
1 2
Boston
0 1 0
0
0 1
FC Kansas City
0 1 0
0
0 1
Chicago
0 1 0
0
1 3
Note: Three points for victory, one
point for tie.
Saturday, April 16
Washington 1, Boston 0
Western New York 1, FC Kansas City 0
Houston 3, Chicago 1
Sunday, April 17
Sky Blue FC 2, Seattle 1
Portland 2, Orlando 1
Saturday’s games
Western New York at Chicago
Houston at Orlando
Portland at FC Kansas City
Sunday’s games
Washington at Sky Blue FC
Seattle at Boston
Through April 17
Trn
Money
1. Lydia Ko
7 $1,020,015
2. Ha Na Jang
8
$617,098
3. Sei-Young Kim
8
$479,326
4. Lexi Thompson
7
$451,753
5. In Gee Chun
4
$431,828
6. Minjee Lee
9
$416,439
7. Haru Nomura
8
$380,484
8. Brooke Henderson
8
$375,112
9. Hyo-Joo Kim
8
$338,305
10. Charley Hull
7
$329,929
11. Amy Yang
5
$257,765
12. Inbee Park
7
$253,381
13. Pornanong Phatlum
8
$252,167
14. Stacy Lewis
7
$248,549
15. Ariya Jutanugarn
8
$233,094
16. Anna Nordqvist
7
$195,326
17. Gerina Piller
7
$185,669
18. Jessica Korda
7
$182,507
19. Paula Creamer
8
$176,014
20. Ai Miyazato
8
$174,869
21. Chella Choi
9
$173,132
22. Suzann Pettersen
7
$171,187
23. Mo Martin
9
$163,466
24. Katie Burnett
6
$162,948
25. Jenny Shin
8
$162,659
26. Na Yeon Choi
7
$150,574
27. Candie Kung
7
$146,542
28. Jacqui Concolino
7
$140,040
29. Caroline Masson
8
$131,976
30. Shanshan Feng
6
$129,369
31. Megan Khang
6
$125,394
32. Danielle Kang
7
$124,327
33. Pernilla Lindberg
9
$123,064
34. Karrie Webb
6
$121,705
35. Moriya Jutanugarn
8
$113,159
36. Brittany Lang
8
$112,327
37. Lee-Anne Pace
7
$112,043
BASEBALL
American League
BOSTON RED SOX — Placed RHP Joe
Kelly on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Noe
Ramirez from Pawtucket (IL). Selected
the contract of RHP William Cuevas from
Pawtucket. Optioned INF Marco Hernandez to Pawtucket. Designated LHP Edwin
Escobar for assignment.
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Activated OF
Lonnie Chisenhall from the 15-day DL.
Optioned OF Collin Cowgill to Columbus
(IL).
National League
ATLANTA BRAVES — Optioned RHP
Williams Perez to Gwinnett (IL). Recalled
RHP Casey Kelly from Gwinnett.
CINCINNATI REDS — Optioned RHP
Robert Stephenson to Louisville (IL). Selected the contract of RHP Drew Hayes
from Louisville. Designated RHP Keyvius
Sampson for assignment.
COLORADO ROCKIES — Acquired 1B
Cody Decker from Kansas City for cash
and assigned him to Albuquerque (PCL).
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Placed INF Cory
Spangenberg on the 15-day DL. Selected
the contract of INF Jemile Weeks from El
Paso (PCL). Transferred LHP Buddy Baumann from the 15- to the 60-day DL.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association
MINNESOTA
TIMBERWOLVES
—
Named Tom Thibodeau as coach and
president of basketball operations and
Scott Layden general manager.
Women’s National Basketball Association
SAN ANTONIO STARS — Named Ruth
Riley general manager.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ATLANTA FALCONS — Re-signed G
Chris Chester.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Rescinded
their non-exclusive franchise tag offer
to CB Josh Norman, making him an unrestricted free agent.
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Traded its
2016 first-round draft pick (No. 2) and
a 2017 fourth-round draft pick to Philadelphia for the Eagles’ 2016 first- (No. 8),
third- (No. 77) and fourth-round (No. 100)
picks, plus a 2017 first-round and a 2018
fourth-round pick.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed OTs
Kevin Graf and Mitchell Van Dyk.
NEW YORK JETS — Signed OT Luke
Marquardt.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
NHL — Suspended Chicago F Andrew
Shaw one game for making use of a homophobic slur during and April 19 game
against St. Louis Blues and fined him
$5,000 for directing an inappropriate
gesture at the on-ice officials.
DETROIT RED WINGS — Recalled D
Xavier Ouellet from Grand Rapids (AHL).
NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled F
Chris Brown, F Nicklas Jensen, F Jayson
Megna, F Daniel Paille, D Mat Bodie, D
Ryan Graves and D Chris Summers from
Hartford (AHL).
VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Signed G
Thatcher Demko to a three-year entrylevel contract.
MOTORSPORTS
NASCAR — Suspended Ty Dillon’s
Xfinity Series crew chief Nick Harrison
through April 27 and fined him $10,000
for not using a proper spoiler assembly
and extension in the April 16 Fitzgerald
Glider Kits 300.
COLLEGE
BUFFALO — Signed football coach
Lance Leipold to a one-year contract extension through the 2020 season.
CHATTANOOGA — Named David Hoffman assistant wrestling coach.
PROVIDENCE — Announced men’s junior basketball G Junior Lomomba will
forgo his final season of eligibility to
pursue other options after graduating
in May.
TCU — Named David Patrick men’s assistant basketball coach.
WAKE FOREST — Announced the transfer of men’s graduate basketball F Austin
Arians from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
WISCONSIN — Announced junior F
Nigel Hayes is submitting his name for
the NBA Draft but will not sign with an
agent.
Go to the American Forces
Network website for the most
up-to-date TV schedules.
myafn.net
Pro soccer
MLS
AP sportlight
April 22
1945 — The Toronto Maple Leafs edge
the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win the
Stanley Cup in seven games.
1947 — The Philadelphia Warriors, behind Joe Fulks’ 34 points, beat the Chicago Staggs 83-80 in Game 5 to win the first
Basketball Association of America title.
1962 — The Toronto Maple Leafs capture the Stanley Cup in six games with
a 2-1 triumph over the Chicago Black
Hawks.
1987 — The NBA grants expansion
franchises to Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando. Charlotte and Miami join
the league in the 1988-89 season, while
Minnesota and Orlando join in 1989-90.
1988 — New Jersey’s Patrik Sundstrom
sets an NHL playoff record scoring eight
points — three goals and five assists — in
a 10-4 rout of Washington in the Stanley
Cup quarterfinals.
1993 — Chris Bosio pitches a no-hitter
as the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston
Red Sox 7-0.
1993 — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 43 victory over the New Jersey Devils
extends their NHL playoff record to 14
straight wins.
1994 — Shannon Miller wins the
women’s all-around title for the second
straight year at the World Gymnastics
Championships in Brisbane, Australia.
The last woman to win consecutive allaround titles was Ludmilla Tourischeva
of the Soviet Union in 1970 and 1974.
1994 — Michael Moorer outpoints
Evander Holyfield to win the IBF and WBA
titles and become the first left-handed
heavyweight champion.
2000 — The Suns-Spurs playoff opener
ties an NBA playoff record for fewest
points. Phoenix beats San Antonio 72-70.
The 142 points tie the record set by Atlanta and Detroit on May 12, 1995.
College baseball
Wednesday’s scores
EAST
Castleton 15-10, New England 4-4
Pittsburgh 17, Youngstown St. 5
Susquehanna 8, Albright 1
Utica 10-18, SUNY Poly 6-7
SOUTH
Cumberlands 11, Asbury 6
Emory & Henry 7, Ferrum 5
ETSU 17, E. Kentucky 8
FAU 4, Miami 3
Florida St. 8, Stetson 6
Georgia St. 11, Georgia Tech 5
High Point 5, East Carolina 1
Messiah 11, Eastern Mennonite 6
Mount Olive 16, Chowan 2
North Carolina 17, William & Mary 2
Tennessee Tech 9, Middle Tennessee 6
VCU 11, Virginia 5
W. Carolina 14, Virginia Tech 10
West Virginia Tech 10-6, St. Andrew’s 7-3
MIDWEST
Central Methodist at William Pennl, ppd.
Missouri Valley 7, Park 4
Notre Dame 7, Cent. Michigan 6
St. Scholastica 9-6, Wis.-Superior 0-3
SOUTHWEST
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5, Texas Rio
Grande Valley 4
Texas A&M-Kingsville 9, St. Edward’s 6
FAR WEST
New Mexico 6, Texas Tech 5, 10 innings
Boxing
Fight schedule
April 23
At Los Mochis, Mexico, Carlos Cuadras
vs. Richie Mepranum, 12, for Cuadras’
WBC World super flyweight title.
At the Forum, Inglewood, Calif., Gennady Golovkin vs. Dominic Wade, 12, for
Golovkin’s WBA Super World-IBF-interim
WBC middleweight titles; Roman Gonzalez vs. McWilliams Arroyo, 12, for Gonzalez’s WBC flyweight title.
April 27
At Tokyo, Japan, Takashi Uchiyama vs.
Jezreel Corrales, 12, for Uchiyama’s WBA
Super World title; Kohei Kono vs. Inthanon Sithchamuang, 12, for Kono’s WBA
World super flyweight title; Ryoichi Taguchi vs. Juan Jose Landaeta, 12, for Taguchi’s WBA World light flyweight title.
April 29
At Trump Taj Majal, Atlantic City, N.J.,
Jonathan Guzman vs. Daniel Rosas, 12,
IBF junior featherweight eliminator.
April 30
At the DC Armory, Washington D.C.,
Badou Jack vs. Lucian Bute, 12, for Jack’s
WBC World super middleweight title;
James DeGale vs. Rogelio Medina, 12, for
DeGale’s IBF super middleweight title.
Barcelona Open
Wednesday
At Real Club de Tenis Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Purse: $2.43 million (WT500)
Surface: Clay-Outdoor
Singles
Second Round
Kei Nishikori (2), Japan, def. Thiemo
de Bakker, Netherlands, 6-4, 6-2.
Viktor Troicki (8), Serbia, def. Marton
Fucsovics, Hungary, 6-4, 1-6, 6-0.
Philipp Kohlschreiber (10), Germany,
def. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain, 6-2, 6-1.
Fabio Fognini (12), Italy, def. Mikhail
Youzhny, Russia, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Albert Montanes, Spain, def. Joao
Sousa (14), Portugal, 6-1, 6-3.
Alexander Zverev, Germany, def.
Thomaz Bellucci (15), Brazil, 6-3, 6-7 (3),
7-5.
Malek Jaziri, Tunisia, def. Renzo Olivo,
Argentina, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Marcel
Granollers, Spain, 6-3, 6-2.
Andrey Kuznetsov (16), Russia, def.
Inigo Cervantes, Spain, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Feliciano Lopez (7), Spain, def. Ivan
Dodig, Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, def.
Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, 6-7 (5),
6-1, 6-4.
Pablo Cuevas (9), Uruguay, def. Albert
Ramos-Vinolas, Spain, 6-4, 7-5.
Doubles
First Round
Jamie Murray, Britain, and Bruno
Soares (3), Brazil, def. Henri Kontinen,
Finland, and John Peers, Australia, 6-4,
4-6, 14-12.
Rohan Bopanna, India, and Jean-Julien Rojer (4), Netherlands, def. Pablo
Carreno Busta and David Marrero, Spain,
7-5, 6-3.
Quarterfinals
Bob and Mike Bryan (2), United States,
def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Marcin
Matkowski, Poland, 6-3, 6-3.
Istanbul Cup
Wednesday
At Koza World of Sports
Istanbul
Purse: $226,750 (Intl.)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Singles
First Round
Stefanie Voegele, Switzerland, def.
Ipek Soylu, Turkey, 6-2, 7-5.
Andreea Mitu, Romania, def. Yanina
Wickmayer (2), Belgium, 7-5, 6-4.
Kirsten Flipkens (4), Belgium, def.
Donna Vekic, Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Kateryna Kozlova, Ukraine, def. Alexandra Dulgheru, Romania, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3),
6-1.
Second Round
Danka Kovinic (5), Montenegro, def.
Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 7-5, 7-6
(4).
Maria Sakkari, Greece, def. Hsieh Suwei, Taiwan, 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles
First Round
Nao Hibino and Kurumi Nara, Japan,
def. Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk (1), Ukraine, 6-3, 6-2.
Reka-Luca Jani, Hungary, and Maryna
Zanevska, Ukraine, def. Cagla Buyukakcay, Turkey, and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Marina Melnikova, Russia, and Sofia
Shapatava, Georgia, def. Elena Bogdan
and Cristina Dinu, Romania, 6-0, 6-1.
Quarterfinals
Laura Pous-Tio, Spain, and Renata Voracova, Czech Republic, def. Oksana Kalashnikova, Georgia, and Johanna Larsson (2), Sweden, 6-3, 6-2.
Nastase Tiriac Trophy
Wednesday
At Progresul BNR Arenas
Bucharest, Romania
Purse: $522,800 (WT250)
Surface: Clay-Outdoor
Singles
Second Round
Lucas Pouille, France, def. Ivo Karlovic
(2), Croatia, 6-3, 6-4.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (4), Spain vs.
Kyle Edmund, Britain, postponed.
Paolo Lorenzi (7), Italy vs. Taro Daniel,
Japan, postponed.
Doubles
First Round
Mariusz Fyrstenberg, Poland, and
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico vs. Aliaksandr Bury, Belarus, and Nicholas Monroe,
United States, postponed.
Auto racing
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
schedule and winners
Feb. 13 — x-Sprint Unlimited, Daytona
Beach, Fla. (Denny Hamlin)
Feb. 18 — x-Can-Am Duel I, Daytona
Beach, Fla. (Dale Earnhardt Jr.)
Feb. 18 — x-Can-Am Duel II, Daytona
Beach, Fla. (Kyle Busch)
Feb. 21 — Daytona 500, Daytona Beach,
Fla. (Denny Hamlin)
Feb. 28 — Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500,
Hampton, Ga. (Jimmie Johnson)
March 6 — Kobalt 400, Las Vegas (Brad
Keselowski)
March 13 — Good Sam 500, Avondale,
Ariz. (Kevin Harvick)
March 20 — Auto Club 400, Fontana,
Calif. (Jimmie Johnson)
April 3 — STP 500, Ridgeway, Va. (Kyle
Busch)
April 9 — Duck Commander 500, Fort
Worth, Texas (Kyle Busch)
April 17 — Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn.
(Carl Edwards)
April 24 — Toyota Owners 400, Richmond, Va.
May 1 — GEICO 500, Talladega, Ala.
May 7 — GOBOWLING.COM 400, Kansas City, Kan.
May 15 — AAA 400 Drive for Autism,
Dover, Del.
May 21 — x-Sprint Showdown, Concord, N.C.
May 22 — x-All-Star Race, Concord,
N.C.
May 29 — Coca-Cola 600, Concord,
N.C.
June 5 — Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’
400, Long Pond, Pa.
June 12 — FireKeepers Casino 400,
Brooklyn, Mich.
June 26 — Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma, Calif.
July 2 — Coke Zero 400, Daytona
Beach, Fla.
July 9 — Quaker State 400, Sparta, Ky.
July 17 — New Hampshire 301, Loudon,
N.H.
July 24 — ‘Your Hero’s Name Here’ 400,
Indianapolis
July 31 — Pennsylvania 400, Long
Pond, Pa.
Aug. 7 — Cheez-It 355 at The Glen,
Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Aug. 20 — Bass Pro Shops NRA Night
Race, Bristol, Tenn.
Aug. 28 — Pure Michigan 400, Brooklyn, Mich.
Sept. 4 — Bojangles’ Southern 500,
Darlington, S.C.
Sept. 10 — Federated Auto Parts 400,
Richmond, Va.
Sept. 18 — Chicagoland 400, Joliet, Ill.
Sept. 25 — New England 300, Loudon,
N.H.
Oct. 2 — Dover 400, Dover, Del.
Oct. 8 — Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C.
Oct. 16 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan.
Oct. 23 — Alabama 500, Talladega,
Ala.
Oct. 30 — Goody’s Fast Relief 500,
Ridgeway, Va.
Nov. 6 — AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth,
Texas
Nov. 13 — Can-Am 500, Avondale, Ariz.
Nov. 20 — Ford EcoBoost 400, Homestead, Fla.
x-non-points race
IndyCar schedule and winners
March 13 — Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Juan Pablo Montoya)
April 2 — Phoenix Grand Prix, Avondale, Ariz. (Scott Dixon)
April 17 — Grand Prix of Long Beach
(Simon Pagenaud)
April 24 — Grand Prix of Alabama, Birmingham
May 14 — Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 29 — Indianapolis 500
June 4 — Indy Duel (Race 1), Belle Isle
Park, Mich.
June 5 — Indy Duel (Race 2), Belle Isle
Park, Mich.
June 11 — Firestone 600, Fort Worth,
Texas
June 26 — Road America, Elkhart Lake,
Wis.
July 10 — Iowa Corn 300, Newton
July 17 — Honda Indy Toronto
July 31 — Honda Indy 200, Lexington,
Ohio
Aug. 21 — ABC Auto Supply 500, Long
Pond, Pa.
Sept. 4 — Grand Prix of Boston
Sept. 18 — Grand Prix of Sonoma (Calif.)
PAGE 54
F3HIJKLM
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Friday, April 22, 2016
HIGH SCHOOL: DODEA EUROPE
Games of the week
Boys soccer
Kaiserslautern
at Ramstein
Saturday
There’s more at stake in this match
than just temporary bragging rights
in DODEA Europe’s signature largeschool feud. These teams both enter
the season’s stretch run in need of a
confidence-boosting win.
The defending champion Royals
took a 3-0 loss to undefeated Stuttgart
on March 26. A loss in itself isn’t disastrous; Ramstein absorbed its share
of regular-season adversity in 2015
before pulling it together for a title run.
But the fact that the Panthers pierced
the Royals’ formidable defense for three
goals, coupled with a Ramstein offense
that has produced just three goals in
three games this spring should cause
concern.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have
faltered since a dominant opening
weekend. A 4-2 loss to Stuttgart and
a 1-1 tie with Wiesbaden brought Kaiserslautern back to the pack, where its
gritty struggle for Division I supremacy
will resume against a familiar rival.
Girls soccer
Wiesbaden
at Stuttgart
Saturday
DAN STOUTAMIRE /Stars and Stripes
Kohl Kraus of Stuttgart, right, slides into home plate during a baseball game against Wiesbaden on March 26 in Wiesbaden.
Weekend peek
Spring sports sprint to finish
BY GREGORY BROOME
Stars and Stripes
The scattershot schedule that
defined the early weeks of the
2016 DODEA Europe spring
sports season has finally reached
its end. This weekend, the stretch
run begins.
On Friday and Saturday, the
most robust two-day slate yet
of soccer, baseball, softball and
track and field heralds the end
of spring break and its attendant
disruptions and the start of an
uninterrupted month-long sprint
to the European championships.
DODEA Europe soccer pitches will be particularly busy this
weekend. A full 14 boys and girls
soccer doubleheaders are set for
this weekend, encompassing 10
sites across Belgium, England,
Germany, Italy and Netherlands.
The weekend’s key matches include SHAPE’s swing through Alconbury and Lakenheath, Rota’s
regular visit to AFNORTH, Italian action at Naples and Vicenza
and major Division I showdowns
between Kaiserslautern and
Ramstein and Wiesbaden and
Stuttgart.
Schedule
Baseball/Softball
Friday
Kaiserslautern, AFNORTH at
Lakenheath
Saturday
Kaiserslautern, AFNORTH at
Lakenheath
SHAPE at Ramstein
Wiesbaden at Vilseck
Hohenfels at Stuttgart
Aviano at Vicenza
Naples at Sigonella
Soccer
Saturday
SHAPE at Lakenheath
International School of Brussels at
Alconbury
Baumholder at Brussels
Bitburg, Rota at AFNORTH
Kaiserslautern at Ramstein
Wiesbaden at Stuttgart
Vilseck at BFA
Sigonella at Vicenza
April 27
Brussels at SHAPE
Track and field
Friday
SHAPE at Alconbury
Rota at AFNORTH
Ansbach at Black Forest Academy
Sigonella at Aviano
Marymount at Vicenza
American Overseas School of Rome
at Naples
Saturday
Sigonella, Vicenza, Aviano, AOSR
at Naples
Hohenfels, Ansbach, Stuttgart, BFA,
Munich, Kaiserslautern at Vilseck
Lakenheath, Alconbury, Brussels, SHAPE, Frankfurt, Bitburg,
Baumholder, Ramstein, AFNORTH at
Wiesbaden
Six schools, meanwhile, will
host baseball and softball action.
Division II/III contenders Aviano
and Sigonella take on Division I
powers Vicenza and Naples, respectively, while Kaiserslautern
and AFNORTH head north to
face Lakenheath. In Germany,
Ramstein tests its unbeaten baseball and softball records against
SHAPE, while fellow Division I
hopefuls Wiesbaden and Vilseck
face off in Bavaria.
Finally, DODEA-Europe track
and field athletes get back to work
in the first meets since April 2,
and just the second of the regular
season. Naples, Vilseck and Wiesbaden play host to the meets, with
10 teams piling into the event at
Wiesbaden.
This weekend’s action points
the way to the fast-approaching
European championships, the
earliest of which are already just
under a month away. The soccer
tournament plays out May 18-21,
baseball and softball follow May
26-28 and the two-day track and
field finals are set for May 2728. The European championship
events will all be held at sites
around the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
[email protected]
Twitter: @broomestripes
The main players in Division I girls
soccer are well-known. Ramstein and
Stuttgart play annually for the title.
Naples is a lurking threat to transfer its
recent Division II dominance to the next
level.
But is there room for one more?
The Wiesbaden Warriors are asserting just that. The team is off to a
perfect 3-0 start in which they’ve outscored opponents 14-1 in total. There
is, however, a caveat — two of those
wins have come against lower-division
competition, including a 5-1 defeat of
Bitburg and a 7-0 rout of Ansbach.
A 2-0 defeat of Division I rival Kaiserslautern gave the Warriors a shot
of large-school legitimacy just prior
to spring break. They’ll see it tested
against the defending champion Panthers on Saturday.
Baseball and softball
Naples
at Sigonella
Saturday
The Naples diamond schedule has
plenty of dates worth circling in red.
Prior to spring break, they hosted all
of Italy’s squads in Naples. Next week,
they’ll clash with German divisional
foes Stuttgart and Vilseck at Vicenza.
But the Wildcats would be wise not
to overlook this weekend.
The dangerous Sigonella Jaguars
host the Wildcats after performing
respectably on Naples turf earlier this
month. Though they didn’t tangle with
the home team, the Jaguars came away
with a combined 5-3 performance in
the two-day event.
Naples doesn’t look particularly
primed for an upset, as the school
owns a combined 7-1 record on the
diamonds. The Wildcats may very well
be up to the challenge. They’ll need to
be, because whatever flashier names
might appear on the Naples schedule,
the Jaguars are going to present one.
•STA
Friday, April 22, 2016
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PAGE 55
HIGH SCHOOL: DODEA PACIFIC
Schedule
Boys soccer
Thursday, April 21-Saturday, April 23
DODEA-Japan tournament at Zama
Friday, April 22
Seoul Foreign at Taejon Christian,
Daegu at Seoul American
Saturday, April 23
Taejon Christian at Osan
Misato Tech at Kadena
Tuesday, April 26
Christian Academy Japan at Yokota
Wednesday, April 27
Yongsan at Seoul American, Osan at
Humphreys, Taejon Christian at Daegu
Kubasaki at Kadena
Thursday, April 28
CAJ at Kinnick
Girls soccer
Thursday, April 21-Saturday, April 23
DODEA-Japan tournament at Yokota
Friday, April 22
Seoul Foreign at Taejon Christian,
Daegu at Seoul American
Friday, April 22-Saturday, April 23
ASIJ tournament, featuring Kadena,
Kubasaki
Saturday, April 23
Taejon Christian at Osan
JFK at St. Paul, Okkodo at Southern,
Academy of Our Lady vs. Sanchez at Okkodo HS
Monday, April 25
Guam at Harvest Christian, Tiyan vs.
Notre Dame at Leo Palace 2, St. John’s at
George Washington
Tuesday, April 26
CAJ at Yokota, Sacred Heart at American School In Japan
Wednesday, April 27
Seisen at Kinnick
Yongsan at Seoul American, Osan at
Humphreys, Taejon Christian at Daegu
Kubasaki at Kadena
Academy of Our Lady at Okkodo,
Guam at St. Paul, St. John’s at JFK
Thursday, April 28
Zama at Kinnick
Notre Dame at Harvest, Tiyan vs. Sanchez at Okkodo HS, GW at Southern
George Washington at Southern
Baseball
Thursday, April 21-Saturday, April 23
DODDS Japan tournament at Zama
Friday, April 22
Seoul American at Daegu
Saturday, April 23
ASIJ at St. Mary’s
Seoul American vs. Osan at Daegu,
Osan (home) at Daegu
Tuesday, April 26
St. Mary’s vs. ASIJ at Fuchu Civic Stadium, Zama at Yokota
Ishikawa at Kubasaki
Wednesday, April 27
ASIJ at Kinnick
Seoul American at Humphreys
Softball
Thursday, April 21-Saturday, April 23
DODEA-Japan tournament at Yokota
Friday, April 22
Seoul American at Daegu
Saturday, April 23
Seoul American vs. Osan at Daegu,
Osan (home) at Daegu
Tuesday, April 26
Zama at Yokota
Wednesday, April 27
ASIJ at Kinnick
Seoul American at Humphreys
Softball
Thursday, April 28
Kubasaki at Kadena
Track and field
Friday, April 22
Guam running, long jump at Okkodo
HS
Saturday, April 23
All Korea schools at Humphreys
All Okinawa schools at Chatan Stadium, American Village
Wednesday, April 27
All Japan schools at Yokota
Thursday, April 28
Guam shot put, high jump and discus
at John F. Kennedy HS
Golf
Tuesday, April 26
Okinawa district championship, modified medal play at Banyan Tree
Boys volleyball
Friday, April 22
Notre Dame at St. Paul, George Washington at Father Duenas, Southern at
Guam, JFK at Sanchez, Tiyan at Okkodo
Saturday, April 23
Notre Dame at Father Duenas, St. Paul
at Sanchez, Tiyan at GW, JFK at Guam,
GAA (home) at Okkodo
Monday, April 25
St. John’s at Southern
Tuesday, April 26
Guam Adventist at St. Paul, Sanchez
at Harvest Christian, Okkodo at Southern, Father Duenas at Tiyan, Guam at
Notre Dame, St. John’s at GW
Thursday, April 28
Notre Dame at Harvest
Okinawa teams facing Japan foes
BY DAVE ORNAUER
Stars and Stripes
CAMP LESTER, Okinawa — The coaches
of Kadena and Kubasaki girls soccer teams
said they’re grateful for a chance to visit
Tokyo and face Kanto Plain international
schools this weekend.
They’ll be seeing different faces than what
they’re used to, and play teams they’ll face
later in the season in the Far East Division I
tournament.
“We ran into difficulty getting games this
season,” coach Saleem Malik of Kubasaki
said. The Japanese school year ends in late
March, so those soccer teams were graduating their seniors and undergoing the rotation
of coaches and new players into the lineup.
“It’s really hard to match up our schedules,” Malik said. “We can only play Kadena
so many times in a season. So, travel was necessary this season to compensate for the lack
of competition.”
The two-time defending Far East D-I
champion Dragons and the Panthers will face
American School In Japan, Seisen, Christian
Academy Japan and Sacred Heart in a twoday, round-robin event Friday and Saturday at
ASIJ’s Mustang Valley.
ASIJ, CAJ, Seisen, Kubasaki and Kadena
will face Kinnick and Seoul American next
month in the D-I Tournament at Kadena.
“It’s a good chance to get off island and play
other teams that will be at Far East, the rest
of the field that will be here,” Panthers coach
Abe Summers said.
The Panthers made a similar trip last year,
which “made us feel more confident going into
Far East,” Summers said. “It’s good just to get
to see them play.”
The ASIJ Soccer Festival is the first interdistrict in-season competition since the
DODEA-Pacific spring break ended Monday.
About 40 minutes west at Yokota and Zama,
the six DODEA-Japan schools face each other
in their annual three-day baseball, softball
and soccer tournaments.
Baseball and boys soccer takes place at Zama’s Rambler and Trojans Fields, while girls
soccer and softball are slated for Yokota’s
Bonk and Headley Fields.
Saturday is the final chance for athletes to
meet qualifying times and distances for the
Far East track and field meet next month at
Yokota. Okinawa teams are at Chatan Stadium
in American Village; DODEA-Korea teams
square off at Camp Humphreys.
DODEA-Korea soccer, baseball and softball
teams get back to it following the break, with
diamond action on Camp Henry and soccer
matches slated Friday at Seoul American and
Saturday at Osan.
[email protected]
Twitter @ornauer_stripes
DAVE O RNAUER /Stars and Stripes
Adri Gomez, top, and her Kadena Panthers teammates join Kubasaki in a weekend swing
through Tokyo to face four international school teams in the American School In Japan
Soccer Festival on Friday and Saturday.
Games of the week
Soccer: DODEA Japan tournaments
When — Thursday, April 21-Saturday, April 23
Where — Boys at Zama, girls at Yokota
What — Dress rehearsal for Far East tournaments for the five Division II schools
(Zama, Yokota, Edgren, King and Perry) and Kinnick, the lone Division I school in
DODEA-Japan. Important preparation for higher-level tournaments scheduled for
May 16-19, boys D-I at Kubasaki, girls D-I at Kadena, boys D-II at Edgren and
girls D-II at Perry.
Players to watch — DODEA-Japan features the highest-scoring soccer players in the region, Zama’s Zachary Lowery leading among boys with 17 goals and
Perry’s Bobbi Hill tops among girls with 29. Perry’s boys are fueled by Tyson
Moore (seven goals) and Kai Lange (six). Keanu McElroy paces Yokota’s boys
with 10 goals, while Jamia Bailey has 10 and Regina Dukat eight goals and eight
assists for the Panthers girls. Bryan Wolf leads Kinnick’s boys with 12 goals and
six assists; Kiralyn Kawachi paces the Red Devils girls with 15 goals and seven assists, and Athena Peerson has 13 goals. Rachel Norton of Zama is second among
Pacific girls with 20 goals. Naomi Ziola has 12 goals and seven assists and Sakura
Fleming eight goals for Perry’s girls.
Other key matchups
Track and field
Saturday
Track and field, 9 a.m. Saturday, Okinawa at Chatan Stadium, Korea at Camp
Humphreys, last chance for athletes to meet the times and distances needed to
qualify for the Far East meet next month at Yokota.
Girls Soccer
Kubasaki and Kadena in ASIJ tournament
Kubasaki and Kadena in American School In Japan invitational tournament, Friday and Saturday. Two-time defending Far East Division I champion Dragons and
their Okinawa island-rival Panthers take on Tokyo-area international schools, ASIJ,
Christian Academy Japan, Seisen and Sacred Heart, in a two-day round-robin
event. Freshman Myca Ingram of Kubasaki (15 goals) and sophomore Adri Gomez
(nine goals) of Kadena are the featured DODEA scorers; Joyce Skeete paces the
Symbas with 10 goals and Jasmine Long tops the Mustangs and Julia Remington
the Phoenix with five goals each.
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NFL DRAFT
Best foot
forward?
FSU’s Aguayo could be first kicker chosen
in one of top three rounds since 2011
BY JOE R EEDY
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
oberto Aguayo has tried not to
buy into the speculation that he
might be the first kicker in 11
years to be selected in the first
three rounds of the NFL Draft.
But with the draft less than two weeks
away, everything is lining up well for the
former Florida State kicker.
Because of rules changes the past two
years and many considering Aguayo to be
the most complete kicker to be in the draft
in a while, it was no surprise that he became the first kicker since Sebastian Janikowski to forgo his senior year in college.
Janikowski, who also went to Florida
State, was drafted in the first round (17th
overall) by Oakland in 2000. Aguayo said
he could see himself going in the second.
The previous kicker to go that high was
Mike Nugent, who was the 47th overall
pick by the New York Jets in 2005.
“It would be amazing thing to happen,”
Aguayo said. “But I try not to think about it
too much. The draft is such a confusing time
because of everything that is out there.”
There has been a lot of hype throughout
Aguayo’s career. As a freshman in 2013, he
won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s
top kicker, setting an FBS record with 157
points as the Seminoles won the national
championship.
As a sophomore he was a first-team
selection to The Associated Press AllAmerica team for the second straight season. Had he stayed for his senior season,
R
Aguayo would have likely set NCAA records for scoring.
With more of a premium on accuracy in
the NFL after extra points were moved to
the 23-yard line, Aguayo enters the draft
as the most accurate kicker in NCAA history (96.73 percent).
He made all 198 extra-point attempts,
was 69 of 78 on field goals and never missed
a kick inside of 40 yards. Last season only
five NFL teams made all of their PATs and
six missed at least four.
“It just weeds out those kickers that
aren’t really accurate. Anybody can really make a 20-yard field goal,” Aguayo
said. “But moving it back, the percentage
rate, making it from 33 yards, is 88 percent
(including field goals). I think it helps me
being 100 percent inside 40.”
Compared to his first two seasons
though, Aguayo struggled last year.
After missing only four field goals his
first two years, Aguayo missed five last
season. He was 5-for-10 from beyond 40
yards, including having a 56-yard attempt
at Georgia Tech blocked that was returned
for a touchdown.
Following that, he made 9 of 11 field
goals, including 45- and 51-yarders in a
win at Florida.
“It made me a better person and overall
a better kicker, and I fought through that,”
Aguayo said of the Georgia Tech game. “It
was good because I had two years before
that that were just a breeze, and fighting
through that adversity, you need to get better sometimes.”
NFL scouts also had some concerns
about kickoffs as Aguayo’s average distance
STEVE CANNON /AP
Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo, the most accurate kicker in NCAA history, could be
the first kicker in 11 years to be selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.
of 62.77 yards ranked 30th nationally and
touchback rate of 55.95 percent was 20th.
He also had four kickoffs that went out of
bounds before reaching the end zone.
Aguayo put most of those to rest during
February’s scouting combine as he regularly boomed it out of the end zone. With
the NFL moving touchbacks from 20 to the
25, Aguayo’s low touchback percentage
might end up being a benefit.
Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher often
told Aguayo to put the ball in a 4-yard radius from the opponent’s 2 to 2 yards deep
in the end zone.
Florida State finished sixth nationally in
kickoff coverage, allowing only 16.88 yards
Pick Six: Success and failure stories of kickers selected in top 100
Since the common draft era in 1967, 201 kickers have been selected, but only
34 have been selected in the top 100 including three in the first round.
With Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo having a chance to be the first kicker taken
in the first three rounds since 2005, here is a Pick Six of some of the successes
and failures of past drafts:
Three who succeeded
Sabastian Janikowski: He is the most recent kicker taken in the first round,
going 17th overall to the Raiders in 2000. Janikowski will be going into his 17th
season and is second among active kickers in points (1,675) and extra points
(520) along with being third in field goals (385).
Janikowski is one of only three players remaining from the 2000 draft who are
still playing. The others are Texans punter Shane Lechler, who spent his first 13
seasons with the Raiders, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Jason Hanson: Taken by the Lions in the second round (56th overall) in 1992,
Hanson played 21 seasons, all with Detroit. In 2011, he became the first player in
NFL history to play 300 games with one team and finished with 327.
Hanson also holds the league record for most field goals made from 50 yards
or more with 52. He remains third in league history in field goals (495) and points
(2,150).
Morten Andersen: After the Saints whiffed on
Russell Erxleben in the first round in 1978, they
waited until the fourth round of 1982 to draft their
next kicker. This one had more staying power.
Andersen played 25 seasons with five teams, but
spent his first 13 years with New Orleans. He is the
NFL’s career scoring leader with 2,544 points and
played in a league-record 382 games. Andersen’s
career accuracy is only 79.7 percent, but he made
45 of 51 field goals his final two years with the
Falcons.
Andersen has been a finalist for the Pro Football
Andersen
Hall of Fame the past three years and is trying to join Jan Stenerud as the only fulltime kickers to be enshrined.
Three who failed
Charlie Gogolak: One of the first soccer style kickers in football, Gogolak was the first kicker selected in
the first round when he was taken sixth overall by the
Redskins in 1966. That remains the highest a kicker
has been selected.
Gogolak played six seasons (Redskins 1966-68,
Patriots 1970-72) as his career was cut short due to injuries. Gogolak’s older brother, Pete, played 11 seasons
with the Bills and Giants. The brothers combined to kick
an NFL record 14 extra points during the Redskins’ 7241 win over the Giants in 1966.
Russell Erxleben: The Saints took the punter and
Gogolak
kicker out of Texas with the 11th overall pick in 1979. He
never did take hold of the kicking job, going 4-for-8 on field goals in five seasons.
His post-football career hasn’t gone well either. In 1999, Erxleben was sentenced to seven years in prison for security fraud. In 2014, he received another
seven-year prison term for money laundering.
Steve Little: An All-American at Arkansas, where he tied an NCAA record with
a 67-yard field goal, Little was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 15th
overall pick in 1978.
Little was drafted as both a punter and kicker, only punting in his rookie year. He
struggled as a kicker going 10-for-19 on field goals and 24-for-32 on extra points
in 1979. He missed five of first eight field goals and two extra points in six games
in 1980 before being waived.
The night he was released, Little was involved in a bad car crash after a night
of drinking. He broke his neck and would be a quadriplegic until he died in 1999
at the age of 43.
— By Joe Reedy, Associated Press
per return and none more than 40 yards.
“If it’s at the 20 I don’t mind kicking it
out (for a touchback), but if they are going
to give me those extra 5 yards as a play
caller I know the difference that it means,”
Fisher said.
While former teammate Jalen Ramsey
has been busy visiting team complexes
and answered questions about possibly
being taken in the top five, Aguayo has had
a couple of visits from teams and has continued to work out at Florida State.
Nugent, who is in his seventh season with
the Cincinnati Bengals, said his road to
the draft was similar as a couple of teams
came to visit him in Columbus. Nugent battled injuries in his three-plus seasons with
the Jets before being released and knows
the pressure of being a high pick.
“Mentally I don’t think it affected me, but
can’t help to hear what people say. Whether
you are a first-round pick or a free agent it
doesn’t matter lining up for the next field
goal,” he said.
Since 2006, 20 kickers have been drafted
but the highest has been the fourth round
with Stephen Gostkowski (New England in
2006) and Alex Henery (Philadelphia in
2011). None were drafted last year.
Florida State could end up having four
kickers in the NFL this upcoming season.
Janikowski, Carolina’s Graham Gano and
Washington’s Dustin Hopkins.
Of the four, Janikowski still has the more
powerful leg but Aguayo is considered to
be more complete. Gano didn’t handle
placekicking duties at Florida State until
his senior season (he was a punter his first
two years) while Hopkins had some problems with technique before finding success
with the Redskins.
Aguayo said he plans on watching the
draft with family. No matter where he
goes, he feels as if he has put everything
out there the past four months.
“I might be a little anxious, but I’ve put
the best version of myself out there,” he
said. “I think I separated myself from the
other guys. My body of work here and my
consistency through the years just solidifies what I’m doing.”
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NFL DRAFT
Jags have little to show for run near top
Poor picks, injuries, bad luck offset
drafting in top five for past 4 years
BY M ARK LONG
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The
Jacksonville Jaguars have been a
mainstay near the top of the NFL
Draft for nearly a decade. And
they have little to show for it.
The perpetually rebuilding
Jags are poised to pick in the top
10 for the ninth consecutive year
next month and in the top five for
the fifth straight year.
It’s the kind of draft run that
should — at the very least — have
the small-market franchise vying
for postseason berths. Instead,
Jacksonville has won just 19 of 80
games (23.7 percent) over the last
five seasons, finishing no higher
than third in the mediocre AFC
South.
So what happened? It’s been a
combination of poor picks and
bad luck spanning two owners,
three general managers and
three head coaches. Injury, suspension and performance have
all been factors.
From one Florida defensive
standout to another, here’s a look
at what went wrong with Jacksonville’s top selections:
Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., the third choice in 2015:
After quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota went
first and second, respectively, the
Jaguars had their pick of position
players. They took Fowler, a 260pound pass-rusher who was one
of the most disruptive defensive
linemen in the Southeastern Conference in 2014.
But Fowler tore the anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee
on the first day of a minicamp and
missed his entire rookie season.
He made headlines again in
February after a video surfaced
that showed him refereeing a
fight between his girlfriend and
the mother of his child. The NFL
said the video included “disturbing images” and vowed to review
the matter.
Nonetheless, the Jaguars expect big things from Fowler in
2016. After parting ways with
Chris Clemons and Andre Branch
and failing to land Olivier Vernon
and Robert Ayers in free agency,
Fowler is one of the few passrushing ends remaining on the
roster.
Quarterback Blake Bortles,
the third pick in 2014: By far, the
best of Jacksonville’s recent draft
choices. Bortles set franchise
records for yards (4,428) and
BOB M ACK , THE FLORIDA TIMES -UNION /AP
Jaguars quarterback Blake
Bortles answers questions
during a news conference
after an offseason workout on
Wednesday workouts.
touchdowns (35) in 2015, joining
Dan Marino (1984) as the only
first- or second-year quarterback
in NFL history to throw for more
than 4,400 yards and 35 touchdowns in a season.
Left tackle Luke Joeckel,
the second selection in 2013:
The first pick in general manager
Dave Caldwell’s tenure, Joeckel
has fallen well short of expectations. He gave up five sacks in the
2015 season finale, clearly causing some concern inside the facility. The Jaguars responded by
signing former Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum
to a five-year contract worth up
to $45 million in free agency to
compete with Joeckel.
Receiver Justin Blackmon,
the fifth choice in 2012: The former Oklahoma State star has been
suspended twice as many games
(44) as he’s played (20) since entering the NFL. Blackmon remains suspended indefinitely for
violating the league’s substanceabuse policy and has shown no
signs of getting clean and making a comeback. The Jaguars still
have him on the roster, partly
Blaine Gabbert was the tenth pick
in 2011. Jacksonville traded up
for him, but he never became the
franchise passer they hoped for.
JOHN MINCHILLO/AP
C HRIS SZAGOLA , CAL SPORT MEDIA
VIA
ZUMA PRESS/MCT
Luke Joeckel poses for a photo during the 78th NFL Draft in 2013, when he was taken by the
Jacksonville Jaguars with the second overall pick.
because it’s the only chance the
team has of recouping some of his
$12 million signing bonus.
Quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the 10th pick in 2011: General manager Gene Smith traded
up six spots with Washington
to select the former Missouri
starter, hoping he would be a
franchise passer. Gabbert was
not even close to average, going
5-22 as a starter, and eventually
was traded to San Francisco for a
sixth-round draft pick.
Defensive lineman Tyson
Alualu, the 10th selection in
2010: Hasn’t missed a game in six
years, proving to be durable and
dependable, but his 149 tackles
and 15 sacks hardly make him
worthy of a top-10 pick. He
was Smith’s first eyebrow-raising pick,
topped
two years
later
when the
GM took a punter in the
third round.
Left tackle Eugene
Monroe,
the
eighth
choice in 2009: Started
62 games in four-plus
years in Jacksonville
before Caldwell traded
him to Baltimore for
BOB M ACK , THE FLORIDA TIMES -UNION /AP
Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. works out Wednesday in
Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars drafted Fowler with the No. 3 pick in
2015, but he tore his ACL on the first day of minicamp and missed
his entire rookie season.
fourth- and fifth-round draft
picks. Monroe has struggled to
stay healthy with the Ravens,
missing 15 games the last two
seasons. The Jaguars ended up
getting cornerback Aaron Colvin
and reserve defensive end Chris
Smith with those picks.
Defensive end Derrick Harvey, the eighth pick in 2008: The
worst draft decision in franchise
history, one that essentially cost
personnel chief James “Shack”
Harris his job. The Jaguars gave
up two third-rounders and a
fourth to move up 18 spots and
select the former Florida standout. But Harvey never panned
out, managing eight sacks in 47
games after signing a five-year,
$33 million contract that included a little more than $17 million
guaranteed. He played five games
in Denver and spent an offseason
in Cincinnati before leaving the
league for good.
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NFL DRAFT
TOP PLAYER CAPSULES
Offense
QUARTERBACKS
Jared Goff, 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, California
Notable: Set Pac-12 records with 4,719 passing
yards and 43 touchdowns last season.
Strengths: Quick release and maintains solid accuracy whether throwing short, intermediate or deep. Will
stand and deliver in the face of pressure and moves well
within the pocket.
Weaknesses: Toughness is admirable, but he takes
too many hits. He fumbled 24 times in three seasons.
Some of that is poor recognition of when to get rid of the
ball. Played almost exclusively from the shotgun.
Outlook: Could be the No. 1 overall pick.
Carson Wentz, 6-5, 237, North Dakota State
Notable: Led the Bison to FCS national championship in his only two seasons as a starter.
Strengths: Ideal size, strong arm and above average
athleticism. Physically, he is everything an NFL team
wants a quarterback to be. Played under center a lot
in NDSU’s offense. At the combine, Wentz impressed
teams with his confident demeanor and understanding
of the game.
Weaknesses: He hasn’t faced big-time competition.
Can all the tools translate and improve when he does?
Outlook: The Rams are going to take a quarterback
at No. 1, Wentz or Goff. Wentz had more upside. Goff
seems less risky. The one the Rams pass on is unlikely
to slip past the top 10.
Paxton Lynch, 6-7, 244, Memphis
Notable: Passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns,
leading Memphis last season to a win over Mississippi
— a team with several NFL players on its defense.
Strengths: Can really move for his size. Good arm
strength. Cut way down on his interceptions last year,
from 19 his first two seasons as a starter to four.
Weaknesses: Needs to improve reading defenses and
anticipating throws. Throws can get off-target, especially
when on the move, which detracts from his excellent
mobility.
Outlook: Lots of upside. Probably not a first-year
starter, but still most likely to be the third quarterback
selected in the first round.
RUNNING BACKS
Ezekiel Elliott, 6-0, 225, Ohio State
Notable: Big Ten offensive player of the year in
2015.
Strengths: Finds and hits holes with exceptional
quickness and aggressiveness. Always seems to fall forward. Excellent blocker and solid pass catcher, which
should make him a good fit in today’s pass-happy NFL.
Weaknesses: Carried a heavy load the last couple
of seasons and his style lent itself to taking some big
shots.
Outlook: First running back drafted, maybe top 10.
Derrick Henry, 6-3, 247, Alabama
Notable: 2015 Heisman Trophy winner rushed for
SEC-record 2,219 yards and 28 TDs.
Strengths: Huge. Uses a powerful stiff arm and has
excellent speed to pull away from defenders when he
gets in the clear.
Weaknesses: Not much shift and shimmy to his style,
which can lead him to getting cut down by the legs at or
behind the line. Hasn’t shown much as a receiver.
Outlook: Would be surprising if he’s not the second
back drafted, maybe late first round.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Laquon Treadwell, 6-2, 221, Mississippi
Notable: Returned last year from a horrific leg injury
in 2014 and put up big numbers: 82 catches for 1,153
yards and 11 touchdowns.
Strengths: Big and strong and uses his frame well to
shield off defenders. Makes a lot of contested catches.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t have great speed — 4.6 in the
40-yard dash at the combine — and can get tangled
when pressed at the line of scrimmage.
Outlook: Mid-first-round pick, maybe first receiver off
the board.
Will Fuller, 6-0, 182, Notre Dame
Notable: Had 2,354 yards and 29 touchdown catches in last two seasons.
Strengths: Home-run hitter and classic deep threat
with 4.4 speed. Can cut near top speed and gets a good
release off the line of scrimmage.
Weakness: Inconsistent hands and slight frame could
limit the way he is used in the NFL.
Outlook: The speed probably makes him a firstrounder, though he may never be a prototypical No. 1
receiver.
Josh Doctson, 6-2, 202, TCU
Notable: A wrist injury cut short his senior season,
but he was still an All-American.
Strengths: Runs sharp routes and gets excellent
separation without blazing speed. Wins jump balls and
has strong hands.
Weaknesses: Could use more bulk on his frame and
strength to deal with physical coverage.
Outlook: Back end of the first round, but could slip
into second.
Corey Coleman, 5-11, 194, Baylor
Notable: Biletnikoff Award winner as top wide re-
ceiver in nation last season.
Strengths: Great acceleration off the line makes him
a top-notch deep threat. Elusive after the catch, too.
Weaknesses: At his best on the perimeter. Needs to
show more consistency in the middle of the field as a
pass catcher and route runner.
Outlook: Could sneak into the bottom of the first
round.
TIGHT ENDS
Hunter Henry, 6-5, 250, Arkansas
Notable: John Mackey Award winner as nation’s best
tight end last season.
Strengths: Strong run blocker and reliable receiver.
Plus, enough speed to get deep.
Weaknesses: Routes could use some polish.
Outlook: If a tight end gets drafted in the first round,
this is the guy.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Laremy Tunsil, OT, 6-5, 310, Mississippi
Notable: Missed most of last season due to an NCAA
infraction, but played at top form when he did.
Strengths: Quick feet and hands help him neutralize speed rushers. Reads and anticipates rush moves.
Moves well and can wipe out linebackers on the second
level.
Weaknesses: Point of attack power run blocking
needs some work. Maybe a little bulk would help?
Outlook: Was a possible first overall pick when Tennessee was drafting No. 1. Now, top five.
Ronnie Stanley, OT, 6-6, 312, Notre Dame
Notable: Three-year starter, the last two as left
tackle.
Strengths: Uses his long arms to keep rushers at bay
and sets his feet quickly. Plays with some nastiness.
Weaknesses: Great technique, but doesn’t overpower
defenders.
Outlook: Outside chance Stanley gets selected over
Tunsil, more likely soon after.
Jack Conklin, OT, 6-6, 308, Michigan State
Notable: Former walk-on who developed into an AllAmerica left tackle.
Strengths: Tough and strong. All you need to know
about Conklin: more than held his own against Oregon
(DeForest Buckner), Ohio State (Joey Bosa) and Alabama (A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, et al).
Weaknesses: Not a top-tier athlete and could have
some issues with speed rushers.
Outlook: After Tunsil and Stanley, Conklin is likely
next off the board.
Taylor Decker, OT, 6-7, 310, Ohio State
Notable: Four-year starter and All-American last
season.
Strengths: Tough and powerful. Drives opponents off
the line.
Weaknesses: Could use better footwork, especially in
pass protection. Maybe more of a right tackle than left?
Outlook: With a strong class of offensive tackles,
could go mid-first or mid-second round.
LeRaven Clark, OT, 6-5, 316, Texas Tech
Notable: Four-year starter, the last three at left
tackle.
Strengths: Quick feet and powerful and sturdy base.
Weaknesses: Hand work can be spotty, which is a
problem against skilled pass rushers.
Outlook: Late first-round possibility.
Ryan Kelly, C, 6-4, 311, Alabama
Notable: Rimington Trophy winner as nation’s best
center.
Strengths: Take-control player, excellent drive blocker
and one tough dude.
Weaknesses: Head-to-head matchups against athletic players could cause some issues. Not much to
dislike.
Outlook: If a center gets drafted in the first round,
this is the guy.
Germain Ifedi, OT, 6-6, 324, Texas A&M
Notable: Three-year starter who began his career at
guard.
Strengths: Massive and versatile. Once he locks up a
defender, the defender usually is blocked.
Weaknesses: Despite size, run blocking could use
some work. Doesn’t drive holes open.
Outlook: Late first-round possibility.
Jason Spriggs, OT, 6-6, 301, Indiana
Notable: Four-year starter.
Strengths: Long and athletic.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t play with great power and
needs to add some mass.
Outlook: Might have more upside than Decker or
even Conklin, which could get him into the bottom of
the first round.
Cody Whitehair, OG, 6-4, 301, Kansas State
Notable: Has played guard and tackle at very high
level. Projects to guard in pros.
Strengths: Versatility, work ethic and effort are top
notch.
Weaknesses: Probably only an emergency tackle in
the NFL and needs to improve blasting off the line in the
running game.
Outlook: If a guard gets drafted in the first round,
this is the guy.
Defense
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Joey Bosa, DE, 6-5, 269, Ohio State
Notable: Sacks dropped off from 13 1-2 in 2014 to
five last season, but still played at an All-America level.
Strengths: Rarely takes a play at less than max effort. Fast and strong hands keep blockers from locking
him up.
Weaknesses: Lacks that explosive first-step speed
that many elite edge rushers have.
Outlook: Was talked about as a possible first overall
pick, but will have to settle for top seven or so.
DeForest Buckner, DE, 6-7, 291, Oregon
Notable: Pac-12 defensive player of the year in
2015.
Strengths: More power and quickness than speed.
Perfect size, quick off the snap, relentless and can
wreck a running game.
Weaknesses: Tends to stand straight up, which negates his power.
Outlook: Either he or Bosa will be the first defensive
linemen taken.
Shaq Lawson, DE, 6-3, 269, Clemson
Notable: All-American last season who had 25 1-2
tackles for loss.
Strengths: High-effort pass rusher, with good
strength and power to stand up run blockers.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t have elite speed off the edge.
Outlook: Middle of the first round sounds about
right.
Kevin Dodd, DE, 6-5, 277, Clemson
Notable: Outshined teammate Shaq Lawson late
last season. Had three sacks against Alabama in the
national title game.
Strengths: Another big motor defensive end, like
Lawson and Joey Bosa. Locates the ball well.
Weaknesses: Hand technique needs work to shed
blockers better.
Outlook: Which Clemson defensive end goes first?
Sheldon Rankins, DT, 6-1, 299, Louisville
Notable: Had 14 sacks playing on the interior for the
Cardinals.
Strengths: Gets off the ball very fast. Often blockers
simply can’t get to him. Very productive.
Weaknesses: Short and some questions about
whether he can stand up to the power of NFL linemen.
Outlook: Playmaker who is a good bet to be taken
somewhere between 10 and 20.
Jarran Reed, DE/DT, 6-3, 307, Alabama
Notable: Second-team All-SEC, despite having only
one sack and 4 1-2 tackles for loss.
Strengths: Disruptive player against the run. Holds
down the point of attack and ties up double-teams with
excellent technique.
Weaknesses: Not much of a pass rusher.
Outlook: Late first-rounder for a team looking for a
run stuffer.
A’Shawn Robinson, DE/DT, 6-4, 307, Alabama
Notable: Former five-star recruit had three highly
productive seasons at Alabama.
Strengths: Powerful and thickly built defensive end
that can slide inside. Rarely does a ball carrier break free
from his grip. Team leader.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t play with great quickness off
the edge, which limits him as a pass rusher.
Outlook: Could hear his name called during second
half of the first round.
Andrew Billings, DT, 6-1, 311, Baylor
Notable: All-American last season.
Strengths: As dominant as any defensive linemen
in the country at times in 2015. Very strong and can
pursue from behind.
Weaknesses: On the short side and technique needs
work because he won’t be able to overpower opponents
as easily at the next level.
Outlook: Just turned 21. Huge upside could get him
into the middle of the first round.
Robert Nkemdiche, DT/DE, 6-3, 294, Mississippi
Notable: Off-the-field issues and character questions, along with tantalizing talent.
Strengths: Rock solid for close to 300 pounds. Good
quickness and speed.
Weaknesses. The production comes and goes. Had
6 1-2 sacks in three seasons.
Outlook: First-round talent. But we’ll see.
Chris Jones, DT, 6-6, 310, Mississippi State
Notable: Big freshman season followed by sophomore slump followed by strong junior campaign.
Strengths: Has power to push the pocket backward
and moves up and down the line well.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t have many pass rush moves.
Outlook: Could go ahead of Ole Miss’ Robert Nkemdiche, which would make Bulldogs fans happy.
Noah Spence, DE, 6-2, 252, Eastern Kentucky
Notable: Former Ohio State player who transferred
after failing drug tests.
Strengths: Speed pass rusher who plays with great
effort.
Weaknesses: Linebacker size makes him a tweener
with a defensive end’s game.
Outlook: Character issues and not ideal size, but he
can rush the quarterback, and that can get him into the
first round.
Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, 6-4, 273, Oklahoma State
Notable: Co-Big 12 defensive player of the year.
Strengths: Good size/speed/power package.
Weaknesses: Plays stiff and doesn’t make many
moves when taking on blockers.
Outlook: Hey, look, another pass rusher who could
slip into the first round.
LINEBACKERS
Myles Jack, OLB, 6-1, 245, UCLA
Notable: Played both ways as a freshman and was
the Pac-12 offensive and defensive newcomer of the
year. Knee injury limited him to three games last year.
Strengths: Speed, athleticism and instincts are exemplary. Can be used in coverage as a safety and is tenacious enough to play close to the line of scrimmage.
Weaknesses: Aside from concerns about his healing
knee, he does not have a thick, old school linebacker
build. But in today’s NFL that should work just fine.
Outlook: His draft slot will be determined by which
teams believe his knee will be fine. He would be a top
10 lock otherwise.
Leonard Floyd, OLB, 6-6, 244, Georgia
Notable: Led Georgia in sacks each of the last three
seasons.
Strengths: Long, elusive and fast off the edge and
in pursuit.
Weaknesses: Not much bulk could lead him to get
knocked around at the next level.
Outlook: More upside than production, but could fit
nicely into a 3-4 scheme. Top 15 potential.
Reggie Ragland, ILB, 6-1, 247, Alabama
Notable: All-American last year and top tackler on a
national championship team.
Strengths: Hits hard. Takes on blockers. Good instincts and clogs holes. Shows some ability to rush the
passer.
Weaknesses: Questions are about how he’ll play in
coverage and in space, but his pass-rush skills could
make him more than a two-down linebacker.
Outlook: Second half of the first round.
Darron Lee, OLB, 6-1, 232, Ohio State
Notable: Former high school quarterback turned
ultra-athletic linebacker.
Strengths: Skill set is similar to Myles Jack. Fast and
flexible player who excels in space. Could be used as a
hybrid safety/linebacker.
Weaknesses: Undersized and an inconsistent
tackler.
Outlook: Interesting upside. Lee could be drafted just
outside the top 10 or in second round.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, 6-1, 209, Florida State
Notable: Started three years for the Seminoles, each
season in a different secondary spot.
Strengths: If you could engineer a defensive back,
Ramsey would be it. Size, speed and athleticism are
all ideal. Played cornerback and safety and was used
as a hybrid, playing almost like a linebacker. Excelled
at all of it.
Weaknesses: The technique and skills that make for
a lock-down cornerback need work. But that might not
be the way he is used in the NFL.
Outlook: Top five pick.
Vernon Hargreaves, CB, 5-10, 204, Florida
Notable: First team All-SEC each of his three seasons with the Gators.
Strengths: Changes directions quickly, and has skills,
athleticism and attitude to be a shutdown cornerback.
Weaknesses: Small frame could be a problem
against big receivers and gets a little too aggressive at
times.
Outlook: Second defensive back off the board,
maybe a top 10 pick.
Eli Apple, CB, 6-1, 199, Ohio State
Notable: Interceptions dropped from three as a
sophomore to one as a junior as opponents began to
shy away.
Strengths: Height and long arms, plus good speed,
make for an ideal package for NFL cornerback.
Weaknesses: Tends to grab in coverage if he thinks
he is getting beat.
Outlook: Chance he gets picked ahead of Hargreaves, but probably third cornerback selected.
William Jackson III, CB, 6-0, 189, Houston
Notable: Had 23 pass break-ups last season to lead
the nation.
Strengths: Good speed and locates ball well.
Weaknesses: Strength to stand up to big receivers
could be an issue.
Outlook: Maybe a notch below Apple and Hargreaves. Maybe?
Artie Burns, CB, 6-0, 193, Miami
Notable: Had six interceptions last season as a junior
and was one of the ACC’s best cornerbacks.
Strengths: Good hands and closing speed.
Weaknesses: Better athlete than technician. Makes
big plays. Gives up some, too.
Outlook: NFL teams cannot get enough talented
cornerbacks.
— By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP
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NFL
Eagles acquire No. 2 pick in
draft in deal with Browns
BY ROB M AADDI
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Desperate for a franchise
quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles can get their
man. Soon.
The Cleveland Browns will wait for their guy.
The Eagles acquired the No. 2 overall pick in next
week’s draft from Cleveland in exchange for five
picks on Wednesday. The Browns are getting Philadelphia’s first-round pick this year (No. 8), a thirdround pick (No. 77) and fourth-rounder (No. 100),
plus a first-rounder in 2017 and a second-rounder
in 2018.
Cleveland also sends a fourth-round pick in 2017
to the Eagles.
“It’s a tough price to pay,” said Howie Roseman,
Philadelphia’s executive vice president of football
operations. “We’re very sure we’re going to get the
player we want. We’ve spent a ton of time investigating these guys and looked at the quarterback market
going forward, and this is a rare opportunity we’re
in.”
The trade allows Philadelphia to select one of the
top quarterback prospects, Carson Wentz of North
Dakota State or Jared Goff of California at No. 2.
The Los Angeles Rams already acquired the top
overall pick from Tennessee for a slew of picks and
have indicated they will take a quarterback.
It is the fourth time the top two selections in the
draft have been dealt.
“These guys are pretty even,” Eagles coach Doug
Pederson said of Wentz and Goff. “From all the physical tools, both of them are extremely gifted. Good
arm strength, good mobility. Obviously, Carson is a
little bigger, maybe a little better athlete right now.
There’s not much separating those two.”
The Eagles signed Sam Bradford to a $35 million,
two-year contract in March. Roseman said he’ll be
the starter. They also signed backup Chase Daniel to a $21 million, three-year deal. But Roseman
couldn’t resist an opportunity to move up after acquiring the No. 8 pick from Miami for cornerback
Byron Maxwell, linebacker Kiko Alonso and the
13th overall pick.
“We’re going to invest in quarterbacks,” Roseman
said. “The key to being championship caliber over a
long period of time is quarterbacks.”
The last time the Eagles drafted a quarterback in
the first round was 1999 when Andy Reid took Donovan McNabb at No. 2. McNabb led Philadelphia to
five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl
appearance.
The Browns were in position to finally land a
quarterback after more than a decade of futility
and failure. Cleveland has had 24 starting quarterbacks since 1999, when it chose Tim Couch ahead of
McNabb. But the club’s new front office wasn’t enthralled with Goff or Wentz and decided to get more
picks to help first-year coach Hue Jackson build a
winner.
Cleveland may still be able to get a quarterback —
possibly Memphis’ Paxton Lynch — in the draft, but
it won’t be one of the top two guys. After the Rams
leaped from No. 15 to No. 1, the Browns were no longer going to have their choice of Goff or Wentz.
The Browns recently signed Robert Griffin III,
making it easier to trade the second pick. Griffin
signed a two-year, $15 million contract and was
viewed as a “bridge” QB until the team develops a
young player.
The Browns’ new front office led by Sashi Brown
has placed heavy emphasis on analytics in preparing for this year’s draft and putting together Cleveland’s roster. With so many needs, the Browns chose
to accumulate as many picks as possible to fill holes
on both sides of the ball.
“These picks will play a major role in building our
team for long-term sustained success,” Brown said.
“We want to assemble a young nucleus of talented
players and this trade positions us really well. There
is a good depth of talent in the first round and we
felt we could make a larger impact to our roster by
adding more draft picks and that’s why we made the
decision to trade down.”
Cleveland now has 12 selections in this year’s
draft, including six of the top 100 picks.
The Eagles host the Browns in the season opener
on Sept. 11.
Previous years in which the top two picks were
traded, according to STATS:
1967, when New Orleans sent the top spot to
the Baltimore Colts, who took Bubba Smith, and
the Giants sent the second pick to Minnesota, which
grabbed Clint Jones.
1975, when Atlanta got the No. 1 selection from
the Colts and took Steve Bartkowski, while Dallas acquired No. 2 from the Giants to take Randy
White.
1997, when the Rams got the top spot from the
Jets to draft Orlando Pace, and the Saints sent the
No. 2 selection to the Raiders, who picked Darrell
Russell.
RON JENKINS/AP
California quarterback Jared Goff is one of the top quarterback prospects in next week’s NFL Draft.
BRANDON WADE /AP
The Panthers’ Josh Norman is on the market after Carolina
surprisingly rescinded its non-exclusive franchise tag offer.
CB Norman on
the market after
Panthers lift tag
BY STEVE R EED
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The
NFL free agent cornerback market just got more interesting.
Josh Norman, one of the
league’s top corners, became an
unrestricted free agent Wednesday after the Carolina Panthers
surprisingly rescinded their nonexclusive franchise tag offer to
the All-Pro and wished him well
— someplace else.
Norman, 28, elected not to sign
the franchise tag offer from the
Panthers which would have paid
him $13.9 million in 2016 while
holding out for a long-term contract. The two sides could never
agree on monetary compensation.
Now Norman can sign with any
team.
“After a number of conversations with Josh’s agent we realized that a long-term deal was
not attainable,” Panthers general
manager Dave Gettleman said
in a release. “We have decided
to rescind the franchise tag freeing Josh to immediately become
a UFA. We thank Josh for all his
contributions and truly wish him
well.”
A former fifth-round draft pick,
Norman had a career-high four
interceptions and helped the NFC
champion Panthers lead the NFL
in interceptions (24), takeaways
(39), points off turnovers (148) last
season. He also had 16 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and
two fumble recoveries.
Norman didn’t want to dis-
cuss the Panthers decision when
reached Wednesday night.
“Man, I just don’t feel like talking about it right now,” Norman
told The Associated Press.
Essentially, Norman was gambling on himself by not signing the
team’s franchise tag offer — believing he can get more money on
the free agent market.
Norman’s absence creates a huge
void in the Panthers secondary.
Last year’s other starter Charles
Tillman also is a free agent, leaving nickel back Bene Benwikere
and journeyman Robert McClain
as the only cornerbacks with significant NFL experience.
Norman, a four-year veteran,
had been in and out of the starting
lineup for the Panthers for twoand-a-half seasons before emerging as a potential star late in 2014.
He started off last season like
gangbusters with four interceptions in four games, including two
for touchdown returns.
He sealed Carolina’s early-season win over New Orleans with an
interception in the end zone as the
Panthers bolted to a 14-0 record
and a third straight NFC South
title.
Carolina lost 24-10 to Denver in
the Super Bowl.
Norman was so good at covering his side of the field that teams
rarely threw his way. He held opposing quarterbacks to the lowest
QB rating in the league, according
to STATS.
Gettleman did not return phone
calls seeking comment.
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MLB
Scoreboard
American League
East Division
W
L
9
4
8
8
7
7
6
8
5
8
Central Division
Chicago
10
5
Kansas City
9
5
Detroit
8
5
Cleveland
6
6
Minnesota
4
11
West Division
Texas
9
6
Oakland
8
7
Seattle
6
8
Los Angeles
6
9
Houston
5
10
Baltimore
Toronto
Boston
Tampa Bay
New York
Pct
.692
.500
.500
.429
.385
GB
—
2A
2A
3A
4
.667
.643
.615
.500
.267
—
A
1
2A
6
.600
.533
.429
.400
.333
—
1
2A
3
4
National League
DUANE BURLESON /AP
JOHN R AOUX /AP
The Yankees’ Dellin Betances has paired with Andrew Miller to
give New York a dynamic duo of late-inning relief pitchers are
overwhelming offenses. Nineteen of the past 26 batters they have
faced have whiffed.
The New York Yankees’ Andrew Miller has struck out 113 of 266
since the start of the 2015 season for the best percentage in the
major leagues. Miller is second in the majors in percentage of outs
by strikeout to Aroldis Chapman.
Bronx Strikeout Machine revved up
Yankees relievers Miller, Betances whiffing batters at high rate with Chapman set to join them
BY RONALD BLUM
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller send batter after batter muttering on the way back to the dugout.
The New York Yankees’ dynamic duo of
late-inning relief pitchers is overwhelming
offenses with sickening sliders, imperceptible
fastballs and wily curves in what has become
the Bronx Strikeout Machine.
Overall, nineteen of their last 26 batters
have whiffed.
“I didn’t even see it. It felt like it just dropped
out of the air,” Oakland’s Mark Canha after
striking out against
Miller this week.
And Aroldis ChapIt seems
man joins them next
like you get
month, creating a
strikeouts and terrible trio teams
guys inevitably might have to face
when the Yankees
start swinging take leads into the
earlier in the seventh inning.
has struck
count, trying outMiller
42.5 percent of
to put the ball batters (113 of 266)
since
the
start
of the
in play.
2015 season, the best
Andrew Miller percentage in the
Yankees pitcher majors, according to
STATS. Chapman is
second at 41.7 percent (116 of 278) and Betances is third at 41.0 percent (148 or 361).
“Used to say get to the bullpen. You know,
the game’s changing a little bit,” Yankees
manager Joe Girardi explained. “Sometimes
you say, you better get to the starter, because
the back end is not a lot of fun to face.”
Relief pitching started to change in the
1970s with closers like Goose Gossage and
Rollie Fingers. It evolved more when Tony La
Russa turned Dennis Eckersley into a largely
three-out finisher with the late 1980s Oakland
Athletics.
‘
’
Cincinnati showed what a deep back end
could do in 1990 when the Nasty Boys trio of
Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton pitched the Reds to the World Series title.
And the 2014 Royals surprised much of the
major leagues when Greg Holland, Wade
Davis and Kelvin Herrera used 96-99 mph
heat to bring Kansas City within one win of a
championship.
“When you have the threat of lockdown seventh-, eighth-, ninth-inning guys and have the
ability to shorten the game, it puts a lot of pressure on the opposition,” Los Angeles Dodgers
manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s tough to
manage against teams that can shorten the
game like that.”
Miller and Betances have combined to
strike out 30 of 49 batters this year (61.2 percent), STATS said. The overall big league percentage through Wednesday was 21.9.
Betances, a 28-year-old right-hander, comes
in for the eighth when New York leads in close
games, and his 6-foot-8, 265-pound body is as
intimidating as his pitches: 97-98 mph fastballs and an 83 mph curve.
Miller, a 30-year-old left-hander, is more
like a crane, listed at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds.
He dropped his sinker and changeup three
years ago, and this year has thrown an 84
mph slider on about two-thirds of his pitches,
using a 95 mph fastball for his others.
“It seems like you get strikeouts and guys
inevitably start swinging earlier in the count,
trying to put the ball in play,” Miller said.
“I’d take a three-pitch inning any time, because that means you got three outs in three
pitches.”
Betances was the big league bullpen workhorse last year, topping relievers with 84 innings after finishing second with 90 in 2014.
He says he learned from Mariano Rivera,
who set the career saves record and helped
the Yankees win five titles before retiring at
the end of the 2013 season.
When he’s done with the eighth inning, Betances likes to watch Miller from the dugout
in the ninth.
“We kind of motivate each other when we’re
out there,” he said.
Miller will drop back to the eighth inning
and Betances to the seventh when Chapman
is done serving his season-opening 30-game
suspension under baseball’s domestic violence policy. New York acquired the 28-yearold left-hander from Cincinnati in December.
Chapman threw the 62 fastest pitches in the
major leagues last year, ranging from 102.36
to 103.92 mph, according to MLB’s Statcast
data.
Given that trio, the Yankees will be confident most nights when they have a lead in the
seventh.
Batters beware.
“It’s going to be awesome for us to watch,
and I think definitely gets into their heads,”
Yankees starter CC Sabathia said.
East Division
W
L
Pct GB
Washington
11
3
.786 —
New York
7
7
.500 4
Philadelphia
7
9
.438 5
Miami
4
9
.308 6A
Atlanta
4
10
.286 7
Central Division
Chicago
11
4
.733 —
Cincinnati
8
7
.533 3
St. Louis
8
7
.533 3
Milwaukee
7
8
.467 4
Pittsburgh
7
8
.467 4
West Division
Los Angeles
9
6
.600 —
Colorado
8
7
.533 1
Arizona
8
8
.500 1A
San Francisco
7
9
.438 2A
San Diego
6
9
.400 3
Wednesday’s games
Chicago White Sox 2, L.A. Angels 1
Seattle 2, Cleveland 1
Oakland 5, N.Y. Yankees 2
Baltimore 4, Toronto 3, 10 innings
Boston 7, Tampa Bay 3
Detroit 3, Kansas City 2
Texas 2, Houston 1
Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5
St. Louis 5, Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia 5, N.Y. Mets 4, 11 innings
L.A. Dodgers 5, Atlanta 3, 10 innings
Washington 3, Miami 1
Milwaukee 10, Minnesota 5
San Diego 8, Pittsburgh 2
Arizona 2, San Francisco 1
Thursday’s games
Seattle at Cleveland
Tampa Bay at Boston
L.A. Angels at Chicago White Sox
Oakland at N.Y. Yankees
Toronto at Baltimore
Detroit at Kansas City
Houston at Texas
L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta
Washington at Miami
Minnesota at Milwaukee
Arizona at San Francisco
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati
Pittsburgh at San Diego
Friday’s games
Tampa Bay (E.Ramirez 3-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 1-1)
Oakland (Gray 2-1) at Toronto (Aa.
Sanchez 1-0)
Cleveland (Tomlin 1-0) at Detroit (Verlander 1-1)
Boston (S.Wright 0-2) at Houston
(McHugh 1-2)
Texas (M.Perez 0-1) at Chicago White
Sox (Quintana 1-1)
Baltimore (Gallardo 1-0) at Kansas
City (C.Young 0-3)
Seattle (F.Hernandez 1-1) at L.A. Angels (Tropeano 1-0)
Minnesota (Gibson 0-2) at Washington
(G.Gonzalez 0-0)
Chicago Cubs (Lester 1-1) at Cincinnati (Moscot 0-0)
N.Y. Mets (Harvey 0-3) at Atlanta
(B.Norris 1-2)
Philadelphia (Nola 0-2) at Milwaukee
(Davies 0-1)
L.A. Dodgers (Kazmir 1-1) at Colorado
(J.Gray 0-0)
Pittsburgh (Niese 2-0) at Arizona
(Corbin 1-1)
Miami (Cosart 0-0) at San Francisco
(Samardzija 1-1)
St. Louis (Wainwright 0-2) at San Diego (Cashner 0-1)
Saturday’s games
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees
Oakland at Toronto
Cleveland at Detroit
Texas at Chicago White Sox
Boston at Houston
Baltimore at Kansas City
Seattle at L.A. Angels
Minnesota at Washington
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati
N.Y. Mets at Atlanta
Philadelphia at Milwaukee
L.A. Dodgers at Colorado
Pittsburgh at Arizona
St. Louis at San Diego
Miami at San Francisco
Sunday’s games
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees
Oakland at Toronto
Cleveland at Detroit
Minnesota at Washington
Texas at Chicago White Sox
Baltimore at Kansas City
Seattle at L.A. Angels
Boston at Houston
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati
N.Y. Mets at Atlanta
Philadelphia at Milwaukee
Miami at San Francisco
L.A. Dodgers at Colorado
Pittsburgh at Arizona
St. Louis at San Diego
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AUTO RACING/KENTUCKY DERBY
Honda frantically
trying to catch
Chevy before Indy
BY JENNA FRYER
Associated Press
LONG BEACH, Calif.
onda Racing stuck
with its longtime tradition of gathering its
IndyCar drivers the
day after the Grand Prix of Long
Beach for visits to three of its California offices.
They had little to celebrate
Monday, though, not after Honda
was smoked by rival manufacturer Chevrolet for the third time
this season. Chevrolet claimed its
third win in three IndyCar races
this season with yet another dominating performance on Sunday.
After grabbing the first six
spots in qualifying, Chevy drivers went on to sweep the podium.
Only two Honda drivers finished
inside the top 11, and through
three races this year, the Chevy
camp has led 422 laps to 18 for
Honda.
With the 100th running of the
Indianapolis 500 rapidly closing
in, Honda teams are downright
scared they don’t have a chance
to win the biggest race of them
all.
“I just want a fair shot,” said
Graham Rahal, who carried the
Honda banner last season with
two of the manufacturer’s six
victories and was the only Honda
driver legitimately in the title
race. “There’s too much money,
there’s too much sponsorship,
there’s too much on the line for
us to show up and know the best
that we’re going to finish at the
Indy 500 is 15th. That’s not fair to
our sponsors, it’s not fair to us as
teams.”
Chevrolet has steamrolled the
competition since it returned to
the series in 2012. The manufacturer has won three of the four
championships since 2012, and
two of four Indy 500s.
What is not clear is who is
to blame for the unbalanced
competition.
It’s probably true that Honda
incorrectly assessed Chevrolet’s
commitment to winning.
Honda got some satisfaction by
winning the Indy 500 in 2012, and
again in 2014, and it began to look
like Indy is the only race that really matters to the manufacturer.
If Honda executives can kiss
the bricks at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, then none of the other
races really matter.
But the disparity has gotten
wider since the introduction of
the aerodynamic bodykits that
debuted last year. Chevy was
once again more competitive out
of the gates. Things got political
last May when three Chevrolet
drivers went airborne during
Indy 500 practice sessions, and
there were rumblings that a flaw
in Chevy’s design was causing the
cars to lift.
In a frantic effort to keep the
cars on the track, IndyCar tinkered with some of the rules on
H
pole day. Honda was a reluctant
participant because the manufacturer thought the issue was
a Chevy problem and its teams
shouldn’t be punished.
Chevy then swept the top four
spots in the 500.
“It was obvious there were two
different classes out there,” said
team owner Michael Andretti,
who won the 2012 championship
with Chevrolet and the 2014 Indy
500 with Honda.
During the offseason, IndyCar
permitted Honda to make some
changes to its aerokit in an effort
to catch up to Chevrolet, but the
updates haven’t made a difference so far.
Then came word from IndyCar that it was instituting a rule
change for the Indy 500 by requiring the use of domed skidplates
on the cars in an effort to prevent
them from going airborne. The
average race fan will notice nothing different, but the Honda drivers complained the change made
their cars difficult to handle in
traffic during testing.
“It’s just another hit to Honda,”
Andretti said. “Chevy is already
generating a lot more underbody downforce. The problem is,
Chevy is not looking at the show,
they are only looking at themselves. And I’m worried about the
show. I want us to put on the best
show ever. By doing some of these
moves, IndyCar is hurting the
chances and it’s like, ‘Why?’ and
IndyCar says, ‘For safety.’
“Well, if you make the car
harder to drive and guys are
crashing because of that, I don’t
know if that sounds safer. OK, so
the cars won’t flip over when they
get sideways, but Honda didn’t
have that problem, anyway. This
whole thing was a Chevy problem
and Honda has to adapt to it, and
that’s not fair.”
Chevy drivers have not complained about the domed skids,
and noted that Honda drivers
were faster than they were in the
first Indy 500 test. Marco Andretti accused Chevy of sandbagging
to make it look like they are behind Honda, and Rahal said any
Chevy driver who claims they are
happy with the domed skids has
been “programmed to message.”
“These guys that are saying
that it’s fine, like, they’re not telling you the facts,” Rahal said. “If
everybody wants to play games,
then we can all play games.”
IndyCar is not to blame for
this, and neither is Chevrolet.
Honda has failed to keep up. With
just over a month to go before the
Indy 500, it is up to Honda to pull
something out of its bag of tricks
if it wants a shot at winning the
historic race.
STEPHEN B. THORNTON, A RKANSAS D EMOCRAT-G AZETTE /AP
Ricardo Santana Jr. kisses Creator, after they won Saturday’s Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, Saturday
in Hot Springs, Ark. Creator ranks sixth in Kentucky Derby points.
Run up to the roses starts
With Derby qualifying races over, goal is for ‘happy and healthy’ horses
BY R ICHARD ROSENBLATT
Associated Press
The road to the Kentucky Derby is just about over.
Now comes the countdown to the first Saturday in
May.
And it’s always a jittery one for owners, trainers
and jockeys.
Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert likes to
say all you can do at this point is keep your horses
“happy and healthy,” then lead them on over to the
track and watch them Run for the Roses.
The Arkansas Derby and Lexington Stakes over
the weekend concluded a seven-month run of 34
Derby qualifying races in six states and two other
countries. The Derby points have been added up,
the field is limited to 20 starters, and if more are
entered then total points determines who’s in and
who’s out.
On Saturday, Creator stormed from last to first
and won the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park to
earn 100 points and rank sixth on the Derby leaderboard with 110 points. Suddenbreakingnews ran
second, collected 40 points, and clinched his place
in the field. He ranks 12th with 50 points.
All signs lead to Louisville. Creator will be on
a plane to Churchill Downs on Monday; Suddenbreakingnews will arrive by van on Tuesday. The
barns are filling up at the Downs.
“Everything’s great,” Elliott Walden, the racing
manager for owner WinStar Farm, said Sunday, the
morning after Creator’s 1 ¼-length win.
Ditto for Donnie K. Von Hemel, who trains
Suddenbreakingnews.
“You’ll probably see him in the entry box” for the
Derby, Von Hemel said.
But anything can happen in the nerve-racking
days before the Derby — or any big race for that
matter. A little tweak in a 3-year-old’s training —
an awkward step, a slight fever — can end Derby
dreams in an instant.
That has already happened this year.
Baffert’s Cupid has a breathing problem and won’t
run in the Kentucky Derby.
The trainer’s decision Monday came two days
after Cupid finished 10th in the Arkansas Derby at
Oaklawn Park. Cupid won the Rebel Stakes and was
the favorite in Saturday’s race, won by Creator.
Cupid came out of the race with an entrapped epiglottis, and Baffert said the gray colt had surgery
Monday to clear the breathing passageway.
The issue is not considered serious. Baffert said
Cupid “should be OK in a week” and would be under
consideration for the Preakness on May 21.
Baffert, who won the Triple Crown with American Pharoah, still has Mor Spirit (No. 8).
For now, here’s a look at the field, and those horses
on the bubble.
Louisiana Derby winner Gun Runner is atop the
leaderboard with 151 points. Currently sitting at No.
20 is Trojan Nation, an 81-1 long shot who ran second in the Wood Memorial to earn 40 points.
Five horses are on the bubble: Mo Tom, Fellowship, Adventist and Laoban (each with 32 points)
and Dazzling Gem with 30 points. If a horse ranked
above them drops out, the next in line moves up.
The top 20 features four trainers with two horses
each.
Steve Asmussen not only trains Gun Runner, he
also has Creator in his barn. The trainer is a Hall of
Fame finalist, and looking for his first Derby win.
Todd Pletcher has Wood winner Outwork (No.
4) and Tampa Bay Derby winner Destin (No. 11)
Chad Brown has Shagaf and My Man Sam,
runner-up in the Blue Grass.
As of Sunday, seven of the top 20 3-year-olds
are in their Derby stalls. Among them is Lani, the
Japan-based colt who won the UAE Derby in Dubai
in March.
Fellowship, ranked 22nd, had a workout at
Churchill on Sunday. Assistant trainer Norman
Casse is hopeful his horse gets in.
“Obviously, there will have to be some defections
for us to run,” Casse said, adding another workout is
planned next week. “But it’s still too early to tell for
sure. ... If he gets in he deserves a shot, but he’ll have
to work his way in.”
Collected won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland
for 10 points, but the Baffert-trained colt finished
with only 21 points.
Oscar Nominated won the Spiral Stakes for 50
points, but owner Ken Ramsey had not nominated
him for the Triple Crown races. He said last week
he would pay the $200,000 supplemental entry fee to
get his horse in the race — whether he has someone
to put up the money and become a partner or not.
“So far as I know he’s still on board,” Ramsey said
of an unidentified person who told the owner he’d put
up the money and share in any Triple Crown money
the horse earned. “But ir-regardless of whether he
stays on board or doesn’t stay on board, the horse
will be in the Kentucky Derby.”
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NHL PLAYOFFS
Home ice not an asset in first round
BY TOM CANAVAN
Associated Press
Home ice hasn’t been an advantage this year in the opening round of the Stanley Cup
playoffs.
Road teams have posted a 16-12
record through the first week of
the postseason.
Think about it. The Kings and
Ducks both lost their first two
games at home. The defending
champion Blackhawks face elimination after dropping two at home
to fall behind the Blues 3-1.
The Rangers, who took home
ice away from the Penguins by
winning in Game 2 in Pittsburgh,
quickly gave it back with a lackluster performance in Game 3
at Madison Square Garden. New
York has dropped four in a row
at home in the postseason going
back to last season.
Only the Capitals, Lightning
and Stars swept the first two
games at home.
In the 11 seasons since the
2004 lockout, home teams have
only once had a sub-.500 record
in the playoffs and that was a 3947 mark in 2011-12, according to
STATS. The best mark was .686
(59-27) in 2012-13.
Six of the 11 seasons the winning percentage was greater than
.550.
“I think your mindset is a little different when you go on the
road,” Rangers center Derick
Brassard said Wednesday. “It’s
kind of like the team against
everyone, the crowd, the players, everything. Your mindset is:
N AM Y. HUH /AP
St. Louis has a 3-1 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks after winning two games on the road.
‘Let’s go steal one.’
“At home, you want to show off
and you can get away from your
game. It’s just the game of hockey.
Once the puck is dropped, it does
not matter who is there, you just
have to play. Home ice doesn’t
mean anything, to be honest.”
Penguins center Nick Bonino
said that no matter what the wonlost record is at this point in the
playoffs, you still want home ice.
It gives you the last line change
and the crowd can get behind a
team.
“I feel like the last couple of
years home ice has not meant a
lot,” said Penguins forward Eric
Fehr, who is in his 10th NHL season. “I think teams are so even,
and going into any game, pretty
much it’s a coin toss. It’s just how
well can you play. Every rink is
exciting and everybody brings
the same every night. The home
ice isn’t as big an advantage as it
used to be.”
Scoreboard
First round
(Best-of-seven)
(x-if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
N.Y. Islanders 2, Florida 2
N.Y. Islanders 5, Florida 4
Florida 3, N.Y. Islanders 1
N.Y. Islanders 4, Florida 3, OT
Wednesday: Florida 2, N.Y. Islanders 1
Friday: at Florida.
Sunday: at N.Y. Islanders
x-Tuesday: at Florida
Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 1
Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2
Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 2
Detroit 2, Tampa Bay 0
Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2
Thursday: at Tampa Bay
x-Sunday: at Detroit
x-Tuesday: at Tampa Bay
Washington 3, Philadelphia 1
Washington 2, Philadelphia 0
Washington 4, Philadelphia 1
Washington 6, Philadelphia 1
Wednesday: Philadelphia 2, Washington 1
Friday: at Washington
x-Sunday: at Philadelphia
x-Wednesday, April 27: at Washington
Pittsburgh 2, N.Y. Rangers 1
Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Rangers 2
N.Y. Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 2
Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 1
Thursday: at N.Y. Rangers
x-Saturday: at Pittsburgh
x-Monday: at N.Y. Rangers
x-Wednesday, April 27: at Pittsburgh
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Dallas 3, Minnesota 1
Dallas 4, Minnesota 0
Dallas 2, Minnesota 1
Minnesota 5, Dallas 3
Wednesday: Dallas 3, Minnesota 2
Friday: at Dallas
x-Sunday: at Minnesota
x-Tuesday: at Dallas
St. Louis 3, Chicago 1
St. Louis 1, Chicago 0, OT
Chicago 3, St. Louis 2
St. Louis 3, Chicago 2
St. Louis 4, Chicago 3
Thursday: at St. Louis
x-Saturday: at Chicago
x-Monday: at St. Louis
Nashville 2, Anaheim 1
Nashville 3, Anaheim 2
Nashville 3, Anaheim 2
Anaheim 3, Nashville 0
Thursday: at Nashville
Saturday: at Anaheim
x-Monday: at Nashville
x-Wednesday, April 27: at Anaheim
San Jose 3, Los Angeles 1
San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3
San Jose 2, Los Angeles 1
Los Angeles 2, San Jose 1, OT
Wednesday: San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2
Friday: at Los Angeles
x-Sunday: at San Jose
x-Tuesday: at Los Angeles
Roundup
Flyers top Caps to hold off elimination
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Michal Neuvirth
skated off the Flyers’ ice to a roar he wanted to hear.
Only thunderous cheers came from the
fans, not flying objects. With how Neuvirth played, he might have stopped them
anyway.
Neuvirth had 31 saves in his first start
of the playoff series, helping Philadelphia
stave off a sweep with a 2-1 win over the
Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
“We talked about it, let’s have some fun
and enjoy the moment. We did,” Neuvirth
said.
The Capitals still lead the series 31 headed into Game 5 Friday night in
Washington.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald each scored for the Flyers in a
distraction-free game following Game 3’s
embarrassing end where fans pelted the
ice with souvenir wristbands.
“The fans were a little bit better than last
game,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said.
“It’s good to have them on our side again.”
Outstanding play in the net helped the
Flyers even more. Neuvirth was sensational in the third after T.J. Oshie scored early
in the period to make it 2-1.
The Capitals still have never swept a
best-of-seven playoff series.
Flyers rookie coach Dave Hakstol shuf-
M ATT SLOCUM /AP
The Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, center, battles for the puck between the Flyers’ Radko
Gudas, left, and Chris VandeVelde during the first period of Game 4 on Wednesday in
Philadelphia. The Flyers won 2-1.
fled the lineup for the win-or-else game.
He benched No. 1 goalie Steve Mason for
Neuvirth and moved Brayden Schenn to
the top line and demoted Jake Voracek.
Panthers 2, Islanders 1: Alex Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal midway
through the third period and visiting Florida Pathers beat New York to even their
first-round playoff series at two games
apiece.
Teddy Purcell also scored for Florida,
and Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his
200th career playoff point. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.
John Tavares had his third goal of the
series for New York, and Thomas Greiss
finished with 27 saves.
The Panthers got their first playoff road
win since April 17, 2012, against New Jersey in Game 3 of the first round.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Stars 3, Wild 2: Jason Spezza scored
the go-ahead goal with a deflection off
his skate while Ales Hemsky and Patrick
Eaves each scored on a second-period
power play to give Dallas’ special teams a
lift as the Stars defeated host Minnesota to
push their series lead to 3-1.
Antti Niemi assumed the net from Kari
Lehtonen, who started the first three
games, and made 28 saves for the Stars.
They’ll host Game 5 in Dallas on Friday.
Sharks 3, Kings 2: Brent Burns and
Joe Pavelski scored power-play goals in
the second period and host San Jose again
moved to the brink of eliminating Los Angeles from the playoffs.
Patrick Marleau added a power-play goal
in the third period and Martin Jones made
26 saves against his former team to put San
Jose up 3-1 in the series heading into Game
5 on Friday night in Los Angeles.
But knocking the Kings out is never
easy. The Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead to
Los Angeles in the first round two years
ago, becoming the fourth NHL team ever
to lose a best-of-seven series after winning
the first three games.
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NBA PLAYOFFS
Scoreboard
Eastern Conference
Cleveland 2, Detroit 0
Cleveland 106, Detroit 101
Wednesday: Cleveland 107, Detroit 90
Friday: Cleveland at Detroit
Sunday: Cleveland at Detroit
x-Tuesday: Detroit at Cleveland
x-Thursday, April 28: at Detroit
x-Saturday, April 30: at Cleveland
Indiana 1, Toronto 1
Indiana 100, Toronto 90
Toronto 98, Indiana 87
Thursday: Toronto at Indiana
Saturday: Toronto at Indiana
Tuesday: Indiana at Toronto
x-Friday, April 29: at Indiana
x-Sunday, May 1: at Toronto
Miami 2, Charlotte 0
Miami 123, Charlotte 91
Wednesday: Miami 115, Charlotte 103
Saturday: Miami at Charlotte
Monday: Miami at Charlotte
x-Wednesday, April 27: at Miami
x-Friday, April 29: at Charlotte, TBA
x-Sunday, May 1: Charlotte at Miami
Atlanta 2, Boston 0
Atlanta 102, Boston 101
Atlanta 89, Boston 72
Friday: Atlanta at Boston
Sunday: Atlanta at Boston
x-Tuesday: Boston at Atlanta
x-Thursday, April 28: at Boston
x-Saturday, April 30: at Atlanta
Western Conference
Golden State 2, Houston 0
Golden State 104, Houston 78
Golden State 115, Houston 106
Thursday: Golden State at Houston
Sunday: Golden State at Houston
x-Wednesday: at Golden State
x-Friday, April 29: at Houston, TBA
x-Sunday, May 1: at Golden State
San Antonio 2, Memphis 0
San Antonio 106, Memphis 74
San Antonio 94, Memphis 68
Friday: San Antonio at Memphis
Sunday: San Antonio at Memphis
x-Tuesday, April 26: at San Antonio
x-Thursday, April 28: at Memphis
x-Saturday, April 30: at San Antonio
Oklahoma City 1, Dallas 1
Oklahoma City 108, Dallas 70
Dallas 85, Oklahoma City 84
Thursday: Oklahoma City at Dallas
Saturday: Oklahoma City at Dallas
Monday: Dallas at Oklahoma City
x-Thursday, April 28: at Dallas, TBA
x-Saturday, April 30: at Oklahoma City
L.A. Clippers 2, Portland 0
L.A. Clippers 115, Portland 95
Wednesday: L.A. 102, Portland 81
Saturday: L.A. Clippers at Portland
Monday: L.A. Clippers at Portland
x-Wednesday, April 27: at L.A.
x-Friday, April 29: at Portland
x-Sunday, May 1: at L.A. Clippers
Wednesday
Heat 115, Hornets 103
CHARLOTTE — Batum 3-11 3-3 9, Williams 0-10 0-2 0, Zeller 3-6 2-3 8, Walker
12-29 4-4 29, Lee 5-7 2-3 12, Jefferson 1217 1-2 25, Lin 2-7 7-8 11, Kaminsky 0-1 4-4
4, Hawes 1-1 3-4 5. Totals 38-89 26-33 103.
MIAMI — J.Johnson 3-5 1-2 8, Deng 6-11
2-3 16, Whiteside 8-8 1-1 17, Dragic 6-12
3-4 18, Wade 11-22 6-7 28, Stoudemire 1-3
2-2 4, Richardson 5-9 3-3 15, Winslow 4-6
0-0 9, Green 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-76 18-22
115.
Charlotte
29 31 18 25—103
Miami
29 43 19 24—115
Three-point goals—Charlotte 1-16
(Walker 1-6, Lee 0-1, Williams 0-2, Lin
0-3, Batum 0-4), Miami 9-16 (Dragic 3-3,
Deng 2-5, Richardson 2-5, Winslow 1-1,
J.Johnson 1-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 54 (Jefferson, Batum
7), Miami 40 (Whiteside 13). Assists—
Charlotte 9 (Batum, Walker 3), Miami 19
(Wade 8). Total Fouls—Charlotte 16, Miami 25. A—19,650 (19,600).
Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 81
PORTLAND — Aminu 4-13 0-0 9, Harkless 5-13 0-0 12, Plumlee 5-7 7-9 17, Lillard
6-22 5-5 17, McCollum 6-17 2-2 16, Kaman
2-6 0-0 4, Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Henderson 2-6
0-0 4, Crabbe 0-3 0-0 0, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0,
Montero 0-0 0-0 0, Connaughton 0-1 0-0 0,
Vonleh 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-91 14-16 81.
L.A. CLIPPERS — Mbah a Moute 1-1 0-0
2, Griffin 4-12 4-6 12, Jordan 1-4 1-6 3, Paul
10-22 3-3 25, Redick 7-15 0-1 17, Crawford
4-10 2-3 11, Johnson 2-3 0-0 5, Green 3-5
4-5 10, Rivers 4-9 0-1 9, Aldrich 4-6 0-0 8,
Prigioni 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-87 14-25 102.
Portland
17 26 18 20— 81
L.A. Clippers
22 25 20 35—102
Three-point
goals—Portland
5-26
(Harkless 2-4, McCollum 2-7, Aminu 1-7,
Henderson 0-1, Crabbe 0-1, Lillard 0-6),
L.A. Clippers 8-21 (Redick 3-8, Paul 2-6,
Johnson 1-2, Crawford 1-2, Rivers 1-3).
Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland
57 (Plumlee, Aminu 10), L.A. Clippers 63
(Jordan 18). Assists—Portland 20 (Plumlee 7), L.A. Clippers 20 (Jordan, Paul 5).
Total Fouls—Portland 20, L.A. Clippers
18. Technicals—Portland defensive three
second. A—19,127 (19,060).
Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90
DETROIT — Harris 3-11 7-8 13, Morris
2-10 6-6 11, Drummond 8-13 4-16 20, Jackson 7-14 0-0 14, Caldwell-Pope 5-12 1-2 13,
Johnson 4-7 0-0 9, Blake 0-2 0-0 0, Baynes
1-3 0-0 2, Bullock 2-3 0-0 4, Tolliver 0-1 00 0, Meeks 1-1 0-0 2, Dinwiddie 1-1 0-0 2.
Totals 34-78 18-32 90.
CLEVELAND — James 12-18 1-3 27, Love
5-14 3-6 16, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Irving 818 2-3 22, Smith 7-13 0-0 21, Mozgov 0-1
0-0 0, Shumpert 1-4 0-0 2, Jefferson 1-3 00 3, Frye 1-2 0-0 3, Dellavedova 3-5 1-2 8,
McRae 2-2 0-0 5, D.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, J.Jones
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-80 7-14 107.
Detroit
28 25 15 22— 90
Cleveland
23 32 27 25—107
Three-point
goals—Detroit
4-17
(Caldwell-Pope 2-6, Johnson 1-2, Morris 1-5, Harris 0-1, Tolliver 0-1, Blake 0-1,
Bullock 0-1), Cleveland 20-38 (Smith 7-11,
Irving 4-7, Love 3-7, James 2-4, McRae
1-1, Dellavedova 1-1, Frye 1-2, Jefferson
1-3, Shumpert 0-2). Fouled Out—None.
Rebounds—Detroit 57 (Harris, CaldwellPope 8), Cleveland 48 (Love 10). Assists—Detroit 19 (Jackson 6), Cleveland
23 (Dellavedova 9). Total Fouls—Detroit
18, Cleveland 24. Technicals—Morris.
A—20,562 (20,562).
Calendar
May 17 — Draft lottery.
June 2 — NBA Finals begin.
June 13 — Early-entry withdrawal
deadline for NBA Draft (5 p.m. EDT)
June 23 — NBA Draft.
James, Cavs sink Pistons
BY TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
CLEVELAND — J.R. Smith looked down at the
postgame box score and couldn’t believe his eyes.
“We shot 38 threes?” he asked. “Damn.”
Yep, and dropped 20 to sink the Pistons.
LeBron James scored 27 points, Smith made
seven of Cleveland’s NBA playoff record-tying 20
three-pointers, and the Cavs opened a 2-0 lead in
their increasingly testy series with a 107-90 victory
over Detroit on Wednesday night.
The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming
Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15
to protect home-court advantage. They did it with a
flurry of six threes, including two by Smith.
“I’m open, so I shoot the ball,” Smith explained.
“It’s kind of simple for me.”
There was nothing easy about their first two wins
and the Cavs, favored to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals, will have their work
cut out when the best-of-seven series resumes on
Friday night at Detroit.
The young Pistons aren’t backing down and rookie Stanley Johnson had strong words for the Cavs
afterward.
“Their whole team talks,” said Johnson, who was
also upset with James for bumping him at the end
of the first quarter. “All those guys on the bench,
they’re like cheerleaders. Only 7-8 guys are playing,
but they’re all talking. They might as well be in the
stands.”
James also took exception to being hit by Marcus
Morris’ elbow in the fourth quarter. There’s a video
circulating of James taking issue with it and mouthing a threat.
“There hasn’t been one dirty play in the series,”
James said, downplaying the teams’ dislike for
each other. “I will make sure my guys understand
that we’re here to play basketball, everything else
is irrelevant. There’s a video here, a video there —
means absolutely nothing. I took a shot, but I’m OK,
I’m still standing tall.”
Kyrie Irving added 22 points for Cleveland, which
shares the postseason record for threes with Golden
State (2015), Dallas (2011) and Seattle (1996).
Andre Drummond scored 20 for the Pistons, who
have lost 10 straight playoff games against Cleveland. Drummond was just 4-for-16 from the line and
the Pistons didn’t do enough on either end to slow
the Cavs.
“I don’t care if you’re left by yourself, 20 of 38
TONY D EJAK /AP
The Cavaliers’ LeBron James reacts during
the first half Wednesday against the Pistons in
Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 107-90.
is pretty good shooting,” Pistons coach Stan Van
Gundy said of Cleveland’s three-point onslaught.
Smith’s outside shooting was a welcomed addition
for the Cavs, who got 81 points from James, Irving
and Kevin Love in Game 1.
Cleveland made six threes in the third when it
twisted a five-point deficit into a 14-point lead.
The biggest three in the spurt came from James,
who after knocking down his shot, raised three fingers on both hands while standing just a few feet away
from Van Gundy. It was some payback for James,
who had refused to get caught up in a verbal battle
between games with Van Gundy. Detroit’s talkative
coached was fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing
what he felt was preferential treatment for James.
James went on a four-minute tear in the second
quarter, capping it with a two-handed jam he punctuated by him hanging on the rim and swinging in
celebration.
Following his dismount, James screamed as he
backpedaled on defense as his teammates erupted
on the bench.
He aggressively backed down Johnson several
times, and as he passed the 19-year-old, James seemed
to deliver an intentional shot with his shoulder.
“I was walking in a straight line,” Johnson said. “I
didn’t bump him, he bumped me. It was a cheap-ass
shot, a cheap-ass bump.”
Roundup
Clippers bench fuels rout against Trail Blazers
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul
and Blake Griffin were in no hurry
to go back into the game. The reserves were rolling and again creating some breathing room.
Paul and Griffin urged coach
Doc Rivers to let the second unit
keep playing. He agreed, and
the bench scored 43 points in
the Clippers’ 102-81 victory over
the Portland Trail Blazers on
Wednesday night, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in its first-round
playoff series.
“Those guys looked like they
were in a good rhythm,” said
Paul, who led the Clippers with
25 points. “We’ve all been together long enough to know, let them
keep rolling, let them keep going
until they really need a break. If
we come out of the game up six,
when we go back in the game, we
may be up 10 or up 12. We just
need those guys to keep playing
ED C RISOSTOMO, THE O RANGE C OUNTY REGISTER /AP
The Clippers’ J.J. Redick drives the lane against the Trail Blazers’
C.J. McCollum during the first half Wednesday. L.A. won 102-81.
with that confidence.”
Jamal Crawford, the NBA’s
Sixth Man of the Year, led the
reserves with 11 points and Jeff
Green added 10 on a night when
the Clippers’ starters weren’t
their usual dominant selves. The
bench opened the second quarter
on a 12-2 run, stretching a sixpoint lead to 15.
“The bench won us the game,”
J.J. Redick said. “Defensively,
they were great all the way down
the line and they each had impact
on the game.
Among the starters, Redick
scored 17 points, Blake Griffin
had 12 points and nine rebounds,
and DeAndre Jordan had 18 rebounds for the Clippers, who
topped 100 points for the second
straight game.
Damian Lillard and Mason
Plumlee led the Blazers with 17
points each. CJ McCollum added
16 after being held to nine in their
20-point loss in the series opener.
Plumlee and Al-Farouq Aminu
had 10 rebounds each. Portland
shot a season-worst 34.1 percent.
“Especially at the start of the
game, I got a lot of good looks,”
Lillard said. “When you get those
good looks you’ve got to knock
them down, especially in a play-
off series like this when they’re
trapping and sending two guys.”
Game 3 is Saturday in
Portland.
Heat 115, Hornets 103:
Dwyane Wade had 28 points and
eight assists, Hassan Whiteside
made all eight of his shots and
finished with 17 points, helping
host Miami beat Charlotte to take
a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Goran Dragic scored 18 points,
Luol Deng had 16, Josh Richardson finished with 15 and Whiteside grabbed 13 rebounds for
Miami.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points
for Charlotte, needing 29 shots to
get there. Al Jefferson had 25 on
12-for-17 shooting off the bench,
and Jeremy Lin added 11 for
Charlotte — which has dropped
12 straight postseason contests.
It was the 100th 20-point game
of Wade’s playoff career. The
Heat are 64-36 in those games.
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SPORTS
Coming out on top
Cavs dominate Pistons to grab
2-0 series lead » NBA, Page 63
NFL DRAFT
It’s all about the QB
BY R ICK GOSSELIN
The Dallas Morning News
I
f you don’t have a quarterback
in the NFL, you don’t have a
chance.
That’s the premise for the wild
trading to the very top of the draft in
the past week by the Los Angeles Rams
and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Rams, who finished 23rd in the
NFL in passing last season, traded six
picks to the Tennessee Titans for the
first overall selection in the 2016 draft.
The Eagles, who ranked 28th in the
NFL in passing a year ago, traded five
picks to the Cleveland Browns for the
second overall choice.
Los Angeles gave Tennessee firstround picks in both 2016 and 2017, a
pair of second-rounders in 2016 and a
third-rounder in both 2016 and 2017.
Philadelphia gave Cleveland firstround picks in 2016 and 2017, a second
Wild week of draft trades gives
Rams, Eagles top two picks
rounder in 2017 and third- and fourthrounders, both in 2016.
If a John Elway, Troy Aikman or
Peyton Manning was sitting atop a
draft board, the cost of trading up to
the top spot would be inconsequential.
Franchise quarterbacks are too hard
to find. Pay whatever it takes to land
one.
But the three quarterbacks sitting at
the top of the 2016 draft board — Jared
Goff, Carson Wentz and Paxton Lynch
— aren’t perceived as the slam dunks
Elway and Aikman were when they
became the first overall picks of their
drafts. Goff posted a 15-21 career re-
California’s
Jared Goff
Memphis’
Paxton Lynch
DAN HONDA , BAY A REA
NEWS G ROUP/TNS
SUE OGROCKI /AP
cord at Cal and Lynch a 22-16 mark at
Memphis. Wentz is attempting to make
the jump from FCS to the NFL.
If you moved Goff, Wentz and Lynch
into the 2015 draft, all likely would
have been stacked behind quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus
Mariota, who went 1-2 last April.
The Rams clearly weren’t enamored
with Nick Foles and Case Keenum, who
combined to throw as many interceptions (11) as touchdowns last season.
And the Eagles were not content to
enter another season with brittle Sam
Bradford. The draft is all about selling
hope, and now the Rams and Eagles
have something to sell.
All this is good news for the Dallas
Cowboys. Jerry Jones had been rattling
the cage about possibly taking a quarterback with the fourth overall pick.
But did anyone short of the Eagles take
him seriously? If two quarterbacks go to
open the draft, the Cowboys will see another blue-chip player on the clock that
they didn’t otherwise figure to see.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, offensive
tackle Laremy Tunsil, running back
Ezekiel Elliott and pass rusher Joey
Bosa all could be there. At least three
of them should, anyway. Ramsey, Elliott and Bosa would all address needs,
and both Ramsey and Tunsil could become trade chips.
One problem remains for the Cowboys — the team is still in dire need of
a quality backup quarterback for Tony
Romo. They may still draft a quarterback next week. He just won’t be one of
the two best on this draft board.
North Dakota State’s
Carson Wentz
TIM SHARP/AP
Inside: CB Norman up for grabs after Panthers rescind tag, Page 59 Eagles get No. 2 pick from Browns, Page 59
Flyers top Capitals, avoid elimination » NHL playoffs, Page 62